in a nutshell

Wow. I did not realize time could fly so quickly. Everyone says the older you get, the faster time flies and it is so true. I don't want it to fly any faster though. So maybe I should just stop here. Stay 24 forever. Keep my babies as babies forever. Hmmm, if only it were possible.

Stephen and I are happily insane. Well, maybe it's only half of the time that we are insane... Our kids keep us this way. You see, kids bring this balance of ultimate joy and love and sheer chaos and insanity. One moment they play together quietly in their room, skip down the hall to give you a kiss and say they love you and the next moment they are yelling at you from the other end of the house while kicking and screaming because their arm is stuck in the neck-hole of that dress that must go on or because one sister took the toy that the other wanted to play with.

Pear will be 4 in February. She loves to dance and sing. She loves to dress up, have her hair fixed, go shopping and pretty much do anything girly. I caught her shopping on Gap.com the other day. I must have left my browser open and sure enough she managed to find the girl clothes and was sitting at the computer shopping. Yep, that's my girl! She is currently learning to read and is doing very well. She can read short stories and I find her reading words and signs when we're out and about. Other than her daily reading lesson, we don't have a whole lot of structure to her schooling yet. We are just using everyday life and situations to encourage learning. Pear loves to color pictures and she makes the most adorable, alien looking Backholm family. She colors a picture for Stephen to take to work almost every day. He's taken one or two and put them on his office walls but I'm afraid she might be disappointed if we go and visit him and she doesn't see all 50 of them. Pear is continuing to grow in kindness and gentleness. She loves her siblings and will often greet Jovie with a hug after Jovie wakes from her nap.

Speaking of Jovie, this little 2-year-old girl is a kick. Her most spoken phrase is "I'm hunger mommy." She never tires of eating. In her mind, she runs just as fast and jumps just as high as her big sister. Jovie is Pear's little sidekick and they will play and play and play. Jovie loves her little brother tremendously. Unfortunately, sometimes she expresses that love in ways that aren't as enjoyable for him. She has a certain obsession for Pike's binky. Jovie hasn't had a binky since she was 1 but ever since Pike came along, she has to have it. Not in her mouth, not to suck on, simply to have it in her control and hold it. Jovie will hear Pike waking from his nap crying and she'll run in the bedroom, grab his binky through the crib slats and run back out of the room with it leaving Pike awake and crying longing for the said binky.

Pike, our biggest blessing this year, is probably close to the best baby I could have asked for. He is always happy and content. He likes to snuggle and give me kisses. He loves to go for car rides. Ahhh, a breath of fresh air! He has made life so much more fun and I am so thankful for him. He loves to laugh and play. He loves to roll across the room. He is a momma's boy but he is much more friendly to others than either of the girls have been.