Happy New Year!

Well, it is the beginning of a new year so what better time to revive my blog!  Oh, so much has happened in the last six months since I've posted.  I don't have any of the kids' birthdays on here, any of the fun summer stuff we did, the 3-Day walk that I did in September, Ellie's first day of school, soccer, her Thanksgiving program, her Christmas program or anything having to do with Christmas!  I'll try to fill some of these things in as I go.

Christmas break is finally over I think just about everyone in the house is happy for that.  Ellie went back to school on today, Mike went back to work, Mommy will get everyone out of her hair for at least a tiny bit, three days a week!

Some updates for you:

Ellie, as mentioned, is now in the middle of her second year of preschool.  I switched schools on her this year for various reasons and of course, the grass is rarely greener.  She likes it and though it solved a few of my issues with her previous school, I now have issues with this school that I didn't have at the last one.  I can't win.  The babies will go to a completley different school and by the time I'm done with them I'm sure we will have tried out every school in our community!  She is trying really hard to read, has discovered "real" music instead of all toddler music and loves books, art and singing.  The girl can fly on her scooter and she learned to ride a two wheeled bike last summer!  She is very coordinated on two wheels, but falls walking across the kitchen floor!

Ellie is super smart, very funny and a really, really good big sister.  She loves her "bunkies" with all of her heart and has really enjoyed having playmates around the house instead of the eating/pooping/sleeping blobs that they were last year.  With Ellie's super smartness comes the will of 10,000 men.  I often joke that she is really 4 going on 14 because she can be quite sassy at times.  She tests my patience most every day and really tests Daddy's!  However, in the last month or so we've started to see glimpses of "human" Ellie.  She'll go days and days without making me cranky and oh, how wonderful those days are!  Of course, in public she is unbelievably charming.  I have really grown to love taking her in public because I get to see her through other people's eyes and this reminds me just how incredible she is.

Rachael.  Oh lord, this kid.  Rachael is also very funny, very smart and is actually MORE dramatic than Ellie - something we thought was not possible!  She is very much Ellie's sister and she is a bundle of fun.  She is still into EVERYTHING, she's pretty destructive and she loves a good mess.   She has a lion that she loves and she when she is looking for him, it comes out "Line".  It is so cute.  She loves that lion and sleeps with him and not one, but two snuggly blankets.

She also loves her baby sister with all of her heart and will immediately come running if "Jou-Jou" is in any sort of peril.  She will bring Jillian her blanket or an animal or whatever she can find that she thinks will make Jillian happy, chanting " Jou-Jou, Jou-Jou, Jou-Jou" the whole time until Jou-Jou takes whatever is being offered.  If there are crackers being offered, Rachael will always take two and take one to Jillian before she eats her own.  Same with bottles, cold teether-things, lovey's, whatever.  For some reason, Jillian always comes first.  Rachael is very sweet, yet crazy!

Jillian, aka, Jou-Jou.  I don't know why, but we have a ton of nick-names for Jillian.  Jilly, Jou-Jou, J-J, June-bug, Jilli-bean, Baby J- the list goes on.  Ellie has come up with most of them because like Rachael, Jillian has a special place in Ellie's heart.  I don't know what it is about our little Jou-Jou - maybe it's just that, that she's little.  She is a tiny little thing and so sweet.  She is a major snuggler and does this "wiggle-buns" thing on you when she is in major snuggle-mode.  She has done it since she was a tiny, tiny baby and has never stopped.  It is awesome when she snuggles with you and she always leaves you wanting just a little more.

Jilly is more into details than Rachael is - she is more like Ellie was when she was this age.  She will sit and play with the smallest of Ellie's toys for the longest time.  She will find the smallest thread coming out of a blanket and play with it forever.  She is also very smart (do you see a pattern?) and you can really see her little wheels just turning constantly.  She will also come to Rachael's rescue, though not quite as urgently as Rachael comes to her.  Ellie is Jillian's hero and she will immediately come to Ellie's aid whenever she is in peril.  They have a special bond as I guess I should have realized would happen with one of the twins over the other.  Our little Jou-Jou LOVES running around with her sisters (she's always last), loves jumping on the bed, the couch, or the chairs!  She is the only of the three kids who has ever climbed up onto the kitchen island, the kitchen table, up and over the back of the couch.  She is the only one who has ever fallen out of her crib.  So, she is a climber and very good at it.

Mommy - well, I'm the mama.  I wish I had exciting news to share about me but I really don't.  I have a few things brewing in my mind but we'll see how they go before I spout off about them!

Daddy - Daddy is busy bringing home the bacon and trying his best to be the house decorator, the financial guy, the dad, the husband and the friend that we all expect from him.  I love him with all my heart and am so thankful to have this crazy life with him.

Happy New Year!!