five months

chubby thighs.....drooly chin(s).....bright blue eyes.

terrible sleeper....wonderful eater....lover of (all 3) big sisters.

she goes from sobbing to laughing in about 2 seconds when I start singing "I've been working on the railroad."

oh man. i think i'm in love.

My friend Tracy told me I needed to blog this so I remember days like this.....when I no longer have days like this. She's probably right. I wouldn't want anyone to be under the impression that life is all rainbows and smiles over here.

So my day starts out rough.....I get home at 5:30 AM from my run---sweating and hot----Tess is screaming and Dan is walking out the door. Aack. Kate and Annie up at 6:00 AM....massive whining commences (from both) and continues throughout the morning. I hear "upwithyou, upwithyou" from Annie about 100 times. I decide after Tess's nap that we will bike to the park, start our day over, get in better moods, blah blah blah. In trying to get all kids ready, my bike falls on Annie. Not good. We finally get to the park, and there are no swings. They took them all down. NO SWINGS. We're playing on the playground, and I'm thinking, wow, Tess is so super-drooly, it's all over my skirt, and then I reach down, and then I look down....and discover that I am covered in poop. It's smeared all over my skirt, and my shirt, and my hand, oh, and Tess, too. So I give her a diaper wipe bath, in the grass, because I have nothing to lay her on, and do the best I can with my own self. Go back over to play area just in time to see Erin bite Annie on the arm. Hard. Annie screaming---Erin soon screaming because I take away her water and put her in a time out. We leave 5 minutes later, and I go to put my bike helmet on and the buckle is gone. I can't find it anywhere, and after looking for awhile, Tess is screaming her head off, adding to Erin, who is still crying and Annie, who is now just whimpering.....I give up and leave. So now I do not have a functioning bike helmet.

The bright side? Well, it's no longer morning. It's the afternoon, it's cool and rainy, and I have two happy kids playing in puddles and two snoozy girls snuggled in bed. I have had diet coke, and chocolate, and peace and quiet, and I can now see straight. And, most importantly, I no longer have to get dental impressions of all the children to find out who bit Annie the other day.

Erin, you've outed yourself.

sweet girl

"I'm gonna love you so much forever" is her new thing to say....to me, to Dan, to Tess.....I imagine grandma and grandpa have heard it once or twice, and maybe even Erin and Annie. I'm not much of a sap, but it pretty much makes me melt every time. This morning, as I was getting her ready for one of her last days of K3, combing ouchy tangles out of wet hair, she hugged me and said it.

That's a good start to my day.

good-night, tess

annie wins!

Annie has been climbing out of her crib for weeks now, but I insisted on leaving the rails up to at least present her with a challenge. Now that she's mastered it, though, it takes her about 3 seconds to throw herself over the side....not much of a challenge anymore....and I was getting tired of going back upstairs over and over (and over) to put her back in! So, the crib has been converted, and she is very, very, very proud to be a big girl bed-dweller.

(trained)

Kate is officially on two wheels. She announced on Sunday that she was ready for the training wheels to come off and hasn't looked back. We are so proud of her!

not so big, after all

This day, we probably put her back in her crib 6 times. She just kept jumping back out....wandering downstairs.....looking pleased and (slightly. appropriately.) scared. We finally decided that it wasn't worth putting her back in. Bad decision. This was her, on the couch by 5pm.....as you can imagine, the rest of the evening did. not. go. well.

Today, life like normal. An alarm going off at 4:45....another starting at 5 AM......four bright-eyed girls ready for the day at 6:00. Spilled milk at breakfast, naked toddlers refusing clothes, a tiff over a pink princess (that wasn't the purple princess). Life like normal....but a little different, a little better.....5 days away gave me a whole new appreciation for normal. I will admit there is a small part of me longing for another walk around Denver...another fabulous meal...one more undisturbed snuggle with Tess or (actual. long.) conversation with Dan. But I've got some great memories, and today I've got four sticky little kids in need of baths and attention, and I have to admit that I am one really happy, really content mama.

erin

"Tonight when I go to sleep I'm going to dream about our whole family being together again."

Us too, honey.

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