Right now this is what we're up to...
(Stuff I want to remember)
Avery is so passionate and adorable and smart.
She loves to kiss. Seriously, she wants to kiss me (and Brad) or hug, like a hundred times a day. But when she hears a song about kissing on the radio, she smiles and says "that's disgusting!" or ""Kiss your lips", ewww!" ("kiss your lips" is a line from Hunter Hayes' Wanted)
She also tells us she loves us a lot and who doesn't love to hear that. At bedtime she emphatically tells us "I love you the most-ost-toast!" And the last couple of days that's turned into "I love you the crazy most-ost-toast!"
Her favorite book is Llama Llama Misses Mama and she has memorized the whole thing! It started a few months ago when she wanted it read to her every night, then she would read it with us, now she can recite the whole book without even looking at a page.
She's known her letters by sight for over a year now, but just this morning she started writing a few of them... A, T, F, E, X, H. I'm amazed when my kids learn things that I swear I haven't even been practicing with them. Wesley, however, has been playing school with Avery and Jack almost every morning so he probably deserves credit for her new writing skills!
Jack is funny and thoughtful and strong-willed.
At the beginning of this year at preschool Jack still hated to write and draw and I'll admit I don't push him as much as I did Wesley. I noticed over the first few months of preschool that he started to tolerate his "homework" a bit better and would actually try to draw the letters, so back in January I asked him to try to write his name on a white board and him immediately did this...
I was surprised, but I shouldn't have underestimated him. In the months since then, he has learned some sight words and been sounding out many words. Again, Wesley has had a lot to do with that. :)
He loves preschool and I'm so excited he'll be going there again next year. Each time I pick him up and ask how preschool was, he says "the Best!"
Jack is still our latest sleeper. He stays up playing in his bed 'till almost 9 every night (we put the kids in bed at about 7:30), but he sleeps until 8 or 8:30 most mornings which is a huge difference from Wesley and Avery who are always up by 6:30. And when he wakes up he always snuggles with me for a minute or two, which I love.
He's so physical, in good and bad ways. He's affectionate and loves to snuggle on the couch. He dominates Brad's lap at story time and during church. He loves to have pictures drawn on his back. He's a daredevil and a climber with really no fear. He's also still a bit too aggressive and rough. Not with friends or other kids, just with our family. He's quick to hit or throw if he's frustrated or angry, although we think he's getting better. And he loves to wrestle, but doesn't know when to stop, especially with Avery.
Mealtimes are still such an issue! Ughh. He still wants everything plain. Plain pasta, plain tortillas, plain rice, but no bread. He loves broccoli, apples, applesauce, carrots, soy beans, and especially strawberries, so I make sure he has one of these fruits or vegetables at every meal (and thank heaven for Flintstones vitamins aka dinosaur candy).
My favorite conversation with Jack lately happened the other night while watching "Remember the Titans"...
After Gary gets in the car accident, his friend Julius comes to see him at the hospital, but is turned away by the nurse who says only family can come in. Gary turns to the nurse and says "Can't you see the resemblance? He's my brother." Jack asked me if they were really brothers and I told him they were not, but they were best friends so they treated each other like brothers. He thought about it for a second and said "Yes they are brothers. They lived in heaven together, so they are." Yep, he was right.
Wesley. What can I say right now other than he is smart, like crazy smart.
He's now reading at Level M. He been checking out chapter books from the library, his favorites are the Captain Underpants series. He reads in bed at night and finishes all 25 chapters or so in two or three days. He plays school, like I said before, almost everyday before going to "real" school. He also writes little stories and makes his own books often.
He's also kind. He's friends with everyone. When he has a friend over, I hardly ever have to remind him to include Jack. A new girl joined his primary class a few weeks ago and within minutes they were talking and laughing like old buddies.
Now, I don't want to give the impression that Wesley is a perfect child either. :) He tries to be a peacemaker and do the right thing, but he has my gift for yelling too. And he definitely tries to parent his siblings, even when I am standing right next to him. He's also starting to get more of an attitude... "just a minute moooom", stomping, pouting... And don't even try to give him medicine, it's like we're poisoning the kid! He cries and cries over Tylenol!
Me. I am 30 weeks pregnant. It's super nice to have older, independent kids during this pregnancy. I get up to get them a bowl of cereal and then I'm back in bed most mornings until Jack wakes up at 8 or so. Plus, I can take a nap while Avery's napping, Jack's resting (watching a movie), and Wesley is at school. But I'm still tired. And I'm getting bigger. In general I don't worry about my weight, especially not during my pregnancies. But, funny story, between my 20-24 week visits I gained 6 pounds which seemed like a bit much. Then again at my 28 week visit I had gained another 6 pounds. I asked my doctor if I should be worried and he laughed and said no, but maybe I shouldn't gain 6 pounds every time he sees me. Ok, so now my visits are only two weeks apart and on Monday, at 30 weeks, I had gained 5.5 pounds! What?! I know what you must be thinking, but overall I've still only gained under 30 pounds and with my past pregnancies I've gained 35-45. The thing is I still have ten weeks to go. Wish me luck. :)
Brad is the best. He's such a good father and husband. This is his craziest time of year, but he's doing his best to make it easy for us. He's still trying to get home by 5:30 (he leaves at 5:30 each morning). And immediately he's helping with dinner, playing with the kids, picking things up. I mean he's superman. After he puts the kids to bed, because really the boys insist it be his job and Avery at least needs him for a song and a few more kisses, he works on his computer until about 10... all the while, holding a conversation with me and re-tucking in Jack about 4 more times. I couldn't love this man anymore!
Ok, I know that was a long one, but hey if I don't write it all down I'll forget and that's what this blog is for anyway.
