Yesterday, Ella turned 3 1/2.  My cough has been pretty terrible, and attempting asking a bunch of questions to a toddler sounded less than fun.  So, I didn't. But I didn't want it to get too far away and me forget, so I decided to do it right after breakfast today.  This is last year's interview .  What a HUGE difference! I miss her tiny voice, but I love how verbal she is now.  For the most part, she speaks clearly, and she expresses herself well.  We love listening to her sing and pretend with her baby and other dolls.

This was our second year of doing what is basically a minimalist Christmas. Our kids are young enough to have no idea what the “norm” is for most kids. They don’t expect a lot, and they haven’t really reached the age where they ask for things (mostly because they don’t watch commercials and have no idea what they “should want”). We started the morning with stockings in their beds, a tradition The Husband’s family always did. I loved it.  And then, they came downstairs, we sang “happy birthday” to Jesus, and we opened our gifts. We went with the “Something they want, Something they need, Something to wear, Something to read” theme again this year, and it was perfect.   I love the simplicity of 4 gifts from us.  I know as they grow, the gifts will be larger and probably of more monetary value, but this year was easy. And they were so excited and so grateful.  The kids played outside, and then they came in and drank their first cup...

We celebrated Oliver today with a little family gathering. I made cupcakes, my parents brought over veggies, and we picked up some pizza.  It was simple and nice, and he was loved on lots. 

Oh, sweet Oliver Flynn. What a delightful year it’s been with you.  You are sweet and snuggly and adorable. You’re a fantastic nurser and are doing well with trying out whatever I put on your tray to nibble on. Your favorites are greek yogurt, cottage cheese, apple sauce, mashed bananas, chunks of cheese, Cheerios, and black beans.  You squeal and babble and say “Dada” all day without a hint of a “momma” to be found.  You are nearly 20lbs of squishy and are a short thing at a little over 27 inches.  You crawl sooo quickly, and you pull up on everything that stands still long enough for you to do so.  You adore your people, and your people adore you.  You have been the biggest blessing to our family this year, and we could not be more grateful.  Happy, happy birthday, sweet baby!  We love you bunches and bunches. 💙