Sunday, March 27, 2011

Kids

Lately I have been very focused on my daily routine. Wake up. Drink coffee. Shower. Get ready for work. Work. Get home. Fix dinner. Clean dishes. Clean children. (sometimes that order is reversed) Make coffee and set coffee maker for the next morning. Play with the kids. Give bottles. Put Miller to bed. Convince Sophie to eat more of her dinner before she can have a snack. Find a snack Sophie and I can agree upon. Take Sophie to bed or, if it's Roy's turn, enjoy the quiet on the couch until it's my turn to go in a scratch her back. Then, catch up on 30 minutes - 1 hour of TV. Go to bed. Fall asleep mid-chapter. Sleep. Repeat.

Sadly, if I deviate from this routine (or my Saturday clean-laundry-clean-laundry routine) things just seem to fall apart, leaving me more work for the following day.

It leaves little time for spontaneity.

This is just life right now, and it will get easier. And despite the frustrations that sometimes come from Sophie putting her new Cinderella crown into wet red paint she was just using and I being the one who gets the most aggravated by the consistent mess that plagues us, I have never been happier.

Here are just a few reasons why:
Miller turns 9 months today (say WHAT!?) and is just the cutest little bug that ever was. Our little Caterpillar isn't crawling, but he will sit for ages in the middle of the room, surrounded by toys, LOOKING. As a friend recently commented, "I don't think he blinks." His eyes are HUGE and he is just taking it all in.
He babbles constantly and loves to throw his body onto Roy or Riley and rough house. He is such a joy.

Sophie is an amazing big sister and we have really been enjoying the warm weather of late (though this morning there is snow. Go figure.) She bikes to school nearly every day and sometime this summer the training wheels will come off.
I think she uses a new word just about every day and is desperate to learn to read. She is very excited for Kindergarten. And she looooves to draw.
We've been outside so much already this year. Last year I was so pregnant I struggled to get out into the yard. This year, nothing has stopped us. Sophie will be an active participant in our kitchen garden and she is anxious to get out into the dirt.
Four has been somewhat of a struggle for me. She acts out when she's embarrassed, doesn't cooperate when we skype with my parents, and will revert to baby talk for long stretches at a time. I think she's also adjusting to a growing body - she falls down a lot.
But still, she is my darling little girl. She's very affectionate and loves to snuggle. She's also SO silly. Last night we went to Disney Princess on Ice with her cousin.Oh what a time those girls had!
And then there's this guy:
Riley turned 13 this month and asked for clothes - CLOTHES! - for his birthday. So we went shopping. He is such a great kid. He's an amazing big brother and is such a smart, funny kid. I'm so lucky to have him in my life.

We celebrated with the biggest pizza we could find.
Spring has sprung, despite the current lapse in reasoning that caused snow this March morning. More time spent in the dirt. My hunt for a porch swing continues. And my feet will get dirtier, my skin will get browner, and the long days in the hot sun are just around the corner. Oooh yes.

5 comments:

kclblogs said...

thanks! these are wonderful.

every time q sees a picture of miller, he insists that it's him. : )

Sara said...

Love your posts AM. Your kids are perfect in every way. Enjoy. It passes so fast.

Mary Bix said...

Thank you for this AnnaMarie - it makes me feel, if but for a short time, that I am THERE....with all of you.....

kristin said...

a beautiful glimpse.

with just a couple of tweaks, your schedule looks really familiar.

off to refill my coffee and hop in the shower...

Melissa said...

Wonderful kids, wonderful family. Always a joy to read your posts Anna!