getting to know you, getting to know all about you...

This is a jolly little person who I kinda like. He is rowdy and rough, as well as cuddly, sweet, and pretty smart. He doesn't say much, but his personality is starting to really develop. He thinks that his sisters are the coolest, and crawls around after them all day. But he doesn't like it when they sit on his Mommy's lap. He could walk if he wanted to, I think, but he likes to crawl, because he can move like lightening on all fours. His will is strong, but he is super affectionate. Jude is my fat little bundle of happiness.

Rowan is my dreamy child. She has finally stopped wearing this tutu every single day, all day, with her Cinderella shoes. She loves to sing, and once I sang my way through "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" a la Opera Man, she started singing her every word. I love it. She is dramatic to a fault, and cuddly like a little puppy. She has a touch of OCD I think... she wants things to be pronounced correctly, and doesn't like her socks to be twisted.

Genevieve likes her berries, acorns, rocks, walnuts, whatever out-of-doors collectibles she can get her hands on. And she likes to have her collections documented for posterity. She is full of imagination, and her mechanical mind is always leading her to make interesting arrangements and towers with odd groupings of household items. Her knowing little smile is full of humor, and she would prefer to fall asleep with her arms wrapped around one of her parents, as close as close gets.

The funny little idiosyncrasies of my kids are one of the things that keep me going. These days I don't feel much like I am handling things very well. I lose my patience, I get overwhelmed, I look forward to nap time. But they are always surprising me with how resilient they are, how forgiving they are, how much they love me. Having them all so close in age is unbelievably crazy right now, but I know that in a couple of years it will get easier. At least I like to think so. The challenges will change, at least, and there will be a time when the laundry is not filled with peed-on clothes. That's my light at the end of the tunnel!