Bring it on!

I think that for the last 3 years I've had a journal entry for January 1st titled "Bring it on!" It pretty much sums up how I feel about the new year. There's a crazy sense of excitement this year as I feel like we're making some headway in medical school. We're halfway through our 3rd (!!!) year. I remember talking to other students and their wives when we were med-school babies (aka first semester) and thinking that 6th, 7th, and 8th semesters were lightyears away. But alas, here we are and I have enough experience now to know that this semester will fly by like the rest of them.

2007 was a pretty great year.

Guthrie turned 5 years old!!! How on Earth do we have a 5-year old. He's so mature (sometimes excessively so and I wish he would slow down a bit.) He started his official "Kindergarten" year of school, which felt anticlimactic because Mexico starts school earlier than the U.S. and technically he was in school all of last year. His Spanish has blossomed like I never thought possible and I can confidently say that he knows more Spanish than I do at this point. I might have him beat in proper vocabulary, but he's WAY over my head in slang and playground talk. He has started reading and writing. His drawing skills have improved so much and now he tells us that he wants to be an artist when he grows up. (He also wants to be a rockstar, a doctor, and a garbage man;) ) He has his own fashion sense, which usually involves a t-shirt with a button-down short-sleeved shirt layered over it. He loves to "surprise" us and lock the door to his room only to emerge fully dressed. He tells us that he looks "sharp". If you know his Grandpa Hunter, you know where that phrase comes from. Overall its been such a fun year watching him reach a new level of childhood. I love that he's at the age where everyday holds the potential for a lifelong memory. I try to keep that in mind when I want to lose my cool with him. I hope he always remembers this point in his life as a great one! I know I will.

Adeline is just Adeline. I know Kyle will agree with that. She is hilarious and frustrating and endearing at the same time, all the time. She has the highest (pitch) voice you'll ever hear and no one we know can hear her talk without telling us its the cutest thing they've ever heard. She has the wildest imagination. Give her a My Little Pony and a plastic cup and she'll make up adventures all afternoon. One of my favorite things is the lurk around the corner and listen to her made-up dialogue for her little toys. She's finally starting to use her Spanish a little more, and while its not exactly accurate, the mistakes just add to the cuteness factor. She wants to be a princess when she grows up. She has an impressive collection of princess dressups and these things have seen better days. Most of the seams are ripping out now and all of them have some tatter and wear to them, but that doesn't stop them from being "byooooootiful". She also has a little pair of tap shoes that a friend handed down to her and she wants to wear them with every outfit. I made the mistake of letting her wear them to church one day and the entire congregation was chuckling as she crossed the (tiled) floor over and over again. They're no longer allowed outside of the house. :p

Sullivan has just grown leaps and bounds. I can hardly believe that one year ago he was just my teeny 6-month old baby. As a matter of fact, I can hardly believe that it was only this past July that we returned to Mexico from our visit home, and at that point he wasn't even walking! Now he holds his own with his big brother and sister. Not only did he learn to walk, but he learned to run, jump, and climb. He can scale our front gate so high that I can't even reach his feet anymore. Needless to say he's not allowed in the front yard of the house anymore. He says quite a few words in babytalk and just melts our hearts every minute of the day. Just today I was watching him in his PJs as he played with toys and his siblings. I told Kyle I just wanted to roll him up in a ball and take a bite out of him because he's JUST SO CUTE! Kyle said he knew just what I meant.

Its almost overwhelming when I think of how much I LOVE these munchkins. I sometimes feel bad for them that they have to put up with me for their mom, but I'll keep trying to work out the kinks.

Anyway, I look forward to what 2008 has to offer.

*Kyle will finish his 3rd year of medical school and half of his 4th!
*I will finally get the perfect job that lets me work from home and take care of the kiddos.
*Guthrie will turn 6 years old which sounds WAY older than 5 for some reason. He will start his 3rd year of school in Mexico. He will become fluent in Spanish. He will improve his reading and writing skills.
*Adeline will turn 5(!!!) at the end of this year. She will start learning to read and will continue to do well in school. She'll learn even more Spanish. She'll learn to ride a bike.
*Both kids will learn to keep their rooms clean. MWAHAHAHA.
*Sullivan will turn 2 years old. He'll talk more and more and I'm sure at one point I'll wish he would go back to being a baby. He'll get interested in the potty and maybe he'll decide that its fun to watch 30 minutes of Sesame Street so Mommy can take a shower alone.
*I will keep up the jogging and finally run the 10k race that my friends and I keep talking about.



(thanks Serin for the idea:p)