No picture this time, just thoughts... It gets tougher & tougher to keep up with the blog because we're now just playing defense all the time! It's an absolute blast, and we had no idea that raising children could be so fun & rewarding, but we also had no idea it could be so tiring. In fact, I'm fairly certain Stacy is going to change her middle name to 'laundry'!

The kids keep things pretty consistent. It’s pretty much feed them, work to be able to keep feeding them, and then put them to bed! It is crazy to see how quickly they are growing though. Mia won’t even kiss us on the lips anymore, and she hasn’t even turned 5 yet! We thought we’d be dealing with this stuff when she was like 10 or 12. It really is amazing to watch her growing into such a strong, beautiful little girl. She’s amazing. The twins, on the other hand, are still just as freaking crazy as always. They are so sweet & loving, but destructive and chaotic. They all have developed their own crazy little personalities with very specific wants & needs. What's amazing is that their little actions & gestures as such a young age already give signs of who & how they'll be in another 10, 20, 30 + years!

Mia is turning 5 this weekend and it is beyond crazy how tall, mature and sweet she is. We want her to be our little baby forever, but like all parents, we're torn with the joy of watching her grow into such an amazing person, yet wishing she would stay tiny & cuddly forever...

Brandon & Aubrey are the opposite of what we expected early on. Aubrey is so sweet & sensitive, yet she's also very aggressive & fearless. We expected Brandon's rambuncious nature to manifest itself into boyhood aggression, but he's actually very docile. If there are new kids or a big slide or swings present, Aubrey dives in head first, while Brandon runs to Mommy or Daddy and buries his face. All kidding aside, he really is an amazingly sweet & loving little boy. He's very considerate of his sister, while she is just as happy to snatch a toy out of his hand or trip him! Poor little B...

This birthday season we're heading into is interesting as we've finally reached an age where Mia knows exactly what she wasnts. In fact, she's pretty much planned her next 4 or 5 birthday parties at this point... More details to come as we proceed through the next few weeks of birthdays! One thing is for sure, these kids won't be wanting for love or gifts. They are surrounded by an ever expanding group of family & friends who lavish them with love & attention. Our challenge, like all parents, is to provide balance & structure. We're trying...