Growing up so fast...

Oh, these babies of ours (can I even call them babies anymore?) are just growing up so fast! I remember when our home was full of baby blankets, burp cloths, and babies who stayed where I put them and played with the same toy for an hour. These days I have three little people who can run down the hallway, climb on the couches, build "mega blocks", and say things like "please, ball, up, more, and of course the good 'ol favorite...NO".

Audrey is my little cuddle bug. She always wants me to pick her up, loves to climb in my lap and watch cartoons, comes over for kisses and hugs every 5 minutes (seriously, she wraps her little arm around my neck and dramatically leans out to hug me - it kills me every time!) and if I lay on the floor, she's the first one to climb on top of me and demand that I lift her in the sky with my legs to make her an airplane:) She is also quite the little smarty pants. Just looking at her face I can see the wheels turning, and I am amazed every single day at how I can ask her to do some complicated task like "go put this blanket in the laundry basket and bring me the bag of wipes"...and she actually does it! Her current favorite foods are blueberries, tomatoes, and string cheese, and she has to take TED (the cheap, floppy teddy bear they gave her at the Ronald McDonald House in Portland) everywhere! If she finds herself without Ted, be prepared for howling and crocodile tears!

Oliver is such a little man. I feel myself grasping for moments when I can still pretend he's my baby boy. He'll crawl up into my lap and lean against me and I feel myself taking mental snapshots of these moments when he's still small enough to fit on my lap, and still wants to snuggle with mommy. Oliver is our strong and sensitive one; he's in the 90th percentile for height and weight, weighs 31lbs, and has hands that better resemble the paw size of a giant St. Bernanrd:) But even though he can lift a rocking horse and carry it across the room, or knock both sisters over just by bumping into them, he also has the sweetest little spirit. If a sister is crying, Ollie brings them what they need (blankie, teddy bear, juice). He'll be right in the middle of playing with a toy, and then will stop, find the nearest sister, walk over, bend down and give her a kiss. And if Daddy chastises him for disobeying or doing something wrong, his little face just crumples, and out comes the pouty lip. But most of the time, that little boy is all smiles - and those little teeth bring so much joy to my heart!

Gracie is our little "shrieker". Whether she's happy or sad, surprised or frustrated, some loud, piercing sound is usually coming out of her mouth:) She may be tiny, but she lets you know what she wants! She is also an extremely silly little girl - she thinks everything is hilarious, loves to play hide and seek, loves being tickled, and scoots around the house in her Spiderman pose - one leg tucked under her little bum - like a little bolt of shrieking lightning! And guess who took her very first two steps on Thursday (2/10/11)? That's right...our little Gracie girl!!! Her physical therapist, Nancy, came over to work with her and taught us a few tricks to encourage her to walk on her own. We sat about 3 feet apart from each other, she held Gracie lightly on the hips, faced her towards me - and as said "come to mommy, Gracie!" in the most animated/excited way I could, she actually did it...and took two tiny little steps to me! I scooped her up, covered her in kisses, and, as Gracie does, she shrieked and squealed with delight.

These past 21 months with Audrey, Oliver, and Grace have been so enjoyable and rewarding. Watching them grow, learn new skills, and develop their little unique personalities is really a new miracle every single day. And they way they love each other is so special. They wake up kissing each other, spend all day hugging and kissing each other, and always have kisses to spare for mommy and daddy, too:) I know they're my kids and so I'm a tiny bit biased, but I really think these kids are three of the coolest, funniest, most loving people I've ever met.