Monkey name

Today, Olive found a small stuffed monkey in one of her toy bins. I can't remember where it came from and neither can she. I asked her what she wanted to name it and without even thinking, she said, "His name is Honkitonk".

What?

How does she even know that word? And why would you name a monkey Honkitonk??

And then she proceeded to tell me that Honkitonk is a 6 year old monkey, but when he was younger, his name was Leaf Collection.

OK, kiddo. OK.

In case you were wondering...

This blog has turned into a place where I write things down that I want to remember - whether that's just a moment, a quote, or a larger time of life. I think of this as a place to keep track of memories I want the girls to hear about.

But in case you were wondering...we're not perfect. Life is not always beautiful and easy around here. Sometimes it's loud. There are tantrums, screaming, talking back, and many frustrations every day.

There are times I wish and wish and wish for a mute button, or a privacy window in the car like I've seen in limos. It's behind the driver and in front of the passengers. I picture myself pushing the window button on the car door and that window slowly going up behind me, silencing whatever is happening in the back seat.

We live a real life. We rush to get out of the house in the morning, Olive cries over silly (to me) things, we all get frustrated at bed time. There are battles over

eating

clothing

bathing

sleeping

show watching

helping.

But all it takes for me to remind myself to take a deep breath and thank my lucky stars for a sassy, back-talking kiddo, is to go to work and see first hand what so many parents deal with

every second of every day

with their child.

We are lucky enough to experience typical.

I'll take it.

Sister-Friends

Holy cow, we're lucky!

Sleepy

Mae still gets up at night to nurse. Usually twice. Sometimes more, never less.

As tired as I am at those middle of the night hours, every once in a while I remember to appreciate this quiet and cozy time with my girl that I know won't last forever.

Her eyelids will flutter, she'll open her eyes briefly and look up at me. Just making sure Momma is still there.

Yup.

I'm here, baby.

Welcome to this world

One of the best moments of my life, right here:

Not sure why it took me 6 months to post this. But here it is.

It's as great as I remembered it.

Fo(u)r You

Dear Olive,

Today you turn 4 years old! I can't believe that my little baby, my firstborn, is four. Four seems so different than the other ages you've turned. Four is the age of a kid. There is no baby left in you anymore.

I feel like I've spent much of your life feeling protective of you. Your sensitive little self. My little worrier. So, so thoughtful. You are the most empathetic child I've ever known. My hackles really go up when someone is rude to you or hurts you in any way. You are so innocent and sweet. You truly can't comprehend why someone would be mean. It would never cross your mind to hit someone or otherwise hurt people in any way.

When you cried constantly as an infant I was exhausted by it, but I also spent every second of every day trying to find things that made you happy, trying to comfort you. You wouldn't let anyone except for me or Daddy hold you or even look at you. You really made people feel like they earned your love. Now that we know you, we know that you are one discerning kiddo. You have to fully trust people before you let them in.

You are so unique. Unlike other children your age in so many ways. Incredibly smart and intuitive. You love to be helpful and you follow rules better than some adults.

You remember everything and every detail. You will sometimes ask me about something we did or saw many months earlier. Something that seemed insignificant and not at all memorable to me, you remember. Like what shoes you were wearing when we test drove a certain car. You remember that.

This last year you became a sister and watching you in that role has brought me such joy. At the end of my pregnancy with Mae I had a lot of guilty feelings. I worried about you not being the only child anymore, that I was somehow doing you a disservice by having another baby. Boy was I wrong. You are the absolute best sister Mae could have. She is so lucky. You are so helpful with her and so sweet. You call her "sweetheart" when she cries and love her an incredible amount. You always seem to know how to make her smile. She is happiest when you are near.

I am enjoying watching you grow up and turn into a kid, Olive. I enjoy spending time with you and thinking about all the things we'll do together as you grow even older.

You are my friend.

You are Olive, my love.

You have all of my love.

Happy Birthday, sweet girl.

Oh, Mooser

Our sweet Mooser will be 6 months old this week! She is such a joy.

She is the happiest, sweetest baby I've ever known.

With her awesome natural mohawk:

She's just starting to sit on her own:

Loves her exersaucer:

But mostly just loves to be wherever other people are:

It's hard to believe that a year ago we didn't know who this little person would be. What she would be like and how she would fit into our family. We didn't even know she was a she yet!

6 months in and it's only getting better.