Anyway, there are two main questions I get asked these days. Number one - how are the boys with Ella? They are pretty stinking amazing! It's been funny to see as time has gone on how they've adjusted to her. In the very beginning Tommy could have cared less that she was around and didn't even take the time to notice she was born into this world. He wasn't jealous, he was simply indifferent. Kyle and I think that was mainly b/c he was surrounded by extra family all the time and was distracted. Once everything calmed down and Tommy started to see the positive attention - all the "aww that's so sweet" when he did pay attention to her, he really started to love her. There was a time when he was super affectionate and wanted to "hold" her any chance he could. At this point - now that we're really settled in he is still very sweet to her, he knows to be gentle and is very careful around her, and he is always quick to run to her if she's fussy to sooth her, and surprisingly it actually works sometimes. One night she was crying while I was finishing making dinner and I was talking to her from the kitchen saying, "Ella mama will be right there I'm almost done." I kept cooking and I looked over and Tommy was standing over her in her bouncy seat, getting in her face to check on her. And she stopped crying. Then he walked away and she started crying again. So he ran back and patted her, and she stopped crying again. It was pretty dang precious.
Silas was the total opposite of Tommy - when Ella first came home he couldn't get enough of her. He was super interested. His favorite thing to do was poke her. He poked her head, her eye, her stomach and he did not poke gently. There was a pretty big learning curve on what it meant to be gentle. Silas now knows how to be gentle but doesn't know how to be careful around Ella - he basically almost falls on her at least five times a day. I'm all about baby girl being tough but she's got plenty of time to learn that, infancy is not that time. Silas now has a very sweet affection for Ella. My favorite is when the boys have no idea we are watching and they do something really sweet for or to Ella - like yesterday Ella was in the exercauser, Silas had his back to me and I saw him walk up and kiss Ella and then hug her, then he just walked off to play. Melt my heart! I hope all three of our kids have a healthy affection, love, and tenderness towards each other as they grow. I want them to feel stable, loved, accepted, and like their best friends are their siblings. That's a big goal and I'm sure it won't always be that way between them, but at the end of the day when they grow up I hope they have the closeness that I have with my sisters. Silas is a wonderful big brother and is very sweet to his "Lella".
Okay question number two - how is it having three kids? It's usually followed by - is it crazy? My overall general answer, and this is sincere, I LOVE IT! It's so much fun! I always clarify - at home it's pretty amazing (most days), now when we go out that's a whole other ball game. Clearly any mom would say everything is easier at their own home where their kids are comfortable, have their toys, and are used to their surroundings. When we go places it isn't hard b/c the kids are being disobedient or "bad", it's simply b/c it's a new, exciting environment - and I mean obviously everything needs to be explored when you're a toddler. Ella is easy to take places b/c she isn't mobile yet. But I know my limitations and I know I cannot go anywhere with all three kids by myself - if it came time for Ella to eat I would not be able to keep the boys wrangled alone. I am A Okay with that though, I have no desire to go anywhere with all three by myself - that would be extremely overwhelming. Kyle and I are both homebodies by nature so for the most part I enjoy staying home the majority of the time. It's easier, it saves money, it saves my energy and patience. There are definitely times when it does get crazy and there are times that it is not fun, but overall I really do enjoy it. In fact I would say I enjoy having three kids as opposed to two. Silas was a difficult baby and I could not have said after he came home that I loved it. That may sound mean but it's reality, fussy babies who are hard/sometimes impossible to pacify, make for really looooong days. And it was like having Ella transitioned us out of that and brought a fun and sweet experience of having a baby; it made me enjoy my time with Silas more b/c it had to be more intentional; and it made Silas learn to play with Tommy more which has been so precious to watch. The boys are getting to an age where they are making up games to play together and they really like having each other as playmates. They get bored if the other guy is not around. That has made me extremely grateful that they are close in age and it really helps take part of the burden off of me not feel guilty if I'm not always playing with them. Now all that positive being said - here are the things that are harder: a lot of times it seems like there is always somebody needing something - whether it's Tom, Silas, Ella, or Kyle (and now Maggie since she returned from her vacation at the grandparents). There is way more laundry, as soon as I've spent a couple of days taking care of all the laundry the hamper is full again, can somebody tell me why Adam and Eve had to be ashamed of nudity, they could have saved us all a lot of time, energy, and money. Sheesh. The dishes are insane, not that Ella is eating off of any of them, I think it's just a time thing that there's not as much time to take care of it. And grocery shopping seems like an impossible thing to schedule and figure it out, whether it's the weather, somebody's nap is off schedule, or I'm just flat out too tired - there are some weeks the grocery store seems like an impossible feat. But somehow it all gets done, we have clean clothes to wear, we have dishes to eat off of, and we have groceries in the pantry. Somehow the Lord continues to sustain us and blesses us with sweet time with our kids along the way!
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