The Great Kid Catch-Up

Wrapping up a spectacular year, I cannot believe how much my kids grew and changed in 2013. They have blossomed into little people and I am so blessed to be their mommy. I love learning who they are, knowing their quirks and their tickle spots, their loves and their fears. They bring me immeasurable joy.

Charlotte Grace - 3 years 2 months
I am completely blindsided by how much I love 3. Being such a baby person, I did not expect to enjoy having a little person in my house as much as I do, but this girl seriously makes me laugh every single day. She had some huge accomplishments this year, namely: potty training, sleeping in a big girl bed, and finally getting to ride forward in the car.  Her language and vocabulary are unbelievable. She NEVER stops talking, singing, asking questions, telling jokes, and interacting. Recently she has started asking me difficult questions like, "Mom, did God put the moon in the sky? It is so high…how did He reach?" Last night's prayer was, "Dear Jesus, thank you for baby Jesus; she is sooooo cute. In Jesus name, Amen." (We're working on it.) Her life revolves around babies. Even the rocks at the park are pretend babies. She rocks, and feeds, and puts in bed, and buckles in the carseat, and pushes in the stroller… Every day she reminds me that Ryder is not a baby anymore and we need another baby in the house. She loves when we tell her stories about when she was a baby and she asks questions like, "Did I sleep in a crib? Did I drink mama milk? Was I sooooo cute?" She knows all the letters by sight and quite a few of their corresponding sounds. She counts to 20 and backwards from 10. She says things like, "Mom, remember when I mentioned I need to get a new book from Barnes and Noble?" She can independently operate an iPhone, unlock it, navigate to her games, send daddy text messages, etc. She knows Auntie Jenn has a baby in her tummy and we get to go visit her when she comes out, we talk about it daily. At the end of summer, she started gymnastics lessons and she absolutely loves them. She is doing really well, even though she is younger than the other girls by a year, she keeps up no problem. She is amazing at following directions and staying focused on the teacher.  She loves her brother despite the fact that all he wants to do is hit her with his bat and throw things at her. She is generally pretty patient with him and it is so fun to see them really starting to play together well. She is sweet and tender, smart and determined, stubborn and strong willed and we just couldn't be more blessed by her.

Ryder Michael - 16 months, 3 weeks 
To say Ryder has grown and changed over the past year is a gross understatement. It seems like the first 2 years are such blur of growth and development. At the beginning of the year Ryder wasn't even crawling yet; now, he is wrapping up the year running, jumping, climbing, dancing and talking. If I had to describe Ryder in one word it would be: BOY. This kid is a stereotypical boy. He loves is completely obsessed with balls, bats, dirt, and anything remotely dangerous. Honestly, I am proud of the fact I have kept him out of the ER this long. He has zero fear and minimal pain perception. Consequences are no deterrent for his behavior. He slides down the tallest slides, willingly jumps off tall platforms, runs almost as fast as his sister, and jumps on the trampoline with 5 year olds getting bounced around like a ping pong ball, all the while smiling and laughing. The past month has been a verbal explosion for him. I am starting to lose count of all his words, but here's an attempt:
Mama
Dadda
Charlotte
Abbey
Ball
Side (outside)
All done
Dirt
Slide
Uh-oh
Cheeee (cheese)
More
Nut
Cookie
Bye
Go
Out
Dance
Shoe
Nigh-nigh
Duck
Please
I'm sorry

It seems like everyday he has 2 or 3 new words.  He is enthralled with his daddy and sticks to him like glue whenever he is around. Despite all the boyish antics, at the end of the day he is such a sweet, gently cuddle-bug. He loves to rock and snuggle and will sit on my lap way longer than Charlotte ever would. He does enjoy whacking her in the head with anything he can find, but it's almost worth it to hear him say, "I'm sorry" and give her a hug, complete with "awwww". Sooooo cute! It's so hard to remember our family without this crazy boy. He keeps us on our toes and brings so much excitement to our day.

God graciously blessed our family in 2013. Jeremy started his new job, we made major strides on our house, and enjoyed the health and love of two beautiful children. Looking forward to an exciting 2014!