Now we are Four

Well, my mother-in-law flew home on Thursday and the reality of having two kids really set in. I have been so lucky to have the help of family members. I don't know how I would have gotten through the last three weeks without them, having Mom and Dad and Sayda here was wonderful.

Having Sophia join our family has been great, but I am still trying to figure out how to deal with an infant and a toddler. Putting Richie down for naps and bedtime has always been our special time together and it is pretty hard to do now that Sophia won't let me put her down. They seem to have a sense about when the other needs me because they both end up demanding my attention at the exact same times, like in the middle of the night when I am feeding Sophia and Richie has a nightmare and won't let Daddy help him. For the most part, though, Richie is a great big brother. He wants to hold her all the time and give her kisses. He calls her "baby sitter" and "baby girl" and "Fia". I have only gotten him to say "Sophia" once, but he has said it, so I know he is capable of it.

I thought I would share our Halloween costumes, even though it was forever ago.
I ordered the polar bear costume online the week before Halloween and had it express shipped so we would have it in time for the ward party and trunk-or-treat. It cost me as much as the price of the costume to do that and then I went into labor the morning of the party and we didn't even get to go. The pea pod costume was a gift from Sissy, Richie's sister. I had only been home for a day and a half on Halloween and there was no way I was going to be able to take the kids out. I was hoping that Richie would be able to at least take little Richie to a couple houses, but he had rehearsal that kept him longer than he was planning. We also thought we could at least show Grandma and Grandpa, but little Richie REFUSED to put the polar bear on. We asked over and over, we tried bribes and everything, but he wouldn't and still won't put the costume on. Hopefully it will fit him next year. I just didn't have the energy to put Sophia in her costume, plus she was so little it would have swallowed her up. Some day I hope to be prepared enough for Haloween that we can actually enjoy it, but for now I am a slacker mom that waits until the last minute to put things together.

Richie is rehearsing another mainstage show that opens in a week and a half and he just auditioned for "Romeo and Juliet". He won't know about R&J for about a month, they like to draw things out here. He is looking forward to the end of the semester, and I am looking forward to having him home for more than an hour a day (not counting sleeping). We are really enjoying getting to know Sophia and watching Richie grow up. He is suddenly speaking in sentences, which is a little crazy, but he is amazing. Our new little family is great. Thanks for all your love and well-wishes.