Happy Birthday A

Today my little A is 4 years old. I can hardly believe it!

Some things I love about A:

1. She is so generous. She shares very willingly with her sisters. She even offered to give half of her birthday money to L. :)

2. She has the cutest giggle.

3. She bounces everywhere. From the time she could walk she has been running and jumping!

4. She has such a likable personality. She's just a sweetheart.

5. She is ALWAYS in dress-up clothes. I should never have bought 3T summer clothes. Every day she wears a ballet leotard, her swimsuit, or her gymnastics outfit.

Here are some pictures of her as she has grown over the years.

Happy Birthday A!!! I love you!

Love, Mommy

Motherhood

My brother recently sent me this movie trailer:

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810025319/video/15003090

I'm not sure if I'll like the movie or not. There are some things that look pretty realistic, and of course some things that are extreme. That's Hollywood for you. But the trailer got me thinking...

Before I was a stay-at-home mom, I worked for 5 years as a social worker with handicapped infants and toddlers. The job was very demanding, emotionally draining, and extremely rewarding. I was busy, busy, busy...or so I thought.

Staying at home with my first daughter was an adjustment, but I never desired to return to my old job. She was an easy baby--slept a lot, generally happy, etc. A couple of years later, we added daughter #2. That's when life as a stay-at-home mom began to change. Then daughter #3 came along, and now in a few months--daughter #4! I had NO IDEA how much work would be involved in having a family. I had NO IDEA how much chaos would ensue at my house. I had NO IDEA how exhausted I would be.

But I also had NO IDEA how much joy would come from watching my children learn and grow. It is truly the greatest blessing in my life! I now have an immense respect for women who are able and choose to stay at home with their children. For some it has required great sacrifice of material things, but it is all worth it (I recognize that some women really want to stay at home and cannot. If that is you, please do not be offended by this post).

I've been thinking about all of the jobs that are entailed in being an at-home mom. Here is the list I've come up with:

1. Teacher

2. Chef

3. Housekeeper

4. Taxi Driver

5. Psychologist

6. Nanny/Babysitter

7. Financial planner/Accountant

8. Child Development Specialist

That's a pretty extensive list, don't you think? Do you have anything to add? :)

On top of being ALL of those things (all at once, I might add), you also have to do it on very little sleep, 24 hours a day, with essentially no vacation time. There are no weekends, no summer breaks...NADA! And let's not forget that our husbands need some of our time and energy as well.

So to all of those stay-at-home moms out there, I just want to say, "You're AWESOME!"

The reason we have so many girls

click on this link: here.

Venice Beach

We just came back from a R Family Reunion down in Venice Beach. It was a blast! We stayed in an awesome house right on the beach. L and A thought the ocean was the best thing ever! G spent a lot of time body surfing. And R...well, she didn't like the beach too much. She hated touching the sand and water; G and I had to take shifts with her at the beach house. But it didn't really matter. We had a GREAT time!

L, A, cousin D, cousin E, and The Muscle Man (Uncle C)

A, Aunt C, cousin D and L jumping over the waves.

L agreed to be buried in the sand! Haha!

A and L posing on the beach. I LOVE this picture!

Our family

L, A, cousin D, Uncle G, cousin E, and G sporting bubble beards in the hot tub.

Playing on the beach

A building a sand castle

Our view from the house/balcony. It was awesome!

Thanks G and G for an awesome family vacation. We had a great time!!!