Growing up tooo fast!

Favorite sunglasses

My 3 loves!

A rare moment of Sun allows for some tee-ball!

Eating together at the kid's table!

Reading by himself! This made me so happy!

New hat on Somerset courtesy of Grandma Laurel!

These kids are growing up too fast! Our baby is definitely not a baby and our little boy is so mature now.

Somerset had a crazy battle with teething, but that has come to an end...thank goodness. It was awful, but she has been our happy girl again for the last few weeks. She likes to exert her independence and show us she's a big girl by sitting at the kid's table, drinking with a normal (non-sippy) cup.....disastrous results ensue. She also loves to have me put make-up on her (pretend), sing along to Adele's Rolling in the Deep, and draw with crayons. She really is becoming quite the little girl and it saddens me to say goodbye to our baby.

She can understand simple commands such as "Please get Mommy a book," or "blow kisses." Her understanding of language has increased drastically in the last few months.

Leo is her favorite person. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, he is the first person she asks for and she calls him by name often. The cutest!

Leo, as always, is a great big brother. He is good about informing me when she gets into trouble or is doing something dangerous. Leo has also learned all the sounds that the letters make, so I think reading is in his near future.

Leo is obsessed with the game Chutes and Ladders and Joe and I play it with him about 3 times a day. It's fun, but probably more fun for him.

We had a meeting with Mrs. Kepner, Leo's preschool teacher, because he was acting up in class at times. This is no surprise to me as we are well aware that he is easily bored by things that don't interest him and can have a temper. We have worked very closely with him to help him identify the times when He is angry or frustrated so that he can do something about it rather than explode. We are teaching him to verbalize his feelings or count to ten when his blood is boiling. I also started reading a book that his pediatrician recommended called Parenting your Spirited Child. The book was describing our son and I was thrilled to learn that I am not the only one with a child who is more perceptive, more intense, more persistent etc. Basically, the spirited child is more of everything. I have always known he was more intense and even though it can be challenging, I know he will be an amazing adult.

Leo is one of the most confident, charismatic, smartest people you will ever meet, but on the flip side, he can be very determined to get his way and when he doesn't, he can explode. I have learned from the book some ways to help parent him and I am so delighted.

I have to admit that as the kids get older, parenting is a bit easier....this is rewarding!

Joe and I have made the switch to organic meat (expensive) and mostly organic produce. We are also joining a farm co-op and will get fresh, local fruits and vegetables every week. I am super thrilled about this. We will not only be eating healthier, I will get to stretch my cooking skills. Yeah!