Catching Up

Clearly I have been slacking in my blogging for the past year.  My goal this year is to first get caught up again and then print the posts into books.  Then I will try to keep up with weekly or monthly posts.  That’s the goal anyway.  I don’t know that I have a good excuse for not blogging this past year. I guess having 4 children kindof kicks my butt most of the time.  Between keeping up with homework, book reports, cub scout requirements, reading with the kids, keeping up with laundry and housework, potty training, having David with a full time calling for 4 years as Elders Quorum President, my calling as Relief Society Activity Planning Committee, extra curricular activities for the kids and oh sleeping, the extra time  that I do have I don’t usually want to spend it thinking about the madness that was the previous day or week!! But for my sake of keeping a better journal of my kids lives I am going to try to do better. I really do love the blog and once I start I find it very hard to stop. I always say okay just one more post…Time just goes by way too fast and although some days seem to be never ending, years go by in a flash these days.  The thought that Parker will be starting Kindergarten in 2016 is really freaking me out. He is too little for all that! Maggie will be getting baptized this year, David will be in double digits and Elizabeth will be getting too much like a toddler and nothing like my little baby. 

People always said that once you get past the third child, it’s easy.  I thought people were mad and lying to me, but it turns out they are right! Somehow it was way harder having just 2 kids so long ago than the 4.  The fact that they entertain each other and the small things they do to help out that I just don’t think about is amazing. David and Maggie really are amazing helpers.  They know how to do so much.  David is always trying to help me cook and asking questions to figure out how it works. He’s got a few things that he has gotten great at making.  Maggie is loving helping in the kitchen as well. She loves to do dishes.  I have got to let go of my somewhat O.C.D. that I have about how the dishes go in the dishwasher and making sure they are actually clean enough to go into the dishwasher and let them learn more.  They are great at helping with laundry as well as picking up their rooms. Don’t get me wrong, I have to give some reminders, but they have actually learned how to put things away and not just sweep things under the bed and call it clean.  Parker has been in a particularly helpful mood these days as well. He comes into the room and says, “Mom, I help you?”  It’s adorable.  He has gotten really good at following directions and wanting to help.  Preschool has been amazing for him! He absolutely loves it. He gets to ride the bus and has the sweetest old man for a bus driver that just is so friendly and sweet to Parker.  He has come leaps and bounds with his speech. Still not where he should be, but he speaks in sentences and is a lot more intelligible than 6 months ago.  He is such a delight to be around.  Elizabeth is hilarious these days.  She is very happy most of the time, but when she gets sleepy you can tell almost immediately.  She will start picking on Parker and that is our cue to put her to bed sooner than later.  She loves going to bed! We tell her it is time to go night-night and she goes and tells everyone good night and waves good bye.  She then goes and sits to get her teeth brushed and goes happily into her bed. Most nights she looks relieved to be in her bed for some alone time.  Her and Maggie share a room downstairs next to our room and most nights, when Maggie goes in to go to bed we hear Lizzy saying hi to Maggie and then talking away about who knows what! It is so cute.  She is quite the bully.  She mostly targets Parker, but sometimes other kids get in her way too.  She is so bossy too.  Just today we asked Parker to go get his pajamas on and he was stalling.  Then Lizzy walks over to him and puts her hands on his back to start very gently pushing him the direction of the stairs and says, “ Go, Parker. Pajamas. Go!”  David and I just looked at each other in amazement that she could A. say that so well and B. be so dang bossy!! She is adorable and a lot of fun, but so much work. I forget how hard 18 month old kids are majority of the time.  She doesn’t like any kind of electronics or t.v., so you have to get creative to entertain her, especially when you are tired and just want to sit and do absolutely nothing!!

They are 4 amazing kids. Handfuls, but great! It is so much fun to watch them grow so much everyday and see what comes out of those mouths! Here’s to me doing a better job at keeping up with our everyday lives, so we can look back and laugh some day. Wish me luck!