so many things to post

i feel like the day-to-day of three kids and the back to work gig has finally gotten the best of me. i go to bed most nights totally exhausted, with barely any groceries in the fridge, no prospect of what's going to be for dinner tomorrow night, at least a load of laundry in the dryer, maybe one in the washer, and no idea when the last time i balanced my checkbook was. these days are chaotic, but there are so many funny things that the kids have been doing and saying. i HATE that i forget them before i blog them.

Grayson- Gray is on the go. He is a zombie-like walking machine. He really keeps up with the other two quite well. EVERYTHING that they do, he does. Just today i found him trying to climb on the kiddie chair (like Olivia) to pound on his chest and scream like a savage (like Olivia) :) For someone who can barely walk without stumbling, this is not the 'best choice' as we say. He has a few words these days too: Ball, Mama, Nana, Dada, YaYa (LaLa), NiNi (night, night), Juice, Pwees, Cat. The thing I have noticed about Grayson is that he is really good at NEVER being left out. He sneaks around the house, self entertains, and is a really happy little man who is desperately in love with me and still almost completely bald. Oh, how i love him.

Olivia- I don't even know where to begin with this one. She is so pretty, but such a little 'B'. I don't have any clue how to deal with this. It is pathetic that I flinch when I am about to correct her because I know she is about to retaliate with an Olivia sized tantrum. Usually, these events end with her screaming, "I don't like you anymore. I don't even like daddy. I am not your friend." I thought that this type of reaction was just designated for me, but no...i have gotten reports that she has done this for: Daddy, Ashley, Nana, teachers- Miss Jen, Miss Julie, Miss Lianna, our friend- Miss Lisa. Glad to know she is an equal opportunity punisher. Dylan is even conditioned to this behavior. He will often warn me 'not to make Olivia mad' or 'don't go into serious mode, Mommy. Olivia will freak out.' DIVA ALERT!!!

On a serious note, she is super smart, doesn't sleep a minute past 5:45 AM, loves our 'girl time' doing hair/makeup/nails, has a HUGE crush on her daddy, admires her Aunty Ashley, adores her brother Dylan, tolerates her brother Grayson, AND is pretty fun to snuggle with (even if it is at 5:45 AM).

Dylan- I can't believe that Wednesday Dylan will be 5. He is growing so fast and maturing over night. He is starting to comprehend days of the week, months of the year, times of the day, dangerous situations. He has a huge heart, and loves to play with the boys. He is the balls to the wall, run till you pass out kid. He sweats when he just looks outside, and is pretty coordinated with his playing. We signed him up for t-ball this spring, and he has his first game tomorrow night. He is already known as being the 'class clown' on his t-ball team, and has to be separated from the coach's son because they spend more time wrestling and playing than paying attention. At home he is starting to understand that he has this important 'big brother' role to play, and he is awesome at helping out. He knows how to get Olivia to comply with my requests, and when she is ignoring me...he coerces her. We have pretty much ditched his nap this month, and i guess i should start working on the thumb sucking soon. It doesn't bother me at all, but I am sure by kindergarten it should probably be phased out. I may also lighten up and let him get a booster seat for the car. ALL of his friends have graduated, but I am a little bit of a head-case about safety....we will see.