now when I say freeze you just blog one time

FREEZE.

In the vast majority of life situations I'm a big fat skeptic. A realist! Or maybe, admittedly - a bit of a pessimist. Simon is pretty much the exact opposite which might seem like it would cause some friction but we balance each other out well. Or I think we do ... he might totally disagree. But when we started getting into the nit and grit of selling the house while Simon was on night float and then realizing we'd have a little apartment layover all while he needed to be studying for his (very important) boards along with a dash of new baby! I was uncharacteristically positive about everything and Simon assumed my usual pessimistic role about how everything might go down. Maybe because he's the one studying and was the one working nights during a somewhat chaotic month or maybe after almost 6 years of marriage my negativity has finally rubbed off on him.

Who knows.

But! I have to admit that after he had to pull an all-nighter loading the moving truck by the lone light of his cell phone only to have lots and lots of things - including two drawers full of screws {Julia might come by her hoarding honestly} Simon keeps around, "just in case" ... fall OUT of said truck {the St. Louis Craigslist free listings got a LOT of Patton goodies around 1am two weeks ago .... } .... yes, I had to admit that my optimism may have been a little too um, optimistic? And the apartment is totally fine but dah-ham will it feel good to spread out in our house in a couple of weeks.

I have a point. I think.

Oh, I think being in a somewhat confined space with the kids for long periods of time along with knowing that the baby will be here soonish has magnified their blossoming little personalities quite a bit in my mind. It's been a bit like observing my own little beloved lab rats in a cage, if you will. I know the blog is already a running narrative of our mundane little life but I wanted to dedicate a (not so) quick post to this sliver of a snapshot of the here and now as far as the kids go. Or! Pen thee post that made you yawn the most. Maybe like a less exotic quirks post.

Julia (4) - She's growing up and says things like, "now, don't get carried away!" to Theo when he starts splashing like a lunatic in the bath.

She also tucks yellow mustard packets from the hospital cafeteria into my purse because she likes yellow mustard on everything and heaven forbid we are ever out and about and she doesn't have her condiment of choice at the ready. She can't live with our without Sebastian as evidenced by their hourly fights and eventual but inevitable makeups. Whenever Simon or I leave the house or drop her off at school we have to give her two kisses, two hugs, and say, "goodbye Julia" (not just "goodbye" and do not lump her in with the other kids) two times while looking her in the eye. It'll pass .... I reckon.

She declares most fun situations (like swimming in the apartment pool) to be, "the best day of my LIFE!!!" and is a total night owl and would happily sleep in till noon on the daily if I let her.

Sebastian (3) - after witnessing the baby visibly kick my stomach really, really hard I think he realized that the baby is real and might pose a threat to his worldly goods and has suddenly developed a fear that he/she is going come out and steal all of his belongings (namely this beloved truck that we recently replaced) and has taken to hiding it in various spots around the apartment when he sleeps.

Whenever he doesn't like the itinerary for the day says, "okay, no - how about this is the plan ... ???!!!" and it usually involves lots of popsicles and playground/pool going. He measures time by, "after how many naps?" (naps = nap or night of sleep) and loves being outside which makes apartment life probably the toughest on him. Call me crazy but hanging out on the balcony 20 floors up or even so much as thinking about opening the low-to-the-ground screenless windows ... is not an option - ever and I know it's killing him softly.

He's been so insistent about wanting to go to some elusive, "castle" lately. Asking me and Simon if he can PLEASE just go to the castle which totally confused us because what?! castle?! And then we realized he was talking about the fine dining establishment ... White Castle ... here in downtown St. Louis. We'll see.

Theo (2) - lives and breathes by the, "early bird gets the worm and ALL the attention" mantra because if he's not up by 6am ... I'm tempted to go check his pulse.

He's weaseled his way into a nice little morning routine involving climbing in bed in between me and Simon, making himself a throne of pillows and settling in to hold my hand and begin the inevitable ask-demand for gallon after gallon of water as if he's just returned from a seven year Saharan sojourn. If he deigns to pop off his pillow throne to peruse the fridge for his first breakfast - he makes sure I'm holding Woody's hand in his absence. It's all very endearing for about the first three minutes of the routine.

Phoebe (1) - apartment bully.

She is. She makes all three older kids cry on a daily basis as she's perfected the art of, "grab the hair right at the scalp and PULL!!!!" and does it quite often. She knows exactly what all of their specific and treasured favorite trinkets are and is quite skilled at swiftly swiping them from the hands of her elders, waving her kill around dramatically and speed-walking away with a cackle while the owner has a total cow. She does this all of her waking hours. I suspect it gives her quite the high.

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, and I don't give a diaper bomb.

No, despite that - everyone is always weirdly happy to see her in the morning when she wakes up and greets them with an enthusiastic wave and a, "hi! hi! hi! hi!". She loves to climb and if left alone for 53 seconds at the playground ... she can be found at the highest point of the play structure and has almost succeeded in giving me many a coronary.

Next week - they'll all be a little bit different than they were before and that one kid's crazy habit that drove the parental units insane will probably fade out of our memory banks forever just as another happy habit surfaces. It's hard but fun to imagine what baby #5 will bring to the Camp table but like Simon always says, "as soon as they're here .... we won't be able to imagine life without them."

Amen and amen.