Our kids

After our playdate with the Bouceks, I thought that it might be good to write an update on all the kiddos after I realized that Ella is 3 months old today. I don't know how to answer the question "What is life like with 3 kids?". My answer is often vague and I start off on another tangent because I forget what the question was. I only know how to describe my kids, vastly different as they are, and how they fit perfectly into our family puzzle.

Julia: 4 years old and ready to do all things adult if we let her. My relationship with her can be very hard or "frustrating" as she would say. We are so much alike that we end up arguing most of the time. Especially over eating sweets and wanting to wear a dress everyday. I am not looking forward to her teenage years, but I am relying on Mike to help me through. She will openly say, "Momma, you are not my friend. Daddy is." But as difficult as we are on one another, I hold so much admiration for her in my heart that sometimes it feels like it could burst. I admire her moxy, her humor, her brilliance, her persistence, her creativity and most of all her forgiving and generous nature. She is currently in preschool and next year she will be going to Transitional Kindergarten. She loves anything girly (once in Sephora I wasn't paying attention and she loaded my basket with tons of eyeshadow and lipstick testers), arts and crafts, playing on the computer and her Barbie dolls. However Frankie and T.D. (her elephants) are still #1.

Cazin: 2 years old and confirming what all child rearing books say about toddler boys. What I once classified as easy-going, I now define as just didn't know enough to care. Now that a whole new world of words, sentences and abilities has opened up, Cazin has strong likes and dislikes. And he is not afraid to turn into an amoeba that cries and screams if he is not ready to go. I thought we were going to sail through toddler-hood in easy waters, but I was wrong. Like everything else, he does it in his own time. Whether it be walking, talking or entering the "terrible two's." He is all boy, rough and tumble. He can be stubborn as a mule and sensitive as skin. He is our early riser like a rooster waking up the farm. He loves his momma dearly, has THE best laugh, is great at physical comedy and is so affectionate and cuddly. When he is doing something that he loves, he is content for hours. Having a bad day? Ask Cazin for a hug. He has a passion for books, puzzles, food and TV. He also has a pal, Ali ("A-wee" as Cazin says) the alligator and his blankie.

Ella: 3 months old and precious, precious, precious. Even though she is the newest member of the family, when I look her into her eyes I feel like I am looking at my pal, my old friend. She is such a good, easy baby. I cannot say that enough. Her adorable cooing melts my heart. When laying on her belly she can push up with both arms and sometimes roll to her back. She does not like the pacifier, but prefers to suck on her thumb/fist. She is starting to sleep through the night (fingers crossed!!!). Sometimes when Ella cries she sounds like a woodland creature. Though brother and sister can have a screaming match near her or fight over her, she just smiles or sleeps through it. She is an accommodating child. Julia and Cazin's demeanors as infants have followed them through time and if the same holds true for Ella, then she will be a content child, the one who doesn't complain. She loves breastmilk and being held, though she doesn't demand it.

What a blessing these 3 little wonders are that God has entrusted us with to raise and guide!