Tuesday, May 3

the last month of babydom...

Look! I'm finally getting around to posting Easter pictures. But probably only because it's better than the alternative (washing dishes). The Easter Bunny got a little smarter this year and brought very little candy (about 20 small jelly beans per kid), one dollar, and toys to keep them active.
At our house the Easter Bunny hides the kids baskets




Jeremy took these pictures of the kids while I was still upstairs getting ready for church, and when I looked at them later I felt a sense of accomplishment. I thought to myself, while looking at the picture of the three of them, "This is what I do!" That might not make much sense, but sometimes as a mother it's hard to measure what you do all day, or to see the products of your efforts. But when I look at them in that picture, I see it. I raise happy, well adjusted, well behaved, good children. That's what I do, and it's no small task. And if you do that too, give yourself a pat on the back. Or order your own Mother's Day gift, like I did yesterday.

In other sad news, yesterday this guy was officially 11 months old.

Which means today he's older than 11 months. Oh dear.

To celebrate, yesterday he spent the morning climbing up and coming back down the first two stairs. But sometimes he would only climb up one stair and come back down; then, not realizing he was already on the ground level, he would stick his leg out behind him feeling for the next stair to come down. It was very cute.

He has recently discovered that when he covers his ears the world sounds different. So he spends a good portion of the day looking like this (minus the yogurt on his chin):

I'm also beginning to suspect that he will be more mischievous than my other two (which really wouldn't be hard to do), but it's hard to tell when they are only one because at this age they get into everything. Just a few minutes ago he found where I keep the kids crayon bags, which is really exciting to him because he loves nothing more than to chew on crayons. So when I saw he had found them and was holding a crayon in his mouth I said, "NO!". He smiled and saw me coming towards him so he quickly "ran" back to the crayon bag to grab another one before I could get to him. It was very obvious that that was what he was trying to do. But he's also so good-natured that he doesn't even get upset when I take the crayons away and close off his access to them. Either that or he's thinking, "Oh, I'll find a way back. Just you wait."

He walks anywhere and everywhere--though his gait is a little weird. He doesn't bend his knees much and he swings his legs out to the side and to the front of him in a small circle. He looks more like a lumbering giant than a little baby, probably because he has a huge tummy that precedes the rest of his body wherever he goes.

He is still the most pleasant baby to have around. I never (or almost rarely) think, "Oh great, Ryan is up from a nap, let the work begin." He is pretty self-entertaining, he isn't very demanding, and everything he does is the cutest thing ever, so who wouldn't want that around? He is a blessing in my life, one of the many that I'm sure I don't deserve but have been given anyway.

5 comments:

Shelise said...

Oh My Gosh!!! I SO love Alexis' dress.... and her hair. How adorable! And I love how the boys match her. And yes, I agree, you are a wonderful mother and you do so much for those kids.

Cindy said...

I ditto Shelise's comment. What cute kids, cute outfits, and what a wonderful mom! You deserve a huge pat on the back!!! Alexis' hair looks so cute----it was worth all the tears! You are amazing in my eyes!

Lindsey said...

Alexis is ADORABLE!! Oh I can't believe how big your family is getting. Cute, cute, cute!

Becky said...

I cannot believe how old Alexis looks in these pictures. She is absolutely gorgeous!

The Shill Spill said...

I just caught up with your Blog entries Lisa, and I must tell you that you never cease to amaze me with your talent of writing, updating, and keeping us all entertained. I absolutely love reading your blog! Good work. Oh, by the way, "Because" is a reasonable reason for me, but not for Jake. He always tells me: "Because is not a reason!" I always have to expound when he gives me that answer, because I HATED it when my parents said that to me. Good thing, for Jake, I am willing to do so...or he might be crying a lot more than normal at our house. Love the projects! Love the pictures! Love the "raise your hand"! Love it all...including you! Thank you for your work and example!