peanuts

I am in love with the ages of my kids right now and wish that I could freeze time. I love having a six year old who is on the brink of being a big kid, on the brink of learning big things, on the brink of showing me what scary responsibilities lie ahead for me as a mother. I love having a three year old that is old enough to say big words yet little enough to mispronounce them in her adorably cute little voice. I love having a one year old that makes my day with every kiss, every new word and every new mannerism. It is so bittersweet for me to love where they are now, while knowing how quickly time flies and how these days won't last forever. The days are long, the battles are many, the reality of the responsibility in raising them is often overwhelming, but being blessed enough to be their mom is worth every lost hour of sleep, every shred of my patience that's lost and every fear of what the future holds and who they will become. I love my little peanuts.

march madness

March has been a crazy, busy month for us....two big trips for Ryan and one golf event here that he hosted for a few days....and a stomach bug for the whole family in between.

We are in full swing now of Claire's physical therapy on tuesday and thursday mornings. It actually is so much fun for both of the girls....they are essentially in a big room with all new and different toys and balls and while Claire is playing in specific ways that are strengthening her muscles, Madeline is just running around going crazy! Claire is talking up a storm now and listening to her talk is by far my favorite part of the day....like when she walks around the house saying, "come on mommy" whenever she needs something :) She is so excited to be walking now and it's just so sweet to see how proud she is. She walks around the house saying, "I walk, I walk" over and over again. She refuses to let me carry her anymore (though it's often a battle because it's sooooo much easier for me to just pick her up!) so it takes us forever to get from point A to point B, but she is so proud and so happy to be walking that it's just too cute to resist.

Madeline just started gymnastics and she's not sure yet if she likes it "a little bit" or "a lot a bit", but her best friend Layla is there and that's really all that matters. As Madeline told me the other day, she is "a lipstick girl, a candy girl, a gum girl, a Jane girl and a Layla girl"....that pretty much sums it up....those five things are the loves of her life. She's still in her "down arms" phase and will only wear spaghetti straps....I am about to burn a certain orange dress that she has been wearing for the past three months. She'll spill food all over it, sleep in it and then insist on putting it on again the next day. I think everyone we know is sick of seeing it!

Em is loving being in Sparkles club with the girls from church and loves having that to look forward to after school. Last week, they met and had a tea party and made jewelry and took home a bag full of chocolate....just her style :) I can't believe how quickly she's learning how to read. She can pick up a book and read to her sisters...so cute. She's still obsessed with becoming a teacher and she tries so hard to teach Madeline everything she learns in school and doesn't quite get it when Mad's attention span is gone after the first two minutes. She's such a little mom with Claire....the relationship between them is precious. She jumps at the chance to get Claire a drink or snack or help putting her in her carseat, etc. If only she felt the same way about Madeline my days would be much smoother ;)
Ryan just left to go snowboarding today, so I've got a long week ahead of me. When he is out of town, I tend to keep my schedule completely full so that I don't have to think about how much I miss him. We've got an entire week of playdates, lunch dates and dinner dates to look forward to and hopefully it will seem like he's home in no time!