Hello Again

I think this is probably a record radio silence for me. Weird. It's not like anything too spectacular has been preventing me, just been holding a very chubby baby a lot or too tired to think, let alone to try to string two coherent thoughts together. Poor chubs has double ear infections and before we found that out Ben had a stomach bug and then Sunday Nate got it. Good times. I'm okay with it because just in the last few days I've felt like maybe winter will indeed end, the end of January is always a good sign, and I wasn't sure if it was going to end this year. Whew. I've been reading and hearing a lot about how much people hate January, and I'm with you; however, I will say in January's defense that it's one of the reasons Spring is so spectacular.

Now onto aforementioned chubby baby, Joshua. When I finally took him to the doctor, (I could not decide if he was sick or not, he was sleeping pretty terribly but still so sweet and happy in the day) even the doctor said she had not expected to see infected ears because he was so happy and smiley. He truly is off the charts adorable and sweet. He has started having opinions about where I am in relation to him though. It cracks me up he'll be sitting playing or happily sitting with Brennan and if I walk out of the room he'll start crying the most heart broken cry. I think he's got great taste :). It's good to have a fan club however small. He's also gotten really grabby lately which totally catches me off guard and cracks me up everytime. I'll be holding him and walking through the kitchen and then suddenly notice that Joshua is holding a bread bag he snagged off the counter. So funny. We love Joshua.

Benjamin goes back and forth between the most entertaining, delightful little guy to a crazed irrational 3 year old. Mostly he's the delightful version of himself which is fortunate. Brennan took the boys to a hockey game the other night and on the way home he could tell Ben was getting sleepy. He kept telling him to stay awake (even a 5 minute cat nap could energize him for hours). One time he looked back and saw Ben's eyes closed so he said, "Ben, don't go to sleep." Sleepy boy managed to say, "I'm just making birthday wishes." Not bad, eh? He is such a great little companion and gets so excited when I make a few minutes to do a puzzle or play a game with him. We love Benjamin.

Poor little Natey got so sick. He was a brave little sick boy and never asked for anything. I kind of had to force him to accept my attentions. I think the hardest part about being sick for him was having to stay away from Joshua. He is way into football lately and frequently drops football terminology. The other day I kind of quizzed him to see if he knew what any of the terms he'd used meant and he did. He's got a good teacher and plenty of opportunities to increase his knowledge :).

Abigail had a program at school which was centered around the Chinese New Year. She gets so excited about these performances and sings her little heart out. I love watching her perform. Because Abby is so on top of everything, she's always ready for school first, ready for bed first, etc. she's my most available helper. I ask a lot of her and want it on the record how much I appreciate her and all she does to help me and her siblings. We love Abigail.

I had an SEP conference with Anna and her teacher last week and as I went through a file of her work I got to read a creative writing piece she'd written. I burst out laughing several times at her wit and her cute sense of humor that came through in her writing. It was one of those moments when you see your child as someone completely independent of you and our home, she's a real person with a very developed sense of identity and sense of humor and a fantastic writer. She has her performance tonight for their 6th grade musical review "On the Radio" which I can't wait to see her in. We love Anna.

Lately I'm feeling extremely grateful for Brennan. He's been incredibly helpful lately, especially with the sick kids. He totally took care of Nate while I stayed at a family function with the rest of the kids and stayed up late into the night with him while I slept with sick little Joshy. We all tease him that he's got life pretty good because of all the flexibility his job gives him to golf etc., but he wouldn't have that flexibility if he wasn't so good at what he does. He really does work hard and he also knows how to enjoy life and keep a good balance. He's super involved with the kids and helping out around here. We are fortunate to live close to much of my family and extended family and he knows how important they are to me and is always ready and willing for our many get-togethers. He's always willing to let me get a break from responsibilities and patiently puts up with my shortcomings. I love Brennan.