Time to start blogging again

Hello there. Long time no blog. Thought we'd catch you up on a few Gillespie happenings.

-Baby A is growing up. She is into everything. Her favorite words are "thank you" and "Dash". I could also swear she said QUESADILLA the other day. She just barely started sleeping through the night, hallelujah! She lights up every time we go outside. She loves the outdoors and riding her Y bike. Even at one she knows she is a Gillespie. We all love her to pieces. Even when she empties out every cupboard she finds and climbs on tables and hides the remote.

-Dash took off his training wheels this weekend and is starting to get the hang of his four wheeler. He loves playing baseball, especially when all the kids are at school so no one can compete with his turn to bat. He tells me he loves me 10 times a day, which never gets old. "I love you, Mom. Give me a hug and a kiss!" One day, the kids and I were talking about dating and how boys should treat girls and girls should treat boys. Ever since, Dash opens my car door for me, and then walks around to the other side and gets in his car seat. It is so darn cute and he is so darn proud that I don't have the heart to stop him.

Every night includes a book before bed. He loves Kyle during the day but I am his girl at night. "Mom will put me to bed." And so I do.

-Kate can name all 50 states and all 44 presidents of the U.S. Sometimes we add Romney for fun at the end, and then we laugh so we don't cry. She shaved her legs the other day without telling us. "Mom, look, they are just so smooooooooth." Who can blame her? No one wants hairy legs but I told her in the future she needs to ask. She has gotten 100% on every math test since January and has been thriving at school. Share days are her favorite: last week we woke up at 6:00 am to find frogs and salamanders because we had nothing left cool in the house to share. Even though Kate is six, sometimes I think she protects Ella on the playground. She isn't afraid to stand up to a bully and often hangs with the fifth graders. Go figure.  

-Ella has been doing what Ella does best: people. She has tons of friends and has a talent for making sure everyone feels included and loved. Her teacher often puts her next to people that need extra help at school because she is patient and helpful. She is also doing great at school, and it is clear she is an "ideas" girl. She likes to say she is half Kyle, half me, and calls herself "little climber". I would guess the half me is the part that gets easily distracted or caught up in a new idea. Regardless of that she is super helpful with Ashley and always a lot of fun. In addition, you can always count on Ella to end up covered in mud. I don't know how she does it but anything with water and dirt and she is in. Speaking of water, her swimming is getting stronger all the time. One day we are going to have a pool. Either in this life or the next, but one day for sure.

-Kyle is doing his doctor thing by day, his family thing by night. There are around 10 motorcycles in our garage at the moment, and hours worth of SuperCross saturday in our TV cue. We took a trip to the Grand Canyon last weekend and nothing says true love like agreeing to hours of baja riding with K at the wheel. He still talks about how much more he could get done if he didn't have to eat or sleep, which I find hard to understand since those are two of my favorite things. Despite those few differences we somehow make a good team. 

-As for me, I am finally starting to feel like myself again, only 15 months after having a baby. Jeez, it's amazing how pregnancy can feel so much like death. I walk 5 miles a few times a week and sometimes throw in some crossfit, a run or a swim. I clean my house routinely, which then gets messed up just as routinely. I spend a lot of time mentoring teenagers and talking to my own kids about real life. Ella asked me what abortion meant the other day, and when I told her all she could say was, "You mean they do that here? In this country?" I figure I can't give my kids all the answers, but I can certainly arm them with the tools they need to find their own. This motherhood thing is serious business but 9 1/2 years later I am still in the club and loving it more every day.

Hope you all are having a great spring and making the most of every day. Sending happy wishes your way always,

b and fam