January / February 2018

A few things lately:

• You have set yourself apart from your siblings by calling them "the kids." You don't consider yourself a kid anymore. 
• We taught you and Josh how to clean and make the babies' bottles. You guys are such great helpers!
• One night as you were laying in bed and I was tickling your back, you said, "I'm so glad I have a mom and a dad." (I wonder if maybe some of your friends at school are talking about their parents being separated.)
• You gave us quite a scare. After all of you kids were in bed, I went into our bathroom to brush my teeth and saw the Children's Tylenol bottle near the edge of the counter. I thought that was weird because I didn't remember putting it there. I picked it up and it felt it was empty. Then I started to panic. I knew the other kids didn't know how to open the safety lid but that you did. I told Dad and we woke you up to ask you about it. You said you had "a few sips" but we didn't know how much was in there to begin with or how much you really had. I called Poison Control and was told that even if you drank the whole bottle, you would be okay. We were ready to go to the ER but luckily we didn't have to. We talked with you about the seriousness of the situation and you started to cry. I think you felt pretty badly about it. 
• You have been a good helper lately. One night I asked Josh several times to go upstairs and get in his pjs. (I think it was so you guys could go on a walk with Dad and then be all ready for bed once you got back.) He wasn't doing it so you ran upstairs and got them for him. After you were out of earshot, Josh said, "Oliver is a good helper." "You should tell him that," I said. "He already knows," Josh said. Another time, you helped Eleanor change out of her pull up. Eleanor exclaimed, "Oliver is the best! I love him!"
• The other day you said to me, "I'm so glad you're my mom." That melted my heart.
• You eat bell peppers like they are apples. 

We went to the zoo as a family in January. There was a fun Dinosaurs in the Desert Exhibit. We had a great time.