Right Now

My three kiddos... right now. 

Seth
My spunky, crazy one. He has so. much. energy. He wakes up with a smile (usually the first one up) and a bounce in his step. He giggles at absolutely everything - and it is a contagious, continuous, joyful sound. He runs. And runs. And runs. I am so thankful that spring has sprung and that he can run outside, instead of circles around the house. If I tell him not to run, he climbs. Or hops. Or crawls. Or rolls. He loves to move (unless the TV is on. Then he does not move at all!) His speed is very important to him (that is why he must run all the time - he needs to practice to get faster). All his practice seems to be working, because he is a very quick little guy. He can beat kids much bigger than him in races, and this means the world to him. Despite all this moving, he is actually a really great player. He and Maddy play all day long. He has never grown out of his love to "be something". In the span of a day, he "is" Joe Thorton, a tiger, a monkey, Bot (from a TV show), Sidney Crosby, and a host of other characters / animals. He is also able to sit and play - with playmobile, with cars / planes (although they always end up in some sort of race which has him running again :P), lego (a big favourite), and looking at books / hockey cards. He also loves to play hockey and soccer
Seth has the biggest heart of any five year old I know. Once, when at a friend's house he was given a kinder suprise. His friend opened the surprise first and was upset by the toy he received - he really wanted the one his sister had gotten. When Seth opened his surprise, it was the same toy as his friend's sister's. He kindly offered his to his friend ... although he admitted to his friend's mother later that he really liked that toy. He didn't want his friend to be sad. And this is not a strange occurrance ... he is just that type of kid. I pray that he will remain this way, and that the competivness of this world will not change him.
Seth loves his sisters dearly. He is also a big admirer of his daddy :) He has become much more social over the last year, and will play with other kids (especially is smaller group settings).
He has become very particular about his clothing. They must be blue. He will only wear muscles shirts, and pants are taboo (unless they are his red ones, which must then be worn with his penguin shirt. Just like Sidney Crosby). He also really likes shoes, and has an outside pair, an inside pair, a Sunday pair, and a town pair. 


Maddy
Our little princess. She loves all things girly - anything pink or purple is perfect for her. She loves her jewelry, flouffy skirts, and pretty shoes. She is particular about she wears - it must match, which, to her, means they are the same colour :D.
Maddy loves to play with her big brother. She too enjoys "being" something - and is usually quick to follow her brother's lead. However, she has been asserting some of her own mind lately - which has caused a bit of friction between them. She is quick to find a solution, however, and I often end up putting on the timer to fix whatever problem they are having. She also loves Kiera dearly - unfortunately, the love is not always reciprocated. She enjoys touching Kiera. And Kiera does not like being touched. Not such a good combination! 
One of Maddy's favourite pastimes is colouring. She loves to draw, to colour pictures, and to do crafts. My fridge is generally covered with Maddy's treasures.
Maddy will not be left behind. I have been working with Seth over the past year on his reading / math. She joins in enthusiastically. And is doing very well - she is not far behind her big brother! She knows her sounds, can read simple words and all the sight words we have learned, and is able to spell as well! I'm rather proud of her :D 
Maddy enjoys talking like a baby. Not my most favourite trait of hers. We are working on it :) 
Maddy has a hard time going to the bathroom on time. While this is rather annoying, it is also humourous as she often ends up walking with her butt sticking out. Hard to describe, but quite funny to see. She also loves to tell everyone about her body and it's inner workings :) 
Maddy has one hero in life ... me. She continues to be a huge fan of her mother - she still breaks into tears when I leave, she won't let daddy put her to bed, and she always wants to sit beside me (or on me). I seriously don't know what I did to her ... but whatever it was, it must have been something good! 

Kiera
Our spunky, strong willed one. Very strong willed. And very spunky. She is a true joy to be around. She keeps us going, keeps us laughing, and keeps us praying :) 
Kiera is the queen of faces. She can pull the most outrageous faces. She has incredible control of her eyes ... and can make them very intense. She loves to make people laugh, and therefore pulls these faces very regularly. She usually gets her desired result. Maddy has recently taught her how to stick out her tongue, as well :) Yay. 
Like her big brother, she has a lot of energy. She likes to run. Unfortunately, she is not shy in the least. Not at all. She has none of Maddy's "mommy lovin'", and will gladly take off. This is a slight problem when we are out and about. She will go and go and go. She loves to explore, and is not afraid (at all) to get dirty. As mentioned above, she is rather strong willed, which makes stopping her from going is difficult. It often results in a loud screech. 
Speaking of screeching ... she is loud. Very loud. She talks constantly. Unfortunately, we cannot make a lot of it out. It's too bad, because she is quite insistent and will keep repeating her "words". She is improving- she has a fairly large vocabulary, and is starting to string words together in simple sentences. She is not very clear, though. 
A few noteable words / phrases that she says:
"See? (she)" for everything, but especially after I take a picture. 
"See ya"
"Amen" in the middle of a prayer, when she figures it has been long enough. 
"Maddy (mayee)" and "Seth (set)" 
"Moo" Everytime she says a cow.
"Bottle (bololololololol)"
"Bye" She will put on some shoes, a hat and a purse and wave, as if she is leaving. 
"Cute (coot)" and "Pretty (priyee)" While lifting up her shirt and showing everyone her tummy.

She loves to be like her big brother and sister. She puts on their shoes, wears their hats, and plays with their toys. She is determined to be just like them. Kiera also loves her daddy. She is very much a daddy's girl - which warms Greg's heart thoroughly (especially after Maddy!!)