A Walk in the Woods

Every now and again the urge to get outside hits me. I love to walk but not so much around the neighborhood. If I am going to take a walk I prefer an unpaved trail to a cemented sidewalk. It really isn't the type of path that is important but rather the scenery through which the path passes that I am most interested in. I am thankful that we live not far at all from some really wonderful trails. The kids don't let me go for as long as I would like, but when you are a Mom you take what you can get. True?

This was a lovely Fall day and the weather was glorious. I love seeing my four littles ahead of me. I also love the glorious colors that the Lord puts on display during this time of year. I simply cannot get enough of it.

We know someone who is fully color blind- he only sees shades of white, black and grey. I never felt so keenly the blessing of seeing the beauty of color as I did this year reflecting on that fact that not everyone gets to see what I see.

Back to the woods. 

Another thing I enjoy about walking on a trail is that the kids run ahead of me looking for different treasures. On this particular path a ways in there start to appear white, wooden owls on the trees. It becomes a fun game of who can spot the next owl around the bend. On this particular trip Isaiah spotted this gem.

 

He has a good eye, that one. And in a valiant effort I tried to get a decent picture of all four of the kids together. Here is a sample of that attempt. :) Enjoy & Blessings.

 

 

Poop-tastic

Oh, he’s cute alright. A little sweetie pie. That is until you get him into the tub. I’ve had bathtub poopers but this one is the champion. I can count on one hand, between both girls, the number of times they went in the bathtub. Isaiah, well he was a little more relaxed, shall we say, in his bathing habits. But Zeke? Lord, give me patience! I mean the kid doesn’t even need the water in the tub. The tub will have just been drained and he’ll squat and go.

Every one has their limits, right? A few weeks ago I had reached mine. I put him in the tub and within 5 minutes we’ve got company. I just wasn’t having any of it. Drained the tub, removed the offending party and promptly let Zeke know it was shower time. : ) Under the shower he goes and we are out of the bathroom with no further incidents.

Turns out I gave him a little bit of complex with that shower. The next time I mentioned bath my bath loving son cried. Oh dear, what have I done?

A little more time has passed and he is back to his bath loving self. I will say he hasn’t returned to his poop-tastic ways. Yet.

Looks Can be Deceiving

He is a handsome little devil, I know. I am rather smitten with this little guy. {I get such a kick out of the way my boys’ cross their feet and their legs!} He is mostly a dear sweet boy…except for when meal time rolls around. If we hadn’t gone through this same song and dance routine 3 times already I might take things personally. He’ll eat everything he can- so long as it is a ‘snack’. You put food on a plate and set Littlest Man up to the table and suddenly the food becomes undesirable. How he thrives we’ll never know.

That is why I was a bit baffled to know he put his little hand up into my dish of raw, thawing chicken legs and then proceeded to lick it. Who knows what he thought was in the dish. Knowing he did this is seriously disgusting and a little disturbing. I am guessing it was the hope of what might have been in there that lured him.

The ironic part? He wouldn’t touch the chicken once it was cooked and put on his plate for dinner. : ) Go figure.

{Beloved was the one who caught Little Man in the act. He squawked at Zeke and then brought him quickly up to the sink where he cleaned his hands and tried to wipe out his mouth. I am happy and super thankful to report Zeke suffered no ill effects from his curiosity.}

Wishing for Sweet Slumber

A few mornings ago I was in the kitchen cutting watermelon only to come out and find this exhausted little man curled up and fast asleep. He was smack dab in the middle of the others doing their thing and it hadn’t mattered. He was done for.

He had woken up quite early for him (5:30ish) and hadn’t slept super well the night before. I was going to wake him up after only an hour so that he would still take an afternoon nap, but when I went to do so he was sleeping so hard I left him be. Three hours later he roused himself. He has been battling a cold that just is hanging on tight and I know that all the rest he can get is precious and only aids in him getting better. (No, no afternoon nap was forthcoming after that marathon morning nap. : ))

I wish I could say it is only Zeke that has been depriving me of sleep in the middle of the night. He isn’t the main culprit. His next oldest sister, oh mercy, can she scream in the night. I can’t explain it but Katie has become terrorized by things in the last 6 months or so that didn’t bother her before. And as with most things involving small children there is no logic to her terrors, no trigger either, they have appeared almost out of nowhere.

The terror that is affecting sleep is her terror of The Train. We live a hop, skip and a jump from some railroad tracks. Have all her short life. Trains come through during the day and night. When the operator lays on that horn…that is it. She comes running for me. And in the night she comes screaming down the stairs. I wake hearing her and The Train simultaneously and leap from bed to meet her halfway. Thankfully all she needs for me is to hold her until The Train has completely passed by and we can no longer hear it.

It used to be that the operators working through the middle of the night would ding the bell more so than lay on the horn because, I don’t know, with the traffic lights programmed to shift to flashing reds and yellows at 11 p.m. it is safe to say not many people are out. It doesn’t seem to be a shared philosophy with the current operators. They lay on that horn something fierce.

I have tried to take away her nap (it has been coming, this just sped up the time table) in order to have her go to sleep more exhausted and hopefully less easily awakened. It works sometimes and others not so much. On particularly rough nights when she pleads with me to sleep with her, I do. I have a rough time of it and now I only give in if, after putting her back to bed after a Train episode, she returns because she can’t sleep.

Thankfully she cuddles into my back and doesn’t thrash around too much. And her bed is on the lower bunk. : )

Like all things…this too shall pass. Let’s make it soon, ok?

Something New

Oh dear. I fear we have entered a new phase in parenting we were blessed to have avoided this long. This past weekend while we were visiting my in-laws Zeke took a fall. I didn’t witness the actual tumble, just its aftermath. We can only surmise that our littlest man fell and hit the edge of the coffee table.

He had a small gash on his lip but it was a bit wide. I will say that is the most I have ever seen one of my children bleed! My mother-in-law saw the cut and felt he would definitely need stitches. No one has had to have them thus far so I was clueless. We went to the walk-in clinic near their house and being a Saturday, it was rather hoppin’. To my surprise we were checked-in and then a medical assistant came out and said they would prefer we went elsewhere! Another first, being turned away from a clinic before the doctor even sees you. The doctor said they would rather we went to the emergency room to have him looked at.

I have to tell you that at this point I am wondering if this cut is serious enough to warrant stitches or action of any kind. Zeke was all smiles, had eaten some food, was running around smiling and his cut had stopped bleeding. I will saw it wasn’t scabbing over or showing any sign of starting to scab.

Anyhow, we went to the nearest children’s hospital. When the triage nurse was looking him over I had to ask her if this kind of trip to the emergency room was really necessary for his cut. She assured me it was…because his little gash had gone over the line of his skin onto his actual lip area.

To make this long enough story come to an end I’ll tell you the little guy received three stitches. He was such a champ through the entire day. It was close to 5 hours after he actually fell that the stitches were put in. In all that time he was a gem. We laughed and played and snuggled. The tears and wails were only heard the first 10 minutes after the fall and the last 10 minutes when they were stitching him up.

This parenting deal leaves no room for dull moments, does it?

Fluke?

Last night I put all the kids to bed in the usual fashion. Zeke has been having some sleeping issues here of late and my patience with him in this area is waning. Thus when I put him in his crib last night and moments later he started in on the fussing (something he didn’t do prior to last week) I didn’t think much of it.

In the midst of hearing the fuss and picking up the living room (I know, delegate it to those who made the mess.) my mom called. We were chatting for a few minutes and Zeke wasn’t quieting down so I decided to go up. As I hit the landing there was my littlest son wailing in the dark.

I didn’t hear a thump. I promise you I didn’t.

How in the world did my child, whom I am 100% confident I placed within the confines of his crib, manage to get out?

I pray this is a fluke and not to become the norm around here. If this becomes the norm let’s just say bunk beds are most definitely in Zeke’s very near future. I try to keep them in their cribs until they are at least two…but there is always the exception to the rule.

I really am hoping (desperately praying) he’ll be content in his crib.

For now I’ll just be thankful that after checking him out last night I didn’t see any red marks or bumps and today no bruises appeared. Perhaps his nickname should be Little Houdini?

Tell me it won’t be so!

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

This boy is Trouble- with a capitol T! Just look at that naughty grin. You know that is the look he is giving me all the while listening to me tell him, “No, no Zeke. Get off the table please.” (I’m sure it doesn’t help that Little Miss was trying to put Isaiah’s Luigi mustache on from Halloween.)

The reason this one is so much Trouble…he is quiet. Too quiet.

I wish I could tell you of all the mishaps that occur around here that I only stumble upon after the fact. Our main living area where we are gated in together is fairly compact so how I miss his escapades as they are happening in real time is only because he does his naughtiness is silence. He’s a ninja. : ) (You know like on Electric Company- “Silent E is a ninja.” Only he’s not an E, but he is silent and thus he is like a ninja.)

An example you ask? No problem. So the little monster comes by me to get a little lovin’ and I see he is soaked. His legs, his belly, his feet. Immediately I think he has been in the shower (many a time this is true). I shrug it off (it’s only taken me a dozen or more times going through this to get over being truly annoyed) and get him changed. Half an hour or so later I come upon a mess in the corner near the couch. What really happened was he had taken his daddy’s water glass, left there from the night before, and spilled it all over the floor and his graham cracker. Nice. So much better than sitting in shower water.

I’m telling you the kid is QUIET. He has definitely learned a thing or two from those who have come before him. He’s watched them (Katie) get caught in the action being all loud and stuff. Un-uh, there’ll be none of that for him thank-you-so-much.

And the bookshelf clearing? Oh, don’t get me started! It is like he romps from one side of the house to other clearing shelves. And I know you are thinking, how does he do that quietly? (I think the trick here is that there is plenty of background noise he can hide behind. Smart kid that he is, he uses it to his advantage. And my detriment.)

He’s a ninja, stealth-like and up to no good. Man, oh man I am in a real fix with #4. Just tell me- why does he have to be so cute?

Before and After

This little man has been needing a haircut for some time. I don’t think this pictures does any justice to just how shaggy and long his locks had truly gotten. I was thinking he didn’t look half bad when I saw this picture. I guess for us when your boy wakes up with some serious scary bed hair you have passed the point of needing a hair cut and it becomes a must.

I put it off and put it off because I cut it myself and frankly the last time was a bit exasperating and exhausting. Well, I belted him into his seat to watch a movie with the other kids and figured there was no better time so I went to it. He really did well as a result of the distraction. Now he looks like my littlest biggest man. Something about taking an inch or so off makes Zeke look older. Such a cutie pa-tooty.

Nothing New Under the Sun

Some things run like clock work around here. The development of an infant to a walker somewhere close to 2 weeks, give or take, of their first birthday. And then from a walker to a climber a few short months later. It just seems to be the natural progression of things around here.

I remember when Katie wrecked havoc on my days with her new found freedom. This season it is Zeke.

Like the others he is quick to get up on something. The table is his favorite haunt. He can pull himself up on the chair (not enough friction to stop his belly from sliding across the top of the chair as he pulls) and from there it is nothing to get to the table top. He sits up there like he is royalty.

I wish I could say this sitting on tables only occurred at home. He kept me on my toes at a recent visit to a friend’s house by climbing up and sitting on her table and then proceeding to throw crayons one by one! Oh dear.

It shouldn’t amaze me or catch me by surprise, how they have each gone through this stage, and yet it still does. Maybe it is a form of hope? A crazy denial of what is sure to come? A sanity saver so the child does indeed make it to and past this certain stage? I cannot safely say anything other than he is quick and I am slow. Oh, too slow Joe! (Let’s not keep track of the number of times he has successfully made it to the top of the table, okay?)

A Boy Thing?

This sleeping in crazy positions…is it a boy thing?

I’ve seen the girls’ sleep in dramatic positions (arm flung over the head as if in distress) but nothing fancy like these boys’! Aren’t they sweet when they sleep?

It Happens Whenever…

we leave home. There must be something lacking in the water at home, I tell you, because BIG things change when we leave here.

There was the time we took a trip to Vermont a few weeks shy of Kiersten’s first birthday and she walked. (It might have had a little something to do with the fact 2 boxer dogs were running to and fro and if she didn’t get a move on she was going to get squished!)

Then there was the time we took a trip out of Colorado when Isaiah was just over 2 years old and lost his binks (a.k.a pacifier) at the hotel. He didn’t even know he was missing it. When we got home we did a quick search and threw away any remaining ones. Out of site out of mind, as they say. : )

When we were out and about in North Carolina before Katie turned one she took a few steps and was walking in no time once we returned home.

Zeke, not one to be left out, has followed suite after his siblings. We took a trip up North to see my Grandparents. Prior to leaving he had managed to take 2 steps in succession a time or two. Once we were there however he managed to get a grip on his sea legs and make some progress. He crossed rooms and was able to get himself up off the floor to standing without any aid from furniture or unsuspecting nearby legs.

He’s a champ. : )

You can see for yourself his unsteady, cowboy looking strut.

Zeke Walks from Jess on Vimeo.

This is the beginning of the end of all things baby in the house. (And I can cry if I want to!)

June was…

a bit crazy. There was the week long dance marathon. We had my mom’s, my dad’s and Katie’s birthday (Grandpa’s is in there too!). Then there was Father’s Day…to celebrate for 3 set’s of Dads’. A family birthday party for Katie. A joint birthday party for Katie and Ezekiel celebrated with a few more family members. We also wrapped up our school year and began swim lessons!

Oh, did I mention all this happened within a span of 14 or so days?

The month felt a bit like a whirl wind with me always 2 steps behind. A planner I am not. A good organized person? Not so much.

Needless to say from the aforementioned activities there was much cake consumption in the month of June (and early July).

As always we have a immediate family only celebration on the actual day of birth. This is usually when the homemade cake is enjoyed.

And how could you not let the littlest man have his own taste?

He was as quiet as a church mouse and busy as a bee. : ) What can I say? The frosting was killer!

We had another party a few days later celebrating with some additional family members and some friends for both Katie and Ezekiel’s birthday’s. Their birthday’s are just about 2 weeks apart and it is hard to get everyone together twice in that short of a time. So rather than have one left out we made a two-for-one party! : ) (Saved me a second sad attempt at getting the house picked up and clean. I still haven’t dusted!!!)

For the bigger party Katie picked out this cake. : ) What a nut.

We grabbed some cupcakes for Zeke and put a lone candle on it. One year old…(almost here)

Good times and a whirlwind of a month. My how the summer flies. I long for it to slow down a little sometimes, this time away from school, but it seems to go all the faster. Well, we will do our best to enjoy the time we have and not lament that things go all too fast! : )

Singing in the Rain

Alright, so they weren’t singing in the rain. They were playing in the rain.

We had a rare nice rain the other day. It was the straight down kind. No wind blowing and no lightening. The ideal Spring rain to go play in, if you are the type who is inclined to play in rain. (Me? Not so much. I’ve gotten to be an old fuddy duddy!)

The neighbor’s boys were outside and Kiersten made a comment to the effect they were lucky getting to play out in the rain. I simply told her if she wanted to play in the rain too, get out there. Oh, her face! The shock, disbelief…a display of emotions all of which said she wasn’t buying what I wasn’t even trying to sell.

‘You’re kidding!” she said. (This is a catch phrase for her. We hear it often.)

“Certainly not,” I replied. “If you want to go play out in the rain, go on out.”

“We need our swimsuits.” (She is seeing other neighbor kids join the fray and they have their swimsuits on.)

“Not necessary. Just head on outside and play in the rain.”

She, Isaiah and the Katie girl made their way outside to the front where a may lay of children had congregated and were enjoying themselves. There was dancing, puddle splashing, umbrellas (or as Katie says – gumbrellas) appearing and much chit chatting.

There was also this one watching from the inside. It isn’t all its cracked up to be being the youngest sometimes. Awk. His time will come. He just needs to wait his turn! : )

What is it…

about the dishwasher that attracts all little people like magnets? Especially those who crawl?

Each one of my kids has climbed on/in the dishwasher. Zeke is at the stage where when he sees it is open he speeds up the crawl to get to it. He likes to fiddle faddle with the silverware (dirty or clean- he’s not picky) and get up on it.

Case in point.

You should see how he gets that little knee up on the edge. He is quick I tell you, quick.

We’ll have to curb this little habit soon as I am confident he does not have enough is his piggy bank to cover the cost of a new dishwasher! : )

The funny thing is I know my mom has pictures of me when I was little doing the very same thing on my grandparents dishwasher! (At least if memory serves me right she does…but I am losing my touch so I could be wrong!)

El Destructo

At a certain age we have called all our children this simply for the fact when you look where they have been it looks like the path of a tornado. : )

They take out everything of interest as well as tear down anything that is built. It is mass destruction- thus Zeke is now El Destructo (not that some of his older siblings are much better).

Here you can see how the older two were playing a game of Life. Then Zeke ambled along and well….

It is rather difficult to play when the wheel is ‘no longer in service!’

Fortunately for him he is still little and cute.

Just look at that face- doesn’t that spell trouble to you?

Zeke is getting to be such the biggest, littlest man. He crawls all over the place with a love for the two bookshelves and the bathroom. He uses the rocker (a glimpse of it there in the background) as a walker. He is getting bolder in letting go of furniture and taking a few minutes to stand on his own. He has figured out how to scale the stairs and can do so in just about 60 seconds.

He is still sporting only his two bottom teeth – definitely making him the slowest teether of the four. Zeke has been introduced to dear old Sippy cup, but he hasn’t yet figured out how to use it. He loves graham crackers and crackers in general. He also prefers his feet to be bare, giggling whenever I remove socks. Oh, and he has had TWO haircuts thus far in his 10 month life. I cannot say that for any of the previous three.

Not sure how I moved from him being a destructor to an overall report on him! It had to be looking at the sweet pictures (taken several weeks ago already) and thinking on all that he can do and all that has changed. He is such a sweetie boy- although that picture of his naughty face reminds me a little too much of his closest sister! (Worried, definitely worried.)

Face Painting

I would have to say Zeke ranks up there with messy eaters. Oh, they’ve all had their moments, I mean what baby is a neat and tidy eater?

This is Zeke doing a little touch up on himself.

Face painting ah natural!

I would like to say this was an isolated incident, but well….

I would be lying! : )

If only he didn't look so cute (and happy) doing it!

 I will say those dimples make me want to smother him with kisses….but that will have to wait until I wipe him up!

Two Cute

A little over a month ago my Mom and her Beloved came to visit us. When she comes the older two tend to spend a few nights away with Grandpa and Grandma at the hotel. Thus the younger two get some quality time together. : )

 Here are a few shots of them hanging out ....

(Can you tell she had been saying, "CHEESE!" in that picture above?)

Aren't they just two cute? Yeah, I think so too. : )

Thievery

I didn’t think that was what I was doing. It isn’t something I meant to do intentionally in my parenting, but apparently I am raising a pack of thieves. Alright, that is a slight exaggeration. Four is a pack. A steady group of two children, with an occasional third thrown in cannot really be classified as a pack.

What pray tell has been stolen? And who are the culprits?

My sleep, it is my sleep that has been stolen. It seems over the last month or so two children in particular are out to steal, kill and destroy any opportunity I might have for a full night’s uninterrupted sleep. It is uncanny I tell you. If I were the suspicious type I would swear there is some sort of conspiracy going on among the children. Perhaps even a coup (to overthrow this parenthood thing). The only problem is the two children mainly involved are the youngest and I am not sure how much communication can be going back and forth between them seeing as Zeke doesn’t speak!

All I can say is their master plan to break me down little by little is working.

Katie and Ezekiel are running me roughshod through the middle of most nights. The uncanny part I mentioned? They never do it on the same night. There is some understanding between them over whose turn it is and each has followed the rules. There is no sharing or too many sequential nights of the same offender. You know, so they’ll still reap the benefit of a full nights sleep themselves every now and again.

What is going on with them? I wish I knew so I could make it stop. Katie wakes up in the middle of the night and comes down to our bed. What wakes her up? No idea. Getting her back to sleep without some production and serious noise (from protesting) is almost an art form. It usually requires that I slip into her bed and remain there until she is asleep or until I hear some grumbling from Zeke. Can I just state for the record she is a fiddle faddler, a real squiggle worm? Some nights she has even lain awake playing, because why isn’t 3-4am a good time to play? And those nights? Oh, how I could cry, scream, have me a good ‘ol tantrum throwing session.

Zeke’s issue – gas pains? I can only fathom because it isn’t a hunger issue. I am not feeding him at any point in the night if he cries out. I am mainly there pounding on his little hinder (instead of rubbing his back) until he gets comfortable enough to fall asleep. Every now and again a little ‘stinky’ escapes and he relaxes. These little sessions can last a few moments to an hour or so and are frequent. It is rarely just one trip I make up those stairs, but rather one every hour or so.

I have to tell you my behavior mirrors theirs when they have little sleep. I am cranky, prone to fits and just down right disagreeable! Dear me, I know it will pass, I do. But knowing doesn’t make the walking it any easier or my disposition any more pleasant. I am working on it, definitely working on it.

Why is it the young run as fast as they can away from sleep and as you get older (or become a parent) you want to run towards it? Those little people don’t know how good they have it.

picture source

Rollie Pollie Baby

These last few weeks have brought some milestones of sorts to the house.

The Zeke-monster is now 6 months old. He decided a week prior to the 6 month mark that he was hungry…wanted to start eating more than just milk. We obliged him and gave him his first taste of cereal. He couldn’t get enough! His little mouth was open and waiting and he was gulping! (If babies can gulp runny cereal.) That 1 tablespoon didn’t seem to satisfy him so he is eating one serving of 2 tablespoons worth of the solid (or not so solid…depending how you see it) cereal each day. That hasn’t alleviated our sleep issues as of yet though. He might already be displaying signs of a hollow leg! : )



Zeke has also turned into our rollie pollie baby. Oh, he could role front to back and then back to front but he has discovered he could do more than one at a time allowing him to steamroll around the living room.  He also puts himself up on his hands and knees. You can be sure where you left him you will not find him. You can also be sure that if he rolls to some object that said object will be chewed on, slobbered on and made into his own teething device.

Speaking of teeth…well, I suppose there really is nothing to speak of. When Zeke started chewing and slobbering at the end of month 3 we, or rather I, was fairly confident he was going to be an early teeth-er like his brother. Not so much.  Here we are 3 months later, he still chews and slobbers on everything in site and not a tooth has popped through. What a tease those teeth are!



Lastly I have cut the apron strings.  Zeke now sleeps solely in the crib in his room. I had been slowly moving that way but hadn’t taken the plunge and left him there overnight. He was being a bit fussy after a late night snack so instead of letting him make a ruckus and disturb Dad I took him upstairs. This was an impromptu move and leaving him there was super hard. I cannot tell you the number of times I checked him before I finally feel asleep. It wasn’t a sound sleep mind you, but it was sleep nonetheless! The rest, is as they say, history.

There is never a dull moment around here…change is always just around the corner. More of the other munchkins another day!

"He's so Fweet!"

That is a direct quote from Katie. It is something she has been saying since the day Zeke arrived in our lives. And I have to say I agree with her whole heartedly!

Ezekiel is a joy and truly a sweet baby. He isn’t much of a crier except when hungry, getting beyond himself with tiredness or when his drawers are in need of refreshing. Those few things only amount to a very few short bouts of crying each day. I couldn’t be more thankful that he is such a good baby.

It doesn’t hurt that he is adorable in all his little self!

Would you just get a look at the adorable grin? How is one to resist someone so bright eyed with a rock star smile and dimples? It just isn’t possible.

Zeke has turned out to be quite the cooer. He does it in the softest of voices with a little half grin on his face. Oh, he holds conversations with me here and there but he has these marathon discussions with his Father. Must be some man talk that I just wouldn’t understand and therefore he feels he must confide such things to Dad. : ) Here he is just a talking away.

And he is on the brink of letting out the belly laughter. There have been a few teasers in there. It is like when you turn the key in the ignition of your car and you can tell it wants to turn over but it isn’t fully starting up. That is exactly how his little giggle thing is. You can tell he is working up to the laugh but he isn’t quite ready to let it out.

So how do the others feel about him?

Well, it is no lie that Katie is smitten with him. He is her, “Baby Brudder.” She seeks the two of us out and when she sees him it is, “Hi Zeke-ie!” She gives him kisses and lovin’ and if his binks (pacifier) is sitting somewhere she brings it to you and tries to put it in his mouth (even if he is nursing just then). She is a riot where Zeke is concerned and will be his great defender and friend as time passes by. It is refreshing to have her be this way as Kiersten was less than thrilled with Isaiah as a baby and Isaiah is just passive about babies and new family members in general.

I guess that answers how Isaiah is taking to him. He isn’t. Just like with Katie he isn’t mean or nice to Zeke. He kind of acts like he isn’t really there and just goes about his business same as before he came. I don’t know if you would exactly call it ignoring the baby or just indifferent. Time will tell how the two will end up interacting with one another. I hope they’ll be buddies and that he’ll take Zeke under his wing as they older.

And Kiersten, well, she definitely loves him. She likes holding him and talking to him. Now that he smiles she is out to win every smile for herself that she can. Zeke seems only too happy to oblige her need for lovin’ with smiling at her. She also wants to have him ‘talk’ to her as he does to Mom and Dad and tries for that just as hard as she does for the smiles. When Zeke first came home Kiersten described him as a “cup of cuteness”. Suffice it to say she still feels that way.

Beloved? He adores the little guy. As I mentioned they have their ‘man talks’ and then he knows full well I don’t get near the smiles and such that he does. That puffs him up a bit…and warms his heart in all the right places. I think there is something there for him too, knowing that this is to be our last baby, that makes him different this time around. Things we had rushed through before or simply taken for granted are being seen and time is marked. This stage will pass all too quickly so both he and I are enjoying and soaking it in as best we can.

My little clan of 4 complete now with this ‘fweet’ little boy!