No matter how much I tried to convince myself that I would be just as good at writing things down with my 4th child as I was with my 1st, it hasn’t happened. In fact, I currently am missing the calendar that I wrote down Seth’s accomplishments of the 1st year, or perhaps it is Will’s I am missing and I never got one for Seth. So much for trying to remember the things until I have a place to write them down. I can’t even remember what I wrote down and what I didn’t.

So recently I decided that I would try to record some of the things that happen daily here, so that I would have them whenever I get around to making baby books for each of the boys. Elise and Emma both have photo albums from the beginning of their lives, so hey, I’m half way there right?

Elise: Elise is a girl. And that is putting it mildly. She likes dresses and curled hair and makeup and cries when something doesn’t go her way. She even likes to chat with her friends. She can spend half an hour, if not more, talking to her new neighbor over the fence. She has some attributes from her father though, number one of which is that she likes to read. She is quick too. Ever since she surprised me by discovering how to read in her head all on her own, she has been reading through chapter books at an alarming speed. She likes to read aloud too though. She’ll read to anyone willing to listen, including me, her brothers, and my employees as they work on embroidery.

Will: Will has now decided to talk. People warned me that once he did figure it out, he’d talk my ear off, and some days that is definitely true. I love to hear him voice his thoughts though. He does still hold to the theory that words should not be wasted, he tends to leave out all insignificant words in his sentences like the, a, from, etc. His speech has now revealed that he is more observant than I ever knew. We’ll pass a place on the road where our car broke down and Will pipes up: “Dad’s car break down.” He remembers. I guess it is true that at his age every little event is so much more significant and worthy of remembering, but it is still amazing to me. He still doesn’t have a good concept of time though. “Go Nana’s house?” he’ll ask in the morning. “No, Will, not today,” I’ll answer. “Night?” he asks hopefully. “No, Will, not tonight either.” Which is then followed by a frown. He loves babies right now too. His little cousin Vesper, who he has only seen 3 times already holds a special place in his heart. Speaking of hearts, he has started to use the word “love” now for special people. I have still yet to hear him use it for me, but so far he has pronounced that he loves Uncle Ben, Pop, Daddy, and Tio. Perhaps his interpretation of what love is only applies to men. Here are some of my favorite Willisms:
-up up high (used for anything a little high to very high, though if it is unbelievably high, then it is “up up up high”)
-bump down (in place of break down)
-glup (finish up, for example: Me glup grapes?)
-you up me? (cover me up with my blanket)
-Eth (for Seth)
-E’Ese (for Elise)

Seth: Seth is not shy about finding his own special place in our family. Being the youngest he does get bossed around a lot, but he has discovered he has his own little ways of dominating his older brother and sister. He can make them both run all through the house screaming just by chasing them with a stick. “Mom, mom! Seth is going to hit us!” He thinks it’s funny. He and Will will play together quite happily when Elise isn’t around (when Elise shows up, Will will more likely choose to play with her and leave Seth alone). When they are together though, Will takes the lead and I often find them getting into trouble. Although, Seth doesn’t need Will’s encouragement to cause trouble. He loves little zippered pockets with things to pull out (i.e. my purse and my make-up bag). At first he was just content to empty the contents on the floor one by one, but recently I found him with make-up smeared all over his face. I guess I should be happy he is observant enough to know what it is for. He copies a lot of things I do, washing with a rag, talking on the phone (or any other convenient phone shaped object), and using keys. He has slowly started adding a few words to his vocabulary. His three newest are: wawa, juice, and choo-choo. I think that I have gotten so used to little boys not talking that it still takes me a bit to realize when he has actually said a real word. Seth turns 18 months old tomorrow. It is bittersweet to see that he is not a baby anymore, but most definitely a little boy.

Life is fun and exciting right now, though sometimes I do lose sight of that in the routine that is as busy as it is repetitive. Someday I’ll look back and wonder where all the time went, but I’m hoping I won’t wonder why I didn’t use it more wisely.