Update, even when I'm a little down

It's true, my blog is old and stale, and needs an update. But it's also true that I have not felt like writing, for various good reasons. That said, I thought I'd at least give a little family update, and maybe some creative juices will start flowing for me?

Let's go with a quick overview for each of the kids, for starters...

Natalie

-- Is four months old now. Did I count that correctly?! FOUR?! Wow. Time is flying. I can't seem to put the next size of clothes in her drawers as fast as she seems to grow out of them.

-- She eats like a champ, every three to five hours. We top her off with formula sometimes at night, just to make sure she goes to sleep with a nice full tummy.

-- At her four-month check up, she weighed in at 13 pounds, 1 oz... right near the 50th percentile for weight, just like Sammie. And, she was 25 inches long... 75th percentile for height, just like Sammie. We love our little Sammie Jr.

-- She is starting to sleep through the night (knock on wood). Lately, I've fed her at 8 - 8:30, and she doesn't eat again until around 8 a.m. Amazing and wonderful. Of course, some nights she thinks 6 a.m. will do, and she usually gets a binky at that point... we're pushing for the full 12 hours, baby!

-- She smiles, giggles, coos, and gets mauled by Spencer on an hourly basis. Last weekend, she even sat up on my bed, by herself! She's kind of tilting, but she held strong for a good 30 secs or so. She also love to grab things and switch them back and forth from hand to hand -- and hand to mouth. Her bink is her favorite thing to grab, but she doesn't ever seem to put it back in the right way... not YET, I should say.

-- A couple pics of the cutie... Here she is, sitting up. Okay, so she's kinda starting to fold over, but that's because she'd been sitting there for a couple of minutes before I got the camera. It's hard work sitting up, as a four-month-old, eh!?...

Lovin' those chubby little cheekers...

And one more new pastime... this girl LOVES television/computer-vision. She can't get enough, and gravitates toward the colorful screen if it's on in the same room where she is.

Spencer

-- He will be THREE next week. We'll have to do a special tribute to him at that time. But for now I'll just say he's been growing like crazy... already into 4T clothes, big, tall boy!

-- He's just about ready to start potty training, as soon as I can convince him that it's okay to sit on the potty chair. We have Cars flushable wipes, Toy Story pull-ups, Thomas underwears, and a blue chair from big-boy Zach in the neighborhood, wish us luck!

-- He's a shy guy, and gets pretty nervous around kids he doesn't know. In fact, a few weeks ago I tried to take him to the gym with me while Samantha was at preschool. I dropped him off at the child watch place and the poor kid clung to my leg hysterically. I caved and took him home, asking him on the way why he was so nervous. "Mom. I don't like kids," he told me. Guess he's like a little old man, or something. That said, I would appreciate it if he didn't follow me around the house quite so much. I'm flattered, but really...

-- He still loves Thomas the Train, and has memorized all the different trains who are Thomas' friends. He also loves Cars (and will be getting it as a special birthday present. shhh, don't tell!) He also just loves playing with Hotwheels and trains and semi-trucks and tractors, like most boys, I think?

-- He has a little rash on his face right now, from dry, chappy skin and runny nose combined. So, we don't have a lot of pics of him from the last few weeks. But here's a group shot of all three cuties...

Spencer decided he LOVES sledding, when we were at McCall a couple of weeks ago (update forthcoming). Here he is at the top of a great big sled run...

Samantha

-- She's been a little bit stir-crazy since her preschool teacher moved last month. No school... what to do with a very active 5-year-old?! She has certainly been making lots of "projects" lately, including lots of tape-and-cut-and-glue paper creations, paintings, crayon and marker drawings, even a gorgeous lace-and-ribbons Valentine's card that she made at Grandma and Grandpa Bishops.

-- Her hair is a wonder to behold, sometimes. With the dry, winter weather, and her thin, wispy fly-away hair, it's a little out of control most of the time. Any hair do lasts about 10 minutes, max. So we've kind of given up doing Sammie's hair, for now.

-- She loves going to church. Actually, she loves going anywhere, but most especially to church. This past weekend, when I was sick, she came out wearing a dress and informed me that she would be going to church even if I was not. She helped me figure out a plan where she could ride with neighbors and sit with friends. It worked out, and she was thrilled to be so independent (and so righteous). :)

-- She's really quite good at reading now, except, only when she wants to. She can look at things and figure them out. But if she'd prefer to have me read to her, well, she just shouts out random guesses and is very stubborn about NOT sounding anything out for herself. But hey, she's still got several months till kindergarten -- I'm not complaining, eh?

-- She made a blanket fort in our bedroom a few days ago. She has begged me to keep it up, and it's still standing. I have to say, it's one of her better creations, when it comes to blanket forts. She's quite the builder/architect these days!

-- She still loves princess attire, and changes her clothes several times a day. Here's a picture of her at 9 pm. She had been in pajamas for nearly an hour, then suddenly I turned around and she was dancing on my bed (which she had "unmade"-- or more accurately, stripped, for easier dancing), wearing this....

She's also our little snow bunny, she decided on our little trip to McCall. We could not get her to come in!

Even when no one else wanted to play in the snow, she was out there all by herself, lovin' it! And, get this... she/we forgot her coat! So, all she had was my fleece sweatshirt. But she didn't care one bit!

Just thought this one (below) was a cute one of her with Natalie. She sure loves being the big sister!

There's more to tell, I'm sure. Like... why am I just writing random stuff instead of telling about the big move? Well. We didn't go yet. Brian's there and we're here. And that's a story I'll someday tell on here. But for now, Natalie's crying, dinner's not made, I'm still in my pajamas (give me a break today... still recovering from strep), and I keep hearing Sammie and Spencer in their bedroom saying things like "you broke it!" and "ouch!" and "oh no!"

Obviously, I should be doing other things besides blogging. And so I shall. Hope you enjoyed a short, less-inspired update for today. We're still out here, still rollercoastering along...

Ciao for now.