cup of joe: how am I so behind?

Apparently, having a few things to do during the week is enough to make me feel swamped and by the time the kiddos are in bed and the kitchen is cleaned up, I sit down with zero motivation to actually completely anything.

It's not the worst, but it's definitely not the best.

Kaylee is hilarious. And has apparently hit a "I want Momma and ONLY Momma" phase- ugh- again, and I am just trying to wade through it. She also is struggling with the concept of naps lasting longer than half an hour, so I am figuring out how to entertain her and encourage her sisters to play with her so I can get things done without hauling her 30 pound tushy all over the place. But as a result of that, I have a much stronger left arm AND a pinched nerve in my neck that makes my shoulder super sore, so there's that. She is trying so hard to keep up with her sisters, and wants to be in the middle of everything they do. My current favorite thing ever is that Lily has taught Emma and Kaylee how to skip and they all will skip around the house, clapping. And by skipping, I mean quick and jerky movements that look nothing like skipping. Kaylee is a little motor mouth. The other two were barely saying 10 words by their 2nd birthday, and Kaylee is speaking in multiple word phrases, which is so much fun. I love it.

Story: she isn't a huge fan of cows up close, though she gets very excited about them from a distance still, and tonight, she randomly started to get really upset and not let me put her down because, "cows, get me!," "Kaylee scared," etc. It was odd, we definitely don't have any cows, we weren't discussing them or looking at pictures, it was completely out of the blue. And then after she'd been asleep for awhile, I heard her crying. I tend to tell people that my girls' dreams wake them up, because I really think that's the case: they aren't fully awake, just take some re-assurance and cuddles and they're back to sound sleeping. Anyway, I went in and Kaylee was crying, "get me, get me," so I reached for her and told her that nothing was going to get her. I cuddled her a few minutes, telling her that she was safe and nothing would get her, and she said, "ok," and then started giggling and said, "silly, that's silly." So we both laughed over that for a minute and I laid her down, telling her she was fine, and she kept right on giggling, saying, "silly." Those silly cows. It makes the rough times worth it when I can forget them in the sweet and fun moments.

Emma. Oh my Emma. So sweet, so gentle and funny. She absolutely lights up when Kaylee wakes up in the morning or after a nap, will give everyone hugs- whether she actually knows them or not- and still has the quickest and most wonderful laugh ever. And...on the flip side, because you knew it was coming...she can be SO upset and a little snot. She is going through this thing where she's discovered she can push her sisters's buttons...so she will intentionally annoy and pester, and when I correct, she will give me the nastiest little face ever and say, "NO." Actually, that has been happening less, so I may be getting through to her. But plenty of chats, discipline and sharp correction have been happening over here, because that's just unacceptable. She loves doing everything Lily is doing, and loves to be with her sisters. She doesn't like to pick up when I ask her to take care of her own toys or clothes, but if I ask her to help me clean up the kitchen, or help me clean the bathroom, or any other household chore, she jumps up and is ready help in the blink of an eye. Emma is my helper, and loves to sing and repeat things that she's picking up on from Lily's schooling. Her favorites so far are to tell you the classification of living things and the fall of Rome, because who doesn't love talking about that?

Lily is at such a fun age. As of right now, 5 is my favorite age. It helps that she is absolutely brilliant and observant, obviously. She is having so much fun in ballet and school. Oh I could go on and on and on about that. We are thrilled. I know Emma and Kaylee will not learn the same way that she does, and that is absolutely fine, but she has such a quick memory! It's fun to see her do so well. She is learning to read and how to add, and even though she doesn't actually realize she's doing it, Lily is also doing simple subtraction. I've know for awhile that she's sensitive, but I'm starting to see new sides of that sensitivity, and while she loves to be in the spotlight, is very hesitant if she thinks that people will laugh at her. I'm not sure where that came from. I asked her at one point to share some of her schoolwork with family and she clammed right up. She later told me she was afraid that they would all laugh at her, which they absolutely would not have done, as I told her. We'll figure it out, it can be difficult to have a full conversation with a person who doesn't understand feelings and words too well.

Jesse and I are doing well! We recently were able to (FINALLY) take up archery! I have wanted to have my own bow since middle school, and Jesse finally decided on an acceptable one for me and I love it. It's so much fun and I even hit the target, which is super impressive for me since I have zero hand-eye coordination. I had other things I wanted to talk about but they're forgotten now. This was just to quickly catch up, I really want to try and add some other pictures eventually, but here are a few recent ones...oh life, it sure keeps me busy and doesn't slow down.