My Williams family

Just in case you wanted to see my adorable nieces and nephew... I love these people! And they are getting so big so quickly. Seems to be the theme with little people...

Gorgeous Lily.

Beautiful Kayleekins.

Handsome little handful Braylen.

Quick catch up

So, Emmy turned one. Several weeks ago... And life is busy! 

Migraines and pollen and spring colds. 

Trampolines and sidewalk chalk and bubbles. 

Homeschool and sunshine and the zoo.

See what I mean? So much going on, although if you asked me on any given day, I couldn't tell you specifically. Just all the things that come with raising three little people. Three HUMONGOUS personalities in three tiny little bodies. It's beautiful and messy and so very full.

And here's my confession. I took my camera to Emmy's little "cupcakes in the park" party and took only one picture. Here you go.

Emmy, like my other two children and my handsome husband, does NOT love a crowd. She spent the majority of the time at the park making this face. It's not like she had a bad time. It was just a quiet time. An overwhelmed time. A sweet-faced little nugget time. Everyone else spent the time running around, playing baseball, blowing bubbles, eating cupcakes... It ended up being fun and frenzied all at the same time.

And, might I mention, this little lady started walking a few weeks before her birthday? She's my first before-one walker, and honestly, I should say runner. She's quick and she's intentional - this girl, also like my other two children, always seems to have a plan. I guess she comes by that honestly as well. She's also picked up a new word - Pwaaaaaa. It started out as Pweeeee, but somehow morphed. It's "please," just done Emmy-style, and with a certain level of indignance if she has to repeat herself. She also calls Lucy "Doo-see" and Milo "Ha-Da" (?). She loves Bruiser and belly-laughs any time he runs around. She is snuggly and darling and fierce, and she adds so much laughter and sunshine to our home.

Sooooo much sweet. With a layer of spice. And then more sweet underneath.

A little lady.

Okay, so that's Emmy. Now Lucy. She has literally just taken off reading. I gave her some sight word flash cards to help her gain some confidence, and she ran with it. Now she feels comfortable sounding out words and has read several beginner books. She also LOVES to help me in the kitchen, which makes dinner prep both slower and far more fun. She surprises me all the time and I am so proud of her. She still grits her teeth with desperate passion at Emmy. She still screams when things aren't going according to plan. But I see her growing up so fast in front of me, and I wish I could make it slow down just a little.

And Milo. My Milo. My sweet-natured little genius. His oldest cousin Cody joined the military and is currently in boot camp - Milo was very concerned with what he was eating and whether he was getting enough. He is reading Hardy Boys books in a day. He has started really putting time and attention into his handwriting and sentence construction. He does math word problems in his head and feels irritated that I make him show his work. Things are so logical and easy to him, which makes me wonder what the heck I will do with him when he gets to high school (cross that bridge when we come to it, right?). And then he lays down to go to sleep at night and genuinely prays that the Father will give him wisdom. Look out, world. 

My days and my heart are crammed full. I almost never even think about this blog, but when I do, I feel like I have to share how special these little people are and how fulfilled I feel in all this business. And now for some pictures.

Emmy may be making this face, sandwiched in the middle, for her entire life.

One of my favorites ever. You can really see all their personalities here.

And here, too...

Grammar correction fail

Lucy: "Mommy, I drinked all the water."

Me: "I drank all the water, Lucy."

Lucy, patiently: "No, Mommy, I drinked all the water."

Right.

Eleven months old

So, I'm just going to say it.

sniffle.

Emmy is eleven months old today. TIME, please slow down. Because next month my babiest baby will be one year old and I am unable to even speak of it.

Emmy has two top and two bottom teeth now. She is walking four and five steps at a time. She is my most curious baby - she is in to EVERYTHING, but in such a good-natured way that it's just plain precious. When Emmy was born I decided to just enjoy every single moment of my kids' lives instead of wishing we were past certain stages, or through different seasons. And this last year has been so precious and so wonderful and I have just fallen in love with all of my children even more than I ever thought possible. This little nugget has been such a beautiful gift and I am obviously super sentimental and overly hormonal. Just avoid me like the plague on her first birthday. Seriously. Here, just look at some pictures.

Sweet pea. She's so happy she finally popped through her top center teeth.

This picture is blurry because she was in the process of standing up and walking 5 steps toward the camera.

Thoughtful face. Deep, gorgeous eyes. And that mouth. People, how is this much perfection possible?

Just because...

2 birthdays and a brand new year

Awwww, hey there, little 10-month old girl. Yes, we finally got around to the photo shoot. Not that I forgot. We just had a whole lot of SICK in the house, including this poor nugget. But we are on the mend and had a little fun.

See what I mean? Super fun. This little lady is crawling everywhere and into EVERYTHING. She stands on her own and will walk the entire length of the couch holding on. She is such a great eater, which is important, because there are cheeks to keep up... She's amazing and lovely and a little bit of a stinker every now and then (but I wouldn't have it any other way).

And in other news, Milo is 7! Oh my word, be still my heart. I have never known seven years to go by so quickly. He's brilliant, funny, creative, sweet, and the second biggest tease I know (second only to Nate). This was our year to go on a birthday trip, but all he really wanted was to have a sleepover with his best friend Ezra. There's no saying no to that, right? And I was so proud of Lucy - she helped pick out all his gifts and never told him any of them. I couldn't believe it! Good work, Lulu. 

And finally... HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2017 was a great year, and I can't wait for more excitement in 2018.

Matching jammies

AHA!

Matching jammies. There you go.