Updates

I forgot how much more all-consuming babies become as they approach 6 months (holy bejeemenie Milo is almost 6 months old!).  These days, when I'm on my computer it is either because I am nursing Milo at the computer, I'm putting Milo down for a nap and am on my phone, or I am nursing Milo to sleep at night and am on my phone.  Returning emails, posting more than a sentence or two on facebook or my message boards, and blogging have all become quite a task!  I miss having these outlets, but I know that I'll get back to them at some point :)

Updates on the the fam:

Maya ~ Oh, the joys of having a 4-year-old.  She has learned that her tone can greatly affect all of our moods, and she is not afraid to use that knowledge!  But, she is sweet and loving and almost always wants nothing more than to make Milo laugh and to play "kid" or "princess" with Charlotte.  She learns more and more each day and loves to color, write letters and read books.  She desperately wants to know how to spell every word and is not satisfied when I try to start with things like cat or sun; she would much rather know how to spell reindeer or princess.  Of course when I sit down with an "I Can Read" book she wants nothing to do with it :)  We are currently deep into the process of trying to choose a kindergarten for next year.  Because Maya's birthday falls after our district's cut-off, we have to decide if we want to have her tested for early entrance, keep her in preschool another year or send her to private school.  I considered homeschooling, but at least for the time being am feeling like that's not the best option for us (even though I kindof always thought, in the back of my mind, that that is what we'd do).  I'm excited for her to go to school and to be a room-parent and on the PTA and all that jazz :)  We live in a great school district so I'm blessed and cursed to have plenty of options!

Charlotte ~ Oh, sweet Charlotte.  She makes me laugh and smile and brings such joy to our family.  Charlotte is adorable.  Her vocabulary and understanding have exploded recently ~ she went through a phase where I really thought there was something wrong...she would totally shut down in certain situations that I'm guessing felt overwhelming to her.  I asked mom friends and watched her closely and talked to my mom and sisters and in-laws and finally brought it up to her pediatrician.  I was getting the feeling that she had a *lot* of anxiety (not even a little bit surprising if you know me...apple doesn't fall far from the tree ;)).  But, as suddenly as she seemed to descend into herself, she has come out of that phase as a full-blown little kid.  She is full of opinion and imagination and my heart nearly explodes with joy at my fun conversations with her.  I love her funny answers to our questions (tonight at dinner she told us that her favorite part of the day was drinking from her water cup :)) and I really love eavesdropping when she and Maya play pretend.

Milo ~ What a joy he is!  I made no secret of wanting a 3rd girl when I was pregnant with Milo.  What will I ever do with a boy??? was pretty much all I could think.  I mean, I knew that I would love my baby no matter the gender, but was not so secretly hoping the ultrasound was wrong ;)  But once he was born?  Oh, the overwhelming love you feel when you meet your baby for the first time.  And in the almost 6 months since that amazing day, I have gotten to know the sweetest baby on earth.  All I want to do all day is kiss his soft baby cheeks and make him smile and play "peek-a-boo".  I am convinced that, while I love my girls more than I ever thought I could love anyone, boys are the sweetest.  Watch out future girlfriends, this boy is all mine ;)

On the update front for Milo, he is rolling and army crawling and trying to sit and generally being awesome pretty much all the time :)

Michael ~ Work has been busy.  Really busy.  I've been getting lots of extra quality time with the kiddos, though I have been assured that this will not last forever.  We are both in a competition at his work as well ~ "The Biggest Loser".  It's been fun and I've been impressed with his ability to drink his water happily while I try to convince him that what he really wants is ice cream or cookies or candy :)

Random pics!

My attempt to sabotage Michael ;)  These cookies, "Winter Energy Cookies", are amazing!

I of course had helpers in my evil plot!

On the healthy front, though, I made some awesome veggie burgers!  Black beans, sweet potato, quinoa, oatmeal...yum!

Looks tasty, right? ;)

Maya taking the lead on the playground.  I'm pretty sure they played "tag" after this.

Charlotte picks her own clothes these days.

mid-roll

"Where's your tongue?"