It gets easier. And it gets harder.

So you want to know what life is like with 4 kids? I'll tell you. Its basically pretty much the same as life with 3 kids, but there's a baby and I like to stare at him and cry about how fast he is growing.

With 4 kids it gets harder to get all of your children in the same picture, even if its Thanksgiving. So you settle for 3 out of 4, because Witten is a very stubborn kid.

Even taking a family picture becomes more difficult, especially when you have to wake up a sleeping 2 year old to do it.

With 4 kids it gets harder to get all of your children to bed on time every night. Not the girls, or Liam. But once again, my stubborn Witten, who enjoys rolling over excessively and talking and has to have someone lay down with him or he will not stay in bed. He is quite handsome though, this stubborn guy.

With 4 kids it gets harder to maintain my sanity. Most of my day is really quiet, since the girls are at school and I'm here with a 2 year old and a newborn. But once the girls come home the noise starts again, there are children fighting over dumb things, and someone is always crying. That's about when my patience starts to grow thin and I countdown till bedtime because I'm tired. So tired.

A few things are slightly easier, mostly because my girls are good helpers when they're home. They fetch things and throw away dirty diapers and can mostly get things for themselves, except that I keep the cereal in too high of a cupboard so I kind of kick myself about that all of the time. Curse my lack of a pantry. Its easier to realize that I'm really lucky to have all of these wild children, even if they make me crazy. Its easier to fall asleep at night, once Witten finally crashes out at least. Its easier to enjoy my cozy little house filled with small loud people and my husband who vacuums when he realizes that I must be exhausted because there is popcorn all over the floor and I have not moved. And its easier to recognize that my kids need me and I need them, even when I'm watching Property Brothers at 3 am and do not know how I'm going to function the next day. Liam likes a good home improvement show, what can I say?

When I think about how empty my life would be without my kids, I appreciate them even more.

I appreciate this girl for her sweet and friendly nature. I know she would never mistreat someone, or bully them. She is a friend to everyone, even people she has just met. She is generous with her hugs, and never afraid to tell someone how she feels, even if its through a Christmas card that she hand wrote, she doesn't let her feelings remain a mystery, she tells people that she cares and that's a good quality to have.

And this girl might be shy at first, but she is so loving and sweet and sensitive you would never think that she has anything but good intentions. She has become more assertive since she started school, mostly with Alana, but I know that just means that she isn't willing to let people push her around. Her teacher told me yesterday that if she could have a whole class of Avas, she would. I think that would almost be too much Ava, you would go through a lot of turkey sandwiches and cookies at lunchtime, and you would always be waiting on all of the Avas to button their jacket or find their backpack. She is sweet enough to make up for anything though, and her squeaky little voice is always singing, so I guess I will keep her.

I have to appreciate Witten for keeping me entertained during the day. He talks nonstop, and just when I think I might sell him, he gives me the sweetest smile or hug and I decide to hold off on any sales. He is equal parts stubborn, wild, and sweet, and he knows exactly how to get whatever he wants, which usually means he gets to eat chips for half of his meals. Tell this face no, I dare you.

I don't even know where to start with this guy. He is already one month old, and its physically painful to watch him grow so fast. I can't imagine life without him, even though if you had asked me one year ago I would've said I was completely done having babies. I'm sure when this boy learns to smile in a couple of weeks I'll be even more obsessed with him, but for now I'll just continue to stare at him all the time and cry.

I don't know how I ended up with the life I have, but I'm happy with it, even if its exhausting. My kids drive me crazy, but I find sanity is overrated anyway.