Isabelle is another year older, though in truth, she has always seemed older than her age suggests.  Being so close in age to Ava, she has long since decided that she is capable of doing anything Ava can do, and expects to be treated as such.  We have had to temper this attitude a bit, but whenever given the opportunity, she works hard and proves to those around her that she can [almost always] do whatever she sets her mind to do.

From the very first, Isabelle has been quick to help, eager to learn new skills, and insistent on being around anyone who might be taking on an in interesting endeavor.  She is my near constant companion in the kitchen, with questions flowing as fast as I can answer them, and a desire to do everything.  This is a challenge for my somewhat particular personality, but on my more gracious days, I try to hand her the reins when I can, and brace myself for extra mental effort it brings (okay, so this isn’t one of my parenting strengths).  But even despite my reluctance, Isabelle is persistent and isn’t easily discouraged from seeking out new opportunities for herself.

Isabelle is also a nurturer.  She loves to take care of people, and she’s good at it.  From volunteering for all the random tasks, to coming up with her own ideas on what might help someone, she puts all of herself into being a mother hen whenever she gets the chance.  She’ll give endless hugs, and back-rubs, and snuggles.  She’ll make tea, and fetch ice packs, and adjust pillows and blankets.  And all with a huge smile on her face.  Because she loves to be able to DO things to show love to people.

When it comes to school, Isabelle has definite strengths in math and reading, but is still working on listening well.  It will come in time, I’m sure, and I guess this is one of those areas where I  need to just remind myself that she’s only turning seven – she’s learning her multiplication facts and reading chapter books and measuring ingredients and folding laundry and helping in the garden – I guess pronouns can wait.

And I have to say, nothing can make me smile like this girl.  She has the BEST giggle ever.  Her smile still melts my heart.  She writes songs for me and tells me she thinks I’m beautiful….and I know this isn’t supposed to be about me, but these are the ways I see her wonderful heart shining through.  I love my Isabelle Sophia more than words can say.  I have been so blessed by her these seven years, and as always, I am grateful for the chance to celebrate her and all the qualities that make her unique and – as she aspires to be – marvelous.

Lucas is four years old today.  I guess I can’t really call him a baby anymore, but wow, that’s hard.  I find myself more and more being astonished at his capabilities, and while I tend to want to attribute it to his natural intelligence and aplomb, it’s probable that at least a small part of it is that my brain has a hard time grasping how fast he is growing.

Nonetheless, I love seeing him learning new skills, communicating with greater insight and, slowly but surely, figuring out how to choose obedience when his strong will so desperately wants its way.

Lucas loves anything with wheels and has proven himself quite adept at driving RC cars all over the house.  I am confident that this is not just my biased perception, as he is certainly more skilled than I am at using these remotes, and can at least keep up with his older siblings.  He also has become interested in Lego, and playing with pretend food and kitchen toys.  Scooby Doo remains his sentimental favorite in most things, but has expanded his horizons to include anything from Toy Story or Cars as well.

Being outside is almost always his preference, and recess is the reference point around which most of his days revolve.  He has mastered training wheels, and I anticipate a request for them to come off in the not-too-distant future.  He loves the chickens, and attempting to climb the apple trees, and picking dandelions, and eating chives from the garden.

He remains a force to be reckoned with in his physical abilities.  Without hesitation, he climbs up doorways, bookshelves and dressers (an area in need of reining in).  He has a grip to rival mine, and can move his little legs at lightning speed.  He can throw and catch much better than his other siblings could at four, and is convinced there is nothing that he can’t do.

He struggles somewhat with learning things like learning which letters and numbers are which, and how to pronounce some letter combinations, like ‘sp’ and ‘sm’, but his vocabulary is impressive and he can follow conversations and story lines extremely well.

As with many things in Lucas’s life, most of his “advancements” come in big steps, rather than gradually.  He seems to internalize new knowledge and ideas, analyzing them thoroughly, so that he can put together a full picture of something before putting anything into action in his behavior.  It’s a different way of doing things than we have observed with the other kids, but it offers reassurance when he might seem to be lagging.  For instance, he went from not being able to say any of the alphabet, to learning it completely in 2 days, without any prompting from me.  And it was the same with talking, and using sentences, and counting and many other things.

Lucas continues to throw me for a loop with his personality, though.  He is very sensitive, and shows genuine concern whenever someone else is hurting or sad.  I sprained my ankle in November, and he still asks me randomly if it’s okay, and expresses worry if I do something that could potentially injure it again.  He recognizes when he has said or done something that I’m not happy with, and will often apologize on his own after thinking it through. However,  he is also very quick to push people away and to want to think only of his momentary interests.  We work on this a lot, though, and I think he is beginning to recognize that there are unpleasant (natural) consequences for self-serving behavior, and he’s becoming less extreme in his responses.

Lucas is such a force to be reckoned with, in so many remarkable ways.  I love him so much, I am overjoyed to celebrate his four years, and I am so excited to see how God uses him as he grows.