Hellobee

Well, the time has come! After a year of living together, the Pencil family is moving out. The decision came much sooner than we expected, but as soon as Baby Pencil came we immediately felt the need to get our own space. I thought that throwing a 4th baby to the already crowded house wouldn’t be so bad, but the baby stuff just made the living quarters way too cramped! It was bittersweet because the toddlers really love living together. In the short time we lived together, two babies were born under one household. Sister Pencil was 7 months pregnant when we moved in and I left 2 months postpartum. We witnessed a lot of suffering together, but it was great to not be alone and have each other for support.

Looking back, I’m surprised at how much these kids grew! When we first moved in together, the toddlers were ages 1 and 2. Now as we’re leaving, they’re 3 and 4. For you mamas with toddlers, I’m sure you know a lot of development happens during those very important years! They learned how to walk better, define their motor skills and talk to each other. Their teachers comment how well they talked, and I swear it’s because they lived together! They practiced talking in full sentences to each other from the beginning to the end of the day.

Ages 1 and 2

Ages 3 and 4

We will always be able to tell Baby Pencil and Baby Cousin that we used to live in one giant house of chaos. It really was a blessing to have grown up with each other, even if it was a short time!

The toddlers, welcoming Baby Cousin home from the hospital

Baby Pencil, inside and outside of the womb!

We have been moved out 1 week and it is already so refreshing to be in our own space. There were some adjustments – Toddler Pencil now needs to play with us now instead of playing with his cousin! But it is really great that everyone has their own room again. The biggest difference is that we get privacy! Living with so many people, we never got to have our own “me” time. The hubs and I didn’t sleep in the same room for months. It felt really different just being able to sleep next to him again! We’re now enjoying staying up late just talking and catching up. I didn’t realize how important that was and how much I missed it.

Now that we’re “only” a family of 4, I can actually see how Toddler Pencil interacts with Baby Pencil. Before, he would basically have no interaction with her because there was always Cousin Pencil to play with. It’s been very sweet and smooth sailing so far! He’s interested in her and is very gentle with her. He helps by holding her pacifier when she cries in the car. (Which is actually super helpful!)

I think most of all, the husbands probably are the happiest with this move. Even though they were great sports about combining families, I’m sure they wanted their own space the most. My sister and I had our fights during the past year, but we always loved being able to chat and eat together all the time. We shared clothes, helped take care of each other when we were sick and breastfed side by side. We probably became the closest we’ve ever been living together at this stage. Toddler Pencil and Cousin Pencil go to the same school so they still get to see each other every day. They’ve grown so close to each other (they call each other “best friends”) so we worried about their transition. However, so far they seem to be doing great! We made the move a very exciting thing for them by promising Toddler Pencil his very own room and telling Cousin Pencil that she gets to have a bigger play room. An exciting voice tone with lots of smiling works great for hyping up a couple of toddlers, no matter what you’re telling them!

We were just in time for Thanksgiving – which is so very fitting for us. I’m so grateful to have a family that was willing to live with us and help us during a very sensitive time of being pregnant and during postpartum. We’ve made some unique memories for our kids and one day we’ll be able to tell them of this special time they lived together!