Once, a long time ago - I did a post titled "He, She, We" where I talked about Austin, Lydia, then David & I. I thought that maybe I'd do a quick post like that about each of us, except I'd have to call it She, He, He, She, We.
My, how our little family has grown.
Lucy Holland
Often called, Lucy-lou, Lucy-love, or Lucy-goosey. She's starting to sit up like a champ and is just the sweetest girl you could ever imagine. She has a particular attachment to her Uncle Bruce who has been spending a lot of time with her (every Tuesday when we go and visit Cal and Sue and also many Saturdays working on our basement). She loves her siblings. She babbles while Lydia sings to her and sounds like she's singing right along with her. Austin can make her laugh more than anyone or anything else. She tolerates Caleb, which is so good because he adores her and is constantly in her face about something or other.
Caleb Samuel
My favorite thing to ask him is "How old are you?" because he usually thinks about it for just a second or so, then manages to hold his fingers up and says "I'm two!" He's just so pleased about being two. He also fully embraces his two-ness. He explores, makes messes, and appreciates the simple things of life. He has the biggest cheesiest grin and I love it and him, so much.
Austin Scott
He's been working on Upstart, a computer preschool, since August and he's really been enjoying it. His very favorite part is in the science section where he has tracked a chicken from an egg, through hatching, until it's full grown. He told his speech teacher all about it and made sure to give her reports (including pictures) of his chicken's progress. He is such a great little helper. The other day I asked for his help to bring the groceries inside from the car. He was so helpful in carrying things inside. I took Lucy upstairs to put her down for a nap before putting everything away and when I came down he and Caleb had put ALL the bags of things away. There were only a few things in the wrong spots (like Pillsbury biscuits in the pantry instead of the fridge). It was so kind of him and I was so grateful. He loves the simplest things. He saw this airplane fabric at the fabric store when we were shopping for fabric for a Christmas present and decided that he loved it. He talked about it every time we went back, but it's about $20 a yard. It was so sweet. (update: He ended up getting a yard of fabric from Grandma Peaden for Christmas. Not a blanket or anything, just fabric. It was one of his most prized gifts.) He's always creating and "inventing" things and talks about wanting to be a builder or a machine maker when he grows up and he's well on his way. Okay, last thing: The other day he asked David to make macaroni and cheese with him (He's a great chef). They cooked it up together then ate it together. Austin chatted to David the whole time and I looked over to see them, Austin explaining (in detail) a plot twist in a recent Wild Kratts tv episode. It was just so sweet to watch them. Austin is wonderful at this age. Big emotions, but immense love, and incredible learning and growing.
Lydia Elise
Her favorite color is brown because she loves dogs and a lot of dogs are brown. That's only the tiniest indication of how much she loves dogs. She fearlessly approaches dog owners while we are out and about and asks them what breed their dog is (first guessing herself what breed it is - usually she's right.) She's the best older sister, constantly taking care of Lucy, reading books to Caleb, and playing with Austin. Man, we are just so lucky to have her in our family. She sleeps all spread out, and frequently falls out of her bed. In the picture below, she is half out of her bed and still totally asleep. She is stubborn.stubborn.stubborn. But David's Grandma McAllister always said, "I'm not stubborn I'm just persistent." So she gets it from David, for sure. (Ha.) And I try to remember that she's smart and growing SO much and that her persistence will be a positive thing for her in her life. And for as stubborn as she can be, she is equal parts sweet. She made this sweet wall hanging for us for Christmas "Love in your home". The last picture wraps her up perfectly. "I am so happy. {dog picture}."
Us:
The "we" in this adventure. It's sometimes hard to believe that together we've created this family of four kids. In some ways our lives are completely different than they were ten years ago, but in other ways, things feel exactly the same. We still just love to be together more than anything else. Some things that we like to do together right now: -watching hallmark movies after our kids go to bed. -reading books and cuddling on the couch. -working together (working on our basement took ALL of our extra time through the fall and I'm SO glad that we took a break for the holidays, but even that is enjoyable when we are doing it together. David brings me home donuts from work, makes me laugh, rubs my back as I fall asleep every night while he reads his book or watches sports, (he rarely watches sports during the day because he wants to spend time with his family and saves it for after we are all asleep) encourages me to do my best, and makes me feel like a million bucks for doing the smallest things. As I was writing this, I realized that I could think of a hundred things that David does for me and barely any that are noteworthy that I do for him. I mentioned that to him and he said "You leave me treats on my shelf, you write nice notes to me, you make special dinners that you know I will like, you let me watch special sports games while you put the kids to bed, you laugh at my jokes." We have such a happy life together, and I think the key is that we are always trying to serve and love the other one (combined with ample amounts of thinking the best of them and being quick to apologize and quick to forgive). It's easy to give 100% to the other person when you know they are giving 100% right back to you. I'm just really glad that we are in this together. There's no one I'd rather be "US" with.
