Kids Dancing and Patrick Shooting Hoops

I'll be honest, despite having three kids in close succession the baby phase has never been my thing. I always feel like I kind of muddle my way through it. I mean, MY babies were adorable and precious but they were also baffling and I pretty much just held them the entire time because otherwise they fussed. I'm very much enjoying watching my final baby become a little person.

Playing with the drinking fountain even though he knows he really isn't supposed to.

This morning at breakfast I told him to eat so he licked his veggie sausage a bunch while staring at me with an impish grin.

And then I told him to make a cute face.

Oh man this face. What a little pumpkin.

He can even play independently a fair bit, although the other day he did come out to the living room with the giant heater grate he had somehow managed to pull out of the floor of the play room ... no child has ever done this before.

Look at this physique. Gives him the strength and power to get into all sorts of trouble.

We have dance parties.

We do so many fun things.

Halloween night was pretty fun, we had friends over and they passed out candy to trick or treaters while we took a loop around a block that took us about an hour. Patrick was so on board with our candy quest.

Kory and Fatima cuddle time while watching Star Wars. If Bradley looks traumatized it's because it was the one where Luke gets his hand cut off by Darth Vader ... oops.

Enjoying the loot

It was tough to say night night to candy and go to bed at the end of the evening. 

So tired.

Bradley has finally figured out how to play Mommy to get whatever he wants. Turns out I'm a sucker for sweet hugs and being told that my child loves me. However, sometimes he goes a bit overboard ...

The other day during naptime Bradley came into the master bedroom where I was resting and said "Come watch me make a pee, my love. I will give you a kiss when I'm through." Um, am I supposed to say no to this? (We're trying to encourage Bradley to go to the bathroom without dragging a parent or sibling along for moral support).

And then yesterday I stopped by his room during his quiet time and said "I need to go eat something and then I'll come read to you." Bradley responded in his cutesy, lovey voice, "Yes you can, beautiful Mommy. I'll come with you and keep you company!" Then he grabbed my hand and patted it.

I didn't make him play in his room and let the little doll child come with me.

Sweet boy still naps sometimes when he's too cozy with Daddy watching football on the weekends

And obligatory photos of Daddy making the other two kids pass out as well. Daddy has magic sleepy powers.

Eleanor found a spare remote control the other day and it turns Bradley into "robo dinosaur" and she gets to boss him around and he has to obey all her commands. All while he growls a lot and speaks in a gravelly voice.

They're still quite the incredible duo

I'm trying to help the kids think of Christmas as a time to think of others and not just themselves so I asked Eleanor what she thought she might like to get for Bradley for Christmas. I was told "I'm going to get him Cinderella and Elsa!" (girl is strategic - she wants princesses but they count as a present for Bradley if she picks the blue ones). Bradley's response was "But I don't want them to have any faces!" ....

I guess the princess faces creep him out? We'll go with that. Eleanor accepted his perfectly reasonable feedback and they continued their nice chat about good presents to get for Christmas.

There's a lot of personality coming through these days. Eleanor recently made a rather amazing shopping list at preschool. I have trained her well.

Favorite part of the list: "chocolate" and then two lines down "more chocolate." She also wisely included coffee for Mom. Let's go shopping!

Eleanor slept funny a couple nights ago and complained bitterly of neck pain the entire next day. Poor girl had only one position that she was able to eat food (cuddled up on Daddy with an ice pack on her neck) and had to cuddle with Daddy in the basement afterward and be told princess crossover stories. I'm told she requested a story with 100 princesses. Daddy had his work cut out for him (as he had the best Sunday of his life cuddling with his daughter and watching football).

Patrick has been doing a great job of watching the big kids and copying whatever they do and his new favorite thing is "reading" books.

This means we can finally go to the library again! Note the future voter sticker in the picture below. I hate to say it, but this particular future voter cried and fussed and wriggled in my arms during the entire voting process despite my attempts to bribe him with toys and snacks.

But then he was adorable at the library and followed his little friend around the whole time. He can say "Mabel." He can't say "Daddy" or either of his siblings' names, but he can say "Mabel." Pretty cute.

At home this is his general setup he prefers for "reading" time. He gets himself set up like this all by himself, right down to the blanket. 

However he's discovered that sibling reading time may be the most fun.

Although Bradley loves may be a bit overwhelming at times.

I still don't really get to read whole books to Patrick besides right before nap time or bedtime, but it's nice to see him finally showing a little interest in something that isn't a ball.

He also really likes taking pictures of himself. This is his "cheese" face.

And don't worry, balls are still first and foremost on his list of priorities. The other day I came back to the childcare area to pick up the kids and Patrick was crying because he wanted to be back in the basketball area and he's not allowed to be back there without me until he turns two. 

He's better than many of the big kids. But they probably don't practice quite as much as he does or take it nearly as seriously.

Nathan is very proud of his jump shot form. I wish that I could say I taught the kid any of this. Can I take basketball lessons from a 19 month old?

It's so fun that Patrick is starting to care about who he plays with and has some friends of his own that aren't just Bradley and Eleanor's friends. He and his friend Marcus had a hug fest at a park the other day and it was difficult to handle the sweetness of it all.

And he melts into Daddy whenever Nathan gets home from work. The photo below is actually a picture of Nathan trying to leave for the office. It's tough for Nathan to get out the door sometimes, Patrick will follow him crying as he tries to walk out and I'll hold the sad toddler in the front window so he can wave goodbye and yell concerned gibberish at me about the prospect of Daddy being away from him. I am often a distant second choice to wonderful, wonderful Daddy.

Wonderful Daddy took the big kids to Deanna Rose one last time before it closed for the season and they did the gold mining station, something I never try when we have Patrick along.

He also got them kettle corn. Daddy's popularity may have been at an all time high point after this. 

The weather has been ridiculously nice this fall, it's mid November and we're still in shorts and t-shirts most days. We flew kites at the park the other day!

The kids are so ready for the holidays. Some people were setting up Christmas trees at the church the other day when we were there for my mid week Bible study and Patrick immediately started yelling "Ball! Ball! Ball!" when he saw the ornaments and I had to use some serious strategy to get him away from them. Wish us luck when we have to try to keep the ornaments out of his clutches at our house for a full month.