I am kicking my butt for not blogging this year. There are so many stories I want to capture, moments I do not want to lose, and lessons I want to remember. So, enough is enough; I am jumping back into it head first. I am going to ignore the crazy notion that I need to catch up on all the half-written posts I have accumulated, I am going to ignore the fact that my blog header is pathetic and outdated, and I am just going to write. On the count of three you are going to pretend that we have been chatting this whole year on a regular basis, and I will pretend that I do not have a squirmy toddler on my lap, awkwardly nursing and making this whole writing thing extremely difficult.
1 - 2 -3 . . .
I think the most thrilling aspect of adding another child to our family after ten whole years of being a family of five, is watching how the kids interact with Leif. Zoe and Elliot are very nurturing and they are like a second set of parents to him. Avery, on the other hand, is rocking the big brother role. He torments the life out of Leif, but like a good big brother, he is always watching out for him.
Last night, amidst the routine chaos that happens in our home between the hours of 6:30 am and 10:00 pm, Elliot scooped Leif onto his knee and read to him out of an encyclopedia of world history, while sharing his Cheerios with him. The two of them are ridiculously cute together! When they were finished, Elliot stood up, held Leif really close and exclaimed:
I can't believe how big he is getting!
Then in a much softer voice, Elliot turned to me and said:
I really hope I teach him well.
Oh. My. Land.
What did I tell ya? Ridiculously cute, and this over-the-top cuteness happens all the time around here ever since Leif joined us. No wonder I am so in love with my life right now! It is painfully difficult most days, and I am dreadfully tired and impatient most of the time, but at the same time, it is overwhelmingly awesome. It has just the right amount of chaos that I yearn for. Not the bad kind of chaos, but the kind of chaos that comes from living in a house that is bursting at the seams with people, big ones and small ones
On that note, let's close with a visual of what I deem to be over-the-top, make-your-heart-hurt cute:
