Can you believe these sweet little bodies? Tiny little feet? Oh they grab my heart!
G-A-B-L
Aiden
My charming silly little cuddle-bug. Let's just start with the eyes...the clearest most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. And the hair, those blonde curls, I know I could go on, what mom couldn't? I see so much of past generations in him and he just has that look that he came from another era. I just can't squeeze him enough!
I truly don't think there could be a child more ready for fun than Aiden. He is the one to catch your eye when something is silly and chuckle or to find a way to make something funny. He is just plain happy. He had been such a screamer as a little baby, but his reflux improving so much has made him much calmer. Aiden will be the little practical joker, the one who wants everyone to laugh. He loves laying on and hugging on his brothers, they aren't always thrilled about it, but he could care less. He does it anyway, even more when they don't want him to. ;) In some ways he's just simply unaffected and keeps his happy demeanor and I love that about him! His bros may cry when I leave the room at naptime or bedtime, but he usually doesn't join in, he'll head over toward Beckham and make him laugh. In that way he does act like the "older brother." He is just so very sweet.
While he started out hitting milestones so early on (coming home from the NICU at 3 weeks and rolling over the next day), crawling first, in some ways he did get his brothers going, yet he wants to do things on his terms. He definitely could have walked first, but preferred to crawl...we'd catch him walking out of the corner of our eye and then as soon as we looked, he'd grab on to something....lil' stinker. Now he's set on trying to bounce and jump. He absolutely loves to dance. He will make the toys make noise just so he can dance to them, and the kid has rhythm (ahem, he gets that from mom of course!). I love turning on the music and dancing with him and his brothers. I can already tell if he wants to do something, he'll get his bros to join in. I don't think they'll be able to resist him.
He loves so many of his toys, climbing, sliding, but most of all he loves books. Aiden would probably spend his whole day looking at books. We have a huge bin of books and he pulls out all of them and now recognizes what's inside by the cover on some. He has a really great vocabulary so far for his age and he tries to say new words too. Some of his favorites are "mommy, ethan, daddy, hi, quack and moo (when pointing at the animals), up, down, open, close, night-night, ball, dance, hot, eyes, ears, head (and points to them) ..." Of course they aren't all as clear as can be, but he tries to use his words and is consistent. It is so cool to watch him learn and connect things. He likes puzzles too, can complete a shapes puzzle and we just started coloring which he now points to do when he sits at the table. His interests remind me a lot of Ethan.
It amazes me how much my little baby A has grown. I can't wait to see what this year bring with our little charmer!!!!
Beckham
My goofy, daring, sensitive little man. When Beckham was born we thought he was such a zen baby, so calm, not very fussy. He was the easiest of them all and we often found ourselves saying, "thank God for Beckham!" As he grew, he had more anxiety with new people, but once you were in with him, he was your forever friend. Flash forward to 15-months and he is the one who will be swinging from the chandelier! He loves life, loves new things, new people still sometimes take a little more getting used to, but with all else, he is ready!
Beckham loves being goofy and he is so stinkin' adorable you can't help but laugh along with him. He is so passionate about having the newest, biggest, best whatever and often his brothers aren't so thrilled about him always taking their stuff. Yet, he is so aware and just excited to play. He can follow directions well (when he wants to listen, did I mention he is stubborn too just like his mama?). He'll put his cup up on the table when he's finished, help clean up, etc. Out of all of the boys, he seems most concerned about his clothing, some might say he is a bit of a pretty-boy, most likely the little prepster and he sure loves his hats! Everyone else gives me grief, but Beck smiles as if to say, "I know I look good!"
Recently he has been giving us some scares with fainting! He gets overwhelmed when he is upset, holds his breath, and then faints. He did this early on at one of the well-visits for his shots, he didn't faint, but he held his breath so long we were all trying to get him to breathe, ugh! While it is scary, we have found a few ways to try to get him distracted. I hope by the time we are talking about 18-months all is said and done.
He is so absolutely sweet too. He will come up to me and rest his head on me and just want a hug. It just melts my heart. And he talks up a storm, "mama, dada, Ethan, outside, ball, sit-down (thanks to being next to little Houdini Liam at the feeding table), car (his favorite word), up, down, eyes, open, close, quack, moo, dog, and others." He has a few times said a new word in just a few practice tries.
While he was second in crawling, he moved right up to walking in no time. He was cruising everywhere by a year and walking on his own at 13-months. Now he is running! He is so fast!! He was the first to master going up and down their play slide, the first to experiment jumping in their little bounce house, he is go-go-go. He loves playing with cars, is showing an interest in Thomas the train, and figuring things out if he can sit still long enough! Often I will find he and Liam at the feeding table goofing around or him and Aiden up in their cribs (next to one another) being silly.
Now it all makes more sense. He had the most room in "the belly," seriously the whole left side while everyone else was squished up and he was the heaviest at birth. He always wants the first and the best and while he was Baby C all along, on the way out, he pulled a fast one and slid out ahead of Liam, so he was born as Baby B. We should have known then! I love my adorable little spit-fire, he sure is going to keep us on our toes!!
Liam
Or L.I.AM as we like to call him and the ever-popular Li-Li Boo. Our sweet little man who has defied all odds, who has never taken no for answer, and who will most certainly make his way loudly (and silly and sweetly) in life. And that's the best way to describe him, so ultimately full of life and love. His head full of curls and button nose, sometimes the cuteness is too much to take!
Liam was buddies with Aiden in my belly. He was often the hardest to monitor, lil' stinker. Both he and Aiden love hanging upside down, go figure, that's how they spent some significant time in their lives! ;)
Our sweet littlest guy is just simply a rockstar. He was walking by 14 months with such determination. We had no idea what the effects of all that he endured in fighting his way in to life would result in, but it does not keep him down at all. He has moved mountains with sheer will and determination. God has some big plans for his life and it's good because Liam's motto seems to be "go big or go home."
He loves to dance, loves books, music, pretending to talk on the phone, picking up tiny (invisible) things off the floor and giving them to me aka helping clean up ;), trucks and cars, learning especially one-on-one, songs with gestures, just get him a stage! He also has the ability to wrap you around his little finger, he can be a bit dramatic, but it's all pure entertainment.
He too reminds us a lot of big brother in looks and his demeanor, and it's very sweet. He loves the spotlight, loves people, all of his brothers may be upset in a situation but Liam just rolls with the punches. He definitely has a stubborn independent streak too but it has served him so well. And he is such a little risk taker, within his own summing up of the situation, but he is super brave.
Liam chats up a storm, saying many of the same words as his brothers, with his favorite being "hi" in this long drawn out, "HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" He greets you with it in the morning and it just brightens the day. He also pretends to talk on the phone and really is such a little imitator. He sizes up the situation, takes it all in, and then figures out how to do it himself putting his own charming little spin on it.
Our little lion with the loudest roar sure has an agenda and he is taking his brothers along for the ride!
Griffin
Oh my adorable Griffin, my baby D, who was wedged up in my ribcage so far I am surprised he didn't take a few with him on the way out. Mr. 3rd in weight wouldn't hear of it, and as soon as he was out he started packing on the pounds and has never looked back. His cheeks are the most pinch-able ever and his eyes just melt you. He is our very own teddy bear. He resembles his Daddy so much, he is a mini-Matt.
Everyone assumes Griffin eats the most, is the toughest, etc. but it's far from the truth. He is the most shy, super sweet, and yes he can throw down when he wants to, especially if Beck gets him to a point, but usually he is very quiet and observant.
Griffin enjoys doing things on his own, and sometimes you think he's not paying attention but then he'll come by and do what you asked or point to what you were talking about, it's like he knows he knows and doesn't need to show anyone. He is such a super-builder, so great with fine motor skills. He's awesome at moving parts and figuring out how things work. I just started working on crayons with them and he loves drawing. He has a great attention span when it's something he wants to do and is interested in.
All along because of his size and because he was last to crawl we wondered when he would walk, but at 13-months, 2nd in line he was walking. His determination really came out then. Usually he is quite laid back, except he has his little quirks (just like his mommy). He helps me "clean." He gets annoyed sometimes with his brothers' messes. If we're trying to clean something up, he's usually the one helping me.
Griffin is not a big fan of new people, but he's working through it. We just keep reassuring him, building his confidence and security, and after a little while he lets people see the ham he really is. He can be oh super silly and goofy.
I can't believe we had initially planned to call him Finn, while I still love the name, Griffin is really the perfect name. I am so impressed by him. He makes me think of things differently with the way he approaches something and the way he learns. I just love that about him and we love having our very own little Griffy-bear!
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