One and Eight

Eyla turned one, the pollen got the best of us, Isabella turned eight and school is almost over. That, plus a million other little things that make up our day to day. There is nothing I love more than reminiscing about the past but now it's become borderline painful. When I flip back the pages and see these tiny little humans that we created, who are now creeping up past the half way marks of our own bodies, it seems too unbelievable.
Eyla turned one.
From the second we saw the 'Pregnant' show up in that little window, I vowed to savor every single millisecond of my pregnancy, birth, infancy and beyond. Not that I didn't treasure it completely with the others, but with the idea that this was our last, I couldn't bear to miss a beat. But as is life, it flew by before I could blink, Eyla flew into the world before I could wrap my head around what was about to happen, and now--now she is one.

 

 



As usual, Eyla got all the love on that day. Oh wait, Eyla gets all the love every day. I feel like I constantly tell the older three "love each other like you love Eyla!" Eyla was our first baby that wasn't walking on her first birthday. Fine by me, because I personally want her to stay a baby forever. But a month later, to the day, she took a few steps and then just kept on going. She hasn't slowed down since, taking true toddler-hood by storm. Climbing anything that can be climbed, falling off of said climb-able things, giving fierce hugs and kisses one second and falling to a heap of tears on the floor the next (usually following a re-direction of some sort). She loves to feed her baby dolls, follow her sisters and brother, scream at them if they go outside without her, climb, sit in chairs, steal everyone's food, hug and cuddle, nurse--especially between the hours of 12 and 6 am, and look at books. Eyla still has Isabella, Declan and Quinn completely wrapped around her finger. There is nothing more they hate than to hear her cry. So if any of the three are in the vicinity when she is in fact crying, they pull out all the stops to try and calm her. As much as I tell them that it is okay...sometimes babies cry and that is okay...I really love that her joy is at the top of their lists. And if we are in the car and she's crying--forget it. Six hands covering six ears and begging me to "Pull OVER MOM! She NEEDS YOU!" It's rough being the youngest.

And when you have a giant family, you get Birthday Round 2 (and a giant cake that is not at all for you).

I will never forget that moment when all three of our kids sat around the edges of our bed as Eyla came into this world. I'll never forget that out of body experience of pushing a baby into the world while watching the first three see their new baby for the first time ever. I'll never forget Isabella telling all of us that it was a girl. And I'll never forget Declan just rubbing my leg. And I will always, always, remember those moments after she was here, all four of our kids huddled around us, completely in awe and in love and feeling probably the most joy possible.
Eyla is one and loved beyond measure. As they all are and as they all should be.

Almost exactly one month later (when we all thought Eyla would actually be joining us earth side), our oldest "baby" turned eight.
Seven was a year of adjustments. Isabella was born the most easy going baby/toddler/child/little kid to ever grace my presence. Then she turned seven. It was a year of growth and frustration and independence and dependence. A year of new friends, rivalry and all that goes along with it. Seven was big for us. It was the year that I learned how to begin life with a 'big kid' so much unlike the previous six years with just a bunch of little ones that would go with the flow, easy to please and not a care in the world. Isabella had to grow within herself a lot this past year. She had to learn how to stand up for herself, be confident and be a leader. She had to delve into the realm of self-motivation and pride. This year held a whole lot of talking, explaining, not understanding, comparing, questioning and repeating.

Isabella wants autonomy more than she wants a lot of things. She loves things that are "just for her." She loves one on one and takes it at every opportunity (even if it's going to the grocery store at 8am or 8pm...if she can go alone, she is on board!)

And she's sensitive. She is empathetic to the max and loves her baby sister more than the world. She will, at the drop of a hat, hold her, rock her, sing to her, play with her, swing her, take her outside, change her diaper, her clothes, tickle her, hide from her and jump out and surprise her, and kiss her all day long. She has special relationships with Quinn and Declan independently and in a group. They make quite a team when they decide to work together but she reminds me often that 'it must be kind of neat to be an only child...'

This year Isabella just wanted to have a birthday party and play games. Kickball and musical chairs topped the list, so there was a whole lot of that going on.

And Yoga gear. A whole lot of that as well.

She also got a canopy over her bed, which if I remember correctly, is kind of the best when you are eight.

 Ever since Eyla was really young, maybe five or six months, Isabella would hold her in her lap and play the piano. Now, Eyla pulls Isabella over to the piano and grunts until she sits her on the bench. And now they play together.

 The Cousins. And in true "let's take a picture of the cousins" fashion, someone wasn't happy. In this case, Quinn. I'll give you a second to guess why she was so upset...

Here is the answer: