The Kiddos

Since I imagine this blog will contain quite a few references to Max, Lincoln and Eden, I probably ought to dedicate a post to each of them. Maxwell (4yrs) is our resident superhero. He fluctuates between Spiderman and Batman depending on which costume is currently in the wash. I think he's worn one or the other costume at least once a day since Halloween. He can often be found shooting imaginary webs throughout our condo (producing impressive sound effects) or practicing superhero aerobatic moves on the couch ("watch this mom!"). At pre school he signs his name as Bruce Wayne and toys with the idea of calling himself, Maxwell Peter Parker Bruce Wayne Riggs. Maxwell's other loves include his friends, his family, computer games, pre school, playing chase, baseball, soccer, spikey hair and his cousin Eli. Nothing makes Max happier than being around people. From a very early age Max was out to make friends. He simply loves people. The words "play date" are some of the sweetest to his young ears. We feel blessed that there is such diversity among his friendships. One of his friends is Chinese and 80yrs old while his favorite wrestling partner (besides his dad) is our dear friend Gety from the Congo. Max loves to play, hard. He is a true rough and tumble kind of kid with a huge heart. One of our challenges with Max is helping him find the boundaries as to when it's okay to play and wrestle and when people would rather be left alone or at least not pounced on (a big "thank you" to those who have been part of this learning curve).

Maxwell is Lincoln's favorite buddy and he exercises a lot of patience with Lincoln's teasing, most of the time. The two of them are good friends and even better partners in crime. Lincoln is ready and willing to follow Maxwell anywhere and Max is fully aware of that. Maxwell is enamoured with his sister Eden and repeatedly tells me that Eden is "soooo beautiful." He loves to crawl into our bed in the morning when Eden first wakes-up(that is when I'm not shooing him away cause I'm still dog-tired). There he and Eden have their first conversation of the day, Eden cooing and Max assuring her that he is her biggest fan.

When asked what he aspires to be when he grows up, Max is apt to reply, "I'd like to be a garbage man after I'm a missionary." It makes his parents proud to know that he appreciates a pure heart and clean environment. He is sensitive and silly, athletic and cautious, engaging and endearing and seldom seen without a smile.

Lincoln is the perfect example of the temperamental twos. Emotional, strong willed, independent and easily delighted by nature's treasures: water, rocks, sticks, bugs etc. He is a beautiful boy and his angelic looks often give way to mischievous grins and laughter. He is insistent and persistent. When he falls, there might be some tears, but soon he is right back to what he was doing, only more determined. The other day I was grocery shopping with him. He had spotted something in the produce session and kept saying, "horn" over and over. As usual, I had no clue what he was referring to, but trying to acknowledge his perisitence with, "Yes, Lincoln. Uh-hus. Yes, that's nice." My distracted acknowledgements were not going to placate him. Finally, after 15min of minutes of not letting up and having travled to the other side of the store, I turned the cart around letting Lincoln guide me with his pointer finger until we pulled the cart up by the corn. Oh, I get it. Corn. Once I had acknowledged Lincoln's fixation, I was free to wander around the store unaccompanied by a shrill, "Horn! Horn!"

Lincoln's greatest enjoyment is his brother, Max. There is no one he would rather pal around with or torment, except maybe Eden. It's funny, put Lincoln in a room with other kids his age and he'll sporadically run around or play with a few of them, but mostly he'll hang out doing his own thing. Add Max to the scenario and Lincoln does all he can to get his attention. He loves to play superhero and his favorites include Spiderman and Superman. He can often be seen running around the house with his favorite cape flapping behind him.

Since an infant, Lincoln has had a love of music. When he is upset, it calms him. I have sung to him from the time he was in my womb. He is the only one of my three children that I consistently sing to. Some of our sweetest moments together are when I sing him to sleep for naps and night time. It is in these moments that I'm reminded he will only be this young once and that our time together is precious and so I make yet another vow to be more patient.

A funny thing about Lincoln is that he has to sleep with books. He has a stack of about 10 that lie at the head of his bed. He has selected each of them and he knows when one is missing. Try to move a book or two to make his bed more tidy, and you'll find yourself up in the middle of the night with him trying to locate the missing books. It's not very fun. He loves to read and point out things in the books he's looking at. He'll insist on pointing at the same object until you have acknowledged what he is pointing at and if we've missed any details, it's back to the beginning of the book to start over. Perhaps this means he going to be very detailed oriented. We have a friend who predicts Lincoln's going to be our savaay business man, wealthy and well-groomed. I'm all about having a little wealth in the gene-pool. Perhaps he'll be the Jeffery of the family, taking care of his elderly parents.

All of us are in love with our little Eden Christine. She is so scrumptious and at 4mos. it is all I can do to keep from kissing on her all the time. It's all any of us can do. When the boys are with her, they love to be within an inch of her face, especially Lincoln who is fond of poking her cheeks and eyes. She is the first one Herb looks for when he arrives home from work. Eden is very strong and prefers standing to lying down. She likes to be where the action is and is adept at letting us know when she's feeling left out. A smile is a common occurance with Eden and she enjoys engaging in conversation, cooing her responses to our queries. She loves her binky and her bath time and when she sleeps she likes to have a soft blanket to snuggle her face into.

Eden has the gentle demeanor of her grandmother Riggs, for whom she is named after. She is SO sweet and the easiest of babies. I find myself already mourning the days she has left behind, anticipating the day she will no longer be the babe in my arms. To me she encompasses all that is right in this world and I love that I am at the center of her universe. There are few things that make me happier then watching her search the room, spot me and see her face light up as if nothing could be better than knowing mom is near. We share a special bond, my daughter and I. I love my boys, but Eden is my daughter.

The Gang.

Maxwell at 41/2 years old.

Good buddies, Max and Bro. Sun. Age don't mean a thing.

Batman couldn't ask for a better wing-man.

Eden's first smile at 2 weeks. Okay, maybe it was a fluke, but I'm glad we caught it on film!

"Buffy" at 2 months





















Eden looking regal in the blessing gown Grandma Stott handmade.

Our own little piece of the garden: Miss Eden (2mos)

Smiling is a common occurance on this little face. (4mos)
































Eden loves playing in the bath then snuggling up in her hoody towel made by mom's dear friend, Andrea.