Welcome back! (Maybe)

Oh I laugh and laugh when I think of all the times that I was like, "Hey, I can work full time and be a mom and wife and still have a life and update my blog -like everyday!- so that I won't miss a thing and can put it all in a book!"  Such ambition I had!

Well, life has taken over.  Our family of four has turned into a family of five (Hello, Emily Elizabeth!), Robby and I both have landed our "right now dream jobs" and things are just trucking along.

Emily joined our family on August 8, 2014, at 5:27 pm, weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and 19.69 inches long.  This little butterball has brightened our lives in so many ways!  Not only do we have the joy of watching her grow and learn and getting to know her, we get to watch now 4 year-old Hailey transition into a big sister (and she is fabulous at it!) and be amazed by how responsible Abigail truly is at age 6.

I have enjoyed looking back and reading about my kids and the funny things they have said or done or what milestones they have reached at certain ages, so I want my first blog back to be about that.

Emily Elizabeth:  4 months old, loves to smile and giggle at Mommy's funny noises, is ticklish on her sides and LOVES to be held.  She has just recently discovered that sometimes she gets put down...and that if she cries she will get picked back up...and she is certainly using that knowledge to her advantage.  December 9 was the first time to hear her laugh, and it was a day that I needed to hear it.  I say that she is my light because I think that ever since my dad passed away I was living in a sort of darkness that I didn't even realize I was in, and it wasn't until she was born that I was able to start pushing the darkness away.  Don't get me wrong, I still laughed and played with my kids and enjoyed life and work, but I didn't realize how much I was holding back...that maybe I wasn't giving all I had to life because I was sad.  Kind of hard to describe, and I'm still working through it now, but that's not what I want to focus on.  I want to talk about the happiness that is Emily.

She can roll tummy to back and just got a jumperoo for Christmas.  She can touch the ground and can kind of bounce, but definitely hasn't gotten the hang of it yet.  She wears size 3-6 months or 6 months clothes (and some hand-me-downs are size 9 months), and size 2 diapers.  She went with me to Hailey's 4 year checkup appt on Dec 22 and I weighed her, too --- 14 lbs 12 oz.  Yay!  She has so many leg rolls and I just eat them up.  She is sooooo adorable.  Also!  She has just started saying the "mmmmm" sound a lot, so I am working really hard to get her to say Mama!  It was both Abigail and Hailey's first word (at barely 6 months and nearly 7 months, respectively), so I am hoping for the same around Valentine's Day!  So far, she has only had rice cereal a handful of times, and doesn't seem to enjoy it, but also doesn't hate it, so I guess that is a good thing!

Hailey Kay: At 4 years old, Hailey is still as joyful as ever.  She is funny and laughs and giggles and is so caring and intuitive that it sometimes catches me off-guard. She has a sensitive heart, but is brave on the outside.  She doesn't let new people in her little world of happiness until she decides that she wants to open up, and after that, she is fiercely loyal, even in her own little four year old world.  She likes to run and run and run, and play babies, and take care of animals and explore things.  I love that she is a problem solver and a go-getter.  At her awards ceremony last May 2014 (when she was three and a half), she got the Honest Abe award and it fits her.  She is honest and, like a reporter, keeps Mommy and Daddy updated on what everyone else in the house is doing.  She LOVES to be Mommy's helper; we cook together, and clean together, and sort laundry together, and when I give Emily a bath, she gives her baby doll Miranda a bath, and I love love love every minute of this time.  When I was on maternity leave, I would bring Hailey to school half way through the day because we had spent all morning just playing and lounging and enjoying each other.  One day, we chased a beautiful, full, double rainbow just because we could.  It's one of my favorite memories.

She can write her name and my name (Mom) by herself, and with a little help, she can even write "Dad." She draws people with heads and faces and bodies, and arms and legs, and just started drawing eye lashes ("only for girls") and hair and hands.  I love to watch her drawing develop.  I think she is a pretty good colorer (is that a word?) and she loves to write me notes and leave them for me to find.  She is a good big sister, and a curious little sister (she loves to do everything with Abby), but will only respond if you call her the Middle Sister.  She takes that job seriously!  We missed getting her ears pierced right at her birthday last month, so she got them done last week.  She picked out rainbow flowers, because that's the type of girl she is.  Colorful and beautiful.

Abigail Reese: My 6 year old has grown into a lovely young girl.  She is kind, sweet, thoughtful, and respectful, but also has a streak of independence that makes a mama proud.  She is excelling in kindergarten this year, reading and doing math above grade level, and has just started showing me that she can do mental math with simple addition and subtraction.  I am uber impressed.  She learns things like a sponge, and is a natural learner -- very curious and eager to find out new information.  What I admire most about Abigail is her ability to consider other people in almost every situation.  She is always thinking of others, and while I could tell you a million instances to illustrate this point, they're so numerous and commonplace that none stand out at the same time that all of them stand out because I have to remind myself that she is SIX and showing consideration that some adults still don't have.  She is wise beyond her years, and I enjoy learning with and teaching her.  She reminds me to look for the simple things in life and that it isn't about worldly possessions.  Life is about people and love and relationships.

She likes to read and and snuggle and touch (her Love Language is definitely touch!) and do art and loves tending to animals.  She and Robby do millions of art projects together, and I love that they have that in common.  She is a Daddy's girl right now and I am thankful that they have that relationship.  Robby has a good relationship with all of his daughters, but right now, as Emily and Hailey gravitate towards me, she is getting good Daddy-Abby time.

I make sure to take each of my girls out for one on one time (Mommy-Abby or Mommy-Hailey time we call it) because, as a working Mom, I always feel like I could be doing more with them.  I want them to know that I value each of them as individual people with individual talents, as well as what they bring to our family.  I love the way they interact with each other, but sometimes I just want them to be free to grow and explore and have time to do things without their sisters around.  I want them to be as comfortable as an independent individual as they are when we are all together.  It is important for me to raise girls who are confident in themselves and who they are.  Robby also takes them out one-on-one or just the big girls or in whatever combination because he knows that girls need their daddy.  Plus, he loves it because he can be a big kid again and go see all the fun movies or play around on the playground or ride bikes with them.

Well, this blog post is completely ridiculous because it is mostly stream of consciousness and nothing like an English major should ever publish.  But you know what?  I'm going to publish it anyway.  :)  Goodbye one of my perfectionist tendencies!  In the words of Sweet Mama Brown, "A'int nobody got time for that!"  Especially not with three kids and husband and a full time job and a joyful, busy, happy life.