These are photos taken of the children and James when Sophia was over at our house for one last shoot for her project. This time, James was asked to play with the kids while I took pictures of them. 

It's interesting to see your children mimic your actions and words. Milan has definitely picked up a few of our isms that I never even knew we had. Though we can't be blamed for every adult sounding thing that comes out of them. For a while we would hear Milan say, "Oh my gosh!" with these teenage-like intonations. And we couldn't figure out where she got it from. I found myself searching for instances where I would use that phrase in that way and it just didn't seem like me. And it definitely wasn't James' style of talking either. Then one day, while the kids were watching Treehouse in the living room, I heard it, a little voice on the tv saying, "Oh my gosh!" in the exact same way. Busted. It was a character from this cute show called My Big, Big Friend.

This has also happened to James and I where we find that all of us are saying the same things in the same way and we can't figure out how it started. Did the children get it from us or did we get it from the children? Most of the time, it remains a mystery and we end up sounding like 1-2 year olds while the kids end up sounding like adults.  

More of Julien's birthday.

Julien's 2nd birthday party.

James celebrating the win with the kids Friday evening.

Thursday, January 17, 2013.

A day at home. 

I wake up to two little ones beside me. One because of a cold, the other because of a feeding. Seeing her bassinet so close by and empty is sometimes a little funny to me. It's rare that I'm the first to wake up so I enjoy the bit of time I have to stay in bed and enjoy the details of our room (this is how I started taking pictures on this day). I love how the sun comes in, I like our stuff, but I never realized how bare I've kept our walls.

I get up and try to plan my day: I hope I can get a shower in today. I seriously need to get to organizing the kids' clothes. Lee is crying and the kids are up and hungry. Which should I do first? I guess I can put off getting ready until later. I decide on the kids and they're already waiting for me by the fridge. I prep the first part of their breakfast for them. When I finally get to Lee, she's leaked through her sleeper and onto our bed. I need to wash the sheets too. And I pull the sheets part way off to remind myself to do them later. 

After a feeding and breakfast, everyone is taken care of. This time, Lee is good with her naps and gives me windows of time to get things done. Laundry is what I focus on next. The kids play ("It's too bright, Mommy"), watch tv, and hover around me while I do things around the home. I'm getting used to the fact that the simplest things take so much longer with little ones around.

My flow is interrupted with a feeding, a diaper change, and a bit of play time with Lee. She snuggles, and smiles, and  laughs, and coos. I love having a baby this small in the home. Then all three kids take their naps at the same time and I'm lucky enough to get a shower in my day. 

The kids wake up and continue on with their playing and snacking. James arrives home earlier than usual due to a site visit in Prince Albert. Julien is the most happy to see his dad and shows it with a lot of cuddling. It gets dark by 5pm these days and that's when the blinds go up and our evening routine begins.   

Sunday.

Both pairs of footwear thrifted at Value Village.

Fighting over the water bottle.

Monday.

Our lonely missionary (after we accidentally left his companion behind at my mission companion's house a few years ago).

Driving his trucks along the walls.

Reading "Mortimer".

Checking on Lee. Still not sleeping.

Wednesday.

Multiple baths for a very sore bottom.

Preferring this cream over the usual Penaten cream for diaper rashes.