Isla
She’s our little 5, almost 6, year old who is so full of life. Some may call it sassy but I like to call it joyful. Isla is just so passionate about each and every aspect of her day. From the moment she jumps out of bed she is ready to take on the world. Whether it be what dress to wear, what book to read to her brothers, what color marker to use for her picture to give to her new best friend, Sophia, or whether our neighbor Bryce will be home at the same time we get home so they can play, everything needs to be perfect. She is definitely detail oriented and remembers every little thing. I find myself sometimes asking Isla when I don’t remember something. At the moment she is hungry ALL THE TIME. It must be a growth spurt thing but the girl constantly wants food. And it’s not that she just eats snacks then no meals. She’ll come home and eat snacks all afternoon AND clean her dinner plate. I guess all that joyfulness needs fuel to fly. She’s still so tiny, but I know what follows a growth spurt and that’s inches. She’ll probably be a foot taller when she turns six in about 4 weeks. Right now in Isla’s life she’s reading every book placed in front of her, I’m talking ANY book. The girl can read so well! She is in a love triangle. She can’t decide if she loves Derek or Mark. Mark told her he loves her so she feels she should love him. But 2 days later Mark said he broke up with her, and then 2 days after that he told her he loved her again. But her heart is really telling her Derek. Oh, the Kindergarten drama. Love it! I told her Mark sounds like bad news. If someone breaks your heart they aren’t meant to be. Your true love will never break your heart. And then I snapped back into reality and realized she is only 5 and why in the world am I even having this conversation already? The teenage years should be really interesting! Anyways, Isla is pure joy and although she is by far my most challenging child, testing me in every way, every day, it only makes me grow stronger as a parent. At least when Leo, Palmer, and Hart are her age I’ll be a pro and should have all the answers, right? Let’s hope.
Leo
He’s still as sweet as can be. Almost too much! It’s to the point where I’m starting to worry that he is going to be picked on at school because he is definitely not the type to fight back. His teacher assures me that he is getting really good at telling the person who hurt him, “That is NOT OKAY!” It broke my heart the other day when I got to his school and saw a bump on his little eyebrow from a classmate who decided to hit him in the head with a bucket. I felt like dunking that kid’s head in the bucket but then I remembered they are just 3 and Palmer will probably be that kid in the near future. Little Leo wasn’t even sad and even stood up for Greyson saying it was just an accident. He’s such a little Libra! Leo used to be really good at playing toys by himself but ever since the baby and move he has definitely changed. He’s been affected the most. He wants me to be wherever he is. He broke my heart the other night when he started crying and when I asked why he said, “I feel like you don’t play with me.” Ugh, talk about a thousand bricks falling on me at once. I felt horrible! Needless to say, he stayed home from school the next day and we had some good quality time together. After that he was fine. Little Leo is by far our easiest child so we take it for granted sometimes. I needed him to tell me that so I could see that even though he’s easy he still needs and deserves our attention. Again, another lesson learned and Leo is teaching me too! It’s amazing. So our 3 year old is having to deal with some not so fun things right now but he is still happy and cuddly and simply my heart.
Palmer
Where to begin? Palmer is on fire! He knows he can get away with anything because he is so darn cute. His big brown eyes melt everybody and the way he waves, “Hi”, to every stranger that walks by is just the best. He is definitely our crazy one and he makes me laugh all the time. For being just 1 month shy of 2 he is more physical than anyone I’ve ever known at his age. And out of no where he started talking up a storm. They may be phrases only we know but at least he is talking. I figure it’s because he started walking at 9 months and that is why he just now started being so talkative. Isla and Leo were singing songs at this age and Palmer is no where close to that. They are all different though, right? Some things he says right now (although the annunciation is lacking): “Thank you, Mama/Daddy”, “Pizza, Yay!”, “Right there”, “Where’d Leo go?”, and he’ll add “kay?” onto what ever he’s saying like, “go outside, Kay?” You can’t help but say, “Okay, Palmer!” He’s still loving yogurt, applesauce, yogurt raisins, and pb and j sandwiches. And the boy loves trains! We happen to live where you can faintly hear a choo choo of a distant train and every time one chugs on by he stops and listens and loves it. Palmer also loves to get dirty. At the end of every day he literally looks like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. His shirt is covered in drool and whatever food decided to fall out of his mouth, he hair is matted down with the previously mentioned things, and his diaper is sagging to the ground. It’s hilarious but the boy knows how to have a good day! He’s the best!
Hart
And then there’s Hart. He and Leo must have the same heart because they are the exact same babies. Hart simply couldn’t be a better baby. He is content, happy, cuddly, and laid back. He lights up every time John walks in the room, he loves his daddy! When he is laying down on his playmat his favorite thing to do is to try to grab his feet. He hasn’t mastered it yet but he’s close. Hart has his 4 month check up tomorrow and I can’t wait to see how he’s grown. Nursing is going great and I’m trying to soak up every second of it since he’s our last one. I tend to last 8/9 months so I’m halfway done and that makes me sad. I could literally kiss Hart’s sweet head and cheeks all day long. I love him more than I could ever say. It was one year ago that we found out we were expecting a fourth child. John and I really did want 4 children eventually we just didn’t plan on the timing to be the way it was. God had other plans and I thank him for that. It really is like Hart was destined for us at this exact time and I’m so grateful for it. Although the past 4 months have been a complete blur everything happens for a reason. When we found out we were pregnant we knew right away we needed a bigger space, we bought our home in nocatee, our home was move-in-ready a week after Hart joined our family, our entire family spent our 1st Christmas together in our new home, and now the prices in nocatee have gone up exceptionally. God has his ways to make it all work out and he amazes me each and every day. I’m too blessed and really feel like something bad has to be around the corner because life can’t be this good for this long. All I can do is thank him every night and I hope you all know there isn’t a second that goes by that I don’t realize how fortunate our family is. I will be sure to raise them right and hopefully these blessings will pay it forward in the future. Love to all!
“I took the path less traveled by, and that has made all the difference!”
