Not a baby anymore.

According to my boys...2 is a toddler.
"0 to the-day-before-you-turn-2 is a baby."
So Neve is officially a toddler.
By their definition.
Not to her Mommy......that's for sure. 
She will always be my baby. 

Always.

BUT, she's been talking in full sentences for months now.
She corrects the boys, and is quite articulate in her demands. 
"No, Mommy.  I watch Do-a. NOT Clippard!!!"
...............Pardon me, Madam.

I'll bet we could get her potty trained soon...she is smart enough. 
But I'm not ready. ;) 
...Having potty trained 4 kids in the last 4-5 years I just need a break. Sure, diapers stink, BUT there's an ease about taking a kid to the store in a diaper.  No frantic running to the nearest nasty public toilet.

Neve loves to dress up like a Super-Hero.
She wants to sit and watch MegaMan or Ben10 with the boys too.
She will run down the hall with a tutu on yelling "HEY BOYS...I A PRINCESS!!!" but freak out now if I try to put her in a dress and tights (of course you know I still do.... ;) ).

We've go no other references to Princesses here though...no Disney dolls lurking about.
Just that loudmouth Dora.
...I can hear her on the TV now "COME ON BOOTS!  LETS GO ON AN ADVENTURE!!!!"
(Did YOU hear that over there?  I'm certain our entire neighborhood can even with the volume at a minimum.)

My girl is not a fan of veggies in general.  Unless she's drinking my plant-based protein shake...then she'll get her daily dose. ;)
She LOVES meat though... Golly...she can put the twins and Megersa to shame at times. 
She also loves cheese and peanuts.......oh and all things sweet. 

She's sweet as pie.  Seriously....she oozes cuteness.  From that blonde bob to her chubby feet, I cannot. get. enough. 
Recently, she has taken to "helping" me wash the dishes. 
Do I end up having to change her sopping wet outfit every time?  Yes. 
But can I resist her bringing her little black stool up to the counter and asking to help? No. I cannot.  Because I am in love with her. 

While that girl looks not one thing like me, she reminds me so much of me in her personality.  A tomboy at heart that appreciates the girly things in life.  Daring, but somewhat timid...sassy but sensitive. 

The Italian word for snow is: neve.
It hasn't snowed on any of her birthdays yet, but she is just as bright and radiant as it is.
I wake up every morning with anxious anticipation of how she will affect my life each day. 
I am captivated by her beauty and charm.

The big guy

Cale is by far and away the biggest. 
I feel like Megersa will most likely end up the smallest of the boys when they're all done growing...with the twins it's a toss up.  Shep has always been taller than Thad, but now he's got poundage on him too.  I suspect it'll stay like that unless Sheppy defies all odds and becomes interested in athletics at some point... ;)

But back to Cale.
He's 7.5 and is already up to my chest in height.  He's a little less than half my weight.  For now that seems manageable, but when he outgrows me it'll feel weird! 
But...I'm fairly confident that they all eventually will, even Neve.
...He's mature enough as 7-year-olds go.  He can do most tasks I ask him to...he's great at fetching things helping me out, and is usually pretty willing. Recently I've allowed him to chop up veggies with a real knife. (I know, I know!!  But those Master Chef Jr kids are babies and they're preparing gourmet meals...I gotta be a part of that somehow!!!!) 
He's been my Mother's helper for years now.  I almost forget what it was like to have 1 kid.............

Oh, sorry...I started daydreaming. ;)
What is Cale into now?
His top 3?
1. SOCCER.
2. Soccer.
3. Soccer. 
Wait...those aren't different to you? Humph.  I get the feeling Cale feels like everyone should possess the same drive he does. BECAUSE he loves it, so should everyone...and with the exact same intensity.  That's reasonable, right? ;)
He played on his first real team this past summer/fall.  And while it got kinda annoying the season had it's share of challenges - practice/games 3x a week and away games up to 45 min from our house, this kid was GUNG HO.  ....and he gained quite a bit of knowledge about the sport and ended up one of the top scorers at the end of the season!  I know he can't wait for next year.  I can't wait for the weather to be warmer so he can "practice" outside.  I'm tired of seeing him kick everything around the house.  I should teach him how to kick dirty laundry up into the washer.  ...that'd be nice. ;)

...Okay, okay.  I'll give soccer the top spot.  But a very close 2nd is AWANA clubs.  (Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed....proud of me for remembering that one?  I know Tim was. ;))  His passion and love for learning verses, hearing stories about Jesus and connecting with other kids is inspiring.  This kid is on fire!  He is already this awesome little evangelist.  I kid you not, I've had 4 neighborhood children show up at my door and say "Cale invited us to AWANA...our mom says yes, but can you take us?" He's now providing me with ministry opportunities too.  ;)
I'm so proud of him. I know for sure I was never that outgoing...he gets that from his father.

Last, but not least (by any means) is his love for video games.  Again, insert Daddy here...
Mommy is the best at board and card games...  and I play Mario (provided it's the side scrolling kind), Donkey Kong and some others here and there, so I'm not totally useless as a gamer's mom. ((In fact, I've got great memories of my brother Chet and I playing Streets of Rage 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog.)) ...but nothing like Cale.  He just "gets" games.  All games.  But of course video games are his favorite.  And while some kids are just not coordinated in that area (*cough* Megersa), and that's okay... Cale excels right away.  If the younger kiddos can't get Daddy to play a game for them they will happily watch Cale for entertainment.  Sometimes he asks ME for help...but um... 
Sorry pal... Mommy can teach you to do a lot; but finding/battling/leveling up Pokémon characters is never gonna be one of them. ;)  He eventually figures it out himself. :)

....So there's Cale. 
He's also handsome and polite and sensitive and extremely smart!! 
But because I gushed all over Megersa's post, I thought though I'd keep this post staccato like, as Cale is...
Soccer.
AWANA.
Games.
And done.

blessed

I would say I'm a fair crier. 
I can hold back if necessary, but can pour out the tears if I'm touched by something. 
I must admit I don't often think of Megersa's birth mother.
Not in the deep way God is prodding me to do now.
To pray for her, to allow her into my thoughts and our family even though I don't know anything about her.... and I'm moved to tears.
Well, I do know one thing.  One and only one: she gave birth to my second son.
And I cannot thank her enough for that.
Thinking of her and the decision she made... 
Whatever caused her to have to make that decision, I cannot imagine.  But I'm not sure I would be strong enough. 
To kiss my son or daughter goodbye.
To allow God to finish his story, trusting that there was a family out there that would love him.
I don't know her circumstances. 
I wish I did. I wish I could love on her and send her pictures. 
I wish someday Megersa could meet her. 
But most of all I wish I could thank her for our son:

Our son who has been a Nester for over 5 years now.
Our son who loves to rhyme and excels gracefully at memorizing songs, poems or stories.
Our son who loves playing with his brothers and is careful to play gently with his baby sister.
...Our son who pretends he likes all food not to hurt my feelings and is usually up for almost any adventure provided the atmosphere isn't too hot or too cold.

And with the chaos of life and the support and acceptance of our family as is, I often forget we are even considered "different" by normal family standards.
Sometimes he's so like my other children I often forget what sets him apart.
Well, I see it. I see his beautiful dark face, his perky nose, and his crazy old man eyebrows (that are so distinctly him).  ...His long thin arms, legs and torso...covered in the most beautiful chocolate skin.  I know he needs different hair care products and requires a good slathering of cocoa butter daily....
But he has a history and a past that is uniquely his own as well.
Sometimes when I look at his face I wonder what his first mother looked like.
I would bet good money he got his beauty from her. :)



First picture we ever saw of him......and roughly 5 years later:

"different"..."unique"..."interesting"..."unusual" - whatever kind of family label we get.
I do know that his adoption in our lives makes us most of all, blessed.

How did we get here?

Oh man....how did I get to this point?  April 2014 was the last time I blogged?
Shameful. ;)
Do I just jump in on where we're at right now, at the END of 2014, or try and back track the past 8 months?  .....oh momma.  That may take MANY posts....and a lot more brain power that I'm currently running on.
But, I think I have just enough to update our pics.
I think.

Our old family picture was taken in July of 2013:

And the new Christmas 2014 pic:

A little growing up was done in that time, huh?

I mean, I'm sure Tim could still probably pick up both twins at the same time...but my guess is his face would look a little more strained.... ;)

Cale?  Gosh, he's just a monster.  Look - he's up to my chest!  Should we take bets on when he will outgrow me?  - I wonder how weird it will be the first time I catch myself looking "up" at him.

Slow down, son.  Slow down.

SONS! All of them are getting so big!

And you, dear daughter.

Oh my love, you are far too mature for your not-quite-2-year-old self. 

 

Tim and I joke that if we had had Neve first we would have thought the boys were all a little behind.

She's just seems so...advanced. 

Talking full sentences at 18 months? Check. 

Singing songs and demanding she does EVERYTHING herself before she's 2?  Double check.

BUT how I've longed for my very own dolly.  She's perfect.

Christmas-time is a blast this year!  ...I have had a great time shopping for lil' Miss Neve.

I'm not gonna say I took a deep whiff of a few cabbage patch dolls, but I'm not gonna say I didn't.

.....Smells. Like. My. Childhood.

 

One might say that wanting to relive your childhood is a powerful enough urge to have a brood of boys -and keep on going.

(Maybe that one is me.)

Today I took pictures of every doll I wanted I thought Neve might want and sent them to Tim to have her vote on her favorite.

His reply back: "She wants them all."

Me too sister, me too.

 

And I love that mess of boys we have. 

....I gather having boys is intimidating to some moms, but listen...
I'll boil it down for you:

Superheroes...Fighting...Things that move fast.

Elaborations vary.  My boys aren't ALL into Super-Heros.
I'd give that card to Megersa first and foremost (dressing up, pretending, and the like) followed closely by Thad.  I would say those 2 are my fighting men as well. 
Shep will jump in there if the urge hits, but...that boy's inner workings deserve a blog post of it's own.  He is one. of. a. kind.
All 3 have asked for Nintendo DS this year for Christmas.

Truthfully I can't wait til they have their own systems...
What?!  Not wanting to share my phone (and it's super awesome games) with them for hours on end makes me a bad mom? ;)
 

Cale's interest "growing up" (as if at his ripe old age of 7.5 is grown) have never touched on any one of those things for very long.  He is already pulling away from the pack with his 'own' thing. 

I was talking to the dentist today (when his hands were not directly IN my mouth) about his age and how the requests from Santa are more grand and specific. 
My dude loves soccer.  LOVES. His request was simple this year. 
"2 soccer goals"
...yes, 2 goals so he can turn his siblings into little opposing teammates that he can dominate with his newly acquired skills. (...gotta love the oldest child's choice of how to be a dictator leader. ;))

 

So, that's where I will end. 
I realize I only updated 1 pic....but if I continued on with the other 7 that need changing and description updates I would be writing until morning....and I'm certain everyone would fall asleep.

I wonder if people with only 2 children can wrap up their thoughts without making it a book.

I know I can't...

SO, stay tuned. 

Or not, whatever you want. ;)

 

I solemnly swear am going to make a valiant attempt to blog more finishing out this year and into 2015...... perhaps I'll make it past April. 

 



hashtagging

I did sign up for twitter.
At least I think I did.
I have not followed anyone's twitter feed and I haven't "tweeted" anything (that I know of)...
so why do it?
Well, honestly, I love reading people's hashtags.
I feel like it's people little inner thoughts on the post at hand.
Kinda like the emojis....(which are very facially descriptive) but with actual words.

I need to ask Tim how to do it correctly, because I'd like to be able to log away certain tags with what my kids do... An easier way of recording their funny/serious/insane moments without opening up the old blogger and logging away.
(I do intend to keep up with this though for my own sake...and theirs some day.)

For now though, before I can confidently say I'm hashtagging correctly, I will just list the things that I wanna log away (and just for fun this time- lets do it "hashtag" style).

Eats cereal in a bowl, with a spoon...without milk.
#megersa4
Puts his shoes on the wrong feet.  Every time.  Always.
#megersa4
Takes a bow after taking a dump.
#thad3
Started walking on 4.23.14
#neve1

They say...

Opposites attract.

Well, maybe they weren't talking about twins, but growing in the same uterus is about as close as two opposites can get.
Even now, on the "outside" - 3+ years later, they're super close...BUT, they're also super opposite.

 and as more evidence a fun look at a FB post from April 15:
I took a half hour to "ignore" (if thats possible) my troops while I watched the Duggars.
2 potty accidents.
One twin stood still screaming in his wet clothes glued to his spot.
The other changed clothes and started a small load of laundry. (Sure it was dirty stuff in the dryer...but he deserves some props.)
....Guess who did which.

I love that they're opposites!
Their interests actually rarely cross.
Which makes me hope that they won't be fighting over girlfriends when that day comes (you know - in like 20 years...) ;)

Easter 2014

So technically these pics were taken the Sunday before Easter - but Nana & Pop-Pop (hosts of the egg hunt) were going to be out of town on Easter, so we celebrated this festivity a week early.

No matter - kids celebrate the day that there is a celebration.

Calendars don't matter as much.

The amount of candy these tikes got was INSANE.  For two days I had kids willing to do whatever it took to get a piece, but...like Halloween, I separate it, then hide or freeze it, and the desire to beg sorta fizzles away...and I can use it as fun treats or rewards. ;)

Thumbs up, Easter 2014!