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:

Here is our baby walking.  The video is sideways (and I am refusing to buy the Apple upgrade that would let me edit it), but you get the point!  He is having a good time walking around the house, chasing the dogs, and going up and down stairs.

Holden is 11 months old!

Likes:

• Crackers
• Yogurt
• Remote controls
• Walking
• Dogs
• Cats (which are also called dogs)
• Miss Mandy, his favorite "teacher" at school
• Biting
• Taking everything out of drawers that he can open, off of counters and tables that he can reach, and pulling on electrical cords
• Throwing things into or out of the bathtub
• Peek a Boo

Dislikes:

• Sitting still
• Sleeping all night
• Being told "no"
• Diaper changing

The Best and The Worst

 The best part of the day: 

Mariel FINALLY lost her first tooth.  We are all looking forward to the tooth fairy visiting tonight. Patrick and I were quite shocked when she came out of the bathroom after dinner announcing "I pulled out my tooth!" Since absolutely looses control and freaks out at the thought of a splinter or tweezers or any minor medical intervention, this was very brave of her. She said that her friends at school told her what to do.  

The worst part of the day: 

Noella and I saw this morning that Hudson's ear was puffy. By the time I took Mariel to school it was swollen to the size of a water balloon, with her entire ear filled with fluid.  I had visions of coming home to a house covered with whatever comes out if a dog's ear explodes, and so cancelled my first class to take Hudson to the vet.  She had an aural hematoma, and with the severity of it the only real option was surgery (you can google it if you want some very gross pictures).  Doesn't everyone love an emergency dog ear surgery?  No?  How about 30 days of an Elizabethan collar?  I don't think Hudson is going to be happy about this.  I am not!

Happy Easter

(and 6th birthday, 10 month celebration, and Spring Break...)

A brief catch up:

We went on spring break to the Florida Keys in March.  It also happened to be Mariel's 6th birthday and Holden's 10 month milestone on March 10th. This has set a rather dangerous precedent, as Mariel has emphatically been telling everyone that we "went to the sea" for her birthday.  I wonder what she will expect next year!  We were blessed to be joined by both sets of grandparents and Aunt Carla.  Having extra family on vacation meant lots of fun, no cooking or dishes for me to wash, and a few meals of free babysitting when Patrick and I could sneak out for a dinner on our own.  Not bad!  

My biggest surprise- Holden actually seemed to know what to do with the sand.  He played with sand toys and did not really even consider scooping it into his mouth.  What a baby genius.

 Mariel, queen of the ocean.  (and fish, and slime, and sand, and shells...)

 Noella loved exploring, but most of all spending time with her "flamily."

 Holden loved the water- and his sisters loved helping him explore (Grandma is hiding back there, too)

If only every night ended like this...

We celebrated Holden's first Easter today, although he did not get to go to church with the girls and me and also did not seem to notice his Easter gifts.  Maybe he was disappointed that the Easter bunny did not bring him any of the fabulous corn-free candy that the girls got?

 The kids did all have coordinating outfits (at one point early today) but could not sit still for the 1/50th of a second that my camera needs to take a focused picture.

We had the 2012 Easter Egg hunt this year with Freddie and Aidan.  Lucky for the kids, Patrick and I spent yesterday afternoon doing yard work so they did not have to dig through weeds to find their Easter eggs!

 Let the hunt begin!

 Hooray for candy!

 I even caught the two sisters sharing- without prompting, threatening, or a bribe!

 And here is a shot of little Miss Attitude, who has spent that past two weeks sticking her tongue out at everyone she sees.  Sigh.