counting my blessings

I know it's been a while since I've updated. These 4 kids keep me busy. Each child brings so much joy to our family, I want to document & share what each child is doing.

Ethan is loving kindegarten. He's off-track right now & misses school, he misses his friends. We had our 2nd parent teacher conference with his teacher recently & found him to be on a 1st grade reading level. He got 4's (which is the highest) on everything except his handwriting. He is our sneaky, teasing, loving, kind big brother. I often find notes on my bed that say, "I love you mom. Love Ethan" with cute little pictures. It makes my day! The other day I found a note on my pillow that said "Ethan did your bed" and on the back it said "love Ethan." I can often find him doing random acts of kindness for me & I love it! He is currently playing indoor soccer & is signed up for outdoor soccer & baseball in the spring. He's very athletic & very competetive! Ethan loves playing Mario Cart. I love to see his testimony grow & hear him talk about how he feels about our Savior.
Makelle is definitely in the terrible two's. There's a lot of crying & tantrums. But then I see a side of her that is so sweet. She's always concerned about "ky ky" she loves giving him hugs & kisses. She loves to dance & is obsessed with Mickey Mouse & Dora & the new show Bubble Guppies. She got a new bed yesterday, which I will have to post a picture of; Jeff & his dad made it & it is awesome. She loves being a big girl & doing what the older kids do. She loves reading books! She loves nursery. She has an amazing sense of humor for a 2 year old.

This picture says what Lexi loves to do the most. Not only does she like to push Kyler around in her baby stroller, but she loves to play his mom. She's always picking him up & consoling him when he's crying. She really does a great job taking care of him- if only she'd learn to change diapers!! Lexi's second favorite thing to do is practice her cartwheels. She's recently mastered a one handed cartwheel & is now trying to learn how to do handstands. She's doing very well! She loves going to dance & preschool. She's become quite the social butterfly since attending these two activites. Lexi has always been on the shy side, until now. She will now talk to any adult who comes over. Now we just need to get her talking to more kids her own age. The kids recently went to the dentist to get their teeth cleaned. Ethan still has no cavities. Lexi had 2 this time. Can I just tell you how devastated I was?!? I felt like a horrible mom, they had to do a baby root canal on one. I'm so blessed that my mom was the dentist assistant & was there for her. She said that she did awesome! And afterward she chowed down some pizza & breadsticks while still numb. And of course a strawberry shake.

I don't even know where to begin with this kid. He has been a struggle from the start. He's never been a good eater & I'm struggling with that now. I know part of it is because he's teething & part of it is his cold. Most of the time I can peel a pear or an apple & he'll walk around chewing on that, but refuses to sit in his seat to eat. He refuses a bottle & doesn't drink much from a sippie, no matter what's in it. Lexi ran him over with her bike the other day & gave him a bloody nose & scrapes all over his face. He's doing better & now his nose is just bruised & a little swollen. He loves to scream & cry. He loves his daddy & cries at the back door when he goes off to work. He says: mama, dada, bye bye, hi, ball, num num, no, ya... and others, my mind has gone blank. I have been blessed that he's been an ok sleeper. He'll usually sleep from 7pm-7am. With two, 2 hour naps. He loves to blow kisses & play pat a cake. His absolute favorite thing is balls, he loves to play catch & kick the ball around. And his next favorite thing is wrecking whatever the kids are making. He's already learned to take what he wants & he loves pulling everything out of my cupboards.

I have seriously been blessed with these 4 amazing, beautiful children. They bring so much joy & happiness into my life.