Four Little Fosburgs

Our little Fosburgs have been very busy this spring!

Evie has been learning so much so quickly and will "graduate" from our co-op home preschooling group at the end of May. It has been such a wonderful experience for us and given me the courage and experience I desperately needed to continue the homeschooling on my own. It was a tricky choice and one I didn't come to lightly. But after lots of consideration and observation of my sweet smarty-pants, I have decided the homeschooling is a go. Wish us luck!

She also continues to be a great help with her little brother and sisters. I can't believe how much I rely on her now. She's only four and yet she does so much. She has helped the younger ones be excited about our daily chores (laundry, dishes - she gets to put away the silverware by herself, vacuuming, and sweeping). Some would say, "you probably go back over and do them again yourself later", but guess what? Her sweeping is so proficient that I never look at it again! Amazing for a four year old!

Evie also reminds me of things like brushing teeth and vitamins and always helps me find things I've lost - most often pacifiers, my phone, my shoes, Lizzy's shoes, remote controls, my socks, JC's socks, Ally's socks, Lizzy's coat, my coat. OK, so I lose a lot of stuff. The list actually includes everything at some point. Good thing she's around. Of course, she is sometimes the culprit who stole the item from it's last known location so it's not all me folks!

Then of course, there is my handsome, little boy, Joseph. Oh, how I can't wait for him to have a brother. But, in the meantime, he is so patient and loving with his THREE sisters. He is Eve's playmate, Lizzy's helper, and Ally's find-the-paci-get-the-blanket-tell-mom-she's-crying person. He's amazing with all of them and doesn't seem to mind that he's the only boy. And wow, is he a boy! He is so into cars and trucks (fire trucks, police cars, semis, etc.) He also loves, and I mean loves, dirt! It's everywhere all the time. He has Evie's penchant for water so JC is the one who instigates the mud at all times! Evie of course is always up for mud so no upset there for her. I am forever threatening the end of playtime to get the faucets turned off!

He is also now potty training. Wish us luck! He is doing a great job. He loves to "practice" and really likes the "treats" he gets for being successful. We are moving to big boy underpants this coming week so hopefully he'll just continue being his wonderful successful self. I love him so much.

I also want everyone to know that JC is actually Yoda in disguise. Yes, Yoda from Star Wars. For example, now that JC is actually talking, his sentences are quite interesting.

"No paci's, me!"

"Baby, not me."

"Mom, take them crayons?"

"Diapers, no more me."

It's wonderful to hear him stringing together words and coming up with real meaning. It's fascinating to see him doing it too! Evie's language acquisition was so different. I love having several children. Each grows and learns so differently. What a challenge!

Next comes the ever interesting Lizzy! She finally conquered the challenge of balance vs. gravity and has begun walking. It took forever, but I finally caught her on video. Enjoy!

We are still working on the screaming issue. Whenever she wants something and doesn't get it or something is stolen or... okay so she screams whenever she's unhappy. It's diminishing slowly as she learns the signs for "please", "more", and nodding yes or no. Hopefully as she gets better at communicating and I get better at understanding the screaming can be fully replaced.

Lizzy also celebrated quite a few firsts this spring as evidenced by the pix below. First dentist appt. (not as easy as Joe's, but still relatively successful). Her first day out of the stroller in the park. (she loved it) And her first time out of the high chair and into the climbing stuff at the McD's! (faster than Joe, if that's possible) We're still working on the hair-thing. Chris calls her feral, which I hate, but it does fit. Her hair is constantly in her eyes making her look very wild indeed. He wants to cut it, but I'm not ready, so wild thing she is until that time. She is also one of the cutest little Fosburgs. It's the dimple and the all out giggle she's got going on, I'll be honest.

Finally our Fourth little Fosburg, Alexandra. Ally is so great. She's my go with the flow kid. She has started smiling in response to people and noises and I just discovered that she' s as ticklish as the rest of my little ones. It was quite a surprise. I was washing her in the bath and I took one of those little baby washcloths and rubbed under her arms. She shifted funny and then smiled real big. I did it again just to see if it was a ticklish spot (I know, I'm terrible) and guess what? She is! So cute.

She has been sleeping through the night for about three weeks now. She takes her last bottle about 11pm and then sleeps until 7am. I love it! She has been doing so well we officially moved her into her room with JC. It's been great sleeping for me since then! She also sleeps better when someone is around and Joe makes plenty of noise for her. Joe does a great job keeping her entertained and I often have to fish her out of all the blankets, toys, pacis, and one time, him! We've talked about how Ally likes to be by herself in her bed and now he just makes sure she has a blanket. It's very cute.

Well, those are the Four Little Fosburgs and their spring. Loves!