The way they are

Luke: Even though it's frustrating and scary, his climbing also makes me laugh. The only place in the house that is completely out of his reach is the top of the refrigerator. He sees something on the counter that he wants? He pushes over a kitchen chair and climbs right up. (this is one of the scary ones - I cannot leave the stove unattended for even a second.) I will also find him in new places almost daily. Yesterday he was sitting on the back of the futon, legs dangling like Humpty Dumpty, ready to jump off. He's only been walking for three months!  I had to rig the straps of his booster seat with rubber bands because he figured out how to stand up and pull the straps right out of the chair.

He generally more interested in moving than talking, but he LOVES the book Gallop and tries to repeat animal noises from it. My favorite is the rooster, which is some form of "do-ah-do." I love that he picks up on cues when someone is leaving the house and brings me a pair of shoes (not necessarily his) and pokes me with them in desperation, as if to say, "You're taking me with you, right? Right? Right?"

David: The car obsession lives on. I realized that 3/4 of his ornaments are vehicles of some sort (the first one was a Baby's First Christmas ornament). He spends much of his play time moving cars and trains around various areas of the house. He is usually playing out very complicated car drama in his head, and he completely flips his lid if Luke grabs one of the cars and takes it out of the storyline.

He does get wild, especially in the company of other boys - they feed off of each other and he gets really excited. Excited = running, crashing, screeching, making lots of motor noises, and laughing a hysterically evil laugh. In those rare times that it's just him and me, he's a remarkably calm and sweet kiddo. He talks my ear off and makes impressive observations. I think he's going to be a charmer, he even knows to compliment girls that their outfit is "beautiful."

He's still my cuddler, and he's terrified of storms. Every single night, if I forget to tell him explicitly, he comes back out of his room and asks, "Mommy, will there be storms tonight?" If I hear a crack of thunder in the night, I can count to ten and plan on a three-year-old in the bed with me for at least an hour.

Katy: Considering the challenges the she has given me over the years, I am really enjoying age 5 with this girl. She is so sweet, so mature, and really seems to be coming into her own. (Does anyone really know what that means?) She's just pleasant to be around, which is really nice. I enjoy our conversations together - she asks a lot of questions, she likes non-fiction (yes, she calls it non-fiction), and she's really proud of herself for all of the accomplishments she has made this year.

She's still really competitive, which is the one area where we can still butt heads. If she feels that something isn't fair, or that she isn't winning or coming out on top - look out! Things can turn ugly pretty quickly. But at least now I can talk to her about it logically. She has shed many tears this year over PM kindergarten: "Mommy, ALL the other kids go to kindergarten all DAY. I'm just a BABY who only goes in the afternoon. I want to go in the MORNING, TOO." This comes up when she wants to make a play date with someone on a weekday morning, and I have to break the news that they are at school. This is not well received.

But her heart is really loving. She's helpful and kind to her brothers most of the time. We started a magnetic responsibility chart (I'd recommend this one as a gift idea!) and she is loving it. She constantly asks what she can do to get a magnet. (when she fills up the whole chart, which takes her a few weeks, we go out for frozen yogurt with mix-ins.) She's really growing up!