Flying by

Time is flying for sure.  At least around here it is.  So as moments turns to memories and days turn into months I am trying to remember  what Dr. Brown said this week about living in the "I have got to" and live in the "I get to" instead!

My little chubster is already 10 months old.  He's extremely active and since he's been crawling so much his chubby legs have slimmed down considerably.  He now fits in regular 12 month-old pants though they're still a bit long.  I am amazed by the differences between boys and girls.  I expected them, but am still amazed at seeing them come alive.  He makes boy noises:  he grunts playfully, he wrestles, he plays with cars and makes the corresponding noises.  My sweet boy is the happiest baby ever.  He stands alone, is cruising through the house and, although he wants to take off running (and seems to be quite ready to) he's still holding off the walking.  If he walks this month he'll be right on with Elena who walked at 10 months.   However, not being able to walk is not a deterrent because he climbs quite impressively.  He points to things of his interest, he plays peek a boo and is getting really good at finding daddy, and he will headbutt your mouth for a kiss.  Little Ben is a joyful, cuddly baby who is a joy to have.

My Adriana, my peanut.  She is still packing incredible amounts of passion and energy!  I think it is safe to say that my little focus head has finally overcome the potty battle.  What a sweet, sweet victory!!!  And as it was to be expected, with her victory came a release of energy and a lack of "vision" that has led her into all kinds of mischief these past few days.  She hasn't had any accidents since Wednesday, but since then she has colored her pants with marker, painted her fingers with a sharpie (black!), poured my most recently acquired nail polish into a bowl and made everything glittery in the process!  She has absolutely loved gymnastics and does it pretty well, her coach told us if we sign them on to the next session she can go in Elena's class.  Computer time and school time are fun things that she really wants to do and her level of patience has improved significantly.  She is learning to cut with scissors and loves it... so much so she's already cut her hair (just one strand, I was close enough to stop her!), and a beautiful filigree doily I have in the living room.  Her coloring is huge big blotches of color both author and mama are proud of each one of them.  She is growing so quickly and she has also outgrown coming to our bed in the middle of the night.  That is both sad and happy news... happy because with Little Ben being the baby, it was getting too crowded for four, but sad because it is another milestone in the growth of my little girl and this mom is sad to see the season go by so soon.  I love being her mom and I love that she is mama's girl.

My little performer, Elena.  She is such a little person now.  She now has an opinion about her clothes, well... she does have an opinion about pretty much everything!  She absolutely loves doing school work and it is such a delight to see her face lit up with understanding when she gets something or discovers something new.  She is constantly looking for rhyming words and asking how to spell everything even though she is still not reading.  I am so blessed with the honor of witnessing her discoveries first hand.  We went out on a Mommy date yesterday and she is so sweet and chatty, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this girl.  Her memory is really good... too good for this forgetful mom sometimes because she is remembering all sorts of things that she "wants for Christmas" and the list is getting ever more interesting as it now covers fashion too.  She is full of great ideas and doesn't hesitate to share them with the world.  Like her sister, she is enjoying gymnastics very much and especially thinks it exciting that she may soon be able to do the things her cousin Grace does.  It is amazing to see her increase her social needs and abilities, process things in her little mind and come up with her own little logic for life.  It is very enriching to continue to learn motherhood as she breaks the ice with the newest challenges and developments on her way to becoming a young lady.

Thanks for putting up with this update, I realize I probably needed to write it down more than anybody to read it, but I appreciate your time in learning about the little people in my life!