4 Months (and change)

At 4 months, William:

- weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces, and is 25 inches long (big boy!)

- is almost too big for the sink bathtub - sigh

- hates the bottle (poor Mommy, no breaks)

- coos, smiles, and giggles at the slightest hint of attention

- sucks his hands constantly - new trick, putting hands together and then sucking. Baby Bliss.

- loves grabbing toys and trying to get them into his mouth

- has discovered blowing raspberries, and entertains himself endlessly with them

- is enjoying his exersaucer (thanks for the reminder, J.J.!)

- is fascinated by our cat, Ellie

- adores his big sister, and pulls great big handfuls of her hair whenever she gives him hugs

- can't wait to see Grandma, Nana, Papa, Aunt Melisa, Uncle Jay, and Quenny next week!

- is growing up way too fast for his Mommy's liking

You have only been here 4 short months, and I can't imagine our family without your sweet presence. We love you, little man.

Uncle John

My Uncle John, Aunt Pat, and cousin John came down for dinner Sunday to meet William for the very first time. We feel awfully lucky to have family close by since we are so very far away from everybody else we love.

My Uncle was my dad's identical twin brother. It is pretty special to see him holding my child and to get a glimpse of what it would have been like for my dad to be a grandpa. He would have loved Caroline and William so much. Caroline would have had him completely wrapped around her little finger. :)

I really want my Dad to be a part of my children's lives through stories and pictures. I want to talk about him frequently, casually, lovingly. I want them to know how special he was and how much he would have adored them. But it's hard. It's hard to just bring him up, especially now that Caroline is older and starts to ask questions about where he is, and I struggle to answer her questions. So I'm glad my uncle is here, and we all get this tiny taste of my dad.

I know my dad would have loved this sight.

Costume Changes

Anybody who has spent any amount of time at our house knows how much Caroline loves to dress up. She changes her outfit many, many times a day - our house is usually littered with discarded dresses, tutus, and tiaras. We have two older girls across the street who kindly gave Caroline all of their old dance recital outfits, much to her delight. Grandma is also a big supporter of her princess habit, so it's safe to say Caroline has a lot of options when it comes to dress up.

A big reason I decided to start this blog is that I want to capture the stories and spirit of our children as they grow up. I have many nicely maintained photo albums, but after awhile, the stories, which were once so vivid, start to fade away. It's hard to imagine a time when Caroline won't be running around the house as a constantly changing princess, ballerina, or bride. Because this is so totally who she is at 2 years, 9 months.

When Caroline is in costume, she likes to refer to herself in third person and narrate her activities. For example, this morning I heard her saying "Cinderella ran sobbing into the garden." It's hard to keep up with exactly who is in our house at any point, since the character is constantly changing. I might call Snow White downstairs for a snack, just to be informed that Sleeping Beauty is currently in residence. I usually get to be the stepmother. :)

The Next Generation of Wildcats

One of the best things about being back in New England has been reconnecting with many of my old college friends. It has been so much fun to meet all the new little ones who have been born in the last 9 years!

Cathrine and Tarah brought their kids for a playdate today. We have six children (number 7 is on the way!) between us, and it was amazing how well they all did playing together. Thanks for making the trip, ladies!



The picture isn't great (getting 6 kids under four years old to cooperate isn't so easy :)), but I know some of you will enjoy seeing the little ones. That's Tarah's Ainsley and Camden, followed by my Caroline and William, and then Cathrine's Christopher and Thomas. We're looking forward to having Jackie and Dylan next week!

Keeping Cool

Here's how we've spent our summer:

Happy Birthday!

Steve and I have shared 13 of his 31 birthdays together, although we were apart for many of those. It is amazing to celebrate together, after all of these years, with our two children. Happy Birthday, Steve! We love you.

For our 1st anniversary, I made a lovely, homemade lemonade layer cake. Our anniversary is less than a month before Steve's birthday, and he started asking almost immediately for a "regular" yellow birthday cake. From a box. I guess my efforts were wasted on him. :)



Here's Steve's requisite yellow cake from a box with chocolate frosting. Guess who asked all day long when we would eat the cake? Guess who ate the most cake of any of us? Here's a hint: her name starts with "C." And yes, Clarks, there was ice cream, too.

Son Shine

Steve likes to grumble that William has replaced him as the most important man in my life. Anyone who has spent time with me in the last 3 1/2 months knows how much I gush about my baby boy. I adore his smile, his coos, his cuddles. I have enjoyed his infancy in a way that makes me want to have a house full of babies. But here's the thing: I love girls. Within minutes of finding out that Caroline was a girl, I was at Gymboree buying the pink-est, flowery-est dress I could find. I spent the rest of my pregnancy day-dreaming about tutus, tea parties, and wedding dress shopping. I can't wait for all the wonderful mother-daughter moments we have ahead of us, both big and small.

When we lived in Colorado, two of my very dear friends had boys, and I always thought they must secretly be a bit disappointed not to have a girl. I just didn't think the relationship between a mother and a son could be as special as the relationship between a mother and a daughter. I didn't get it. But now, thanks to this guy, I do.

I fell instantly, hopelessly in love with William the minute he was born. I love him extra because he is a boy. I probably could have lived the rest of my life without trains and t-ball, but I couldn't live without this boy, this son. Isn't it amazing how God knows exactly what we need?

P.S. - I was so excited to find this onesie from the Gap, because I tell William he's "my main man" about a million times a day. :)