Sisters

Proof that they don't always fight:

Kibby is learning to tolerate her sister, and even play with her. It's what I've been hoping for, that they would become best friends. It's heading that way... Of course they still fight and squabble over things on a daily (even hourly) basis, but I am starting to see more love and caring between them, too.

If Kibby gets an owie, Ruby wants to kiss it all better. If Kibby accidentally hurts Ruby, she is now saying, "sorry, Ruby." without prompting. Heartwarming.

This may not seem like much, but even a few months ago, Kibby mostly wanted nothing to do with Ruby. She would ignore her or fight with her, but very rarely show her any love, interest, or compassion. To see this starting to change does my heart good! :) There is hope!

Sisterly love. :)

Happy Half-Birthday, Ean!

Yesterday my baby turned 6 months old. Wow. I don't know where the past half year went. It seems like I just brought him home from the hospital a few weeks ago! What's strange is that now that six months have passed, and I look back, there were times when I thought time was d.r.a.g.g.i.n.g. I remember thinking at times that I couldn't wait until he was doing this or that... like holding his head up better, or learning to self-soothe, or sleep through the night, or roll over, or play in the exersaucer. (Ok, so mainly the sleeping through the night thing...) :)
But now, today, it is bittersweet. The year is going so fast suddenly. Before I know it, he will be running and climbing with his siblings. All of our kids have walked within a week (either way) of the 9-month mark, so it really seems unreal that in 3 months it's a very real possibility that he will be walking, too. Again, Wow.

Here's a rundown of what he is doing now:

* Sitting up for longer and longer periods of time without support.
* Smiling at EVERYONE. (He's such a charmer!)
* Pivoting around on his hands and tummy when we put him on the floor.
* Playing with his toes a lot.
* Putting all of his toys in his mouth.
* Trying rice cereal (but he doesn't really like it!)
* Wanting to stand up on our laps when we hold him (as opposed to sitting in our lap).
* Babbling and talking more and more. He "says" quite a few different sounds.
* Usually sleeping through the night! (HOORAY!)

I took a video of him in the backyard on Easter, and I'll try to post it here:

It was his first time feeling the grass under him, and he didn't think much of it. And he let us know! :)

Here is our sweet boy today. Er, yesterday, actually.

Happy 6-month-birthday, Ean! We love you very much!

Well Hello There!

Yes, I'm alive!
Life is so chaotic lately that I feel as though I barely have time to breathe some days. Everytime I blink someone needs a fresh diaper, or a drink of water, or has made a mess to clean up, or is in tears because Mommy said, "no more movies today!"
And so, the toast gets forgotten in the toaster. The beds go unmade. The laundry piles up (partly thanks to our dryer breaking for a week!), the emails go unread, the dishes get done every other day at best, and, the blog posts go unwritten! Some days we even just have breakfast for dinner because it's so much simpler to make!

You'd think that things would go more smoothly around here with only 2 kids home 4 mornings a week now that Kibby is in preschool. But no. Mornings are a rush of trying to pry children from their pillows, get their faces washed and hair combed, backpacks and tummies filled, shoes found (matching ones, even!) By the time I get the two older ones out the door, the baby is crying and the toddler is awake, and *poof* goes any hope of spending some time online!

So here I am, trying to get a post up after a 2-month break. And it has taken me 2 days to type this much.

Some things I want to mention before I get back to the diaper-changings:

1) Anyone notice the updated picture in the heading? The other picture was 18 months old already and was missing Ean! So I had a few minor changes made to my blog. Danielle (The Design Girl) updated my pic, created a button for me, and switched the layout to a 3-column. Much nicer, I think! Thanks Danielle! :)

2) I changed my blog address. We are no longer FIVE mangoes, so I didn't feel that address was appropriate anymore. I am still having trouble getting things worked out to link from my old address to this new one. Some Blogger issue, I am told?

3) Angie Smith's book, I Will Carry You, is out! Yay! For those of you familiar with Angie and her story, you may have been waiting patiently with the thousands of us... and it's finally available. Angie is the wife of Todd Smith of Selah, and her book is about their daughter Audrey Caroline. If you or someone you know has experienced the devastation of losing an infant (or child of any age), I know Angie's story will minister to you as she shares her journey through grief and where her strength and hope come from. I think God is going to do great things through this book. Angie has a gift for writing and relating to others in a way I never will, and I love her heart and willingness to share her story.

4) More posts coming SOON. I promise they will be less wordy and definitely cuter. :) Also coming up is an update on Kibby and how school is going for her, and Ean's 6-month post. (WOW!)