I heard a statistic on the radio the other day that we've had 77 days straight this winter with snow or ice on the ground...it's time to move! And on that note, we are moving, but unfortunately it's not to the beach or someplace warm like we'd like. We've had our house for sale since Nov 1st last year (4 months) and this week we got our first (and hopefully final) contract on it. So as of now it is considered sold. We hope it's a done deal. Our closing date is March 21st so I'll write more on this move as it comes to fruition for real later on in the month. It's bittersweet for all of us.
The kids are all changing so much and it really makes me sad. They aren't babies anymore. I know I say this all the time but they just seem really old to me lately. Quinn has grown up the most remarkably lately. Her speech and vocabulary is astounding and she is now talking in complete sentences and we're able to hold conversations with her. It's amazing how fast she turned that corner and it's also amazing how happy this one change has made her. Not that she wasn't happy before but I think she was very frustrated that she couldn't communicate or keep up like she wanted to with her brother and sister. So now she can talk like she wants to and she is a new child. She is still am amazing sleeper and eater. She drinks water like a camel. She gets excited about food (I don't know where she gets this!). She can do somersaults until she wears herself out! She is so loving and laughs all the time now. She gives hugs and kisses and says, "love you most" all the time. She has more energy than you can imagine any 2 yr old should. She still will not be left behind. We were at a birthday party last night and everyone is amazed at how much she will try and do at her age. She wasn't even a little hesitant to go down the biggest slide in the place with the oldest kids in attendance! She fears nothing!
Finley is still such a sweetheart with a small teenager side at times. She's a quiet analyzer all the time. She doesn't miss a beat and pays attention to every detail and will call you out on whatever you say. She's so smart and uses her words wisely also. The other night she referred to herself (in comparison to her brother) as the "normal one." Never have we used this term so who knows where she got it! Eating has been her biggest struggle lately, unless you're having tacos. That's her favorite dish on the planet and that's the only meal that she will eat w/o being prompted 30 times. She sits at the table for every meal 30 minutes longer with coaching necessary to eat even things she likes. It's like she just can't be bothered to eat sometimes! She's too social. Darla is still very much in her life. Although lately she has taken to her twin Marla and carries the both of them around all the time. She is an amazing big sister (most of the time). She is very helpful with Quinn and will do most things that you ask her to do. She is a good reader, or should I say memorizer. She has memorized several books by heart including Olivia and Pinkalicious, which we've read 5000 times/piece, and can read them back to us. She loves braids in her hair, anything with sparkles or princesses, and tacos. She recently asked Mawmaw Julie when Xmas was coming again b/c she didn't get anything she wanted. When Mawmaw replied that it wasn't for a while and asked her what she really wanted, she replied with, "a real pony." Good luck with that one! Daddy doesn't even really care for the one dog we have. So she has mentioned wanting a real pony several times and says we could keep it out on our deck if we had one!
Brody is still our routine stricken child. There's his goodbye routine which is the hug, the kiss, the knucks and the high five, and then after he does all that (sometimes multiple times), he must watch you leave from the front door and wave. He even has to do it at school. Don't try and change it either b/c he will go running around the house flinging himself everywhere screaming until he gets his way. Or he'll have to call Daddy to remind him he didn't wave! It's easier just to complete the task! He still likes to get dressed as soon as his feet hit the floor in the am. He is still obsessed with dinosaurs and pretty much only likes his dino tshirts as the main rotation in his wardrobe. The hairdresser even gave him some hair gel that he called "dino snot," so now he loves spiking his hair with it. He is still into the trains as well. He loves to read also. He never forgets a detail. You can't tell him something that you might do or he will hold you to it. He has a memory like no other. He's really gotten into wrestling lately, Daddy is thrilled. He loves to eat turkey sausage egg and potato bowls for breakfast but we limit him to 2 per week, so we told him he could have them on the days he goes to school (tues/thurs), so now he asks every morning if he has school so he can have his "eggs and potatoes" as he calls them. He's still a very good eater. Very loving and loves hugs and kisses. Great brother to his sisters when he's not trying to aggravate. He still loves to sing. I left him in Papa Greg's care last week for a few hours and he came home singing "my dingaling." Which is really cute when you hear him singing it. It's more like, "my dingawingawing"....which of course couldn't be any cuter.
