...where to begin...

The baby is sleeping in my room right now (oh, did I forget to blog that she was born? oops!). My boys are at my parents' house. I should be packing boxes (we're moving!) or cleaning (it's a freaking pig-sty up in here), but I'm just too entranced by the idea of sitting in a quiet house to do anything else.

I'm sure you could have imagined that our house has been the embodiment of chaos for months. Jared is traveling three to four nights per week, and he has been since the baby was a little over six weeks old. I'm so thankful for the job, the livelihood, the provision...I am less than thankful for the long, hot days of three little kids under my roof. Pre-school started a few weeks ago, so at least that has been saving my sanity. Well, that and parents who are usually amenable to the kids and I coming over a few evenings a week.

My little people are growing and changing more than I can even say. Henry is in Pre-K this year. He is so very bright and articulate, and he loves his school and friends there. I am proud of everything about him and how far he has come since beginning school last year. He is engaged to be married (hehehe) to a little girl in his class, and he regularly comes home with stories of their fun and adventure. Today, in fact, he got in trouble for punching another boy who was threatening to hit his girl. He told me, "mommy, sorry I hit L, but I had to protect H!" So it begins. He is curious about every detail of the world around him, and you can keep his attention for hours explaining how things work or what specific words mean. About a month ago, he realized that he could draw a face...then a man...and since then, he's delighted in time to draw and color. Before this, he's arguable hated coloring, because it frustrated him to not be able to draw whatever thing he intended to draw. He is active and busy and often mischievous, and he's also always brimming with love, care, and kindness. I could write a book about the way he is with his baby sister - maybe the most beautiful relationship I've ever seen come into being.

James is sweet and feisty, as his age would probably give away (2 1/2). I put him into one-day-a-week MDO this year, so he's off to that on Mondays. I was really on the fence about sending him, but after seeing him in his little class, I'm so happy I did. Not to mention, it's a wonderful opportunity for me and the baby to have some time alone together. Jamesies loves his teachers and friends, like Henry, but he especially loves the structured play of MDO. He enjoys stations and a schedule and knowing what to expect next, and he tells me all about it for at least one hour straight after I pick him up. We have known for a long time that James is our music kid, and that is even more apparent now that he has a true outlet for it. He remembers so many of the songs they sing, and he's constantly singing or dancing around our house now. Even more than the music, his favorite part of the day is naptime! I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, but my little nap-giver-upper goes right down onto his nap mat (and falls asleep in seconds!). They turn off the lights and play sweet sleepy songs for the kids, and he seriously looks like he's in heaven. He still has his long(ish) curly hair and impossibly sweet babyface, but his body is becoming more lean and big-boyish all the time. He loves any toy that we put in front of him, blowing his nose by himself, trying new foods (this is SO new to us, because H is super picky), "privacy" when on the potty, and his daddy.

Emerson Elizabeth was born on May 10, 2012, at 2:03 p.m., weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. She came into this world with a head full of dark hair and wide, watchful eyes that have since turned blue. She goes back and forth between looking like Henry then like James, and I think I've decided she's just a perfect mix of the two. Her personality is as perfectly precious as she is, and I count it one of my life's greatest blessings to have her as my own. She loves her family (especially her brothers), having her hair brushed, sleeping swaddled, and squawking at anyone who passes by and doesn't pay her enough attention. :)

Jared and I are trying to make the most of the insanity. With him gone so much, we both know how important it is to make the days at home count -- for our whole family and for just the two of us. So, we do. We joyfully celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary last month, and at dinner that night, we promised to slow it the eff down for the next five years. Well, after we get into the new house of course. That's really the biggest thing going on right now. After three years and two babies, we decided we had outgrown our home and began the search for a new place. We closed on the new house last Friday, and we will officially move in on Tuesday of next week. I will probably post pictures one day, but for now, just know that we found a fantastic home for our babies to spend their childhoods. It's in Kingwood, and it's exactly what we were looking for.

Okay, kids, that's about all the catching up I can do for one evening. Since I began this post, the boys came home, everyone got a bath and put to bed, and I've cleaned the kitchen...so it's been a few hours start to finish. I hope to be back more often than once every 8 months, but I'm not making any promises yet.   

the biggest brother

Henry, my getting-way-too-grown-up-for-my-liking 3 1/2 year old.

You know how, sometimes, your my kids are acting like heathens and running rough-shod all over you me and there's not a snowball's chance in hell you'd I'd try to take their picture? Well, you I used to try, despite the chaos...but after enough stink-eyes, ugly faces, and blood-pressure jumps, you've I've learned.

To capture my babies' best faces (or, not their worst ones anyway), I've gotta wait. I've gotta work for it. I've gotta have my bribes at the ready.

In this case, he was already in a glowing mood (James had just been put to bed...no further explanation necessary), and I told him that if he made a nice smile for my camera, I'd tickle him to smithereens afterwards.

See, everybody wins.