...and a non-photo post, just for fun

Everyone is doing really well these days. Rhett is such a big boy, speeding towards his 4th birthday. He fluctuates wildly between wanting a birthday party at one of the party places (Bouncing Tigers, Chuck E. Cheese, etc.) and wanting "everyone to come to his house." We shall see. He went through a rough spot at the beginning of the school year where he was really whiny and tempermental, but I'm happy to report he has improved 100%, both at home and at school. I don't know whether to attribute it to Lucie's arrival (which apparently took a load off of his mind) or just getting out of the terrible 3 1/2 stage. Either way, I'm not complaining. He says exactly anything he wants now and remembers everything. The other day I overheard him tell Anna Camille, "that's an inappropriate response." One of my favorites to use on him...I guess he's internalized it.

Anna Camille is exactly who she wants to be---whatever that is. She is unbelievably independent and can be pretty stubborn. I wonder where she gets that from. At the same time, she can be incredibly sweet...just on her own terms. She likes a lot of attention in the mornings, more than mama and daddy can give her and still make it out the door, so sometimes her day starts out a little rough. But we've been getting up about 1 1/2 hours earlier now that I am back at work, so we do have a little more time now to devote to her. She still loves all things girly, including shoes, purses and bows. But god forbid you take her near a mud puddle...she is going in it! I had to steer her away from several in her Minnie Mouse costume on Halloween. She's a funny little combination of priss, sass, toughness, independence and tenderness...a true steel magnolia I suppose.

Lucie is shaping up to be our best baby yet! She almost never cries and she's sleeping through the night. Last night she went down at 9:30 and woke up at 4. So while I'd like to shift her forward about an hour, I'm not complaining. She is beautiful and sweet and already smiles at her mama.

As for David and I, everything is going smoothly and we are adjusting well to being the parents of 3. It hasn't been a significant change from 2, but I know that will come when Lucie gets to be mobile in about 6 months. Talk to me then...I'm sure I'll sing a different tune. We are taking turns at night getting up with Lucie. The person who has the "night off" gets to wake up early and go for a walk/run. It has been really nice to start the days off that way and to get up and do something for ourselves, and we've been enjoying it---sometimes even fighting over who gets to wake up early and go! On the flip side, the time change has made the kids wake up about an hour earlier than usual, which seriously cuts into mama's coffee time. So hopefully that will even out soon. Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh, and I lied in the title of the post...I just had to include a picture of Lucie after all.