Right now

I know I say it a lot but I really can't believe how much and how fast these kids of mine are growing. Can it really be 10 years ago that Ruhi was Maryam's age? Where did that go? I haven't captured the moments enough and that is something that I am making a conscious effort to do as much as possible becuase 10 years from now I want to be able to look back and remember, really remember, what life was like. What we were doing. What we were thinking and how the days were unfolding for us. There are signs that my memory is not what it used to be and I (you may have noticed) want to remember the good, the bad and everything in between.

So right now Ruhi is working hard academically and is making some great progress. I wouldn't actually say that she likes math, but she is finally beginning to get it. She is super helpful and wonderfully kind. She strives to make everyone else happy and I hope that she will make choices that bring her happiness as well. Choices are hard for her, even small ones like should I open my special can of Sprite now or later can present a dilemma that must be analyzed from every angle before a decision can be made. I know someone else who does that too. She always remembers to say prayers before bed and reminds everyone else as well. She loves rice noodles with hoisin sauce, reading in bed, swimming with friends, late night movie dates and riding her bike to the park.

Anisa must repeatedly be reminded, cajoled, prompted and urged to get her work done. Academics are not currently a strong point, but we're working on that. I just need to keep thinking of different ways to make her learning fun. She does not like housework for that matter either, but Bayan sure takes the cake and has more strategies up his sleeve for avoiding work than I care to count. Anisa is, however, an excellent baby sitter, she loves to cook and bake and has a gift for languages. She still remembers her manners only now she only says Thank you in German. She is so much fun. She is completely obsessed with horses and ponies and loves creating with paper.

Bayan has physically grown so much in the last year that he is completely off the charts in terms of height. He is definately a real little boy now and I adore him. His sweet brown eyes still make me melt, especially when they get that squinty sparkle when something special or something chocolate is mentioned. Love that. He is fascinated by robots. Loves machienes and likes to see how things work. He wants to be a robot inventor and a police officer (because they're allowed to have guns... but thats another blog post) when he grows up. He has promised to make me an army of robots that specialize in housework (so I'll be happy and he won't have to do anything). I am really looking forward to his laundry folding robot... 7 loads today. He is no longer satisfied with the name Maryam for his baby sister and has dubbed her Scurvy Boggs, after one of his race cars, instead. He calls her Scurvy for short. Man, I love these kids.

Maryam is trying to walk. She loves to stand, but still won't crawl. She loves the cat. We'll all say prayers for Bangles when she does begin to move. Trust me, he is gonna need them. She is so animated and playful. She loves to wave and play with the kids and is sadly disappointed when she can't join them outside for games...soon enough my love, soon enough. She is beginning to eat, though for health reasons she is only being introduced to fruit and vegetables at this stage and even then only one food at a time. So far she loves strawberries and mandarins. Pear, apple broccoli and carrot are meh and avacados are a no go. She has just learned to wave and she shakes her head at her siblings and copies their moves in a simple game that cracks everyone up and keeps them laughing. I love how good natured she is. Last night she threw up. In my bed. A lot. Twice. For no apparent reason. I picked her up to change, cuddle and clean her and even though she was covered in spew and must not have been feeling all that fabulous the first thing she did was flash that toothy smile. She has 6 teeth and each one is super cute. I love these guys so much and hope I can capture a little more of the here and now because it is just the best place to be. And I love who I get to share it with.