Kid Updates

Briggs: He's 13 months old!! The most common phrase we say about him is "He's so big". And he is, he's just a really big, heavy, solid kid. He's still getting the hang of walking, but he'll do it more and more. A few steps here and there. Sometimes because we make him, and other times of his own accord. He's just this little miniature person and he's so dang cute. We all have a fun time watching him and Cato interact. They're so funny. They crawl around, sometimes Briggs is going after the dog, other times he turns and runs and gets chased. He is the sweetest little boy and just so chill. He's easy going most of the time and is just a really good boy. I still call him "baby" all the time, but when I stop and think about it he's not such a baby anymore. But he's still my baby, so I guess it works. Probably the funniest thing Brigham does is when he gets mad, he'll just go after you. He does it a lot to Kelsey, probably because there's not as big of a size difference. But if she has something he wants, he'll just lunge at her and wrap his arms around her and scream/growl "Aggghhh!!" hahaha it's so funny to me. He's just a physical boy. He throws everything and attacks people and loves to play ball and wrestle. And oh how he can EAT! This past week we just got him his own little booster so he can sit at the table with us at meal times, instead of the high chair. It's pretty fun to have 7 of the 8 chairs filled around our table. I feel so full and blessed when we're all sitting together at a meal. He's still in the destructive 1 year old stage where he's always emptying cupboards and bookshelves and coloring in/on things he shouldn't be.

Kelsey: 3 years. It is the funniest thing to watch Kelsey with our little puppy, Cato. She just loves him to death, and he doesn't like how she picks him up (sometimes around the neck...) and he'll hide under the couch to get away from her. But she is very sweet with him sometimes and puts him on her lap and covers him up with a blanket and sings to him a lot. She loves to practice writing the letters that are in her name. She loves all things princess. I absolutely love her long, beautiful hair and her cute dimples. She still likes to act like she's the youngest and sort of gets babied a little by daddy, and her sister Madison who dotes on her unceasingly. She loves to snuggle up for a book (or 10) and always has her fingers in her mouth! (Trying really hard to break that habit). Kelsey seems to have the weakest constitution, in that she's always the first one to get sick! If there's a sickness to catch, she'll get it first and spread it to her siblings. She still struggles with saying a lot of letters, (mostly S, F, and R) which sometimes makes it difficult to understand her. Madi usually can interpret for us. But we're working on it as best as we know how. Kelsey has a fiery temper, but she's also very quick to apologize afterward and is the first to concede and give a big hug to whichever sister she's arguing with. She has a great sense of humor and loves to pull faces and make people laugh. She's somewhat of a picky eater, but not terrible. She mostly just loves to snack.

Madison: 4 years old, but counting down the days till she turns 5. Especially since it snowed, (because she knows her birthday is in the winter time) she asks almost daily how long until her birthday! Madison is always so mature and smart for her age. We always think she's older than she is. She is in a big coloring phase right now and will just sit down at the desk with her crayons and a coloring book for literally hours a day. She loves to make her pictures pretty and use lots of colors. She is still very much into her dolls. I've never met a more naturally nurturing, motherly little girl in all my life. She still gets her doll dressed every morning, and into her nightgown at night. She has her sleep right by her either in her bed, or in the little doll bed on the floor next to her. She changes its diaper when I'm changing Brigham's diaper, and will frequently give her baby a bottle, and comfort it when it cries, let me know when it's napping, etc. She buckles it up in the car sometimes when we go for a drive. Whenever people talk about what they want to be when they grow up, the only thing she ever says is, " a Mom". :) But she still wants nothing to do with the dog or the chickens. She really is uncomfortable with all animals (the total opposite of her siblings) but she'll be the best mother to a dozen children, mark my words. Madison makes me laugh so hard every day. I wish I would write down more of the funny things she does and says, she really is a crack up. She's also quite "book smart" and reminds me more of Tyler. She begs to do a reading lesson with me every day, and for our one-on-one time she loves nothing more than for me to help her do her workbooks. She will just get a piece of paper and start writing down the whole alphabet, or numbers 1-30, or all the names in our family, etc. Also a huge book-lover.

Brynlee: 6 years old. Bryn is growing up! My struggle with Bryn is she doesn't seem to want to do any of the things that I want her to do. She is always looking for some kind of reward for doing what I just expect her to do with no incentive. So that makes it tricky. Plus, she's always trying to see what she can get away with, or outsmart the system. You gotta watch out for that one. One recent, funny, example was the other day when she lost her first tooth and the tooth fairy came. The next night she came to me in all seriousness and said, "do you think it'd work again? If I put my tooth back under my pillow, would I get another dollar?" HA! I had a good laugh about that one. Bryn talks a lot about being either a ninja, or a spy when she grows up. Or a combo, ninja-spy. She is still obsessed with all animals and would rather live her life outdoors, that's where she's happiest. She's pretty creative and has been writing a cute little story recently. She is really liking her dance/tumble class and is learning some fun things. She always runs around the house on 4 legs like an animal. She claims she's faster that way, than on 2 legs. Truthfully she is very fast on her arms and legs. It's crazy weird. She doesn't ever hold still, she's as silly as can be, she loves to climb anything she can, and just has a lot of energy. She's learning a lot of patience as she is starting out on the violin. Her teacher is good to take things verry slow and didn't even let her play at all for the first 3 weeks, and barely touched the strings on the 4th week. It was agonizing for Bryn, but she's doing a good job and developing a longer attention span, as her teacher often goes over the 30 minute mark. Bryn is very creative and crafty. She's always making something, usually with paper and makes a big mess. But she's always making cute things and giving them away to show her love. A classic Bryn picture is me and her in stick figures, holding hands, under a rainbow, with a sunshine in the corner. :)

Tyler: 8 years old. He hasn't changed much. He's still just a dang good kid and works hard at everything he does. He's very motivated to succeed and has such an obedient heart. I love him for it. He is diligent at practicing his piano and cello every day. We've set up a schedule for him and Brynlee for homeschool, and it is the best thing for him. He loves knowing what he's supposed to be doing and when, and he'll do it, often with little or no complaint. I'm continually amazed by how much he retains. He still flaps, and I am thinking he probably will do it until he's a 90 year old man that can't jump anymore. :) He really enjoyed his soccer season that just finished this weekend. He wants to keep playing, and I'm just glad there's a sport he loves. He's so very happy to have a dog! He's been begging for one for months and reads dog books a lot to learn about them. He started farm school a few weeks ago and has a lot of fun there. It's a nice break for a few hours for me, too. Tyler loves having a little brother and he's so good with Briggs. They have a special relationship that is so sweet to watch. There's a few girls in his church class at primary that fight over who gets to sit by him, and he blushes a lot and gets embarrassed, but I can also tell how much he enjoys it haha. He's a cute kid and makes friends wherever he goes. He loves to go up and bear his testimony in church and always has great comments and questions that teach me so much.

I feel so blessed to have the privilege of mothering these 5 beautiful children. They make my life rich and full. They continually teach me about love, and patience, and make this mortal experience difficult but so sweet.