Up and up and up...

The kids keep growing like weeds! This is my 5th mother's day... oh, I feel so old! And I can't remember what it was like to NOT be a mother, but that's not really a bad thing necessarily...

Elizabeth is already counting down the days to being 5, despite the fact that she won't be until December, 7 months from now! She can count to 20, knows all her capital letters and some lowercase, and can spell Mommy, Daddy, Elizabeth, Kael, and I love you. Her latest obsession is switching between being Ariel and Giselle. She can sing Part of Your World: Look at this stuff, isn't it neat, wouldn't you think my collection's complete, wouldn't you think I'm the girl, the girl who has everything; Look at this trove treasures untold. That's as far as she's gotten so far. And she loves singing the little song Giselle sings to call to the animals. And now she's finally growing out of 3T clothes, at least the pants. Lucky for us she prefers skirts, and now we're going into summer when she can wear shorts that can last us a little longer.

Kael, too, is growing. He's moving up to 3T, so we're glad it's shorts season soon for his sake too. He can count to 15, if you count that he skips either 13 or 14. He can also write the letter E. He's all boy, balancing on ledges, playing with cars and trains and pretending to be a pirate, or occasionally, Elizabeth's Prince Charming. He recently started putting pens and pencils behind his ear like his Dad. He is always making us laugh, and teasing is sister, too often for my tastes.

Tristan is now 8 months old. He can sit up on his own, hands on the floor. He rolls like a log. The only problem is it's only from back to tummy, and since he doesn't know how to roll back, he gets stuck and frustrated. The worst time is at night when he turns over in his sleep and I have to go in and flip him over so he can go back to sleep. He doesn't always go back to sleep, though, as he would prefer to wake up and socialize... ugh. It's like having a new baby again, with all the times I get up during the night! He has two teeth on the bottom, and now 4 more are trying to push through. We expect the first two on top by the end of the week, followed in the next couple of weeks by two more on the bottom. Tristan is just starting to realize that he can make us laugh, and tries to do so often. For his sake, I hope he learns to crawl or walk soon, because I'm tired of carrying him around! We would all be happier. :)

Matt has started a new term in school, and is thoroughly enjoying his classes. Visual media is the one he excels at the most, which surprises him, as he's never thought of himself as artistic. Databases is a challenge that he's rising to. He's also still working at the theater, and will be starting full time work at the end of May, when regular schools get out, and then things will get really busy! School term ends mid-July, and then things will ease up a bit, which will be nice.

I got called as choir pianist in March, which isn't much of a challenge, so much as it is a blessing, in that it gives me an opportunity and excuse to play piano at least once a week. We don't have room for our piano is our apartment, so I don't get to play as often as I'd like. Recently, I started working out with my friend Cortney, and it's really helped my mood, not to mention my waist size. I've also gone wheat and mostly gluten free, and I think the two factors together are really helping me to finally lose that baby weight.

Well, I think that's it for now. I'll try to be better about updating this more often. TTFN!