what's new?

(tristan & samuel taking a walk with their grandad)

well, apparently the year is new. funny, cuz it all changed without me hardly noticing. my parents were supposed to arrive here on new year's eve, but because of the fog, they had to land at a different airport and so they got to ring in the new year while on a long bus ride down to san diego. i rang in the new year by sleeping = best thing ever.

tristan being 5 years old is new. he's been five for all of 4 days now and he absolutely loves it. once in awhile out of the blue i'll hear him give a contented sigh and say something like, "i just am so happy that i'm five years old." i wasn't looking forward to this milestone at all; five sounds much too old to me. but so far i've found that things are pretty much the same with him. he's still as sweet and frustrating and cuddly and bossy as ever. i just love that boy.

ava taking a decent morning nap is new. it seems that, at five months old, she's beginning to realize that all of this rolling around on the floor and jumping up and down in her jolly jumper are taking their toll and she just needs a little bit more beauty sleep during the day. her morning nap is usually a good hour and a half, (though her other naps are still only 30 minutes) and that nap is pure bliss to me. i bought some chocolate biscotti to celebrate and i like to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee with my biscotti while ava naps her little heart out. then, 10 seconds later, i remember that i have 2 other kids to look after, so i quickly gulp down the rest of my coffee and go cuddle with my boys while my arms still have room for them.

samuel pooping on the potty is new. he's been doing it for a couple of months now, but has only recently been telling us he needs to go instead of us pestering him about it. the funny thing is, he never pees on the potty, just poops. so when i try to put big boy undies on him, they are soaking wet within half an hour and he is just completely clueless as to how they got so wet. i know i'm going to have to buckle down and pee train him soon, but for now i'm just enjoying the fact that i'm not changing anymore disgusting poopy diapers. (ava's poopy diapers don't count cuz she's still only breastfed, so they're not disgusting at all).

getting away with josh for a couple of hours without worrying about the baby is new. we went out for lunch yesterday and i think i thought about ava exactly once. the last time we went out, i inhaled my food and immediately asked josh when we could go pick the kids up. this time i took my time knowing for certain that she was going to be okay without me. she's just become so much happier in the last little while, making this so much easier and more enjoyable for all of us. she's definitely still a mama's girl (and a part of me hopes that she always will be), but she can actually handle not seeing me for awhile. its very freeing and i hope to get some more "time off" with my amazing husband in the near future.
that's what's new over here. what's new with you?