If I could freeze this moment in time, here’s what you’d find…

Joseph:  You now like to be called Joey.  It’s hard for all of us to remember (after all, you’ve been our Joseph for 8 years now!), but we all try!  Katie always remembers, though, and you adore her for that.  Actually, you just adore her.  All her littleness…the things she says and does.  You are praying for another sibling.  You are still holding steady with your favorite color…red.  Therefore, Iron Man is your favorite superhero.   You love Legos and superheroes and Star Wars.  You drag your feet about everything, but then throw yourself wholeheartedly into it despite your reservations, like for example: the beach.  You are practically in tears before we go, reminding us (at least 10,000 times) how much you hate the beach.  Until the moment we arrive.  Then you throw yourself (literally) head first into the water and call out, “I love this!  I love the beach!”  You love grammar and writing.  Math is definitely your least favorite subject.  You’re optimistic and joyful, outgoing and so very easily distracted.

William:  You now like to go by Billy, although you’ll answer to any name we call out!  You love to imagine how you’re going to spend your money and you’re always updating your wish list.  Right now that wish list has all sorts of things on it ranging from a motorcycle to a canon, gamma rays and water balloons in between.  Really…your list is huge and everyday, you manage to cram another item or two on the list.  You love science, but you drag your feet when it comes to reading and writing (unless it’s writing a letter to Auntie Romy…you’ve found that she knows quite a bit about each of the superheroes).  You have moved on past Superman (a phase you were stuck in for, literally, years) to the Hulk and sometimes Ironman.  You crave adventure and love the books Daddy reads to you at night (usually stories about survival like My Side of the Mountain and The Cay).  You are definitely a people pleaser, always wanting to make each person around you happy.  You love to offer massages and are always quick to offer a kiss.  You don’t like to go to sleep without me…in fact some nights you sneak out of your room once your brothers are asleep, so we can snuggle together on the couch.

Andrew:  We still call you Roo…or Superman…or Batman…or Bruce…or WonderBoy…or whichever character you are for the day, but the default name is Roo.  You’re still struggling to find your place with the other boys, some days things go well and you’re happy as can be; other days, you tell me you’ve had a rough day because you’ve been bullied (although just for the record, you do your fair share of bullying, too!).  You are sweet and affectionate, always offering me a kiss and wrapping your little hands around my neck at night.  When I told you recently just how cute you are, you seriously looked at me and explained that you’re handsome, not cute.  When we visited the neighbor this past weekend and she asked your name, you told her Simba (from the Lion King).  Then you proceeded to tell everyone there that when you go fishing, you catch fish with your mouth (because you’re a lion, of course).  You take character role-playing to a whole new level, sweet one!  You’re just learning to read and you can write some of your letters.  You love to be left alone to your imagination.

Katelyn:  Oh my!  You are one determined little girl.  Shakespeare described you perfectly…though she be but little, she be fierce.  You love Minnie Mouse.  You put on your Minnie Mouse dress and pink high heels in the morning and it takes some major trickery to get you to change those clothes to go play outside!  If you wear your Minnie Mouse shirt, it takes a force of nature to get you out of it at bath time.  When we ask you a question, your answer tends to be “You betcha!”  You still ask for milk multiple times a day although you really only nurse at night now.  You love a can of sardines for lunch (which you affectionately call sar-beans).  You don’t nap because, heaven forbid, you miss a single moment of the day, so instead you fight the afternoon meltdown and make it until about 7:30.  You talk in your sleep (usually to tell Roo not to steal your purse or to call out, “I can’t do it!”).  You can count to 10 now.  You love everything your brothers love…superheroes, legos, books, but you’re developing your own loves now…pink, princesses and, of course, Minnie Mouse.