Thursday, May 03, 2012

Looking forward to hindsight
I wonder when it is that I will forget enough about having small children that I will honestly say to young mothers; "Enjoy every minute!"  I have been told that many times lately, and depending on my mood I either want to laugh (because it is rather ridiculous to think that someone really believes that I should enjoy being bitten, scrubbing pee off of bathroom tiles, or listening to the same fight that has taken place 100 times before), cry (if it is one of those days where all of those things not only happen, but happen all at once), or just feel myself overwhelmed with guilt (because maybe I should actually enjoy those things and there is something wrong with me that I can't?).  Overall we are doing very well and looking forward to the summer break.  The kids are mostly quite entertaining and well behaved, and all have some pretty strong personalities.  So I enjoy MOST minutes... but don't quite think that I will every embrace each and every single moment, particularly those that involve bodily functions or whining.
We are gearing up for Holden's birthday next week- he is still a mover and a shaker.  He has really taken to adventure, and every unsupervised moment there is a good chance he is trying to find somewhere that he should not be (climbing stairs if someone has left the gate open, getting into kitchen cabinets if they are not locked, playing in the toilet, or pulling everything out of bathroom drawers, garbages, etc that he can get his hands into...) I am thankful for the watchful eyes of his sisters these days!
Mariel had a 6 year checkup a bit late, but was deemed to be in great health.  She is now 48 lbs and 47 inches, and quite a big girl.  I don't know if we have tall friends or what, but I did not realize that she was in the 90th percentile for height!
Noella seems to be thriving on her no-corn diet.  Her skin is in good shape and she has not told us that her tummy hurts in a while.  Our big accomplishment lately is that she no longer wears a diaper or pull up at naptime and she is VERY proud of herself (we announce this feat to strangers regularly).  She is also feeling quite possessive of the letter N these days and likes to find "her letter" wherever we go.
The girls have also been having fun with the iPhoto on my computer.  Here is one of Mariel's works of art: