I'm Back!

Wow! I struggle more with the guilt of not keeping up with this blog than anything else. And I have a lot that I should feel more guilty about!!  But, every day, month (year!) that goes by without a post on this dear ol'  blog truly feels like time lost in space, forgotten forever. I have the worst memory, and also a common mommy malady that prevents me from printing our family pictures and placing them in albums. These are serious afflictions, especially the second one. And as the keeper of our family memories, I feel like I've created a gaping hole in our collective history. Who knows? Maybe I'll have seamlessly filled in the gaps through the magic of date-altering on Blogger, and everyone will say, "What gaping hole?!" For now, though, I'm sorry, Mary and Luke! I promise you've had a lot of fun and were really cute this last year, but  you may or may not have been responsible for my lack of posts during your babyhood and toddlerhood. Babies 5 and 6 have pushed me over the edge.

Yep, look who's a full-fledged toddler now! Sniff.

Okay, enough with the guilt. What I really want is for the kids to be able to look back and read about what they were like when they were little. We have two coffee table books of this blog that Matt so dutifully had printed. They serve as fun reading material for Megan, Bridget, Tessa and Annie, who all love looking back at pictures of themselves, and of course laughing hysterically at little stories in which they are the main characters. I love that they have these books to snuggle up with and read, but I also feel sooo guilty at the same time!  So here we go....

Mary, if nothing else is written about your second and third year, know that you were an absolute dream. Seriously, the easiest toddler ever!! Sure, you've had a meltdown here and there, like the time you threw such a tantrum about going to sleep that I put you in a time-out outside on Grandma and Grandpa's porch...in the dark...during our transition between houses...more on that later. I think any reasonable person would be susceptible to a tantrum under those circumstances, and most especially a tantrum-prone two-year-old! But, you always immediately and sincerely apologize. You are just so naturally cooperative and easy to please. I love the way you go to sleep telling me exactly what you want to eat the next morning (a bowl of Rice Krispies with no milk please, a sippy cup of apple juice and a little orange), and wake up eager to be my buddy for the day.

While you love to be by my side during the most mundane activities. from grocery shopping to blogging, you are also such a little angel about playing by yourself. You can entertain yourself for hours and aomehow not make a mess. You get dressed by yourself and "read books" for long stretches on your own as well. I will so, so miss you when you're off at preschool next year! Right now, you are under the desk drawing a picture of me. Actually, you were....now you're doing my hair. And Luke is draped across my lap, knocked out from nursing. Life is good!!

But, speaking of drawing, you drew this a few days ago. Suddenly, you can draw, at 3 1/2!! This is titled "Mary."

You spent the better part of your third year wearing your "work shirt," which is really an "I Love NY" shirt. This shirt, according to you, perfectly matched your purple, pink and white striped leggings ("White matches white, Mommy!") I'm sure most people who witnessed this ensemble did not realize you had a closet full of cute outfits that you could have been wearing instead. But, your mommy figures you have years and years of wearing an (albeit adorable!) uniform ahead of you, and if you want to wear your "work shirt" every day until then, I'll let you! Battles...I pick them!

And Luke, what can I say? I'm sure you know you're adored by those five sisters of yours! You go to them (almost) as willingly as you go to Mommy and Daddy, and they know just how to make you happy. They will lovingly sit and read the same story over and over to you, preferably "The Lady With the Alligator Purse" or "I Know a Rhino." Sometimes they are even better little mommies than I am, like the time Bridget suggested we give you a bath in the kitchen sink while I was making tacos (and you were being fussy...I know, you would never, right?). Genius! She even fetched everything you needed and happily cleaned up the lake you created on the kitchen floor. This same sister also plucks you out of our bed in the morning and gets you settled with a sippy cup of milk and a breakfast snack. She also gets me a cup of coffee, but I'll save those details for another post. It might be titled "Bridget: Surviving and Even Thriving After Ages 5-6." It might even be a book, and it would be a doozy. I'm so glad we made it to see the light of age 7 with her. She's a delight now....most of the time...but especially when taking care of you!

And they will gladly upturn an entire bag of soft blocks over your head to hear you squeal with delight, knowing that I will undoubtedly ask them (okay, maybe yell at them) to pick up those same blocks in an hour. That's love, little guy!

I've told anyone that will listen to my drivel that bringing a newborn home with 6-year-old girl and a 7-year-old girl is pretty perfect. Awesome, in fact. Life is hectic with six kids seven and under, but your first year was so much smoother with my very willing helpers, always available to hold you while I prepped dinner, or read to the twins, or help little girls in the shower. Now that you are 16 months old, they have been hefting you onto their little hips like a seasoned mother for months now. In fact, at 26 pounds, you weigh more than half what Bridget weighs, but she happily manages the task of carrying you, especially after school, when she's happier to see you than anyone else. They even relish the opportunity to push the stroller when they can. I do draw the line at diaper duty though. I figure that might scar them forever, and more importantly, I may never have grandchildren!

Even 3-year-olds can help with you! You two are quite the pair.

I hope this will be the start of some regular blogging, and that I can keep some momentum and do some damage control with that gaping hole I've got here!