in a way i couldn't have planned if i tried.
things just fell into place.
i love that.
especially on a sunday
after a busy week and an even busier start to the weekend.
today i got to see all 6 of my nieces and nephews.
not even all in the same place.
none sick. none in a bad mood.
all overflowing with love.
a great kind of day.
and i know the days and weeks will go on and i'll forget these little tid bits...
unless i type them up in these few minutes before i fall asleep.
Emelyn.
loved playing with my hair
likes to be held as if she's a 3 year old even though she'll be 7 this week
thankfully she's light enough that i can still oblige
her hair is growing long, all the way down the middle of her back
and still has so much beautiful wave to it.
she hugs and kisses me SO much that it would be downright smothering if i didn't love her so darn much!! :) :) :)
Willy.
despite his sometimes reluctance to kiss me, he gave me two today
and for that i am very grateful.
we "did" a sodoku puzzle together
and then traced two number 5's together on the page
after which he did one on his own- first shot!
smartie pants :)
he's so tall and handsome
and has the best giggle.
Riley Rose.
lights up like a firecracker when she sees me
i helped her practice cutting her meatball with a plastic knife at dinner
and she did a great job!
she made friends with another little boy at Kevin Partridge's birthday party
within 20 minutes of being there
and gave every person there a hug and a kiss goodbye,
cracking herself up by saying "nice to meet you!" as I kindly instructed her to :)
Ois-man.
has so much love for one small person
he must have kissed me 37 times today- and only once did i ask for it.
he loved grabbed my lips and my cheeks and playing rough
but as he'd be holding my cheeks or pulling my ears, he'd push in and kiss me.
little lover man.
he's got the best little voice, and makes all these different "voices" when he's trying to convey a different mood.
as i was leaving Terri's house this afternoon and had already said bye to him, he came around the corner and said "we're going to miss you!"
sigh. he melts my heart.
Aila.
Aila's a riot. She wore Emelyn's shoes anytime they were left unattented.
she copies all of her big cousins and doesn't want to miss a single thing.
after i played sodoku with Ois and Willy, she grabbed a second book and a pen
and came over to sit on my lap so she could have her turn writing too :)
i love that she knows my name now and how she wrinkles her brow when she gets an answer she doesn't like. so much personality per square inch.
Garret.
actually turned away from Pepere and reached for me
more than once!
i think the boy is ill ;)
just kidding. it was super super sweet. he's a man's man most of the time
even more so with Pepere (who can blame him? boy's got good taste when it comes to that guy)
but it was great getting some cuddle time initiated by him.
he mowed his spaghetti-Os for dinner and if i let half an O fall out of his mouth he was quick to shove it back in, and then to glance over at me like i'd committed a mortal sin
he ran around Kim & Jim's house, flirting with everyone and showing off his walking skills.
They're all growing up so quickly.
No more babies.
Well, we can still think of them as babies, but when I see cute stuff in the store and I check the tag to see that it only goes up to 12 months I'm bummed that there's just no one that little to buy it for... But these ages are so much fun. There's less fighting and less worrying about who's going to step on the baby crawling around, so there's a lot of relief in that sense. And once Garret starts talking more, I'll actually be able to communicate with all of them which is just so much fun!
6 is my favorite number. Always has been.
I never really knew why. I just knew i loved it.
Maybe I just knew these babes were in my future.
I love you all.
And for now, Auntie Jen is exhausted.
Good night.
