Update and New Strategy

My current blog strategy is clearly not working. The purpose of the blog is to keep family and friends near and far updated on our happenings since work, the kids, and life in general make me a HORRIBLE (really despicable) email and phone communicator. Phone messages get forgotten, accidentally deleted, or written down on a piece of paper that gets recycled when I try to declutter. My email box is currently at 300, kids at times have been known to hit delete while my inbox is open, and I'm sure I've accidentally coded a friend's email address as a spam source. I thought a blog was the answer. My problem is that I save blog ideas thinking I'm some sort of paid blogger who is followed by hundreds of adoring fans waiting for the next installment. Though that would be an awesome job, I don't have it, and I think all of you mostly want to see pictures of my kids and less musing from me:-). So that's the new strategy: put up pics when I've got them and limit the words.

Here's an update on our latest happenings:

We got to meet Cousin Lucy! Kevin's sister, Kathy, has (clearly) the most adorable 8-week-old baby girl. She was in St. Louis for the past three weeks and we got to spend lots of time fawning over Baby Lucy. Holding her, singing to her, bouncing her, and loving on her A LOT. It's so fun to have a cousin! I loved having Kathy here to be one of my full=time "Mom friends". Chatting while nursing our babies together, watching the other girls run around, indulging on afternoon coffee to keep ourselves awake - so great! Now that she's back in NYC, we'll have to resume our afternoon Skype sessions (maybe drinking coffee simultaneously:-)).

Reiley has been spending the last few months starting her first season of softball. Here she is sporting the much-too-large uniform with matching visor. I'm very proud of her because playing in full-sun, heat, and humidity is NOT her forte, but she's been a trooper. She's declared being in the field as "pretty boring", and her favorite part is the snack after the game. Though she does say that batting and running the bases is "pretty awesome."

Dance class resumes this month, and her summer camps at her soon-to-be Kindergarten, Shining Rivers Waldorf School, will be starting in a few weeks. She's growing up!

This picture of Ainsley explains it all. She is in a fantasy world at all times. It has been months since she will willingly respond to her actual name of Ainsley. We've all gotten in to the habit of asking her "Who are you being," in fear of the rage that will ensue if we call her Ainsley. She will play any animal or human character she creates, but typically for a maximum of 15 minutes. She and Reiley are often partners in pretend play until the fighting starts over who gets ownership of a pretend character (Madeline, the Angel Gabriel, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are hotly contested alter-egos). Ainsley is certainly entering the age of 2.5-year-old independence, but she's still very affectionate and always a hoot.

Sawyer turned 7 months old this weekend and he is seriously this happy 90% of the time. Full-time sitting up seems to have made him even happier. He will play contentedly with all of us around him for sometimes up to an hour (silent thank-you prayers are being sent up often)! He's still very big. At this 6 month appointment he was 21lbs, 3 oz, and he sure seems heavier every day! He loves to laugh at his sisters and be outside.

Obviously, I'll need to work on limiting the words

"Sawyer Got Baptismed!"

This was Ainsley's jubilant exclamation after we finally had Sawyer baptized last weekend (at nearly 6 months old - he could have sat in and filled up the baptismal font:-)). Older babies can also make ridiculously silly faces at the priest during their baptisms, which is humerous for all. I think God smiled too.

Sawyer's godparents are Kevin's brother, Mike, and his wife, Kali. My dad served as the reader, Kevin's mom read the petitions, and Kevin's dad sang a special prayer. It was such a blessing to have our family surrounding Saywer as we asked God to lead him through this life.

I have found each of my children's baptisms to be profoundly powerful because it allows me to reflect on the importance of motherhood, and the overwhelming responsibilty God gives us to help shape our children into loving, compassionate, and moral individuals. It reminds me that the repetitive tasks that fill my days of caring for little children (diaper changing, feeding, laundry, song-singing, scrape-kissing) are a reflection of the care that the Father gives to me. Through these tasks, I show my children how to love and care for others, and to be loved and cared for in return. I am comforted knowing that though the days are long and the appreciation is unspoken by little voices, God sees and knows the weight of the work I am doing. May I strive to meet His expectations, and never underestimate the impact that the seeming minutia of my days can make.

5 months old!

Sawyer turned 5 months old this week and is still a happy, smiling baby with some new skills. The one Mommy is most excited about is that after a month of VERY hard work, he's able to put himself to sleep at naps and at night without being upset! I understand if anyone wants to punch me in the face, because that's how I felt with my first two kids whenever anyone talked about how well their baby was sleeping. More accurately, I wanted to punch them in the face, and then kick them off of a cliff. However, with my logged years of lost sleep with the other two, I feel like I can legitimately brag. (Obviously, now that I've uttered the words, my luck will change!)

He's still pretty content to mildly push up during tummy time, but he has rolled over a handful of times. Though he is in no way trying to use it as a means of locomotion. He's also found his toes and loves to play with them during diaper changes. He's doing lots of cooing and screaming and laughing, particularly at goofy games the girls think up for him. I think we're just a few weeks away from solo sitting, which is sure to bring more fun to the sibling dynamic. It seems like the past month has been so tiring working on his sleep, and now that he is sleeping more, I have much more energy and am really enjoying his pudgy, funny, giggly baby self.

Here's some game playing with coos and goos:

They're Watching You!

Hiking Into Spring

A few weeks ago we had our first real "Spring" weekend. Having waited for this for three months, I forced everyone outside the entire weekend, slacking on house projects and other productive things. On Saturday, we went to Laumeier Sculpture Park. This is the first time we've been there with kids in tow, and we had a great time! We tend to have the most fun when we go places that have fewer "kid-targeted" things (playgrounds, etc). Reiley and Ainsley had fun "melting my heart" (as Reiley says) with cute sisterhood. Ainsley especially loves to hold Reiley's hand, and that's our bribe to get her to hold hands in parking lots. Sawyer took a little nap during our hike, and then checked out the sculptures with me. He's getting heavier by the day!On Sunday, we explored Castlewood State Park. Hiking as a family has become a favorite pasttime, so we are always on the lookout for new trails. The park's website boasted of trails with river views, so I was really excited about it. As we geared up to go, Kevin informed me that his Google Earth research revealed that the particular trail I had chosen included a 200 ft. ascent to the river view"in question. Kevin somewhat doubted the hiking abilities of the girls, but I (due to the Spring fever/craziness) dismissed his concerns. It was a pleasant surprise that the girls set off excitedly up the trail and didn't complain once. You'll see that they are decked out in their "favorite summer dresses". Kevin and I found it somewhat ridiculous that long, flowing dresses were a requirement for hiking, but their love for dresses is insatiable. Case in point: One morning when some "favorite dresses" were not available, and I informed Reiley that it is not a life requirement to wear a dress, she replied "I need to, Mom; that's just the kind of person I am." Did I really give birth to these girly girls? Here's a shot of our river view from the top of the trail. The girls wanted to be very adventurous, more than Kevin and I were comfortable with. I was a bit surprised there isn't any type of safety barrier between my children and the 200 ft. drop a few feet off of the trail, but maybe that's my slight fear of heights talking. We had a great time, and are looking forward to more hikes at Castlewood. Here is a clip of our hike (with awesome narration by Kevin):

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Beefy King of the Bumbo

Sawyer is 4 months old this week, and keeps getting bigger and bigger! Official measurements are 18lbs, 6 oz (95th percentile) and 25 and 1/2 inches (75th percentile). He's really just a bundle of joy - all smiles and coos. He' s rolled over a few times, but is still pretty content with cuddling, sitting in his bumbo, and pushing himself up and looking around during tummy time. He LOVES being fawned over by the big sister duo, as evidenced in this picture. While I was reading Ainsley a book before nap, Reiley created a throne for him and proclaimed him "King of the Bumbo!"

Ainsley also enjoys creating fashions for him, including this shirt-bonnet, which she vehemently denied was any kind of hat. "It's a blanket for his head, Mom!"
Other highlights from this month include Sawyer's first pair of hearing aids! He has the same type of hearing loss as the girls (bilateral mild-moderate loss). He is tolerating the aids well, but he is growing so fast that we are waiting on the new pair of earmolds to come in so that his hearing aids stop falling out! Here he is getting fitted. We're having lots of fun together and excited for the warm weather to bring us some new adventures.

Winter Afternoons

I'm really ready for Spring. During the warm months, we spend most afternoons after naps outside. Digging in the garden, making mud soup, feeding the birds and squirrels, traipsing through parks, smelling the flowers, watching the clouds roll...sigh. Clearly, Mommy has cabin fever. We are somewhat successful getting outside on the 40ish degree days, but Sawyer starts complaining, Ainsley won't wear gloves and then complains about her freezing fingers, and then Reiley gets really irritated that we have to head inside after 5 minutes. So we've been trying to keep it fun inside.

The girls spend many days as their alter-egos, Lucy (Ainsley) and Ethel (Reiley). Kevin's mom (Grammi) showed them some I Love Lucy clips on YouTube, and they've transformed our lives.

Here they are posing as the lovable best friends. You'll see Ainsley donning her beloved nightgown (which we've successfully substituted with several matching nightgowns since these green ones seemed to permenantly reek of soymilk and grime from repeated uses despite frequent washing). Reiley is also sporting her daily costume of princess gown with long-sleeved shirt on top because she is irritated by how the lacy balloon sleeves slide off of her shoulders (can we say high-maintenance:-))?

We've also been enjoying painting of various kinds, including finger painting in the bathtub. Easy for Mom because of the quick cleanup, and fun for the kids because they can paint their bodies, the wall, the faucet, etc. Ainsley seemed to become Reiley's willing canvas as she pretended to be a professional tub painter and handprint stamper.

Reiley played a makeup artist specializing in over-the-top Rocky Horror Picture Show-style makeup. Sawyer is 3 and 1/2 months now and is becoming much more playful with the girls. He sits with us for snacks in the Bumbo and shows us his rattle holding (and dropping) skills which bring non-stop giggles from his favorite fans. Here is demonstrating great concentration (check out that tongue!)Sawyer's thinking Tummy Time is a lot more fun lately. The girls like to coach him in rolling over and have deep conversations with him. Ainsley sees Tummy Time as an opportunity to mount up and "Ridey Ridey Sawyer like a horse, Mommy!" It was probably wrong of me to take a picture before telling her not to do it, but it was funny.
Here's a video of an almost roll-over. His contentment with being almost there is pretty entertaining.