what's going on around here

I haven't had much to blog about lately, so I thought I'd just do a brief catch-up. This is more for me than for you all (no offense), so feel free to skip this one, pop open a Canada Dry, and enjoy browsing your latest 84-page Kohl's weekly sale catalog.

- I can't believe the snow around here. Weather was beautiful for a week or two, and we're back to Decemberesque. I literally was driving home the other day in the snow and thought, "Geez, 5 months ago, the view out my windshield would be giving me warm-fuzzies...Where's 'Jingle Bells' on the radio?" Oh well; it'll be hot soon enough, and then you'll probably find me complaining about that.

- Addie is exhausting. But beyond fun. She's babbling quite intently these days, causing no end of delight, confusion, and laughter as she looks people right in the eye and repeats her incoherent syllables, each time more carefully, to help you understand. Cute. Cute cute CUTE! She's working on perfecting the delivery and timing of her mad/annoyed performances, with my favorite move being the blink-and-slowly-turn-head-away-from-the-offender. Ouch. She loves to be chased by her dad and Carson; the other day I heard a blood-curdling but laughing scream that sounded eerily adult-like but that was actually from my 20-month-old Addie, the obvious result of a boys-against-girls chase/wrestle session around the living room. Not uncommon around here. She answers nearly all questions with a coy, "uh-huuuuuuh," with her voice tipping up a little at the end. She loves her family and "ahh-gnk" (her word for "sneeze," which doubles as her name for Elmo) and is a bottomless pit. BOTTOMLESS. Addie brings us joy.

- Layla is saying the funniest things lately. Excitedly: "I pooped out a SNAKE, Carson! Look at that!!! Doesn't it look like a snake?!!?!?!!" Importantly: "I'd like to have everyone's attention. (pause, then rapidly:) BalletandRainbowCorner." (This was at FHE, during Family Announcements time. Two things she can hardly stand it, waiting for, are ballet classes [someday] and preschool [this fall].) She says things that are so tweeny-bopper that it makes Paul and me a leetle beet nervous for what she'll sound like 5 years from now. She still has awesome wild white-blonde hair (which runs free more often than not), doesn't like to wear stuff on her legs unnecessarily, loves riding her bike, is Addie's favorite family member name to say ("aay-uh"), puts herself into her room when she's mad, loves any and all things princess, melts my heart with her sweetness, boils my blood with her irrational emotions, is beautiful and adorable and endearing, is determined and independent, notices fashion (eeps!), and is our girl.

- Carson is so big these days! So tall. And reading and doing homework and cuing into social awareness (for better and worse). The past few days have been a little harder for him; his breaking point is closer to the surface, and he seems easily frustrated or sad. Not my typical Carse. It's interesting as he grows because I can't always make cause-and-effect direct correlations with his behavior. Like, on days when his behavior is sub-par and he's obstinate and impossible, I start to wonder what the heck I'm doing wrong, how I'm supposed to handle him, what to even do, etc. etc. Then I start thinking stuff like, "Maybe he's had a rough week at school, maybe he got left out at recess, maybe someone was mean to him, maybe he feels stupid at something, maybe maybe maybe," and I realize that it's those times when I just need to love the kid so much more. Growing up is so hard! I don't always remember that in the moment, but sometimes I do. Carson is so innately sweet and good-natured and happy. I'm realizing this more as he grows and as I see other kids his age. He's just a good kid who loves to make others happy. It brings him joy. I wish I were more like that. Carson's great.

Anyway. Those are my three little dudes who bring me incomprehensible amounts of joy, frustration, challenge, fun, annoyance, happiness, and, well, love.

The end. But not really.