Quick update

I didn't mean to neglect my blog. Here's my attempt at a quick update. Almost every day when one of the kids says something cute Tim asks me if I put it in the blog, to which my response is usually "No, but I will!"

Since I've last updated here are some of the major events of our family....

-Sofia turned 3! I simply cannot believe she is 3, the time flew by and she is such an amazing little girl. Three does come with some challenges as she is increasingly independent and sometimes a bit stubborn (no idea where that comes from ;)). Overall though, I'm just in awe of this little human in our lives. She is so well spoken and has such a kind and generous heart. She loves to take care of everyone. Her other interests include reading, riding her new bike, swimming, art projects, baking with Mom or one of her Grandmas, gardening, and singing. She is an excellent reader and we frequently find her reading on her own or reading a book out loud to her brothers or stuffed animals. Sofia loves her preschool program and she will be sad to see it end in a few weeks. Sofia also broke her arm this month. It happened at a local playground when she was riding a spinning circle (that's the best description I can give). I was actually on it with her but I wasn't holding her. Tim came over and spun it a little too fast, she got scared and tried to get off but landed awkwardly on her arm. Sofia was such a trooper with her x-rays and cast and hopefully will be back to normal in about 3-4 weeks.

The six layer cake that Sofia and I baked together.

-We drove (23 hours each way) to Florida with the kids for a spring break trip. We stopped in Tennessee on the way down and way back to give the kids a break and visit with old friends in Knoxville and Nashville. The trip was just awesome, the kids did so well during the drive and they just loved the beach.

Sofia got a special day trip with Tim and I to a wildlife park while the boys spent the day with Uncle Russ & Aunt Peg.

Sofia the kite master!

Sullivan refuses to ever be a part of a sibling picture.

The kids even got to hang out with second cousins Ryker and Slade.

-Everett & Sully are two months away from their 2nd birthday! Their lives seem to be going by twice as fast as Sofia's. They are at such a fun yet challenging age. They are really starting to develop some strong interests and personalities. The main thing that is challenging about their age isn't really their age but the fact that there are two of them. They aren't interested in riding in the stroller unless we are running. And I can't run with them and leave Sofia alone on her bike. So I hunted around for weeks on Craigslist and found an amazing double bike for the boys that I can strap them into (so they can't run into the street) so we can bike to the parks in our area.

Sofia before her first soccer practice.

At the Kalahari in the Dells.

Sully bear!

Evie!

An attempt at a group picture.

Wave pool!

Shaving cream cars (a desperate attempt for entertainment on a cold winter/spring day)

The boys favorite part, the car wash.

Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Sullivan shopping at the Sendiks inside the museum

Sofia in action at soccer practice.

Small yet memorable moments
-Reading books three or four times in a row to my Everett who seems to love reading as much as his big sister.
-Listening to Sofia sing all three verses of our "Our Father" song that we sing to the kids every night at bedtime. We usually sing it while Tim and I rub the boys' backs. Sofia stands in the middle of us and sneaks her arm through the crib and rubs one of her brothers' backs and sings. The love she has for her family and brothers is so pure, innocent and beautiful.
-Watching the boys race back and forth down the board walk in Florida.
-Sullivan is starting to talk a lot more now. His voice is simply adorable and he is very curious about body parts. He spends a lot of time pointing at various things saying, "What's that?"
-Dance parties with the kids. Our kids are exposed to a lot of different types of music, we definitely play a lot of children's music but we also throw in a strong dose of dance music, classic rock, oldies, indie etc. It is so much fun to dance with the kids.
-The boys are so adventurous and daring, they literally jump off of everything. Thankfully they give us a bit of a warning so we can catch them but they jump off of steps, curbs, couches, chairs without a thought.
-Sullivan's night time "talk down". He's at the phase where he repeats things he's heard during the day before he goes to sleep. I'm usually rocking Everett when he does this. The other night he said "Night night" to everyone in our family and then he started saying the most bizarre things. He said, "Hi Dada, Dada no!". Then he started growling like a lion for 20 seconds before laughing hysterically. Then I looked up and he was staring at me from his crib standing and sliding back and forth chewing on the crib rail like it was corn on the cob. I tried not to laugh but he heard me and then started jumping up in down. Out of nowhere he stopped, laid down and was silent. He seriously does some version of this every night. Everett usually sleeps through it or I'm rocking him.