Kid updates- February 2014

Alex is 4.5 and is so curious about everything!  He loves to build with blocks and I frequently find crosses, rockets, churches and houses everywhere. I even found a compass made out of blocks once :)  Every day, he and Mary color pictures, and they always include hearts, houses, people (sometimes with belly buttons, lol) and trees.  The other day he drew me a picture and and when I asked him to tell me about it he said, "It's mommy kissing Alex and hearts come out."  :)  He loves to be near me (especially in the evenings when the other two have gone to bed) and sometimes crawls in my lap and says, "I want to be close to your heart."  He is so sweet, and both him and Mary love making presents (toys wrapped up in blankets) for Alex and I.  School is going well, although it is hard to keep him focused.  He can write most letters, can read simple words, and we are working on simple addition/subtraction.  The memory work is fun, and I think memorization is fairly easy for him.  This semester he is doing music, and I am excited to sit in on a class soon and see what he is learning!  

Space is still a big thing, and he got an awesome set for Christmas that included this Mars rover.  I am considering having him talk about it for his next presentation at co-op.

Some artwork from the last few months...

My sweet Mary will be 3 in two days!  She loves her baby sister and is (usually) so sweet and gentle with her. Alex is still her favorite playmate though, and is lost without him when he is not around.  She loves "noodies" (spaghetti or mac and cheese) and is still a good eater.  Her eczema symptoms are really mild  right now. I'm not sure if it because it's winter, but I am hoping that it is due to a new cream I got that has calendula in it.  The true test will be this summer, when it seems to flare up bad.  Hoping the calendula is the miracle treatment we have been searching for!  She is good at keeping herself busy while I work with Alex, and loves to do "busy bags".

Lucy is now 14 months and is reaching some fun milestones.  She JUST started taking a few steps the first few days of February and is my latest walker (Alex was 12.5 months and Mary was 13 months).  Even now, she only take 6-7 steps at a time and then prefers to crawl the rest of the way.  Her first word was "nana" (banana) and she also says "dada" intentionally, and "poop" (lol!).  She still nurses a lot, and I have to be careful when I sit down on the floor near her because she will crawl over and try and pull down my shirt!  Part of me wants to continue for as long as she needs, but I am also getting baby fever, and will need her to go longer stretches without nursing if I ever want to get pregnant again!  Her new favorite thing to do is climb on Mary's toddler bed and bounce around on her knees.  And she is such a daddy's girl, and gets so excited when Alex gets home :)