This Week

• I'm ready for Spring (go away, snow showers that are threatening tonight)
• My kids got a new baby cousin...a girl, finally, for my sister, Alexis!
• We re-arranged the furniture in our room - a fresh look never hurts
• Baby S cannot be stopped.  She is one mean rollin' machine
• Miss M cannot be stopped either.  She dances around the dinner table until she is finally motivated to finish to get her dessert.  
• Miss M has a new favorite past time - taking her little chair and pulling it right up to the buffet with the mirror on top.  She stands on the chair that gets her to the perfect height where she can watch herself in the mirror - she is such a girl.  She brushes her hair there, sings herself songs there, dances there, you name it.
• Mr. A participated in a rite of passage - he got to watch the "original" Star Wars with his dad - just like his dad did when he was 5.  I'm not sure who was more excited.  
• I have much to be grateful for. 

Babies

I'm in that phase of life right now where I feel like I am constantly in some kind of "baby" mode.  Baby feeding, diapering, napping, rolling, scooting, growing, gummy smiling, drooling, spitting, noise-making, cooing, laughing, singing, reading, changing, grabbing, gnawing, sitting, drinking, playing, observing, etc, etc.

Because of that baby mode, I do a lot of thinking about what comes next for that baby.  How do I best help her to grow, learn, feel challenged, discover passions, explore the world, speak kindly, treat others with respect, be independent, yet still rely on me?  All sorts of questions.  And, then I realize that I shouldn't worry so much about all of that because moments like this one (the one above) are fleeting and should be lived in now.

Love you, Baby S.  Thanks for making us all smile so big and so bright.

Followers

Miss M has a steady stream of little male admirers that like to "dote" on her in Nursery class each Sunday.  Most often we hear about each one on the way home. "Mom!  Henry Smith push me in my Nursery class." or   "Mom!  Freddie hit me in my Nursery class!" or "Mom!  Ben take my fruit snack in my Nursery class!"  She's learning about the crazy things boys do to get the girls' attention at a very early age.

This past Sunday, apparently, she'd had enough.  Freddie had decided that he was going to follow Miss M around the whole class.  His mom is the Nursery leader and she reported that Miss M had some conditions for the follower:

"Miss Amy, dat's ok por preddy to pollow me, but I not kiss him."  (Miss M says p's for her f's)

That's my girl.  Way to play hard to get, Miss M (seen here on the far right)!