Three.One Years

3.1 Years

• Well, it has been a crazy month. With COVID-19 getting worse, the closed everything down, including school. Now the big kids are home until the end of the year doing home school. You love having them home, but I am sad that our special time is not happening. With you being in the middle and being more independent by nature, you tend to get lost in the craziness of our family. I loved our routine that we had going with playing either babies or barbies each day with each other. I love seeing you so excited to seeing your friends. I know that I have two more years before you go off to school, but JoJo is getting older and will require more of my time also. It is what it is and we are trying to make the most of it.
• Since having to stay home, our time together has gone down the drain. It is my biggest disappointment about this whole thing. I don't have that many more years with you at home, especially since this year with Jo so little and napping a lot, I have loved our time together. Now, my mornings are taken up with helping the big kids get through their school work. It makes our nap time ritual of laying down with you until you fall asleep even more precious to me. We have ten to adding me telling you a story about a princess. 
• We have celebrated everyone's birthday, which you were able to tag along to their parties. Sam's was at The Jungle Gym and Maggie had a Unicorn Painting party. Lots of cake later, I am so happy that we were able to celebrate all your birthdays before the shutdown. 
• The weather has warmed up so the trampoline is now set up and we also were able to get an old play structure. It was been fun to have our own little park since we are at home more often. We also have been able to start the garden. You love riding on the four wheeler with dad as he tills the garden. That first day out there was so heart breaking for you because you found your play rake broken out there. All day long you cried over it. With the warmer weather, we were also able to make a trip to Hammer Creek! I absolutely love being able to drive 20 minutes to a place that is 10 degrees warmer and feel like we are playing at the beach.
• I wanted to be a fun mom and have an indoor camp out with you guys. We got out the half tent, set it in front of the fire place, roasted marshmellows, and go out the sleeping bags for you guys to sleep in. You are such a stinker though and won't settled down and all of you guys end up having to go to your bed after an hour and half of pestering each other.
• We started the hiking season. We brought the carrier for you, but you hiked about half of it on your own, way better than any other kid in our family at that age. The hike was full of flowers and snails, which make for a fun but slow hike.