Good day

I should definitly be asleep.

Our dear children just went to bed, in birth order, at these times: 11pm, 11:45pm, 12:00am. Which is why I am not yet going to bed. Because, as they clearly did, I now have a second wind. That, and I have a little one breathing heavy on my chest, all nestled in and warm, and I can't bear to put her down just yet.

That being said, when I was originally thinking about posting tonight, I thought of beginning like this:
STB seeking FTN (that stands for 'single, toddler boy' seeking 'full time nanny'--in case you were wondering...) Must pick me up whenever I say "uppey, uppey, uppey." Must fix me pizza for every meal, unless I mix it up and say I want pasta. Must have food prepared at all times in case I say "what you makin' me?" Needs to have extreme upper arm strength as I need to be carried 90% of the time. Must be able to read. I usually top out at at least 50 books a day. Must enjoy dancing, and yes, with me in your arms. At the drop of a hat, must be able to run around the kitchen island, and yes, with me in your arms, as I yell "Get Bella! Get Bella!. Is this too much to ask?

So in regards to Declan lately, I think you get my point.

My sweet, sweet boy. He's changing and growing up, but he's still such my baby. I obviously didn't know Ryan as a toddler. But I know that I am now raising "Ryan as a toddler." And that probably doesn't need much explaining.

On the subject of growing and changing, Isabella is blowing me out of the water. She is a little mommy and I watch her during the day and I just feel, in her essence, me as a child. She feels things that I know I felt. She sees things the way I know I saw things. And she does things that I certainly know I did. We went to story time at the library this morning and when we were leaving, she said "Mommy, isn't it a beautiful day? Is it summer now?" Every time the poor girl sees sunshine, she wants to know if it's summer yet. She begs to go to the playground, the pool, anything that involves movement, sun, and being outside. So today, as we pulled out of the library parking lot, instead of going straight at the stop light, I headed left. We stopped at the grocery store, picked up an impromptu lunch (that wouldn't require silverware or any other sort of preperation) and headed to the park. I think her smile was as big as it could possibly be. And Declan was way in the back, saying "Yah! Yah! Yah!"

We pulled into the park and Isabella said "Mommy, you are the best mom ever. You are the best mom. You know why? Because you let us have this special day. We are good listeners and you let us have a fun day." (Geez, does it sound like they're never allowed to have fun??) Anyway, the girl was giddy and that made me giddy. Really, it did. I think I felt just as happy as she did. So we walked around the duck pond, fed the ducks, wrapped Quinn up like a little sausage in her stroller, and played on the playground. Declan had fun. He loves being outside. But if you return to his personal ad at the top, you can imagine how he was. Granted, the second we were about to leave the park, he was all about staying and swinging, which he had no interest in doing previously.

Quinn is almost 7 months old. Which, I can't believe. How is this all happening so fast? She's up and rocking on all fours and wants to move. Honestly, with the chub on her thighs, I am totally interested to see how this is going to work out. The baby led weaning is going well. I basically followed that method (unintentionally) with Isabella and Declan, but it's just so much easier this time. Mostly because I don't consume myself with her "food" intake. I know that breastmilk is all she needs right now and that food serves for practice and taste. She loves gnawing on apple pieces, sucking on sweet potato "fries", chewing on peaches, pulverizing banana chunks, and she digs a cold cucumber on those sore gums.

Life with Quinn is still progressing flawlessly. She is letting it be known, what she wants, which has been interesting for her brother and sister. The babe that used to not care if a toy was taken from her, or a book that she was chewing on was swiped. But now, she lets you know if you took something that was important to her. And I just sit back and enjoy the 2 and 3 year old, listening to the 6 month old tell them who's boss!

It was a good day. I love good days. Days where it all fits together seamlessly. Dinner gets made on time, siblings love on eachother and play together, naps are taken, laughs are heard, and kisses are given out like crazy. I love days like this.

Now, I can't say I particularly love the ending of this day. Like, the super, super late bedtimes, but our day outweighed that. It happens once in a blue moon. And they can sleep in tomorrow. And we can take long naps in the afternoon (or at least one can hope). And we can hope for just as happy of a day.