Littles.

I'm going to share with you 4 of my favorite things: little Steeds. I'm crazy about them.

Thomas Michael

'She is THE CUTEST baby in the world!' -TS, age 6
You heard it here first, folks.

Hold on, is that muscle tone there?

Shares his mama's sweet tooth...

I'm not sure when Thomas went from being a little kid to being a boy, but I sure do wish he had warned me about the transformation beforehand. All of our kids have grown a lot this year in all sorts of ways, but it's been especially striking in Thomas. He continues to amaze us with his creativity, sense of humor, love of reading and being read to, and ability to build friendships with children of all ages. He has made incredible progress academically as well as in the pool and took a mere hour to learn how to ride a bike. He's now gone on several long bike rides with Daddy, loves throwing rocks in the river, and can quote most any book he's heard. Oh, and he prepares lunch for his siblings and mama on occasion. Bonus!

Maria Thérèse

Elated to have a sister!

An early morning selfie

Soaked!

Maria continues to astound us with both her maternal ways and ahem, vibrant personality. She really has been a firecracker since the very beginning and quite often doesn't even realize how loudly she's speaking! But this pretty lady has become such a devoted sister and friend even at the young age of 4 years old. Her fine motor skills have improved tremendously this year, and she now loves to color and paint. She actually initiated learning to read, so we got a head start on that this year. She, too, is quite the little fish in the water and also loves to sing, dance, read, climb trees, play dollies, and take charge in the play room. 

Dominic Ambrose

Yep, that about sums it up.

Road trip!

He's all boy, this one.

Dominic is very two and very boy. The combination often results in an exciting mix of energy, dirt (or sand, as the case may be), and mischief. He takes after his brother, and most boys for that matter, in his affinity for al things with wheels and engines. He loves the rock wall at the park, Legos in the play room (especially when the older ones are busy with something else), and books on the couch. He's become a bit choosy about his wardrobe selection, but we Steeds pick our battles. 

Cecilia Elizabeth

Well, hello there!

It really is impossible not to smooch her.

Still a bit unsure about girly headbands.

Cecilia is about as sweet as newborns come. Every morning greets her with vying sibling lips as they all duke it out over who gets to kiss her first, hold her first, unwrap her swaddle, and pick out her clothes. She's been nursing like a champ from the get-go, has started smiling, and will even tolerate tummy time for short periods at a time. We absolutely felt the love in our home multiply when she was born. I honestly can hardly remember life before her arrival, and it's not because of sleep deprivation. In fact, she's been our best newborn sleeper so far. But now that I've made that public, I'd better cue up the coffee maker as I may have just jinxed the whole thing.

I think it's clear why little Steeds are right up there on my favorites list. I'll be posting on their Daddy soon, too, and why putting our marriage first has been the best thing for us and for our small herd.