Family Snapshot

There are literally a gazillion things that I've been meaning to write about, thousands of pictures that should be uploaded, milestones, holidays etc that just haven't made it here to the blog. I know it's ok, we've got lots of things going on and our lives are recorded in many places, but I'm not quite ready to let this one go-at least all the way.
 Instead of posting jumbles of thoughts and half written drafts, I'm going to give a little snapshot of our family right now for record keeping and to catch up.
 
Henry: is a doll. He is the most loving and pleasant baby. He's been quite content to be immobile until the last week. Like, I have been swaddling him and putting him down for naps on the bed still because he never moved! Suddenly, he's rolling all over, diving onto his tummy, grabbing everything in sight and scooting backwards. Our family comes together over Henry all the time, and especially in the evening. When the kids get their jammies on we lay Henry on the bed to be changed. His chunky body is as irresistible to his brother and sister as it is to Cam and I and before you know it he's being attacked with kisses and tickles and raspberries on the tummy. He laughs at all of us, but laughs hardest at his brother and sister who he loves to keep an eye on.
  Henry has resigned himself to eating solid foods and doesn't love it, but doesn't mind. He is growing so fast and getting so chubby. His legs are just so beautifully fat from thigh to toes. When music plays, Henry dances side to side and sings too. He will play with his toys forever and just likes to be near the kids. They take such good care of him. Its cute to watch them try to calm him and cheer him up. Sometimes they'll be watching a show or something with Henry nearby and without even looking up from it, will pat his back or hand him toys. If he cries, Charlie and Stella drop everything and run to him. they alert me THE MOMENT he wakes up and if I wait too long I'll find all three of them (and many toys) in the crib. Henry is so endearing because he just loves everyone so much. He snuggles in and wraps his little arms around you and just hugs so tight. It melts me. Cam told me the other day "Sometimes I just want to quit...everything in life and just snuggle with Henry." My sentiments exactly.
Stella: Is the funniest combination of sweet and sassy that every there was. She LOVES to snuggle and be touched. She's always forcing her way onto your lap or entwining herself around you. She likes to sit close and be tickled and be carried. At the same time, Stella is quite a stinker. She'll call names with a little hand on her hip and tongue sticking out. It's definitely to her benefit that she still has a lisp. Somehow, it's funnier when she calls you names or blatantly disobeys when she's doing it with a lisp. Stella is crazy smart and sneaky. She swipes things she wants from everybody and hides them in her little purses and cabinets and any number of secret places. It was such a relief when our Christmas tree and my mom's were taken down because she had stashes of goods in all the nooks and crannies. She loves things that are pink or sparkly. She's constantly borrowing my mom's necklaces, my clothes and jewelry, and my sisters' makeup. She knows she's not supposed to take it though, so she'll hid it...wherever she can. Even in her pants.
  It's so interesting to be a parent and see your kids be so smart, but in such different ways. For example, if I catch Charlie doing something and ask what he's doing, he'll throw his hands up, tell me exactly what he's doing and say "what?!?" and justify it thoroughly and logically. Stella lies. And it's very smart too. She'll be sliding along the wall with something and randomly say to me, "I'm just going to go rest in my room for a minute." code for: I'm taking this candy in my room to eat it because I know you'll tell me no. Both kids are still little so it's all entertaining currently, and usually I'm glad that it's all we're up against in teaching them.
  Stella loves passionately. She throws her arms around her primary teacher after church every week. She adores her grandparents and aunts and uncles. She loves weddings and romance and sings with so.much.feeling. Sometimes when she wakes up, we hear her singing to herself in bed. If you ask about she says "I was just singing myself a little morning song." That, along with 24 little bracelets, necklaces and odds and ends really sums up Stella.
  Randomly and hilariously, Stella is really good at accents and languages. She can speak gibberish and tell you its French, and it really sounds French. She catches a lot of the inflections and can trill her r's. She does a mean pirate voice and is also quite good with an Irish brogue.
Charlie: Charlie is just so....Charlie. He's his own little person and is so confident in that. Charlie loves to learn and then he loves to educate us. He loves to watch shows, (and admittedly there's too much of it) it's so fun to watch him absorb facts and apply them to so many situations correctly. He's been in love with Dino Dan lately and is constantly sharing dinosaur facts with us. In fact, he told he that I "really should brush up on your dinos."
  Charlie is, as always, very independent. He'll wake up before me most mornings and turn on a show for himself, often get himself something to eat and get dressed. He just does his thing and is frequently annoyed when I slow him down. He's the kid who'll just say, "I'm going outside to break up ice." He gets himself ready, never asks for help, makes sure the door is unlocked so he can get back in and off he goes. He loves to explore, build and work. He's content to do it alone, and I think he needs a lot of that contemplative time, but he also LOVES to paly with friends. He's constantly trying to get play dates arranged and gets bugged that I am too slow about it. Charlie wants a phone so that he can set things up without waiting around on me.
  Charlie is at the beginning of that tough age where many things you do aren't so cute anymore and though that's a bit difficult to navigate, I think he's doing it well. He's mostly pleasant and silly and tells ALLTHEPOOP jokes. Seriously, I tell him to stop at least 250 times a day. There's always a little song or rhyme about butts or toots or something else of that nature. It's exhausting, but he always finds it amusing. He talks like a little adult and loves to call Pappy on the phone, as of late.
  Cam: Cam has been working his tail off. His business, The CowShare, sources and sells local, grass-fed beef. It has been well-received and that's very exciting. There's been a lot to learn, but I think he's found that everything confirms his original hypothesis and the basic business plan has been the same since he thought of the concept last December.
  It's been a great (though stressful and exhausting) process to learn how to lead and motivate other team members. He felt strongly about his partners being full and equal partners, because he's great like that, but it's still his brainchild and as the one with the plans and vision, most of the responsibility falls to him. One of his partners announced a few weeks ago that she was leaving (odd timing as the business was really starting to cruise right then, but she has her own things to work out) and he'll be letting another employee go. But is looking forward to having a bit of a lighter load since they both brought some negativity to the table. That leaves Cam, Kevin, Rod and Mo.
  Cam has been incredibly prayerful and thoughtful about all aspects of the business. He has felt guided in the partners and in so many decisions. I am unbelievable proud of him and how he works so hard to make all his partners feel empowered and motivated. I'm hoping that as the business continues to become more automated, he'll be able to relax a bit and focus on the things he's best at. It's been an amazing learning experience and I'm grateful for it, I know he is too, but I'm also looking forward to a bit more consistency.
 Cam provides a spiritual foundation in our home. After trying for years to get in the habit of reading and praying, he finally decided that we were just going all in (he talked to me, of course). He has been the linchpin and reminds me that the most important part of our day is reading and praying. He reads with the kids and it's wonderful. It's something that they depend on every morning. He and I have been praying morning and night with study in the Book of Mormon every day. It's made a world of difference in our home and I'm grateful that it's the top priority and that it brings such a wonderful spirit to our family.
 Me: I've had a tough time getting back to my pre-baby schedule, but it's coming. I'm working to keep the kids doing their chores everyday and getting mine done too. It sounds so easy when I type it, but there's a lot to do and so many interruptions with little ones. We decided to homeschool Charlie and while it's taken awhile to decide what I wanted that to look like, I think we're starting to get in a rhythm...starting... but it is coming. I have a million thoughts about it, but I'll save them for another post.  Henry only naps for a few minutes here and there, so we don't have any long stretches of time. I also do a few things to help Cam with the business. It's not much, but when you put it all together, we end up having quite busy days. I always have my little posse with me, so we don't move particularly fast either. 
  I feel like there's been a lot of spiritual progression in my life in the last few months, which I think makes it ok that the house is usually a mess and it feels like I'm playing catch-up on tons of other things. I'm grateful for my calling to teach relief society. I love doing it. It feels natural and fun to teach, but more than that, I love the preparation. I have learned so much from studying the lessons and learning to be receptive to The Spirit. I've been motivated to make lots of small changes in my life and in our home that add up to be really significant. The motivation has come simply from learning the doctrine and having my testimony strengthened and because I've cut out a lot of things. Knowing that I need to be prepared to teach has helped me decide which things were helping to increase or drive away The Spirit. I rarely watch tv or anything, really. I frequently listen to my lessons, podcasts, or conference talks. I love it.
 This has been a strange year. We added a baby which brings so much happiness, but also a swirl of chaos. It takes a long time to get my feet underneath me again after a baby comes. I'm just starting to feel like our home is starting to work right again. Of course we've done the baby thing before, so it's not terribly surprising. We've also started businesses before, but this year has been different. Everything has been more tangible and real. There weren't any other backup plans and though we felt the decisions we were making confirmed frequently, it's still taken quite a bit of faith. And then more of it. It's been soooooo slow and it's nice to be moving into the next phase of the running of the business instead of trying everything for the first time. It's really been very consuming for me and Cam and I'm so happy to be turning so much of my focus back to the kids and our home.
  I've started giving each of the kids one night to be in charge of dinner. They choose it and help me cook it. They do pretty much everything themselves and I've been humbled to realize how much I underestimate them. They turn on the oven and chop vegetables. They cook over the stove, bread, stir, marinate, measure and it's been fun. Their confidence is growing and they'll always feel like they contribute in a meaningful way to our family. That's so important, I think. They'll also come away with some great skills.
  Now that I'm writing, it's becoming more clear to me that this little season of life for me is really to establish patterns and habits for this family of mine. We're at an age where the kids are starting to remember and depend upon things (but not fight me on them quite yet). I have spent a huge amount of my time lately studying and following people and theories and ideas to decide what we want to give our kids. It's hard work to be a deliberate parent, but I have faith that it will pay off. I just think these little sweeties of mine are so wonderful, and they are also full of potential. What a privilege it is to help them reach it.