Three Things I Love About Each of my Children, Right Now.

Jack:
1. They way he comes up to me randomly throughout the day and says "I love you mama!"
2. They way it takes him forever to lay out the most simple of plans; "I'm going to the kitchen to get a glass of water" can take upwards of 5 minutes to explain. But he is just so earnest and cute while doing it.
3. When he talks about what he is going to do "now that he's BIG".

Cate:
1. Her signature "scribble scrabble" drawing style; this is how she describes her pictures that consist of elaborate looping squiggles in many colors. When she first called them 'scribble scrabbles' I thought it was a pejorative term and that she was frustrated that she couldn't make anything else. Silly me. 'Scribble scrabble' is an ART.
2. Her dramatics. Actually it's kind of a love/hate thing. The weeping and wailing send me to the end of my tether, but at the same time they kind of crack me up. She certainly is a character.
3. When she pads into our room, eyes still full of sleep, and crawls into bed with me saying "Mama, I need to cuddle you". Ahhhhhhh.

Ava:
1. Her voice. It's part muppet, part helium tank. It makes me smile just to hear it.
2. Her awareness. Nothing gets past those blue eyes.
3. How proud she is of her accomplishments. I never want that to stop for her; I hope she will always be able to look at what she done and feel "Yes, I AM good at that!".