the bug, the bunny, and the bear: part 2

dear faithful and loyal blog readers (hi grammy, hi nana),

i apologize for neglecting "wiggle room" for so long now.  having three little ones under the age of five, not to mention a (beautifully) aging dog, has proven to be a slight roadblock in my desire to create consistent (or any) blog posts. however, quinn has shown a recent interest in "da bog" as well as pictures of herself in general, especially when she was a "cute yittew baby," so i best update da bog as best i can, lest i face the wrath of girlfriend in the future, which is, to be honest, a scary thought.

anyway, below are the three wonders of my world, and criminally brief descriptions of them.

will recently graduated from nursery school into the large, unknown lands of kindergarten.  he was a pre-k superstar, if i don't say so myself.  when i dropped him off at school after a bout of illness that kept him home for a few days, children flocked from every corner to give him a hug and welcome him back.  even the teaching assist commented that, "it just wasn't the same around here without him."  like i said, pre-k superstar.  

he's recently joined (okay, been snuck onto) the "scrappers," a local t-ball team managed by luca's mom and coached by luca's dad (luca, you'll recall, is his wild and crazy and awesome bff).  will is extremely proud about this fact, as he should be.  his daddy has also begun telling him stories about tom brady, and we were disappointed that we couldn't find a book on sir tom at the local library.  apparently sir tom isn't as revered in some parts of the country as he is in the northeast.  rude, i know.

a school secretary was kind enough to give us a quick tour of avoca west elementary school this week when will and i dropped off some health forms (it was an offical "date" for us).  we walked through the large halls and met some current kindergartners and saw the kindergarten classrooms and chatted with the school nurse.  will's confidence astounded me.  it is so easy to show that kid off.  

will continues to be a loving and kind big brother, 98% of the time with rory, and 72% of the time with quinn.  i'd say those are pretty good stats.  i'm savoring every reach, every snuggle, every murmer of "mama" when he's scared, because i feel those times slipping away, more each day, and it's a pain i've never felt before, but one i know i better get used to.  no worries - i've reminded him on many occasions, like maybe every day, that he'll always be my baby, no matter how old (and cool) he gets.

will channeling sir tom and making his daddy proud

"scrappy" on third base, and below, up to bat.

onto my girlfriend.  my precious lady.  oh, lady.  quinn continues to possess a most special mix of three-year-old, mommy's shyness, and daddy's stubbornness.  i mean will power - daddy's will power.  school wasn't the easiest experience for her this year.  like me, she relies on the closeness of a good friend to help her feel comfortable, and that wasn't always available to her in the classroom. she also didn't appreciate certain directives from the teachers, like, say, wear your snow pants when you play in the snow, or wear your pajamas on pajama day.  nope, only fancy dresses for this fancy lady.  fancy dresses, in case you were wondering, must be sleeveless, be it february or july.  

quinn is in her element at home, laughing and playing with her big brother, dancing to taylor swift, and playing family with her family (i'm da big sistah and colin is da big bwodah). she loves playing with her  little disney princess figurines in her dollhouse, although we discovered the hard way that disney princess movies are actually quite terrifying for a three-year-old (have you seen the shark scene at the start of the little mermaid?! and why are all the moms dead?!).  

at night, she fights bed time by telling me over and over again that she loves me, since she knows i'm a sucker and can't help but say it back.  she very dramatically asks to hold my hand, or colin's hand, as she drifts off to sleep, both at bed time and in the middle of the night, every night, when she ends up between us in our bed.  she frequently refuses pajamas and wears dresses to bed instead, and only recently has she given up the night time tights, thanks to the warmer weather.  

i have the sweetest, most wonderful video of her practicing the "batah," a ballet move she made up herself, which involves elegantly kicking one leg backwards while jumping forwards with jazz hands, but i can't figure out how to put it on here, and i'm too tired to try any harder right now.  maybe because i sleep half the night holding a three-year-old's hand.  that is, when i'm not nursing the baby.

having a "threenager" moment, but looking oh-so-beautiful nonetheless

                          
the baby.  the almost-toddler-baby.  oh my word, rory bear, how has this happened?  weren't you just born, like, two weeks ago? and now here he is, eleven months old, almost walking, crawling and climbing everywhere, sturdy and happy as can be, yelling back at his sister when they scuffle, chasing daddy to the door as he leaves in the morning, and eating hot dogs and graham crackers.

it's hard to describe the joyous energy rory exudes.  everyone feels it, everywhere.  i've heard it from the teachers at school, from the checkout people at the grocery store, from the priest at his baptism, even from the plumber.  the kid is just happy.  happy to be alive.  for someone like me, who tends to lean towards pessimism and worry, rory is completely inspiring.  i hope he never changes.  i mean, of course he'll change.  he'll become demanding and contrary and all those things that toddlers become, but his heart - that pure, beaming delight - i hope and pray that remains.  and i think it will. i think it's at his core.  and i feel so, so incredibly blessed to be his mother. i think every person in our family feels blessed that he is here, and he is ours.

as will frequently asks, "who's the best baby ever, mommy?" with a sly look in his eye.

"rory bear!" i exclaim, and we smile, and smile, and smile.

the bear in a happy place, his swing, and below, eating like the dude he is.

and there you have it.  the bug, the bunny, and the bear, part 2.  there's loads more to say and so many memories i've skipped, namely christmas and quinn's birthday and marco island and rory's baptism, but this is the best i've got.  and that's what i'm giving every day, because god knows these kids deserve it.

the loves of my life, loving each other.