Update

Every time I go to write an update I catch myself beginning with, "Things have been crazy around here." I'll try not to write that every time, if you're hear on a regular basis you know that that phrase goes without saying.

Joshy hasn't been gaining enough weight fast enough so I've been taking him into the pediatrician to weigh him and trying different things to see if I'm going to need to supplement. All my other kids chunked right up so this is all very new and was really stressing me out. I'm feeling better now that the doctor is on the case and he's gained quite a bit of weight the last week. He's started smiling at me and talking to me and it just melts my heart. We love Joshua.

Sunday night Brennan gave each of the kids our traditional back to school blessing. Ben, of course, was not about to be left out so Brennan gave him a blessing as well. I opened my eyes part way through and he saw me looking at him and in his very loud whisper and the most enthusiastic voice ever said, "I'm getting baptized!!!!" It was so cute to see how excited he was that I didn't have the heart to explain the difference between a blessing and baptism. Today he watched a cute little show and was totally enthralled by it. When it ended he said, "That was a great show, I never seen that before." So often what he says isn't actually that funny, it's that he's 3 and saying it. We love Benjamin.

Nate seems to be adjusting to all day school very well. I'm so relieved that he's come home happy both days. I can never get much out of him when I ask him all my questions about how it all went, but if I'm patient he'll usually bring up things that are on his mind. He likes his teacher and I think he's excited about some of the friends in his class. Yesterday his big concern was, "Mom, I'm just never going to be able to hold Joshua now." He also told me he felt bad for Benny because he, Abby and Anna would be gone so much. We love Nate.

Abigail has not stopped talking about her teacher, her friends and school. She is loving it and is so excited to tell us all about it. I met her teacher tonight and think she will be a perfect fit for Abby. I am so grateful for great teachers. The other night she was holding Joshua and we heard her say, "And don't worry, some day you'll grow up and get hair in your armpits." and then burst out laughing. She is a certifiable nut! We love Abigail.

Anna got called for her first official babysitting job tonight. I was sitting next to a woman in our neighborhood today at Back to School Night when she asked me if Anna would be available to watch her kids later that night. I called Anna to ask her and she said, "Are you SERIOUS?" She was sooooo excited and carefully picked out a game and some books to take with her. She was super nervous and thrilled. It was kind of one of those moments of truth as a mom as I panicked a little wondering if I'd trained her sufficiently. It all went well and she's hoping to be asked many more times. We love Anna.

Brennan and I are juggling all those things we all do and feel lucky when we squeeze a conversation in every few days. Busy, stressful, happy times.