The 2-yr old Birthday post, a little belated...

This little cutie just had a birthday. She's 2 now, if you can believe it! And she's learning so much every single day...

She runs, with her arms up by her armpits; She jumps, usually with any sort of rope-like thing in her hand (headphone cord, string, dog leash...), apparently in imitation of her big sibs who have been jumping rope lately; She undresses herself, which is really swell (and has caused us to cut the feet of her jammies and put them on her backwards so she can't disrobe every night at bedtime!); She wants to do things "myself" and will proudly proclaim, "I did it!"

She's quite a Daddy's girl, this one. If Daddy is home, nobody else will do-- to change her, bathe her, feed her, brush her teeth... She knows how to work the room to get people to share bites of whatever tasty treat they're enjoying. And now that she's 2, she's certainly learning a thing or 2 about saying "no!" and throwing fits. After all, it's hard to be 2 some days... But she's such a delight in our lives and we are so blessed to have her as part of our family! 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Zo-Zo!

Fantastic 10!

Happy Birthday, my dear, sweet Oles!



I can hardly believe you are 10 years old. You keep us all laughing with your impersonations and sense of humor. You are so gentle and sweet with your baby sister. You get along well with pretty much anyone. Truly you are a delight and we are so very blessed to have you in our lives!


While I was in labor with you 10 years ago, I kept singing the song "Show me the way" during my contractions. Not sure how or why that song popped into my head, but it was prescient because in so many ways you do show me the way, and I'm grateful for your companionship on my journey of parenthood and life.



God is good, and I'm certain great things await you. 10 is such a milestone and I'm so proud of the 10 year old you've become! Happiest of days, my dear boy!

Sweet 5

                                              Happiest of Birthdays to this sweet little girl...                                      

  

 Who isn't so little any more!

She brought some much needed pink into our lives and we are blessed every day with her cheerfulness and sunny disposition.

She's kind and generous, always up for a good laugh and watches over her baby sister like a second little mother. She loves to love on her baby dolls and take care of anyone who needs taking care of. 

She's my right-hand woman in the kitchen and is very eager to learn new things.

Now that she's 5, she informs me that she knows A LOT more than she did when she was 4! I have no doubt that there's some truth to that, and I can't wait to see what this little one has in store for the next year... 

We love you, Miss Tola! Happy 5th birthday! May you climb to great heights this year!

returning from a long hiatus...and Zo-Zo speak

I have been absent from my blog for a long time. But the other day, Oles asked to read through the posts at Puppy Dog Tales and joyfully related all the stories he'd read over there. It made me realize how many precious family memories I captured on that blog and then over here, and how many in the past year or so that I've missed recording. So, I'm recommitting myself to keeping up with the little happenings in our family in this space!

First up? Zo-Zo speak, ed.1:

Zoja is now 19 months old and has her own unique way of communicating with her family.

Her favorite word by far is "Da-eeee!" ("Daddy!") Which is always said with an exclamation point... She says everyone else's name as well, except for Ziven. She just looks blankly at you when you try to get her to say that one. So we have "Oh-wee", "Daaaite," and "Ohla" (Sometimes that one comes out with an extra emphasis on the L sound, so we get "Ohlala").

When she wants something, anything, she points at it and says "ah-hah!" I can only surmise this stems from answering questions of "Do you want..." with "uh-huh" and then extended to an expression of want in general. Lately she's taken to adding the sign for please while she requests the object, rubbing her chest vigorously. She usually ends up with what she's asking for, because who can resist that?!?

And then there's sundry other words, including "Dakes" (Thanks), "No," "IdoIdo" (I don't know...)
I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting, but she babbles on all through the day, and we can't always make out exactly what she is saying, but slowly those sounds are beginning to form more and more actual words. It's such a fun and enjoyable time!

And way back over half a year ago...

Tait jumped over to the "big boys" this year. Now that his years can no longer be counted on 1 hand, he's no longer one of the littles.

Tait is so full of love and joy! He loves to make people laugh and is always getting up to some mischief or other with that goal in mind. He loves pranks and practical jokes (and is trying to navigate what kinds of pranks are acceptable and which are likely to get him in trouble...)

He adores his baby sister, often sighing, "Mom, I wish Zoja could stay like this forever!" More often than not, after we turn out the light in the room he shares with Tola, we hear footsteps as Tola climbs into bed to snuggle with her big brother, who always welcomes her and keeps her from being scared!

Happy Very Very Belated Birthday, funny, crazy, mischievous Tait! We love you!

Remembering Our December Birthday Boy

11! I'm not even going to think about how that happened. One day at a time, we have arrived at 11 years!

Ziven is such a responsible young man, dependable and honest.

Legos and books are still Ziven's favorite pastimes. He's discovered the fun of customizing his legos this year, and his favorite literary pursuit this year has been everything Greek Mythology. This kid knows far more Greek mythology than I could ever learn!

And he now considers himself a "chicken enthusiast" as well, having taken the care of the chikens under his wing, so to speak.

He loves to play around with words and create puns and new jokes, trying them our nightly on dad as soon as he walks through the door.

We love you, Ziven, and are so blessed to have you in our family!

Happy Really Belated Birthday, Sonny Boy!

Happy-belated-Birthday, Sweet Tola!

February. You know, as in nearly 3 months ago... Sigh. How does the time go so quickly? This poor blog has sat here silent for 10 months while life has gone on. And on. And on. So many ordinary moments chock-full of ordinary loveliness.

And several not-so-ordinary, once-a-year kind of happenings. I can't possibly go back and capture them all here belatedly. But I do owe a few birthday posts! I've done birthday posts every year for the past 7 or 8 years and I can't just skip over them now.

So, working my way backwards...

Little Miss Tola turned 4. Again, she wanted a pink birthday. Again, pink frosting and pink cake adorned her birthday cake. This year, she was delighted to have a little sister to fawn over on her special day.

This sweet girl fills our days with singing and dancing and princess dresses, lego building, and making her sister giggle. She loves to help mama in the kitchen, peeking into every bowl and asking what ingredients I put in this one... Every day she graces one of her brothers with allowing them to be her buddy that day, and they are all happy to compete for the honor.

She has such a loving spirit and brightens our day with cheer! Happy Birthday, my sweet Tola!