I have written many, many posts about my kids here on this blog, but I realized that it had been awhile since my last one, so I thought today was as good a day as any to share some interesting vignettes.

At age 10, my son remains exceptionally profound and perceptive.  We went for a bike ride a couple of evenings ago.  As we crested a hill and stopped for a brief break, we had the following brief conversation about the weather:

ME: Wow - you can really see a lot from up here.  Check it out!  Look at the clouds.

BRANDON: Yeah, but I don't really like it when it's this quiet and the only voice you hear is from the wind.  It means a storm is coming.

I told him I thought that was a poetic way to put it.  Truthfully, it reminded me of something that Clint Eastwood would say in one of his more recent movies, or perhaps Tommy Lee Jones. 

Both Brandon and my oldest daughter, Aleah, have been spending a lot of time practicing piano.  I don't even know where this musical ability came from, but it makes for some entertaining days around here when they play for hours on end.  They are really good! 

Aleah just might be the fastest reader in our house, voraciously devouring books by the stack.  After two or three days of marathon reading at night, her bed appears to be perched in a book nest.  We are working on getting her to actually put away the books after she reads them.  I remain amazed by her information gathering.  I rarely read anything out loud that requires her to ask the meaning of a specific word anymore. 

Our three-year old, Abby, is exuberant, beautiful and very strong-willed (read: irritating) sometimes.  I remember from our two older kids that this is a tough age, and she is no exception.  She has almost completely outgrown mispronouncing words, except for when she requests "Piggybank rides".  I don't even want to correct this - it's too darn cute.  "Dad, can you give me a piggybank ride now?"  Sure!  The only other words I can think of that she says incorrectly are "juner" for "junior" (as in "Nick Juner") and "overills" for "overalls".  Again, no need to correct this - I enjoy it too much and these are some of the few vestiges of her toddlerhood remaining. 

On a completely unrelated note, I am happy to report that we appear to have crossed the finish line when it comes to potty training Abby.  We had to wait until our baby was born to start this process, since my wife wasn't thrilled about potty training while in her third trimester.  :)

Our five-month old daughter, Jenny, is a joy and a blessing.  She is clearly an extrovert, and she is energized when she is around a crowd of people at church or when we get together with friends.  She is VERY close to crawling now - I give it two or three weeks.  She has had a tough time with teething this week, which has affected our sleep lately.  Most people ask if she even cries, since she is so quick to smile and laugh, and she rarely seems upset. 

Thanks for reading this quick update about my family!