quick update

Things are going along pretty well here...
oops, just a minute, Jasper's calling me from bed...
okay, anyway, here's the scoop:

Kid 1, Josie:
She's five all of the sudden and looks bigger and prettier for it. Somehow it seems to have happened overnight--one minute she was Adelaide-sized, then she was Jasper-sized, now she's a big smart girl and I don't know how it happened. She's getting ready for Kindergarten this fall (!) and we've been looking at schools for her to attend. We think we've narrowed it down to two (a local public school which is very good and a Catholic grade school about the same distance away). Both have their advantages, and we're trying to figure out which would best meet our objectives. I'm sure Josie will do fine at either, but it feels like a momentous decision! She's really become a fun person to be around, and I just wish I had more time alone with her. She's very articulate and expressive, and generally a nice kid. She's reading very well now, after having figured the whole thing out (moving from sounding every word out early in her fourth year to really getting the idea at 4 1/2, then just becoming more and more fluent ever since. She seems to be reading at a 1st or 2nd grade level at this point, although that designation appears to be pretty arbitrary. Everywhere we go it's "hey, there's a bank...let's play a game where whenever we see the word 'bank' we say 'bank'. Okay?" Then it's the alphabet game, or the 'open' game (see 'bank' game for rules :) Or we'll be picking out cereal and she'll point out that one has "less sugar, mama! We should get this one!!" She's still very interested in Adelaide and happy to do what she can to help out by playing and entertaining her. She and Jasper continue to be the very best of friends (friends who argue intermittently), and have whole imaginary worlds apart from their Daddy and me. I can see that Adelaide will just be folded into that as she gets bigga' and bigga'.
(I also meant to say that during her preschool evaluation we learned that she can count to at least 100, which was interesting since for years she would forget 20...)

Kid #2, Jasper:
Jasper's quite the strapping young boy, really fitting into the 3Ts now at 2 1/2. He's slim, but very dense and is somewhere upward of thirty pounds (and a few inches taller than all his buddies). He seems to have gotten over the difficult moods and frustration he had after Adelaide was born, and is back to his old sweet self. He's nearly always got a smile on his face (check out those dimples!), but when he doesn't he can really go off. We're working on that :) He's still very affectionate, doling out the hugs and kisses and snuggles in a way that independent Josie didn't really do. They're so different, yet complimentary, it's really fun to see. Anyhow, he's been very interested in letters as Josie's learned to read, and he knows all of them (I think) and most of the sounds that they make. I think it's just the benefit of having an older sibling who is always working on things at your level. Especially one like Josie who loves to be the teacher (teacher=boss) all day long. He started at a playschool one day per week last month and (although he complains on his way there) is really enjoying it. I think that he was really ready to go to school ("me go school, me take my ladybug backpack, me bigboy") after watching Josie go for as long as he can remember. He's set to go into Mrs D's class this fall, just as Josie did two years before. Wow, the time passes so quickly!

And Kid #3, Adelaide:

What a lovely surprise she has turned out to be. We still debate who exactly she looks like, but she really seems to be a lovely blend of each of us. She's just the sweetest thing, nearly always happy and cooing, and even when she's upset she's very able to calm herself down (I had no idea that babies like this really existed!). It's been a bit tough off and on with Josh traveling and Adelaide catching all the big kids' colds, but she's a trooper (even if she could be sleeping better, sigh, it seems like all my children are programmed to be early risers!). Yesterday she finally figured out how to roll over from her back onto her tummy, and we were all very excited. She's also been putting things in her mouth and can reach out and grab dangling things. It's so different watching each child reach these milestones as you think of the older ones and how the time passes and developments build on one another. Quite something!

Anyway, I'd better go enjoy some of Josie's company while the others are napping. We're working on art projects today (much like every other day!)

songs: I've been workin' on the railroad, She'll be comin' round the mountain
books: Anything Josie can read to Jasper!