Labor (of Love) Day

The passage of time is never clearer than when you have tiny lives to mark it. It's been three months since the twins' arrival and already they're plumping up, smiling, stretching out their legs and showing signs of personality. 

Elyssa, the firstborn of the twins, is mostly serious. She furrows her brow a great deal as though she's worrying over us all. Or maybe she's just stressing over whether or not she'll ever have the "e" in her name pronounced instead of just "'Lyssa." Her eyes are bright blue and round and curious. She's a thumb-sucker, but when she can't locate her favorite digit, the other four fingers will do quite nicely. She talks, winding up her arms and legs and forming little o's with her mouth before cooing and grunting with tenacity. She has something to say. She's a bit bothered by my camera. I've assured her she'll get used to it. She looks sweet in the soft pastels that didn't suit her older sister. And even though she's almost a dozen pounds, she still feels petite and delicate when you hold her. And she's a divine little snuggler.

Elyssa, 3 months

Baby 'Lyssa

Ethan, four minutes her junior, is known as "the chunk." As light and elegant as his twin is, he's all muscle or bulk or...something. When you hold him, it's like a load of potatoes. Precious potatoes that you want to squeeze tightly and smooch on the bald, round head. His eyes, which we think are going to be hazel, positively twinkle. Because he's a smilebox. That's what we call him because he smiles a hilarious toothless, gummy smile whenever you talk to him. And he adores his nana - Justin refers to Mama as Ethan's girlfriend because he just gazes lovingly at her with those bright starry eyes. And smiles. He kicks a lot and frets his hands together in what we refer to as "frick-a-prickin," which is why Mama crocheted him a little blue blanket to worry his fingers against.

Our Smilebox

Ethan, 3 months

And it's not just the newborns who remind us of time passing. Dillon went to his first day of preschool on Friday. He's taken to puzzles and can do 100-piece puzzles with just a bit of assistance. He's continuing to amass facts and bits of trivia and stories so that every once in awhile he surprises you with something that you know a 4-year-old doesn't normally know. He's a little theologian with impressive biblical knowledge. He's developing his sense of humor, although it's taking a bit longer for him to grasp the nuance of humor. Justin told him he needed to ask God for a sense of humor, and, bless his heart, he couldn't even remember what it was when it came time to pray for it. For Justin's birthday, he and Reese painted a set of six porcelain monsters. His were named Dezi, Sir Angus and Two-Finger.

Dillon loves Nana bread

Reese isn't lagging behind her brothers and sister. She recently had her first haircut. She's following her brother's footsteps with knock-knock jokes. Hers don't even come close to making sense. She's a princess and a mean fairy and little lion and a ballerina and a mommy to countless dolls. She sings, sometimes songs we know, and sometimes songs only she knows. She scrunches her nose up  - only on one side - when she's either a grumpy bear or something's "not her favorite." Things that are her favorite: My Little Ponies, tutus and chocolate milk. Her monsters' names were Effy, Deffy and My Mama's Sister. For the record, her mama doesn't have a sister.

Oh, my sweet, sweet, Reesie. A spunky little one, she is.

Was there ever such a delightful foursome as this?

"The Big Kids"

The Twins