a middle child adventure

yes with 4 children i still have a middle child...having twins will do that to ya. but i'm not too worried, seeing as i was a middle child myself. i know you're surprised. you couldn't tell by how well adjusted i am. haha! kidding! but for real, i think i only kinda counted as a middle child. really i acted more like an older child being my big sis is 6.5 year older than i am.

and all that being said, i'm trying to find alone time with this sweet 2.5 yr old middle child of 4 boys.

his life has been...well a little crazy thus far. i hope it won't always be this insane, but the realistic side of me would like to laugh out loud at that dream.

{gabe} is currently in that stage when he just needs me to slow down. take the time to listen & gently instruct. and love on him. he definitely got short-changed on the whole time with mom thing once the twins arrived. i hate that, but it's true.  he is learning how to talk and communicate his needs and wants. but when i don't give him the time it just comes out as wailing screams and cries. and who wants a day full of that instead hearing his sweet little voice that sometimes lisps. 


generally i can guess what the whine is all about but that completely misses the point. i need him to learn to talk. i need him to know that he is important and his needs are heard. i need him to not break my ear drums with varying high pitched squeals for the next 16 years he is living in my house. 


it's time for him to experience some consistency. from us as parents & just life in general. as his parents {matt} & i have to be on the same page when it comes to dealing with this junk. thankfully we pretty much are. but it's not just there being consistency between us, we must also display it dealing with our boys. that's the hard part of having little ones i think. especially when they are all so close together like ours. they all need different kinds of consistency. consistency in daily on-goings, in discipline, in food, in people. which is so hard for my super-laid back un-planning self. it's always an on-going process...


but it amazes me that when it's just the 2 of us, he talks in complete sentences. he actually will talk my ear off. sending {ben} to preschool has probably benefitted {gabe} more than anyone else.  when i put the little boys down for a nap he has some time with just me. we sit and color or 'do school' or take pictures or read a book or watch a movie while he tells me everything he sees. those moments are sweet. it's worth the work it takes to be consistent. 


and i know that all my positive actions may still result in him acting & feeling like the dreaded middle child. but i must say...i learned at an early age that sometimes the middle is the sweetest part.