The Carman Crew: Just Your Average Overdue Update

The worst part of not updating regularly, is that I can't remember what I've already posted and what I haven't! And I barely have time to blog today, much less go research what I've done or haven't done.

So ... what's going to be important in 20 years for me to remember about the kids? Here it goes, whether or not it's repetitive ...

Kelaiah, what a sweet heart, candy coated, ball of sugar you are. You are absolutely full of smiles all the time. You giggle (which sounds more like a girly grunt) at everything Caleb and Kerith do, at peek a boo with Mommy, and at flying high over head with Daddy. You have both hands shoved in your mouth at all times. Any day now I think we will see teeth poking through. You have a laid back and wonderfully pleasant personality. But if you get mad ... whoa ear drums. And no amount of singing, or bouncing, or anything else will calm you down. The only thing that helps is seeing Caleb come walking through. You perk up, and you'll smile if he talks to you!

4 months old

Found the thumb at 4 months, 1 week

An April Sunday, ready for church!

Does it look like I'm having fun watching EVERYBODY else get to play on the playground? (05/01/13)

20 week sweetness

And our precious girl at her 4 month check up, when she was close to 5 months old. Poor baby with the shots. She was NOT happy with me. She's in exactly the 50th percentile in height, weight, and head circumference. Both my other two (especially Kerith) were so tall, we skipped several infant clothes sizes. But this girl wears exactly the size for her age. Amazing! I didn't know it was possible. :)

Here she is being a big crafty help at church to one of our dearest friends.

Kerith, you are our out-of-the-box child. You bring such imagination and creativity to a family of Type-A, play by the rules, realistic folks. Caleb giggles every time he puts on a train hat and I call him Engineer Caleb. It's almost too much pretense for him. You, on the other hand, were a black and white, fluffy, moo-ing, meowing, kitty named Figaro yesterday. Today, you were a baby birdy looking for her Daddy birdy so you could eat bird food (raisins) together. Right now, four of your stuffed animals, none of whom are horses, are all (pretending to be) horses and are gathered around your sparkly, silver hat like a feed trough. "They're eating their food together as a family" is what you said when I asked. What a joy your imagination is! Following the rules on the other hand ... not so much on your top ten list. I struggle with how to teach you that rules are sometimes necessary, without trying to make you what you are not. *Needs more prayer*

At your school fundraiser, jumping and laughing hysterically.

In our new reading corner. You LOVE to read. You often retreat to your room (or hopefully now, a comfy reading center) to read by yourself or draw. You make up wonderful stories by yourself as you look at the pictures.

In Tyler, at "the Science Discovery Place". I told you to put your head in so I could take a picture. You reached Pinto out to have his head in, too. He's definitely like a family member. Pinto, the zebra, who is almost always pretending to be a horse, who is also now a chrysalis.

One of my favorite things about you is that you sing everything. You love when Daddy plays guitar at night so you can sing and dance. Holy is the Lord and God of Wonders are two of your favorites. You were singing and dancing earlier, "I love my family. And I always want you to be here, because I love you." Precious. You constantly tell us, "I'm a lady". Which you think entitles you to whatever you want at the moment. You also are almost always a princess going to the ball. Love it.

You're very smart, and your vocabulary (your teacher often says) is that of about a five year old. You can express yourself amazingly well. It's easy to forget, during a temper tantrum, that you're only two. You now request a specific dress each morning to wear - no pants for you! God has given you amazing gifts and a wonderful, caring personality. I love to hear your sweet heart come out in your songs!

Caleb, you're growing up. It's wonderful and heartbreaking at the same time. :) Sometimes, I start to think about what I will do when you no longer want to hug and kiss me constantly. Then I just stop, and rest in knowing that the Lord will get me through it, and there will be hugging phases again. You can do so much by yourself - get dressed, brush your teeth, get snacks and drinks, choose activities and put them up when you're done ... so much I have always been used to doing for you. As our first child, it may be silly, but those things come as a shock! You still amaze us with your intelligence. You're reading, both phonetically and by sight. Right now, you're into homonyms. (And sometimes, just words that can be used differently but are the same word.) Today, you said, "Hey Mom, there are 3 kinds of rock! Rock like, I'm going to throw the rock. And like, go rock in that chair. And like, rock music!" You are constantly making connections between situations that would seem to have nothing in common. And your memory is incredible. We visited the JBF sale this year, and you reminded me that last year, they put an orange tag on my stroller. A year ago, from when you were 3. Incredible. And it happens all the time.

You still love Thomas and McQueen, but you're graduating a little to loving the driving/racing part more than the characters. You (totally on your own), have fallen in love with NASCAR. Gee whiz. You saw it on a tv at a restaurant (we were having lunch with folks who came to Cross Timbers for a marriage conference), and you've never looked back. You and Daddy watch it on Sundays. Even Kerith saw someone in a Monster Drink shirt the other day and said, "Hey look! It's a Kyle Busch shirt!" You like Jimmy Johnson the most right now. You often pick the winner of a race before it starts. By luck of course, but it's still fun! You also still love the human body. You asked me if you could be a race car driver and a scientist when you grow up. Sweetheart, you can be anything you want to be!

You have a huge heart that cares for people and a desire to be around as many people as possible at all times. :) You love to learn, you love to play, and you LOVE your Daddy. You are still begging me to find lessons so you can learn the violin and the french horn. Or maybe trumpet. You are constantly analyzing and asking questions. It brings us so much joy to watch your mind work and see what in the world you will come up with next. What a blessing you are, and I treasure your sweet hugs and kisses. You really treasure Kelaiah, and you are continuing to be the best big brother anyone could ask for.