2017

Happy New Year! I am still getting used to the idea that it is 2017. Wow. The year sounds too futuristic to be here (I still think back to Back to the Future 2 when Michael J Fox travels forward 30 years to 2015). My baby girl turns 8 (!) next week. Even worse, I turn 40 in May. Everyone is growing up. My babies are no longer babies. Our family dynamic falls into a new category: busy with school and activities; no naps to work around; no need to leave the babysitter a laundry list of notes on how to put my kids to bed; and with the exception of Brayden, who still needs help getting dressed, brushing teeth, and wiping his bottom, my children are self-sufficient. I can feel time slipping through my fingers. I dread the night when I go to bed and cannot go in their rooms and kiss their three sweet heads.

As I go through my daily routine (which is still utter chaos), I think of all the things I want to document about the kids, yet I rarely have the time to sit down and do it. So, here is a hodge podge list of things that my babes are doing these days that keep me smiling...

1. Brayden can be the sweetest, most adoring little boy one minute ("Mommy, I love you more than all the train tracks and all the switch pieces.") and a little terror the next ("Mean Mommy! I don't want you to be my Mommy ever again!"). The other day, Brayden was furious with me when I would not let him roam up and down the escalators at Nordstrom by himself. He told me in the car that I had broken his heart into a million little pieces.
2. Matty is such a little sports enthusiast. He is just like his father. Tonight, Tommy took Matty over to a friend's to watch the College National Championship football game, and I wish I could have captured his eyes light up when I asked if he wanted to go. He felt so important to go with Daddy while the other kids stayed home with me.
3. Matty refuses to wear a coat. Or pants. His preferred attire is sports shorts, a t-shirt, and long socks. Maybe a sweatshirt if it is 20 degrees out.
4. Taylor still craves one-on-one time with me. She loves when the two of us can talk about girl stuff. She is generally happy to do anything with me as long as I can give her my one-on-one attention while doing it.
5. There are moments when all three kids play together peacefully, and it is heavenly. Recently, they have been playing a game where two of the kids act like dogs (and wear ribbons around their waists as leashes) and the third is the owner. They call the game Romeo (B), Max (Matty) and Emery (Taylor). It is a crack up to watch them play.
6. Brayden is still obsessed with trains. He came with me today to volunteer in the library for Matty's class. He knows exactly where the train books are in the school library. He checked a book out, and we read it immediately upon our return home.
7. Matty and Taylor are becoming iPad addicts. They love to play games or watch Netflix shows. Time to lay some ground rules about screen time.
8. The other night, Matty and I were talking about when he was a baby. He kept asking me questions and grew really quiet. When I looked at him a few minutes later, I could tell he wanted to cry. I gave him a huge hug and he started sobbing into my sleeve. My sensitive boy was sad that he is growing up. Oh, how I love his sweet soul!
9. Taylor is generally over the princess phase and loves playing with her American Girl dolls. Her favorite thing to do is play school with them. She transforms her bedroom in to a classroom. I am always impressed with her creativity as she works to find a proper chair and desk for each doll. There are shreds of paper and pencils and crayons everywhere.

I hesitate to say this, but life is getting easier with three kids. We are finding our groove. In fact, Tommy and I have discussed getting rid of our mini-van and buying an SUV. You have no idea how excited I am at this prospect.

Everyone is healthy. We are blessed beyond measure. Life is good. We are so very lucky.