What Am I Going to Do With Her??

Oh, Annika.  Sweet, little Annika.  Your big blue eyes don't fool me.  You are my little girl who's always up to something.  Usually something naughty.  And the funny thing is, I don't think you honestly believe you're doing anything particularly wrong.  You're busy and curious - and always into trouble.  

February 18, 2013

She emptied the large rainbow sprinkles bottle on the floor in the pantry.  Then spread it around as though she were finger painting.  Hm.  

February 20, 2013

Annika believes syrup is so good that it should have its own place on the food pyramid.  So when she felt like a snack, she scaled the pantry shelves and located the syrup.  Then she squeezed the bottle all over the floor and herself.  I actually found little syrup footprints leading away from the pantry.  

Then with her very syrupy hands, she ran her fingers through her hair in effort to keep it out of her eyes.  I've never seen such a sticky situation.

I think we have an artist on our hands!  She obviously loves to finger paint.  

Oh, Annika...

One-on-One Time with My Middle Child

February 20, 1013

Natalya is my oldest.  Branson is my only boy.  Annika is my baby.  That makes Irelynn truly the middle child.  I don't want to be that parent that neglects the middle kid.  I want Irelynn to have the same attention that the others get.   Due to circumstance, she naturally doesn't get the same amount of time from me that my older ones had - instead, we work hard to give her quality one-on-one time at every good opportunity.  

For instance...

My big kids were at school and Annika was napping.  Instead of doing dishes or paying bills I decided to play a favorite game with Irelynn.  Irelynn and I love playing Camelot Jr.  It's a puzzle/strategy game where you try to get the prince to the princess using blocks.  We laughed and played for a good half hour.  Then we practiced some of the things she's learned at gymnastics - hand stands and cart wheels.  

It wasn't much, but a little love goes a long way.  

In fact, just today Irelynn was bored so I painted her nails a lovely pattern of pink, blue, purple, and green.  I have to remind myself to take a little time out of each day to connect with my kiddles.

Valentine's Day

February 14, 2013

Because Valentine's Day fell on a Thursday this year, we didn't have any major plans to celebrate.  Instead, we stayed home and made it special.  

When Brian got home after work, we surprised him by "heart-attacking" his path from the door that let to the garage (below), down the hallway, and all over the kitchen/nook area.  The hearts were plastered with love notes and pictures from the kids.  

I made pink pancakes with pink fruit smoothies for dinner.  (Per our children's request.)  Our kids LOVE it when I make breakfast for dinner.

You make it so easy to love you, Brian.  Loving you is like eating or breathing or sleeping... nearly effortless.  When you proposed to me 11 years ago, I thought I couldn't love you more.  I was so wrong.  With each year that passes, I seem to love you more than the last. You'll always be my Sweetheart.