everyday life

because i distinctly remember, while in these moments, thinking "i never want to forget these fun, silly, little things....that are totally the big things." ...........

the girls take 20 minutes of alone time in their room after lunch. sometimes ellie plays. sometimes she goes to her bed and falls asleep. sometimes she does serious macguiver moves and escapes to join one of her sisters in their room. today, they all came down after the 20 minutes and we continued our day. yet, when we went upstairs later in the day for laundry, i realized that ellie must have quietly made an escape. there in the hallway by the diaper drawer was a {s.t.i.n.k.y.} old diaper....perfectly closed with the tabs. when asked about it, sweet 4 year old anika said, "I DID IT! we tried to be so quiet. i wiped elle all the way, mom!" what a sweet, little heart she has. she proudly ran the diaper down to the correct spot.

i'm normally the only stinky diaper changer around here, but i appreciate the initiative!

bianca was lying on her tummy today practicing her new get-up-on-all-fours-and-rock {which i totally cried about last week} routine. when she was done and started getting a little fussy, i walked over to get her. i found sweet, little ellie trying to hold her shirt up, getting bianca's head right and "shushing" her all at the same time. i told her that mama would help bianca...to which she replied, "baby bianca have MY milk, mama!!"

i'm normally the only personal milk supply around here, but i appreciate the generosity!

chloe is exploding with new firsts. it kind of seems that the "big" milestones slow down for a little while between 4 1/2 and 5.....so it has caught me off guard a little. in the past month she has learned how to pump herself on the swings, blow bubbles with her gum, swim underwater, (almost!) ride without training wheels and has her 1st loose tooth!!

i'm normally {a little} heavy-hearted about all this growing up, but i completely appreciate the blessing of continuing to watch her grow.