Pate's Full Circle: 11 months and 3 1/2 years

Sniff*sniff. Where does the time go? I can't believe that in a few short weeks Ansley will be one year old. At eleven months she does not quite seem ready to walk. She has been a proficient crawler for months now. She cruises furniture all the time. And she can climb just about anything. We have had to make sure that our toy bins and cabinets are never in a position where she can climb them. But it is like she has no actual interest in walking.

We love to ask: "How big is Ansley?" And she responds by raising her arms in the air!

She and Liam have been butting heads much more these days. They have decided that it is necessary to want the same toys at the exact same time. It doesn't even need to be an actual toy. A discarded box from a recent Costco run? Instant fight. A wooden pants hanger? Can't get enough of it. A glossy mailer showing produce deals at the local grocery store. Bitter tears of jealousy. A small bargaining chip we have been using with Liam lately is telling him that it would be so sad if Ansley didn't share her birthday cupcakes with him in a few weeks. This usually buys us four minutes of uninterrupted goodwill and over the top sharing on Liam's part.

Ansley's hair is starting to fill in. I sometimes think that she might get a few curls, but it is still hard to say.

She still only has two bottom teeth. Lately she has been doing this over the top goofy gummy smile. Love it! And I swear on a weekly basis that her top two teeth are coming in.

Proud and weepy Mama.

Daddy's little girl.

Love those chubby cheeks.

Liam is now three and a half years old. He is such a little man! He loves to play outside and has started getting into playing soccer with his dad. Anything to help burn off some of his energy. Both he and Ansley have been having a difficult time adjusting to me going back to work. When I have evening events, which happened a lot around the campaign, they have a long day at school and then don't get to bed until late. Still, I think now that they are settling in, they are starting to enjoy the structure of their classes like music time, art, and stretch and grow.

Liam has started getting ear infections again and it looks like his tubes are starting to fall out. We are meeting with a new ENT soon to see whether he needs to get tubes again. In what may be an unrelated matter, he has really been fighting bed time lately. We used to read him a book, say his prayers and sing him a song and he would go straight to bed. But ever since Florida he has developed a fear of the dark and it takes lots of crying, arguing and bargaining to get him off to sleep at night. I have heard that this is common at this age since kids start to develop an imagination and have trouble falling and staying asleep at night. We hope that this is just a phase, but time will tell.

Overall, Liam is active, happy, and spirited. We sometimes struggle with having a preschooler and everything that comes with it. He can be intentional in his disobedience, but we also know that he craves approval and thrives when he feels like he can contribute to our family.