Thankful for: One on One Time

I love family time, but it's so nice to have time to spend with just one of the kids at a time. I've been working hard this year to carve out special activities with each of the kids, so I can get time with each of them to absorb their personalities.

Evelyn and I have been working on a craft project this winter, and it's so much fun to have time to sit and chat with her in the evening. She's the easiest to catch QT with, as she stays up later than the other kids and is able to manage much more mature activities. She's really a ton of fun.

Anna and I have been spenfing our one on one time shopping. Anna loves to go in the car, and really seems to soak up the attention of being my sole focus. She's such a gentle little girl, and loves to make up sotries about all of her animal friends. It warms my heart that when we are out together, she always talks about her "Nafan."

One on one time with Nathan is tricky. At this particular phase of our lives, he demands more attention than any of the other kids, but we still need to find time for just Mama and my boy. Like Anna, the easiest way to get QT is to leave the house and do some shopping, but we also have quiet times together reading books or playing in the basement. Nathan has a shorter attention span, but it's really fun to get time to focus on him, and I think he really likes the quieter times.

Now, little miss fireball, Vivian - I'm not sure that she appreciates one on one time at all. She just loves being in the mix of all the kids and chaos, I think she sometimes sees time apart as punishment. There is no way she would admit it, but she has begun to be a bit of a cuddler, and if you catch her when she's tired, she may even be kind of. . . sweet.