GroshLink

It's been way too long since I posted any updates about our family life and some of you are getting antsy. There is nothing remarkable going on, but here are the mundane highlights :) Hayley continues to be her delightful, happy-go-lucky self. She's always been our t.v. fiend, and more often than not, when all other responsibilities are done she can be found in the basement watching some Animal Planet on the sly. At least, she thinks she's on the sly. But mom usually knows what everybody in the house is doing at all times. She likes horses, American Girl Dolls, and Disney tween shows (heaven help us!) but she's never been obsessed with anything and would be delighted just to play a game with someone.

I asked Ellen to give me a few suggestions of things she wanted from the American Girl catalog. I should have asked her to list what she didn't want. It would have been a smaller list. But she loves to read so I can feel good supplying her with books. Sometimes (not as often as I'd like) I read a book out loud to her and Hayley. The last one was From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I try to pick books that I enjoyed as a kid but may be just a bit beyond their current reading level. And I get to revisit some books I haven't read in umpteen years.

Eden motors around here like she's running from a tiger. Which she often claims she is. Her walking really took off this summer and she continues to get steadier, though if she would slow down she'd do better. My mantra lately has been, small steps! She has a pair of therapeutic shorts that are designed to force her to take small strides. Picture lycra biking shorts that are sewn together between the legs. We call them her fancy pants because they are bright blue. She does take smaller steps when wearing them, but she soon gets mad b/c she tries to take big strides and then keeps falling down. So she mostly wears them during PT. She can also manage some stairs by herself while standing up. Eden has really blossomed at preschool this year. She started at the end of Feb. right after she turned 3 and her school continued off and on throughout the summer. But in the fall they officially started a new school year. She likes to play school, where she is the teacher of course. Or a therapist. She likes to help Lily walk. Of course, Lily isn't even sitting up yet, so she needs quite a bit of assistance to walk. When Hayley and Ellen come home from school and do their homework Eden insists on practicing her spelling words too. She will not be left out of anything. I haven't identified any passions of hers either, kind of like Hayley. She doesn't like to be alone which we've been working on since she recently gave up her nap and now must have a quiet time each afternoon. She likes to play doctor and school and do puzzles. Puzzles are a fairly new endeavor for her and she's not as advanced as H and E were at her age, but she's catching on. She has some trouble manipulating the pieces. We were working together on an alphabet puzzle this morning and she had more letter recognition than I thought she did. Eden has an extremely independent nature and multiple times during the day she tells me, Don't help me. I can do it myself! Especially while walking. This is difficult for me because she does fall a lot and sometimes, in fact, she can't do it herself, but trying telling that to her! So she's challenging. I call her my bull in a china shop.

Lily continues to be the world's perfect baby. I say that not in a bragging sort of way because I had absolutely nothing to do with it. She was born that way and that's just the way it is. She's fabulous. She weighs almost 17 lbs at 5 1/2 months and sleeps at night like a champ. She has slept 12 hours straight on more than one occasion, but typically goes to bed between 7 and 8 pm and gets up once to eat and then back to sleep until 7 or 8 am. She has recently moved to a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and a evening catnap. If she's full, rested, and not alone she's as happy as can be.

Tom--well you know all about him.

Me--I'm gearing up for baking season. Made a list of fattening treats to make in the next month. I've made some crafts to give as gifts and have more to make and sew. For you crafties out there here's what I made:

Mini accordian books (so much fun!), click here. I guess I can't show you the other things because some of you may be lucky enough to get one for Christmas!

Two new favorite blogs I found are Tipnut and Whimsy Girl

So crafting, baking, and caring for my family; that's what I do!

Have a wonderful Holiday season. Take the time to enjoy it!