Friday, March 14, 2014

So apparently I'm really bad at this blog.  I do it no justice.  It's like our family just sits around and stares at each other all day long. 

EXCEPT

We had another baby!  EIGHT months ago.  Please don't tell me that this is typical third born kid stuff because I really really really want to be better than that.  I can't remember the amount of times my mom forgot me at school.  I was the youngest, so it was expected.  But I have vowed to not forget my youngest child at school.  And she's going to have lots of pictures of her and I won't forget when she got her first teeth!  I have dreams you know :)

So please meet Emerson Kate Park. 


She is seriously the sweetest baby in the whole entire world.  I met up with some friends at the park yesterday and the big girls played for almost three hours.  Emerson sat on a blanket and messed with stuff in the diaper bag pretty much the whole time.  I carried her a little, gave her a bottle, but for the most part she just entertained herself.  It was incredible to watch.  She is so easy going, yet a feisty little girl.  She can really stand up for herself when she's tired of being dragged across the living room by one arm.  She doesn't cry much.  Just when she's hungry and sleep and even then, it's more of a complaining then a crying.  The only time she cried much as a baby was in the car pickup line at school (and it made me want to cry too, so I can't blame her) and when she got thrush.  Other than that, it's always been fixable.  I look back and think that things were way too easy. 

If I can think of the most perfect time in my life, it would be the summer of 2013.  We spent so much time swimming in June since I was so ginormously pregnant.  Ella learned to swim without floaties and we really had some awesome quality time together.  Emerson was born on July 1 and the peacefulness of life was so abundant.  I would sit and nurse my baby and the girls would come put lotion on my feet to take care of me.  My maternity leave was seriously something only dreams are made of.  I had an incredibly sweet baby and the most understanding little girls who couldn't have been happier with their new baby sister.  They didn't get upset with me because I was taking care of the baby the majority of the time.  It was such a relaxing and amazing time for all of us to bond with each other before Ella started public school.  I wish I could go back and visit those days.  I remember sitting and telling myself to soak up every tiny morsel of those days because I knew they were numbered.  It was such a beautiful time for our family.
 
And now.....life is absolutely chaotic.  My house is such a mess.  I keep blaming myself that if I were better at picking up after myself, then the house wouldn't be so bad.  I spend so much picking up that I never actually get to clean.  I have these grand ideas of going on all these fun outings with the kids and then I spend $80 on diapers and formula for the week and then try to think of fun things to do at home instead :) So goes life, I guess.  We really have such a wonderful time together. 


Ella started kindergarten, which is so exciting and so sad for me all at the same time.  And now, kindergarten is almost over.  I got to be the room mom for her class and it has been really great getting to be involved in the classroom.  Ella is the sweetest, kindest, and most loving kid I've ever met.  She is so happy and her laughter is infectious.  Her giggles come spilling out uncontrollably and she just makes me melt.  She's reading, writing, and learning math.  This kid is crazy smart.  She's also a very structured, rule-follower.  If you're within earshot, you can usually hear her singing happy birthday while she's washing her hands in the bathroom.  When she cleans the playroom with Sadie, she usually tries to just send Sadie down so that she can clean by herself because then it will be done correctly.  She definitely gets that from her daddy.  But I can always rely on Ella. She is so honest and careful that I can do so much more because she is my eyes and my ears when I need an extra pair.  She is my right hand man and helps keep our ship afloat. 



Sadie. 

Sadie. Sadie. Sadie.  Words can't even describe how crazy and silly this kid is.  She will be four in May and I can't believe it.  She dresses up in the craziest outfits and calls herself a "fashioneaster".  She has her own made up language and her own made up world and I am so lucky I'm invited into it every day.  While Ella doesn't break the rules much (more like ever!), Sadie thinks that rules were made to be broken!  It can frustrate me so much, but her creativity and her free spirit allows her to just let loose and live.  I admire her ability to just feel it and live in the moment.  That handful of M&M's was totally worth the timeout.  She spends her fair amount of time there, but she genuinely wants to enjoy the people around her and get the most out of life.  She struggles with not getting her way, but that seems to come with the territory of being three.  I'm so excited to see her blossom in the next couple of years.  She surprises me daily.  I look at her some days and I can't believe she is my child.  She came from me.  She is such a wild little creature and a blessing to me every single day. 



This picture describes the big girls to a T
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And this summer will be TEN years married to this man.  He's amazing.  More on him later......

Okay, I'm signing off for now.  And hopefully not for another year and a half!