Here we all are. Unless you have 4 (or more) kids, you probably won't understand that this is really the best picture we could get of all of us!
I had to include this picture. Jane is not crying - this is her "fake smile." At just 7 months old, she's had the camera in her face enough to know when she's supposed to be smiling, and she does
this face. She scrunches up her nose, and bares her gums - it's hilarious, and by far my favorite of all her looks.
So, for this years Christmas card, I just included a note directing people to the blog for news. I hope our friends will enjoy looking through all my posts about our family - but in case you're just looking for a brief update - here it is!
Jane (7 months) - our "grand finale" of children - was supposed to be born in May 2007, and was going to be called Samuel Richard! I'm delighted she surprised us early, and added more girly-ness to our family, even though the short spacing between she & Jacob wears me out. She is a delightful baby and we all adore her. She follows the other kids everywhere, and her speed crawling has turned our house back into a system of barricades. She has also been pulling herself up to stand - which (to her delight) puts a whole lot more chokable objects in her reach. She has been the most attached of all my babies (& that's saying something), and has earned herself the nickname "velcro-baby." Knowing she's the last baby I'll get to hold, snuggle and nurse all the time makes it a little easier to be un-productive.
Jacob (2) - Someone said to me recently "Well, if you're only going to have one son, he may as well be all-boy!" And Jacob is. He's tall and likes to run, jump & climb. He's addicted to trains, and has recently started to love cars & dinosaurs. He loves loud noises, machines, throwing things and going anywhere fast. He adds a whole other dimension to our family. He wasn't talking much, and at first it was a nice change - but then we got worried and had him evaluated. He is a very bright boy, but has oral apraxia - making it hard for him to move his mouth, tongue & jaw to make the right sounds. He started speech therapy in October (twice a week) and now jabbers on constantly. He's still often hard to understand, but it's great to at least be able to know what he's thinking and reduce some of the frustration we were all experiencing. Julie (his therapist) said that the articulation takes a lot longer, so I'm trying to be patient (not one of my strong points.) The signs (ASL) he learned as a baby were very helpful, and he still uses many of them.
In addition to speech therapy Jacob has been in a singing group once a week, our co-op "pre-school" once a week, and a gym class once a week. He's on the wait list for March to get him back into swimming - once he's 30 months old he can go in the pool without me - removing the "what-to-do-with-Jane" issue that halted his lessons at her birth. For all his energy and enthusiasm Jacob is very compassionate & tender-hearted, he try's to comfort siblings or friends when sad, and is easily hurt by harsh words, loud voices, or being left out of a game the girls are enjoying. He really is a delightful boy, and we just love having his little personality around.
Emily (turned 6 today) - What a ray of sunshine this child is! She is so easy to parent. If you've known Emily in the past - she's the same as she's always been; happy, smiling, bright & capable, loves everyone, wants to be everyone's friend and always has that infectious grin. She started kindergarten this year, and I really miss her! At first she was a little frustrated with the slow pace they were moving at ("When are we going to be reading?") - but now they're working a little faster & I've been doing more at home with her after school, and she seems to have hit her stride. She's constantly writing letters to friends, or making books that she writes & illustrates. (I never have any paper in my printer when I need it.) She loves school & her friends & teachers!
We cut back on activities for her this year (because of school), but did keep swimming. She just earned her 6th badge (seal) and I LOVE to watch her swim, it's great. She loves it, it's a great sport, and it's great exercise - so we'll be keeping that up! In February she's going to start taking piano lessons - and she can't wait. This past fall she started soccer (it will continue in spring) and really enjoyed that too. Rick was her coach, and was thrilled with the progress she made. She seems to have inherited a competitive nature (how could she avoid it with us as her parents) and is a fast little runner, and really likes to go after the ball. She scored all of the goals in the last few games of the season.
At home she (almost always) cheerfully does her jobs and is a great sister. She still worships Rebekah, but is now a lot closer to Jacob & Jane. Despite 2 full years of Jacob pounding on her, she has yet to retaliate. She is patient and understanding with them, and Jacob copies her every move. No-one can get Jane laughing the way that Emily can, and we're both looking forward to Jane being a little older, and the great playmate & example Emily will be. We are blessed to have Emily in our family.
Rebekah (14 in 10 days) - Really stopped being a kid this year. She is now as tall as I am, and is pretty sure she knows more than we do. She's really great, but hitting 13 brought some changes. If you haven't had a teenager yet - hold on to your hats. This is all new for all of us, and we're trying to navigate our changing relationships & new boundaries. This year she is in 8th grade, her last of Middle School. She decided to stop swimming, and joined the tennis team instead (she also did a tennis camp last summer.) She has decided she prefers tennis, and will have some more coaching in spring, hoping to stay on the tennis team through High School. She still does piano, and improves whenever she practices consistantly (and loses her iPod when she doesn't.) She performed in a few plays last year, but discovered a love for musicals, and was in the High School spring performance of "Anything Goes" and did a summer youth theater production of "Hello Dolly."
Rebekah is very generous with her money & her time. I probably take advantage of the latter more often than I should! She has always been a huge Superman fan, and loved the new movie and the rekindling of Superman paraphanalia. She is still also really interested in space & astronomy, and is often out at night star gazing. She's a great babysitter, and we often have to book way in advance to get her before our friends do. She loves her brother & sisters - but swears she's never having her own kids (which is fine by us for now!) She makes a great companion for Rick to go see all the action/superhero movies I don't like, and to come with me to the romantic comedies. She's fun to hang out with in the evenings when the little one's are in bed.
Rick & I (I won't tell, but Rick is only a few months away from a BIG number ....) Between muddling through an adolescent, babies at night, the 2 in between, work, church & household responsibilities - we're just flat out exhausted! Rick still works at ARX Investment management (about 70 hrs a week) and serves on the High Council at church. I officially stopped working when I found out I was pregnant with Jane. I miss it, but don't plan to return for a few years (too busy at home.) I am really enjoying being the compassionate service leader for church. I alternate between wishing the little one's were a bit older (and therefore easier) and hoping that time slows down & I don't miss these tender days.
This year we finished all the major work on our house. There are still some small projects that we'd like to do, but we pretty much plan to enjoy it for a while, and then try and move to a bigger place. We postponed our trip to Australia until next year (too pregnant & sick), and took the kids to Disneyworld instead. Getting out of NY mid-winter was wonderful, and we'd like to repeat it every year! We also got to Utah to see family & friends which is always enjoyable.
We feel very blessed. Life is good for us, and there's nothing more we need. We feel the love of our Saviour and Redeemer, and are grateful for His guidance in our lives. We are so happy to have such wonderful extended family & friends. We want you all to know - that even though we're too inundated with children to be good at keeping in touch, we love you & think of you often!
She also started eating solid foods. None of my kids have liked commercial baby food (do you blame them?), although I do occasionally use it for convenience if we're traveling. This is some of the butternut squash we grew in our garden this summer. I roast it, then pureed it & froze it in ice cube trays. It's how I always make baby food, and they seem to like that much better. She has also been eating small amounts of food from my plate that I just smash with a fork. Now that the holiday season is over, I'll get more consistent with feeding her, and give her one meal a day of solids.
She's also learned a few trick from her big brother!
