milestones

and just like that they change. watching four different kids grow and grow up is what tom and i have been waiting for all along. to stop and take it all in, and that is exactly what we've been trying to do lately.

harper, now a few days away from being four months old is rolling over, back to stomach and then stomach to back again. she is babbling, prefers standing, and is showing interest in food (shocker!)

amelie has finally mastered the three word phrase:

-mommy come, too?
-back door, locked?
-more apples, please!

she's also fond of the:

-oh man!

and the occasional:

-boyfriend! (in response to me getting frustrated with her and calling her "girlfriend!")

annika is becoming quite the soccer player, much to her brother's chagrin. she is doing well in school and i think she would finally admit that getting lost in a book is a fun thing.

our little man gunter is writing and typing essays. his latest assignment was an essay comparing a langston hughes story with a recent washington post article, citing themes like compassion and forgiveness... good lord.

before i start to sound too rosy, though, i want to be clear that it's not all fun and games.

harper hardly ever takes a bottle.
amelie is in the throes of the terrible twos.
annika has a stomach ache every morning because she hates getting up.
and our angelic little boy called a girl a bitch on the playground yesterday.

that's right. he sure did. but of course there's a story and apparently the little she-devil has been bullying a lot of people. so he cracked. and man is he gettin' it from all angles right now. so he knows he was wrong and he really regrets saying it and he's learned his lesson.

not the first. definitely not the last.

dear God,
thank you for milestones and setbacks. even though we so often feel as if we've fallen apart, it is in your arms that we are in fact always held together.