Cheryl's Kidzone

Keeping busy

2012-02-09T07:37:00.008-05:00

Our dancing boy took some time to entertain us during a family dance at Jason's school.

Oh yes, things are busy at our house. But, we still have the chance to sit back and reflect. Sometimes it's nice to force ourselves to sit still.

I guess Michael likes that, too. The other day he pulled out an old notebook and started writing away. He called it his diary. He even asked me if I was going to check his spelling and punctuation afterward. I told him I wasn't going to do that. It was his private place to write.

Private was the key word. He even wanted to know if I could fashion a lock for it.

He said, "I want to write things down so I can remember later." He's almost seven (!), going on 17, that one.

I imagine he would write about the girl who has offered to pay him so she can sit next to him. It's our neighbor and she is such a great little girl. She offered him TEN dollars for a guaranteed spot. He told us the story and I could tell he was considering taking the deal. I told him absolutely no, but I'm not sure Doug was that emphatic. I think Michael may now wondering what he might be able to do in the future to get that kind of return.

We recently enjoyed a neighbor's night in, by the way. The kids, as you can see, had a blast!

To Joshua, the world is filled with princesses and magic. In fact, he sometimes pretends HE is the princess with blankets he uses for hair. He had the opportunity to attend his first magic show, courtesy of his preschool. There was an in-school field trip and apparently Joshua raised his hand to be one of the magic show volunteers. I haven't been able to get too many details on his day, though. I asked him, "Joshua, how was the magic show?" He simply gave me one word: "Awesome."

Not so awesome is a little pattern I'm seeing with our number three. He seems to make a habit of holding onto his #2s until we have to pay a visit to the doctor. ...sigh. Everybody remembers us afterward.

Lots of new words are popping up in our vocabulary. Quidditch, muggles, Hogwarts, Voldemort. It has been a lot of fun since the kids began reading the Harry Potter books. We started with the audiobooks and now the kids are tackling the written word. It's a bit of a challenge and I get more questions I can't answer than anything else, like "Is Diagon Alley real?" "Does Harry Potter die?" "Why are there so many ghosts at Hogwarts?"

We knew Jason and Michael would get into the story. In fact, the boys each have their own "houses." Jason is Gryffindor, Michael is Ravenclaw, and Joshua is Hufflepuff and Doug and I award and take away points based on their behavior and accomplishments. This was actually not my idea; it was theirs. You better believe I embraced it wholeheartedly. Right now, Joshua is at -10, Michael is at 15 and Jason is at 20.

The baby's reaction to Harry Potter has been the funniest of them all. We started listening to Harry Potter during a long road trip and so Joshua is familiar with the characters even though he really has no idea what is going on. So, the older two will be talking about a scene between Harry, Ron, Hermione or Dumbledore (Dumbledore is very popular, by the way), Joshua will interject with, "And don't forget Snape!"

No matter where the Harry Potter talk leaders, Joshua will squeeze in a Snape reference.

His main squeeze is, of course, Lizzie. We had the chance to visit with her and her brother, Tommy, a few weekends ago. Lots of fun!

Our trip included quite a bit of climbing, too. We're glad the weather cooperated.

And, what a handsome crew. We had a wonderful visit with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jeanne, Dave, Stacie, Ezekiel and Elijah. Hooray! Happy 2012!

"Christmas is over!"

2012-01-06T21:24:00.004-05:00

Christmas may be over, but it sure is nice to look back at the great pictures from a really wonderful holiday season. The tree was overflowing with ornaments old and new. The kids truly had a great time making their mark on the tree.

After the presents were unwrapped, we took Tim ice skating. We were really impressed with Michael and his skating prowess.

Even I took a turn away from the wall.

Jason tried to ice skate, but, well, he had a little more success by the side.

I think it is safe to say the boys had a great Christmas.

We did, too.

A lot of the presents the boys received make some sort of sound.

Michael has been enjoying his guitar very much. I think he may enjoy the lessons with Doug even more.

And Joshua is enjoying his Singamajig. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!

Joshua told us one night, "These animals sleep in my bed. Elmo, George, Blankie and Singamajig." He has them with him tonight, so we know he is just fine.

Good night!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:30:00.009-05:00

All of the preparations, the decorations, the baking, the icing, the wish lists, all of them come to a climax right here.

It was difficult to contain the excitement Christmas weekend. We were thrilled the kids could buckle down to write a note and prepare a light snack for Jolly Old Saint Nick.

Angelic looking, right?

Michael is certainly putting forth some effort with regard to that, as a member of the church's children's choir. This shows Michael paying attention to his choir director and even singing a bit. Just moments before, though, he had the biggest scowl I had ever seen on his face.

Finally, a true smile from the brothers. These guys were pretty proud of themselves. This was their last and final effort for a treat for Santa. A gingerbread house. Santa got to eat parts of the roof. Jason, Michael and Joshua tried to eat the rest.

It's a much better showing compared to their last try.

The gingerbread Christmas tree didn't turn out quite the way it was supposed to. A bit of a difference from what the tree on the box looked like. They were not deterred, though. They just ate it up to hide the evidence of a misshapen snack.

By the way, Santa Bear made his first appearance this Christmas. You may have heard of the Elf on the Shelf. The Elf didn't come by, but one day, Santa Bear did. He left our house every evening to report back to Santa on the boys' behavior and came back right afterward, to hang out in a different location by day. Every morning, the kids would wake up and look to see where the Bear was hanging out.

If he had gone to a birthday party Joshua attended, he would have seen our youngest chasing after the birthday girl. He and Kinley were inseparable.

It was really difficult breaking him away from Kinley when she was opening her presents.

The holiday season was filled not only with parties and gatherings, but a little bit of work. Michael created several projects, some for his enjoyment...

others were games for him and his brothers to play.

The brothers even went bowling one evening with Jason's class from school.

Joshua took part in a holiday play for his school. He did a great job.

And, one evening, the entire family went with me while I emceed a night-time holiday parade.

Joshua was enjoying the view in front of the city's Christmas tree. But, turned around, it does look like he's doing something else, doesn't it?

The evening was great, the parade was fun, and the decorations were charming. One highlight for Michael was the food. There, they had cheesecake on a stick and boy, did Michael like that.

The boys and Doug also did a bit of volunteer work for the church.

They helped sell Christmas trees, although I'm not sure how much the boys were able to contribute.

Merry, Merry Christmas!

They are always listening

2011-12-20T19:51:00.003-05:00

These kids are listening. Always. I have a proof positive incident--at least it's not an example of what can go wrong...yet.

I was watching TV with Joshua for a few minutes tonight, looking for something "on demand." One of the kids' shows was supposed to be ready to watch, but for some reason, it wasn't showing up. We tried another, then another, and yet another. None of the "on demand" selections were working.

I looked at Joshua and said, "Oh, no."

He looked at me and said,

"I hate it when that happens."

Wrestling with each other

2011-12-06T19:33:00.005-05:00

As we have mentioned in the past, there's a game we play at our house called "Daddy, Boy and Fun." I don't see much enjoyment in it, but as we all know, I'm a little outnumbered. It consists of a lot of wrestling, tackling, and sometimes crying. Mostly from me.

If this type of physical activity was going to take place, we figured it should be done in a controlled settling.

Jason and Michael have just joined a wrestling club not far from the house.

The first few sessions weren't pretty, but recently, we've noticed some changes in their strength, particularly Michael.

He's running like a champ, and look at this smile.

For the first time, ever, he went across the monkey bars. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. To prove a point, he did it about ten times. Yup, not a fluke.

Thanksgiving at our house was a food-filled affair. You see the turkey I roasted, nice and easy. We ended up with plenty of turkey for leftovers. I think it tasted just fine. But Akong, the fry master, stepped in and filled our tummies with his delightful fried shrimp. No worries, we enjoyed turkey sandwiches for days afterward.

Joshua is always giving us kisses (and hugs). This is not a shot of that. Parents of the year we are not, especially after Joshua took a tumble in the bathtub and bumped his lip. All is well now, though, and we have a brand-new bathmat in the tub, which the boys enjoy very much.

Joshua isn't upset anymore, by the way. He has his sights firmly planted on Christmas. He's a consistent little thing, too. We ask him what he wants from Santa. "Bubble wrap," he always says.

Good thing Joshua doesn't expect much. We won't need to get him a bike. He is starting to ride Jason's old bicycle and it fits perfectly. We slapped on the training wheels and off he goes!

Happy holidays! We love you!!!

High honors

2011-11-16T16:55:00.007-05:00

You may be wondering why there's trash on the table. Worry not, these pieces of paper are in the wastebasket now, but until they made their trip into the circular file, they were works of art.

You've heard the saying, "One man's trash is another one's treasure." These two creations occupied Joshua for at least two hours, on two separate days. We treasured the quiet time and a break from the question, "Mommy, what you doin'?"

They are called "the girls." Or, as Joshua says it, "the guuhls." Amah and Grandma, of course. Can't you see the resemblance? He taped pieces of paper together painstakingly, he even cut out hearts to attach to "arms" and "legs." They are CRAZY-looking, but certainly made with love.

Talk about love. It's tough to pull the above cherished item from Joshua's grip. But it needs to be washed once in a while. Yesterday, I asked Joshua to hand it over and he said, "Ok, first, one last zip." That's where he takes one of the ribbons and slides it between his pointer finger and his third finger. One last zip.

How do you say no to that smile? It isn't easy and he knows it.

Lots of silliness and fun this past weekend. We went to a holiday parade, after which the city was decked out in bright lights.
The weather was PERFECT and surprisingly, the same goes for the boys' behavior.

You never know what you're going to get when you ask them to say, "cheese."

We kept saying Jason definitely looks like one of the "99 percent."

Hours before the parade got underway, Joshua got the chance to attend his very first birthday party for a classmate!!! It was so exciting.

He looks tired in this first party picture. And no wonder. He overcame his shyness so quickly. During birthday parties past, it would take Jason and Michael many minutes to warm up to new surroundings. Joshua, two minutes and then he was gone!

Of course, ask him to smile for the camera and this is what I get.

By the way, we are very proud of our young scholars. Jason got all A's for the first quarter and Michael (who doesn't have letter grades yet) also did VERY well. We have definitely been studying hard, with vocabulary words in particular. Last week, Jason told Michael that he looked "bewildered" by something. Without missing a beat, Michael looked at me and said, "I'm coping with Jason."

Aren't we all.

Thank goodness for the outdoors

2011-11-15T14:55:00.008-05:00

The school year is well underway and though it has been busy (too busy some nights), we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Michael is knocking it out of the park in first grade, receiving accolades for his mature (for the most part) behavior. On this night, he received a citizenship award from his teacher, Ms. Thornton. Michael has also shown the traits of a little leader, earning the title of "SCA representative" for his class. SCA meetings are once a month and nothing makes Michael more happy (or make his chest puff out more) than the chance to leave class for a little while and learn about school happenings. I'm told the group also gets to eat a salty snack. I think that's Michael's favorite part.

A few weeks ago, we all took a walk around Michael's school. And look at these shirts! You couldn't miss us. It's a great story because the walk was organized by one of the school's employees who lost 100 pounds!

We exercised, we walked and Joshua tried to keep up. Thank goodness for that smile. I'm told he was smiling inside helping Akong rake the leaves last week. Jason and Michael apparently would help here and there, but my little engine that could, Joshua was picking up big piles and dropping them into the bag without stopping. He's determined, that one.

Jason's birthday bash has also kept us busy. I cannot believe he is 9 years old! He wanted a specific group of friends in attendance and he was very particular about the activity. We went to a gym that has a rock wall and the boys...

the young...and the young at heart...climbed up to the very top.

It was so cute to see Jason and his buddies together. Just to see what his teenage years will be like, I made a point to hug and kiss him as much as possible in front of his friends. It may be a difficult few years for him.

We, of course, had to pay a visit to Mr. Jack. It seems I wait longer and longer between cuts. If only he made house calls...

We simply had to get their hair trimmed since Halloween was coming up. The boys had big plans for the big day. I make sure to ask the kids what they want to be for the big candy fest, I know I do. But, I suppose they just remember what's in the closet. Joshua, once again, wanted to be Curious George. No budging.

His parade at school was one of the cutest things I had seen in a while. He refused to sing the songs with his class in front of us parents. But, not to worry. He sang quite loudly for us after the performance was over.

You'll notice one other repeat costume. Jason wanted to be a Storm Trooper and it is likely the last year we'll be able to squeeze him into that outfit. Michael surprised us all by wanting to be a penguin. A penguin! At first, I tried to find a used one on ebay. No great options there. So we decided to make one of our own.

The result turned out pretty good. Michael was thrilled and he told me to put it in his box. This is a costume you may see again next year.

We were only out for about an hour. Take a look at the candy stash! We are still enjoying the sugar.

The other outdoor activity that has occupied our time: BASEBALL! Jason's first season in kid-pitch baseball is over. Michael had a great first season in coach-pitch.

Jason's team made the playoffs and came in second in the league.

As much of a nailbiter as those games were, we wouldn't have spent our time any other way.

Whew! A busy fall leading into what I know will be an equally busy holiday season. Here's to counting our blessings!

Love you all!

Fall fun

2011-10-10T11:06:00.004-04:00

It's OCTOBER!

I can't believe it.

We've been spending quite a bit of time on the baseball field. Michael is playing coach-pitch baseball. Jason is playing kid-pitch. It has been a nail biter of a season.

On this day, Jason had a game and during a break in the game, I went around the fields to find the other two.

At least they get along. We travel between two different fields for games and Joshua knows this one is more fun than the other. Thank goodness for swing sets and monkey bars. What hams!

Jason got to pitch for the very first time a few weeks ago. We were so nervous for him, but he actually did pretty well. Unfortunately, the ball is a magnet for our little one. If someone is going to get hit by a pitcher, it's Jason. He has been hit four times already this season. We look at the bright side. He gets hit, he gets to walk to first base.

The boys really love school. Jason is enjoying third grade and he is settled into his school. Michael is embracing his role as the SCA representative of his first grade classroom. He is very excited, too, to be receiving a citizenship certificate at a school program tonight. Who knew how excited a 6-year-old would get about something like this?

And, Joshua, well, let's just say that this preschool fits Joshua like a glove. The teachers love him and I really believe they do. And actually, Joshua tells me all the time, "Mommy, I very love preschool."

Doug snapped this picture of Joshua on the first day of school, when he wasn't so sure about the process. No matter what he did, Joshua would not smile.

These days, he really is all smiles, when he's not concentrating on drawing pieces of art for us. I think he has some sort of artistic eye.

He certainly knows when he is not supposed to be someplace, and that's when we get the most brilliant smile of all.

Have a great day!!!!

New beginnings

2011-09-16T20:41:00.003-04:00

The beginning of the summer always holds so much promise, of lazy days and lots of time.

We cannot believe all of those hours have passed so quickly.
We packed plenty of things into the kids' time off from school.

We paid a visit to our Nation's Capitol. The boys took a ride in the Metro and saw the sights from inside the moving car.

We visited the Washington Monument (pre-earthquake). Actually, we stopped by the weekend right before it needed to have repairs done because of the tremors.

Only two of the boys made it to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a rather long walk and although we did hear a bit of whining, the boys said it was mostly worth it to see the statue. Of course, we quickly realized why they wanted to get to monument itself. Once there, they asked to be taken to the play area.

Our trio had plenty of sand to play in at the Oceanfront as they came to cheer me on while I finished my second half-marathon. It was so nice to see them, and, well, let's be honest, after the race, it was nice they were all there to hold me up!

We were happy to have squeezed in so much activity before the first day of school. Doug was there to wave Jason and Michael off from the bus stop. No tears as the boys boarded and drove away. They are getting so big!

It's an important year for Joshua--his first year at pre-school. He loves it and from what we can tell, they love him.

The summer has been full of love and fun and we want to thank Amah and Akong for helping us manage all of the drama surrounding Hurricane Irene. We love you very much.

Joshua made a name for himself at a birthday party recently for our friend, Ethan, who turned 10 this year. Our little one, who, as you can see, is inches from the cake, took it upon himself to blow out the candles before the birthday boy could even draw breath.

On that note, we want our loved ones to know that Joshua's real 10th birthday will be a gathering of everyone. :)

We love you very much, Grandma and Grandpa!

Forgetful Tooth Fairy

2011-08-13T21:11:00.005-04:00

Joshua hasn't seen a camera he doesn't like.

Perhaps Michael, in the short term, shouldn't take lessons from his baby brother. The poor kid lost both front teeth this past week, AND the Tooth Fairy forgot to pay up. We hope it doesn't scar him. She's all squared up now, but we wonder if this is a story that will come up during Thanksgiving Dinner in ten years or so.

The summer is moving by too quickly. This is what happened one day when we were stuck in the house.

Actually, this is what happened before. The fighting took place later.

Have a great weekend!

Summer lovin'

2011-07-29T23:20:00.002-04:00

We are lucky enough to live by the beach. And while we don't spend as much time outside enjoying the sun and the sand as we'd like, when we do, it deserves a moment of celebration.

All three boys enjoyed time in the water during our most recent trip to the beach. For some reason, they REALLY enjoy burying each other in the sand. Jason, as the number 1 boy, always goes first in the sand submersion. By the time it's Joshua's turn, the other two are tired of the sand and are in the water. Poor baby.

Jason and Michael wrapped up a week at a special camp that was tied to Jason's school. A Camp Invention. It must have been good. They came home on the first day of camp and built a roller coaster out of toilet paper rolls. I can honestly say I have never seen them do that before.

Joshua is getting in touch with his inner Picasso. Our poor little baby really doesn't get to experience all that his brothers did. We were buying school supplies for the kids recently and Joshua saw a watercolor set. He begged for it, actually. I wasn't going to get it because the other two never really played with it. But, I caved and he has really loved painting pictures. See his sunrise???

We have also learned this summer the boys really enjoy golf. Yay!!! We're hoping to channel a little bit of Tiger Woods (before the marital distress). Jason absolutely loves to head out to the golf course to hit some balls. Michael is learning but does show some promise.

As always, Joshua is around for the snack.

We hope your summer is going well. We've had the chance to enjoy a little bit of everything. Considering how hot it has been, thankfully, some water has made it into the picture.

Stay cool!!!

Georgia!

2011-06-24T23:13:00.007-04:00

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Georgia! Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for a great time!

The boys had the chance to spend plenty of minutes outdoors. If you ask the boys their favorite part of the trip, they would say, "The park." Really? The park? After everything they did?

Well...I have to admit the parks were pretty fun.

So, was the planetarium. We visited the Fernbank Science Center and every single adult (Grandma, Doug and I) fell asleep upon taking a seat in those comfy chairs. The three boys stayed wide awake, despite dimmed lights, a slightly dated animated feature and really good chairs that leaned back.

If you keep prodding Jason and Michael about the trip, they may remember a pretty big event. An Atlanta Braves game with Ezekiel, Elijah, Doug and Grandpa.

The night was incredible for all the boys. It started at The Varsity and for Michael, a dream come true. He's taken a big liking to hot dogs and while there, he ate two!!!

The game was a win for the Braves and it was just long enough for the boys to enjoy the sights and sounds of a major league game.

Joshua stayed home and this is what happened to him.

The poor thing never gets a bath. He was so excited to have some time alone in the tub that he allowed me to turn him into Ferris Bueller for just a moment.

Speaking of moments, there are some Joshua moments we should pass along before we forget them. We have been pulling out photo albums and he will stop what he is doing immediately for a peek. He will plop down in our laps and open up the books. It is obvious Joshua cannot imagine a world of pictures without him.

We were looking at a book I put together for Michael. Joshua was not in it at all. He kept pointing to Baby Michael and insisting, "That looks like Michael, but that's really Joshua."

After a while, it was obvious he was tired of repeating himself. Finally, we asked him, "Where's Joshua?" He said, "Joshua not there. He is asleep."

Score!

2011-06-13T03:21:00.004-04:00

The kids can't WAIT for the start of summer. You can feel it in their eyes. This is Jason, Michael, Joshua, Jonathan and Ethan enjoying a mid-afternoon slushie.

We have been eating, sleeping and breathing baseball for the last week. So it was nice to visit Natalie's pool and take a dip. Joshua made a beeline for the water and enjoyed every minute of it.

Surprisingly, he and Michael have really taken to the ball fields we have been visiting. They have a routine now. First, they scout out playgrounds, since most of the fields are at elementary schools. Then they beg and plead until I let them get a round on the slides. By the time they get tired of that, we are usually in the third inning or so. Then they come back and watch the game with us.

The last three games have been roller coaster rides. Jason probably played the worst he has ever played in the first tournament game. I know he had to be nervous and there was a ton of pressure on the team. He struck out three times and his last out ended the game. Not a great evening, for sure.

Thank goodness the next day turned everything around. Doug told him he couldn't possibly play any worse than he played the night before. And he was right.

The second game they played was against a team with much, much, much more experience. I don't count the 25-2 whooping they got as a loss. It was just practice. But, Jason truly redeemed himself in the third game! He got on base the first time he hit and the second one...he hit a HOME RUN! Jason is in the middle of the group, getting kudos from his team.

We are so proud of him and of all the boys. Michael is seeing what it's like and now wants to play ball in the fall! More days on the field for me!

Have a great week!

The Boys of Summer

2011-06-10T20:56:00.002-04:00

It has been/will be a busy couple of weeks. Jason made the All-Star baseball team and we've been at practice every night.

Thankfully, the two younger boys haven't minded the trips to the ball field. Had this been last year, Joshua would have whined and cried. But Joshua and Michael have started to bond and they play together while Jason is playing ball. In fact, Michael says he wants to play baseball next season. I suppose you could say he is embracing his love of dirt and peanuts. It just means I will spend more time in the same environment!

When you play ball, you have to look the part. Jason, of course, has his team hat. Michael has one, too, from a previous team. When Jason and Michael put on their hats for a trip to the ball field, Joshua told me he wanted to wear a hat as well. He refused to wear anything but his winter "stripey" one.

Gotta love that kid.

The beach & Busch Gardens

2011-06-05T10:54:00.003-04:00

We are trying to make an effort to enjoy the attractions around us.
Even Michael. You can see he really got into the mood on a recent trip to the beach.

On this day, it wasn't too hot, the waves weren't too high, the beach not too crowded.

Absolutely perfect.

And yesterday, we were so lucky to be able to visit with Grandma, Grandpa, Ezekiel and Elijah at Busch Gardens. What a treat!

Joshua enjoyed seeing everyone. This is him as he was wrapping up a ride on the merry-go-round.

We did notice he was a bit of a daredevil, running from ride to ride to get a thrill.

Speaking of thrills, there is no doubt Jason rode rides he normally wouldn't because his cousins were there. He so wants to be like them. He rode several roller coasters yesterday and I could see the fear in his eyes walking through the line leading up to them. Afterward, though, he told me his favorite was the "Loch Ness Monster."

I know Doug was thrilled he didn't have to go on every single stomach-turning, high-flying ride, thanks to Ezekiel and Elijah. The boys had a GREAT time together. We did, too.

A nice treat, certainly, as we head into the summer. Speaking of summer, the boys of summer, Jason's last baseball game took place last week. It was a tough season. But this game was AMAZING! They weren't expected to win, the other team was pretty good. The kids started out playing horribly. All of them. It was a team effort, for sure. But then, in the last inning, down 15-6, every single kid pulled through. They rallied all the way back, to 15-14, with the bases loaded and 2 outs. Unfortunately, with Jason on deck, a grounder to first base ended the game. While they didn't win, they certainly made every parent proud. No shame ending a season on such a valiant effort! Onto the lazy days of summer!

Jason's First Communion

2011-05-27T18:57:00.004-04:00

It has been a big year for us and for our faith.
Jason just celebrated his First Communion and as part of the process, they "made" him try wine for the first time as well.

He told us in no uncertain terms that would never enjoy a glass. Never.

It has been a WHILE since we checked in. We can't believe we are just a few weeks away from the end of the school year.

SNAPSHOT:
Michael has discovered a love for that lovable Junie B. (the girl with the atrocious grammar). He is a reading fool these days. We adore it!

Jason is going into what will likely be his last baseball game of the season. He's had a fun time with it and enjoys the karate lessons we started for him and Michael at the YMCA.

We are winning the war against potty training! I wouldn't say we win all the battles, however. Joshua is, for the most part, dry day and night! It has taken more time than we thought it should have, but we are very proud of #3.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

2011-04-29T21:39:00.003-04:00

Poor Joshua!
Being the third child, we are hard-pressed to find original ways to celebrate the milestone.
Tonight, four days after his third birthday, he asked me if we would still be able to go to Barnes & Noble for his birthday party. What??! Or course, I told him yes, but I'm not sure right now if we'll be able to fit it in.

Poor kid.

On his real birthday, though, we really pulled out the stops.
He got presents and cake and truly, he enjoyed the evening...at home.

I could tell him we are still recuperating from a weekend (last weekend) at church. We spent Good Friday there, then Saturday night, we were there for many hours as Doug was welcomed into the Catholic Church.

The boys held out for many minutes, but even our night owl couldn't hold out.

Surprisingly, Joshua didn't complain about the monkey suit we placed on him. No tie, but we were happy he didn't strip down to his skivvies during the service.

Earlier in the day, we thought it was important to get his hair cut (as well as the hairs of the other two). Good thing we made that choice. We were in the front row for the ceremony and everyone could hear Joshua singing...that is, until he fell asleep.

On a side note, something bizarre is happening this spring. Lots of rain or something. Our yard looks like a botanical garden of some sort. Never seen these blooms before!

Before all three boys took their naps at church, we got a chance to take their picture. It was the last time they smiled that night, unfortunately.

Hope your weekend is faring better!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-22T22:25:00.004-04:00

We marked Good Friday this evening with a trip to church.
Unfortunately, Joshua didn't understand the solemnity of the situation.

He started to sing while we were all bowed in prayer.

Cute, but highly inappropriate.
And loud.
Then, he decided it was time for a nap.
Thank goodness he is cute.

The beginning of the end...

2011-04-16T22:34:00.002-04:00

of diapers.

You can see Joshua is not too thrilled about it.

We officially started the process today, and so far, so good!!!

He is still not smiling about it, though.

Beach boys

2011-04-08T22:49:00.005-04:00

It is hard to believe how much they have grown.

We paid a visit to the beach today. We figured it would be a nice way to spend our anniversary! No swimsuits this time, though; we definitely needed the jackets and an umbrella.

This new park opened on the sand and we had to check it out.

Despite the blowing winds and cool temperatures, we had a hard time prying the children away from all the fun equipment.

Afterward, we celebrated with ice cream!!!
Speaking of foods that taste good, lately, Jason and Michael have been on a bit of a health food kick. They learn all about the food pyramid and healthy eating from school and they realize a lot of their favorite foods don't really have a place on the triangle.

They know that potatoes can be healthy, but french fries really are not. So, the other day Jason asked me if he could squeeze the potatoes out of the fries, and if that was the case, THEN would the food be good for you? Nice try.

Will that mean a diet of green beans and sprouts from now on? Something tells me that won't fly.

Have a great night!

Happy Birthday, Michael! You are 6!

2011-04-01T20:18:00.003-04:00

Michael was King of the Hill today.

It was as if he had two special days. We celebrated his 6th birthday in the classroom. He originally wanted his official party to be at the putt-putt golf course. We sent out the invites and that was on the location line. But earlier this week, I knew it was going to be chilly and wet today. We went to the fallback...Chuck E. Cheese!

They are doing something new and pretty cool now. It's called Ticketblaster. The birthday boy walks into a tube and with wind blowing inside, must gather up as many tickets as possible. He was allowed to bring in Doug for support. They did well, scoring more than 400 tickets!

If you are keeping track, this would be party #4 there. We always say we won't do it again. And every other time, they do disappoint. But this time was not one of them. We had a great time this afternoon. Weekday parties are the way to go.

And, I met Michael's two girlfriends. Yes, you read that right. Girlfriends. Plural. We did not realize he was such a casanova. But these charming young ladies apparently want to marry Michael.

He did as I thought he would in the face of all this adoration. He took it all in stride.

The other boys just ran around, trying to gather up as many tickets as possible.

By the way, whether I like it or not, we've introduced the "magic" of this place to our youngest. Something tells me today's visit will not be our last.

Snapshot

2011-03-22T04:37:00.005-04:00

There are so many days I feel like I should run around with a recorder, catching moments with the kids. They say the most amazing things. I'll try to be better about not forgetting them.

Jason has started a new baseball season. Coach-pitch still, but rest assured, it is still a challenge. He's looking forward to the games. We've also started a "hitting" academy for him, to build confidence. He's moved into Beyblade land, and loves those spinning tops. And "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" will beat out any Magic Tree House or Muggle.

Michael is now a grown-up 6-year-old. And boy does he seem older than his years! 6 going on 60! He told me this afternoon the only thing he likes to do is sing. He thanked me for putting him in the children's choir at church. I've also put him in karate. He may have to learn how to defend himself.

Joshua, at almost three years old, no longer sucks his thumb! It was a habit we thought would be so difficult to break. A couple of months ago, we put the yucky stuff on his thumbs that would leave a nasty taste in his mouth if he chose to suck. But he must have powered through it. I believe he sucked off the yucky stuff...every time. This time, though, all it took was a comment from Michael. It is like the pot calling the kettle black because Michael sucked his fingers for so long, but he told Joshua, "You're gross. I'm not letting you on my bed until you stop sucking your fingers." That night we put the solution on Joshua's fingers. That was a couple of weeks ago. And Joshua has stopped. Who knew? We're still working on the potty training, though. Maybe I should ask Michael to make a statement...

Happy Birthday, Michael!!!

2011-03-21T18:33:00.002-04:00

I can't believe he is now six years old!!!

Michael had a special day today to celebrate his birthday. He is telling me (as I write this) that he ate a breakfast of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He says it was a good start to the day. Amah and Akong gave him a digital watch and he is thrilled with it. He brought it to school and his teacher, Mrs. Dykes, noticed him smiling every time he looked at it.

I stopped by his kindergarten class today, loaded with sugar to share. While at the grocery store, it seemed like a good idea to bring in juice boxes, cupcakes and lollipops to Michael's classmates. When I got into the classroom, even the children felt like it was a good idea. I'm not sure their parents will think so tonight.

I think it is safe to say Michael enjoyed my visit. He was beaming as he ate his chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. I haven't seen as a big smile in a long time.

The day got better for him. He opened some wonderful Beyblade treats from Grandma and Grandpa. Remember that birthday crown from school? He is STILL wearing it.

Happy Birthday, Michael! He may not be a baby anymore, but I always tell him, he will always be MY baby.

Old Man Michael

2011-03-11T18:16:00.004-05:00

We've got a new nickname for #2. Recently, we have noticed a bit of a crusty tone to his words...particularly when referring to his little brother, Joshua.

Granted, Joshua is a bit of a free spirit. Here he is squeezing in a workout, properly using the push-up bars, or at least trying to.

As grown-up as Joshua is, though, he hasn't quite kicked the thumb-sucking habit. And Michael obviously hates it. He dislikes it when Joshua sits next to him, for fear of his "icky, slimy thumb." He dislikes being touched by "Fingers," as Michael calls him. And he really does sound like an old man when playing keep-away with a smiley, happy baby, who just wants to give Michael a hug.

While we have given Michael a new moniker, Joshua gets one, too. "Mr. Personality," we like to call him. And just like he lives up to the "trouble" name, he also exudes quite a bit of personality. He knows exactly when he is in trouble and what he needs to do to get out of it.
A simple smile, he knows, gets him pretty far.

He was smiling all on his own (no motivations behind it) this past weekend. We saw "Tangled" in the theater. I was surprised at how much we all enjoyed it. For two days after the movie, Joshua kept talking about "The Pencil." What???

It was after a little while, I realized he meant "Rapunzel," who is the main character in this movie.

If you ask him now, he'll say "The Pencil. Nice movie. Yellow hair turned black." Hopefully, that doesn't ruin the film for you, but, in those eight words, he summed up the entire plot.

Have a great weekend!

Celebrating our presidents

2011-02-22T14:54:00.003-05:00

Our own Honest Abe came home yesterday with a new distinguishing feature. Michael wore his hat pretty much all day long (minus the time we spent at the pool). It would not have held up that well in those conditions.

Joshua's reaction was immediate. He couldn't stop staring at Michael.

Who could blame him?

Finally, after a minute, he says, "Michael, I wuv yo hat." He repeats it a few more times. "Michael, I wuv yo hat."

Michael, he's so nonchalant. He replies, "Thanks." He didn't even look up from his homework. I think he was coloring in a picture of a kitten.

You can tell Joshua's feelings are as true as he can make them.
As I am writing this blog post, he's able to look at just a picture of Michael's hat and he says to me, "I love Michael's hat."

If I were Michael, I would not leave him alone with it.

A handful

2011-02-20T19:34:00.003-05:00

We were lucky enough to have a friend come over and watch the boys last night. Doug and I were thrilled to get a date night out. As we were tripping over ourselves to flee our home, I looked over at the brothers...and I hoped they would be good for her.

When we returned home, Jane promised us that the boys were well-behaved. But just look at those smiles. I think we may never really know...

Thanks, as always, to Mr. Jack. It has been a while since we last saw him. As a result, we were at the Barber Shop for about an hour and a half!

Tower no more

2011-02-18T22:59:00.006-05:00

He's just waiting for his chance to pounce. Notice the blocks that used to form a tower behind him. Joshua is ruthless.

Jason and Michael were so proud of their creations...creations they had to put together very quickly.

The dynamo that is Joshua then got to work.

The boys took their minds off of their lost art projects with a visit by Grandma. We were so happy to see her.

She got to see Jason take part in his first school dance. We watched him cut a rug on the dance floor with oldies (that are new to them!) like the "Electric Slide" and "Macharena."

Here's to the start of baseball season and the arrival of warmer weather!

Have a great weekend!

2011-02-05T21:47:00.002-05:00

Don't let this sweet face fool you.

We call him trouble and right now, he's living up to his name. And we know when Joshua is asleep, at least he can't carry out one of his antics.
He is still in diapers and for a while, he would let us know when he filled it. That was nice.

Now, he will show it to us. The other day, he picked up a couple of popsicle sticks that were on the table and STUCK them in his diaper and drew us a little picture. On the walls. Yuck.

I guarantee you, the other two would never have thought of doing this.

They are too focused on playing games! Poor Grace. She stopped by and could only sit in the middle of the action.

Joshua isn't too interested in the games yet. But he took some time to watch a movie with Rob.

Rob was sure to keep Joshua's hands in view at all times.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Time for bed

2011-01-26T19:42:00.002-05:00

I love when the boys are all showered and ready for bed, but not yet ready to fall asleep. More often than not we are rushing them to their pillows, knowing they have such an early start in the morning. But tonight, we had a few extra minutes.

We had a great day with swimming lessons (all three are taking them now) and a pleasant dinner. The afternoon snack was a bit of a challenge, though. Joshua is speaking plenty more words now, but it is not always clear still what he is trying to say.

Today, he kept screaming at me, "yenky toms," "yenky toms!!!" "YENKY TOMS!!!" What in the world is that? He continued to get more and more upset because I had no idea what he was talking about, but then Michael, who overheard, matter-of-factly said, "He wants Lucky Charms."

Oh. Lucky Charms.

So I asked him. "Lucky Charms?"

"Yeah. Yucky Charms."

"Yucky Charms?"

"Yeah. Yucky Charms."

Yup. That's what he wanted.

Jason wants more and more Beyblades. That is the toy of the moment. What happened to all the Star Wars, Legos, Bakugan that were the hot toys of yesterday? In the closet.

We think Michael may be onto something musical. He is learning a little bit about drumming from Doug. He certainly is enjoying one-on-one time with us.

Michael is definitely a funny little guy. The most bizarre things make him sit up and take notice. Like tonight, as I was kissing him good night and leaving the room, he says to me, "Good night, sweet woman!"

And good night to you!

Toothless Michael

2011-01-17T19:38:00.003-05:00

Michael lost his first tooth last week, Jan. 9th to be exact. And he lost his second one today. The tooth fairy better start saving up. You could say it is about time they started falling out. His permanent teeth have already started to come in, BEHIND where his baby teeth were. In fact, I think they are both almost all in. I just look at his mouth and Jason's mouth and I think, I better start working harder! We'll be paying plenty of visits to the orthodondist!!!

We have been immersed in the winter sports here. For a few weeks after baseball ended and through the holidays, we took a bit of a break. But, new year, new sports! The boys, all of them, are back with swimming. Jason's teacher thinks he would make a good candidate for swim team, Michael is getting so much better and Joshua only screams for five minutes (as opposed to 15) when he is brought to the pool.

School is going well and Jason is adjusting well to his new one. He has an "interview" coming up because his class is opening a "restaurant." We love this school. It is a dessert shop and he wants to be a sous chef. Asked why he chose this job over, say, a manager, and he says, "Well, it doesn't look like managers do anything. I want to do something and I think I can do that as a chef. Managers just sit at their desk all day." Doug (of course a manager) was rolling, as was I.

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-01T20:34:00.008-05:00

It has been a while since I've posted pictures. Our Williamsburg trip seems like it was months ago.

We enjoyed the holidays with loved ones, I believe Santa did a good job this year and oh, yeah, a near-record-breaking snowfall came and went. All in all, we enjoyed a little bit of everything this holiday season...including a white Christmas.

In the last month, we have seen two accumulating snowfalls. This last one, I think we got about 14 inches of the white stuff. It pretty much shut our city down. The kids loved the snow, but were just upset it didn't happen when school was in session!

We loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa over the holiday break, and the boys got a chance to see a new side of Grandpa--on a sled!

Grandpa, Doug, Jason and Michael went sledding and those memories are something our boys won't soon forget. They had a GREAT time!

These pictures do a great job in showing the emotion of the day. Take a closer look at the sled. To be honest, we weren't truly prepared for this snowstorm. We don't even have a shovel. Our trusty spade and a dustpan did the job. So, if we weren't ready with the shovel, why would we be prepared with a sled?

Doug brought some styrofoam sheets to go sledding and from what I understand, a woman took pity on our motley crew and let them borrow her sled.

The snow added to an already magical weekend.

We had the chance to spend Christmas with Amah, Akong and Tim. Grandma and Grandpa came to join us afterward.

This year was so much fun because the kids were so into every part of the holiday. They couldn't wait for the arrival of Santa. They had a million questions about the REINDEER (!) and their path to our house. Here's what it looked like at our house on Christmas Eve. Jason left a pretty elaborate note for the man in Red and the trio made sure to leave a carrot for each of the reindeer.

On a side note, we are starting to call Joshua "the Dumpster." You remember that old Life cereal commercial, "Give it to Mikey, he'll eat anything." That hasn't worked on our Mikey in years. Joshua is another story. He'll try just about anything. Especially if it is sweet.

If you stop by soon, you'll get to catch this sight--a pretty decent snowman put together by Jason and Michael and the girls next door. Not bad, huh?

I'm surprised the boys had any energy. We spent our New Year's Eve at a neighbor's house. And two of the three stayed up to watch the ball drop.

It wasn't Michael. He conked out around 9:30 p.m.

You could say Joshua was the life of the party. Here he is, being passed around to be included in OTHER people's family pictures.

It was a challenging year for many people. We are hoping for better things to come in 2011.

Happy New Year!!!

Holiday fun

2010-12-10T23:17:00.002-05:00

We braved the brutal cold all for Santa Claus. I emceed a local holiday parade last weekend and the boys came along for the ride.

Doug said the boys didn't complain about the frigid temperatures, likely because candy was served! Hey, whatever works!!!

Then, Doug and I went to Williamsburg, where the Christmas lights are on display. It's funny, when at home, you rarely make a point to step outside the house for leisure when it's cold outside. But in Williamsburg, that's all we did.

It was a wonderful date night. We went on many walks to take a look at the beautiful displays to see in Williamsburg.

The gifts, by the way, are already coming in. This shirt is a lovely present that Joshua adores.

Hope your night is going well!!!

Family time

2010-12-03T22:31:00.004-05:00

We were so excited to receive a package from Grandma and Grandpa. The kids went straight for the holiday puzzle! It was such a fun diversion...made us think we need to include more family activities like this. Thank you for the presents, Grandma and Grandpa!

It took us twenty minutes to complete the 100-piece puzzle, which was surprisingly difficult. We found a couple of pieces under Joshua's chair. He was just trying to help.

Last weekend, we took the boys ice skating. The last time we did it, Michael told me it would be YEARS before he would consider lacing up the skates.

But he must have forgotten what he told me.

Michael, Jason and Doug had a great time on the ice.

Eventually, he let go of Doug's hand and skated, for a little while, on his own.

Joshua didn't skate, but let me tell you, he moved around!

We didn't spend all weekend on the ice. We actually took a trip on a ferry boat, for a little while. The kids went above deck and ran around and really had a great time!

Counting blessings

2010-11-24T20:08:00.007-05:00

On this Thanksgiving Eve, the kids are wired, and ready for a couple of days off.

If you ask them, that's what they are thankful for.

Over the weekend, we had the chance to catch up with cousin Danica. She had just attended a Christmas parade with full-on face painting provided. Jason was fascinated, not by her make-up, but by her (parent's) iphone. Of course.

Tim also took some time out to be with us for the weekend. It was great to see him and capture the boys all together.

I know I need to take more pictures and video of this stage. Jason is a little man who is interested in origami (not sure where that came from), Michael is into Club Penguin and Joshua is...trouble.

These pictures were taken before bedtime a few days ago. But tonight, with the excitement of no school tomorrow, there's no sleeping going on!

We've all been pretty busy! Events here and there have brought us to places all across the area. Something tells me we will get even busier as we march toward Christmas.

Not to worry. Jason will keep us grounded.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Biker boy

2010-11-05T21:05:00.003-04:00

We are so proud of our newest biker boy.

We took the training wheels off Michael's bike months ago. This past weekend, he finally learned how to ride on two wheels.

What has been so cool is watching Jason help his little brother with tips and tricks on how to get moving on a bicycle.

We have had to kick them out of the house, to work off all that CANDY. Look at the loot they dragged in from one street of trick-or-treating. I promise I did not encourage this, although I did not discourage it, but the boys wanted to wear their costumes from last year.

And they fit. So I let them.

Jason was a Clone Trooper, Michael a Storm Trooper, and well, the baby had no choice.

He was our little monkey. How fitting.
When we put the costume on him, he had NO interest in being a furry animal.

But we persevered, stuffing his arms and legs into the fabric. When he realized that a sweet "trick or treat" from him would get him plenty of candy, he was all in. Safe to say, his little arms carried in more candy than the other two!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!!

The commercial

2010-10-29T21:32:00.002-04:00

The commercial is airing! Jason didn't see it until today. But his teachers and friends have been coming up to him, asking him if he's on TV. Check it out!

Picture time!

2010-10-07T03:28:00.004-04:00

Note to self: When you "reward" a child for good behavior with a lollipop, make sure he does not have access to THREE at once. Kids are so literal.

We're actually not too much fun in our house when it comes to lollipops. I only allow the kids a few licks before I tell them it's time to toss them aside.

Michael got a couple of lollipops for attending the Children's Festival with me last weekend.
It was a beautiful day and Michael had a wonderful time.

School picture time is here and well, I didn't feel like pre-ordering photos I don't know will turn out, so I took my own. The background is a little, simple, shall we say, but, the smile is priceless!

Joshua couldn't be left out, either! He said, "cheese!" like a big boy.

Good thing we did picture drills because Michael and Jason got to be in their first photo shoot and commercial for a public service announcement.

I have to admit, I was worried about how they would do. But both boys enjoyed it more than I thought they would. I told Jason that some kids make quite a bit of money for their college educations this way, and Jason wasn't so interested in that. If the money were to go toward Bakugan toys, I know that would be another story!

Feet first

2010-09-24T18:30:00.003-04:00

What smells like feet? Well, depending on where you go around our house, you could get a whiff in a couple of places. Anywhere Jason's baseball stuff is, that's for sure.

Joshua and Michael and I were playing next to the car today, with the trunk open. Jason's baseball stuff was laying inside the trunk, in a closed and zippered bag, by the way.

I sniffed and said to Michael, "What smells like feet?"

Michael looks around and said, so seriously, "I think it's supposed to smell like feet."

Good thing he's used to it, because I imagine he'll have that in his nostrils plenty in his growing up years. I, however, am worried about my sensibilities.

Speaking of smells (and hopefully something that conjures up more pleasant memories), Joshua is following in his brother's footsteps when it comes to mealtime.

Every night, the question comes from the boys, "Mommy, what's for dinner?" The minute Joshua hears them, or if he smells something, or if he hears the oven clicking, he will ask the same thing, "Mommy, what have dee-nuh?" (What are we having for dinner?)

He hears the answer, then toddles off, with his blanket in hand.

The nice thing is, no matter what it is, he's happy with what is served on his plate!!!

Have a great night!

End of summer fun

2010-09-21T14:19:00.005-04:00

We had a couple of hours to do nothing this past weekend. Just a couple.

So we chose to spend it at the park.

I love this picture.

We are seeing the boys grow and get more mature every single day. They all have very different personalities, though.

Joshua is in the "me do it" phase, which can be charming and infuriating at the same time. Try waiting for a 2-year old to "me do" a sock and a shoe, when the bus for a brother is waiting at the end of the street!!!

The conversations I am having with Jason and Michael are so interesting. We talked about the importance of going to college the other day. They were cool with moving away from home (in the past they had issues with this). But you can tell Jason has birthday on the brain because the only thing he was concerned about was his celebration.

In fact, he asked me if I would come home from college to celebrate my birthday while I was in college. I told him, no. My birthday usually fell in line with exams. He seemed to really have a problem with that. He said, "Well, how will I have my party while I'm at college?"

Priorities. You gotta love them.

It was a working weekend of sorts for me. I was at the Moon Festival again this weekend. This time I took just Michael with me. Jason had his first baseball game.

I was worried he would not enjoy himself. But I didn't need to stress. He was a delight and he seemed to enjoy the dragon dance more than anything else.

He even wanted a souvenir of the afternoon he spent with me. He took home a beautiful red fan, which he keeps in his drawer at home. Ask him about it sometime. He will fill your ear about the sights and sounds of that day.

Hope your weekend was grand!

Water works

2010-09-17T14:52:00.007-04:00

Yes, we live near the water. But we don't live ON it. Maybe we should.

We had the chance to visit Tommy and his family last weekend.

We had the time of our lives.

We realized how much we missed them all since their move just a few months ago.

Jason went tubing for the first time, ever! He thoroughly enjoyed it, although he had to move over so Doug could get a ride.

Michael and Joshua weren't interested in the adventure. They were looking forward to the snacks. Their loss.

Even I got on board and took a ride.

Really the most fun was watching the kids reunite. As you can see, Joshua and Lizzie enjoyed some time together.

We hope you enjoy your weekend as much as we did!!!

First day of school

2010-09-07T19:38:00.002-04:00

Two in, one to go.

The first day of school was a big deal for our older two, although you wouldn't know if from Michael's calm demeanor.

Michael prepared for the day like a champ. No worries, no questions. He acted like he was made for school.

I'm happy to say I picked him up from the bus stop and he still had positive things to say about the whole experience. Good thing. He has 179 days left in the school year.

I have to say we were worried about Jason most of all. He, too, is going to a new school with a pretty long ride on the bus. That bus ride has worried him to no end.

I am happy to report the bus got both kids to school this morning, and more importantly, brought them back to me safely. They both said to me, "School is so easy. All we did was play games." Something tells me at least one of them (Jason) will be changing his tune shortly.

We had a celebratory day. Light homework (just reading for Michael), I allowed them some time on the Wii. We played outside and we worked on Michael's biking skills. I pulled off his training wheels over the weekend and he's psyching himself out about riding on two wheels.

But today, maybe still on the high from kindergarten, he approached the bike riding with new zeal. He went about half a foot without falling and I was appropriately pleased and I cheered. Jason was watching. He crinkled up his eyes and said, "I don't really know what the big deal is. He didn't go very far."

No, but it is all about the effort. And for that, I am appropriately pleased.

Have a great day! One down, 179 to go!

The boys of summer

2010-08-22T18:55:00.006-04:00

What a difference a year makes!
We paid our annual summer visit to Busch Gardens, and we had the best time! No whining about the walking, no complaining about the heat--from anyone in our party.

With two boys walking on their own power (Jason and Michael) and one stroller holding just one boy (Joshua), we really felt quite free.

Once #3 is potty-trained, we won't know what to do with all that free space in back of our stroller.

Here's Joshua's attempt at doing bumper cars.

Maybe by next year, he'll enjoy it a little more. He really did enjoy everything else. The Whirly-worm, the rides that put him in a moving swing, the attractions that kept him focused on Elmo. He did plenty of smiling as we picked him up to move him from place to place.

For the first time this year, Jason and Michael, and of course, Doug, rode the big-boy rollercoasters. All of them. And I think our older two might have an appetite for the excitement of these twisty and turn-filled rides. Poor Doug.

Our summer hasn't all been about thrill-rides.
The boys really enjoyed the cooking camp at the Y this past week.

One of the things they learned how to make: dessert.

Mercifully, it tastes better than it sounds.

I've tried to keep the troops busy this summer, but there has been opportunity for some down time.

We've spent some minutes on the computer.

Jason has really shown an interest in money lately and recently, he asked for an allowance. We were hoping, of course, he would never show any interest. I guess he heard kids at camp talking about this whole allowance thing. We are giving him $5 a week, and we have told him he must place the money each week in each of four categories: spend, save, invest and donate.

He's a little impatient, because, of course, he wants to buy what he wants to buy NOW (Bakugan, anyone?) But, he's learning to research prices on the internet and he knows the exact place he'll go to buy his toy once he gets enough money.

Jason's brothers don't have a care in the world. Money does not interest them in the least.

In fact, I think we robbed these folks fishing of their peace and quiet when we took the boys to a new park the other day. Oops. We left a few minutes later.

The summer hasn't been just fun for the kids. We've managed to enjoy ourselves as well. I just went to my 20th high school reunion. Yikes! It was good to catch up and take that walk down memory lane. The best part was coming home and seeing how far we have come.

Cheers, everyone!
We love you lots!!!

Home sweet home

2010-08-06T22:14:00.003-04:00

As you hit the road to go away, you always wonder what you left behind.

We realized immediately what we left behind the minute we unlocked the door to our home and walked inside.

Our trash, inside the kitchen. Did I mention we had fish for dinner the evening before we left?

We don't know if that has anything to do with the ants now staking a claim inside our home, but, well, there they are.
For some reason, the arrival of these pesky, tiny, numerous creatures into our humble abode has energized our kids like I've never seen.

I've been looking online for ways to "naturally" get rid of the ants. Talcum powder, pepper, vinegar--we are trying them all. We're cleaning like fiends, too.
Today, Jason and Michael were practically fighting to be able to Swiffer our living room and vacuum our rugs. I'm trying to be supportive, so I let them.

Tonight, we realized the boys must have left some standing water in some bath toys, because we found a family of mosquitoes in the bathtub. It seemed to be the last straw for Jason, who walked around, saying, "What has happened to our house?"

I am confident we will end up victorious against the ants.
But it looks like Michael and Joshua aren't so sure. They may be trying to find a way to send themselves back to Grandma's house!!!

A visit to remember

2010-08-06T22:04:00.004-04:00

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to see Grandma and Grandpa. Despite a couple of instances of hearing loss from a screaming Joshua during our travels, we survived the trip there and the trip home.

It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with cousins Ezekiel and Elijah, Aunt Stacie, Uncle Dave and Aunt Jeanne.

One day, Jason, Michael and Elijah scaled Stone Mountain.

We were following very far behind. After all, carrying 30 pounds of Joshua up the hill takes some time and effort. Thanks, Doug.

Speaking of Joshua, he had a good time during this visit as well. We stopped by a little children's interactive play center.

They had a little "grocery" store and Joshua was busy filling his basket with "onions," "cookies" and "milk." At least he remembered his calcium.

If he had any questions at all about calcium, he could have found answers from the source itself. They had a little milking station and Joshua got some hands-on learning. It is safe to say he had no clue what was going on. But this picture tells a thousand words, doesn't it?

After we pried Joshua away from Bessie, we found the music room. It was an experience the boys even talk about today. I do believe the boys, each in his own way, is getting some love of music from Doug. Jason is taking piano lessons and really enjoys them. Michael sings. Joshua does, too. We have no idea what he is trying to convey, but he does it with gusto.

I would describe the boys' approach to having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house the same way. With gusto. They found every toy, put together every puzzle, rearranged every pillow to make their grandparents' house their own.

Jason and Michael pulled out all of Grandma's cushions to build a fort they hid inside. It was so cute. And time-consuming.

Joshua simply enjoyed having good meals.
We love you, Grandma and Grandpa, and we so loved seeing all of you this summer!

Travel buddies

2010-07-30T18:46:00.009-04:00

We have been in the car quite a bit this summer. For some reason, the kids don't want to chat, they don't want to read, they only want to play the Nintendo DS when they are back there in the minivan. So, to change the routine a bit, I've introduced them to their travel buddies.

I really don't know if this will work.

I interviewed a teacher the other day who had some great ideas to get kids thinking without realizing they are doing it.

We took pictures of the boys and their travel buddies. Michael has Cowee, Joshua has his blankie and for Jason, we picked up Tim the Penguin.

We taped these pictures to the cover of a composition book.

Wha-la! Now we have a travel journal.

Jason and Michael have completed page one. They were excited to draw pictures of their travel buddies. Tomorrow, they'll have to actually write words in them! I wonder how long it will take before they ask me if they can play their video games?

I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy Friday, everyone!!!

Finally...a day at the beach

2010-07-17T20:14:00.004-04:00

The boys have been spending every single weekday at the pool for camp. They are quite dark, as you have seen.

The draw of the beach then wasn't the surf, but the sand.

We actually made it to the beach today. Jason and Michael made a beeline for a stretch of sand so they could get to work building castle villages.

Joshua went straight for a snack.

After a handful of 'nilla wafers, Joshua was feeling good enough to dip his toe in the water. Joshua was a little nervous at first, but Doug says after a few minutes, he was giggling when the low waves hit his feet.

Then, we buried his feet (Michael's, too) in the sand!

I didn't realize the boys knew anything about the whole tanning culture we have here. But Jason and Michael asked me if we could do without sunscreen today so they could get a proper "tan." What??!!! We told him they were bronzed enough, thank you very much.

We have noticed that camp has brought Jason and Michael closer together. This is what happens when these two get the giggles during dinner.

We can't help but laugh. Doug and I couldn't help but laugh at something Michael said this morning. We were at the dining table, eating breakfast. And Michael looks at us and says, "It has been nice. We've had Joshua for two years."

You really can't deny the truth of his words.

Dreamin' of the beach

2010-07-16T03:23:00.002-04:00

We haven't made it to the beach yet this summer. All the baby can do is dream about it.

He parked himself inside his inner tube today and chilled for a bit.

We've been spending our weekends with Amah and Akong as Amah continues her recovery from a car crash.

We know she will be fine.
After all, the get-well-crew has been giving her plenty of kisses.

We love you, Amah!

Silly Bandz on sale

2010-07-08T17:42:00.009-04:00

With three growing boys, you can imagine there's quite a bit happening at our house these days. I'm hoping I don't wait too long to put the stories in black and white. I know I'll forget.

Where do I start? Oh yeah. Silly Bandz. Have you heard of them? They are the brilliant invention of some now-rich adults who have somehow brainwashed kids into thinking wearing colored rubber bands in the shape of animals, instruments or phrases are the "in" thing. Adults are starting to wear them, though, which we think means they will soon be uncool. In the meantime, they are a big deal at our house.

Silly Bandz have certainly invaded. Even Joshua is interested in collecting and wearing these specially-shaped rubber bands. They sell for about $5 for a pack of 24. I tell you this on background.

Our crew has decided to step into the world of entrepreneurship and sell them. I applaud them. For the price of $50 (!), a special scented Silly Band in the shape of a rabbit could be yours. It smells like vanilla, by the way, not what you would imagine a rabbit would smell like.

Here they are working on the posters which will highlight their Silly Bandz on sale for the day.

Jason and Michael are a little (okay, a lot) darker than they were in the beginning of the summer. YMCA summer camp has been good to us and the boys have spent every weekday afternoon in the pool. They just got haircuts (1 1/2 hours at the barber shop, by the way) and it has GOT to be a more pleasant experience in the hot summer sun.

Michael, at the age of 5, is, I believe, officially out of the terrible 2's. We thought it would never happen!

He now continues to amaze us with his insights.

Today, I messed up their names. Called him Joshua or Jason, I don't even know which.

He replied, "It's okay, Mommy, because when you become a mommy, you forget names."

Do not let this charming grin fool you.

Michael may be out of the terrible 2's. Joshua, I believe, has entered them. Early. Earlier than the other two, at least. Everyone within a 1/2 block radius heard us as we made out way into the dry cleaner's today.

30 minutes and 15 'nilla wafers later, he was fine.

At least I'm not so worried about his verbal skills, though. Today, he told me, as he was pointing to a cereal he wanted to have for a snack, "That cereal." I hesitated, since it was FRUIT LOOPS! He repeated, loudly, "THAT CEREAL." "MOMMY. MOMMY. MOMMY. THAT CEREAL!!!!" WAAAAH!!!!

Can you tell we'll be working to deal with a sweet tooth on our #3? To think, we thought he would never speak.

Summer reading program

2010-06-29T16:07:00.002-04:00

Now that it's summer, we're all trying to do a bit of reading.

Summer, here we come!

2010-06-23T19:37:00.006-04:00

After months of what felt like living on the baseball field, it has all come to an end.

Jason, I think, was happy to see it arrive. He played a good season and was pretty beat by the last out of the last game. We had the chance to get together one last time with the team.

Joshua, of course, makes friends wherever he goes. I think he will miss most the candy he inevitably walked away with while watching the games.

Until next season!!!

Lots of milestones this last school year. If you had a chance to sit and think about it, you might tear up. It was Jason's first year in public school and I am so proud of him. He has to say goodbye to one school, though, and get ready for the excitement of another.

I had the opportunity to go to his Field Day. We baked under the hot June sun.

On another occasion, I went inside his classroom, where we had games and pizza. That was a GREAT day to be inside with all of them. By the way, hats off to all teachers. There is QUITE A BIT of energy inside a first grade classroom.

It has been a while since I've shared pictures, so there's plenty to catch everyone up on. The boys and I went on a 2-mile walk for charity on a recent weekend. Everyone looks refreshed and ready for a walk in this picture, but you should have seen us at the finish line! Jason did great, but apparently, Michael decided his feet weren't working after the one-mile mark. Doug, then, became the transporter.

Funny, but Michael was able to move on his own two feet during a birthday party at the park. We went on a hayride, ate lots of candy and cake and said goodbye to friends for the summer! He is getting so big!!!!

Finally, we went to a nighttime minor league baseball game. Here's when we realized the baby is kinda friendly. We happened to know most of the people in the seats around us. But Joshua didn't know that. He went up to complete strangers to see what kind of edible treasures they were interested in sharing.

Thank goodness this kind gentleman (a nice man from our church) was fine with parting with his peanuts. Our peanut wouldn't leave his side until the bag was finished!!!

It's tough to wake up from a nap

2010-06-23T19:32:00.002-04:00

Back from Bermuda and back to reality

2010-06-22T03:16:00.004-04:00

We've been back for a couple of weeks, yet looking at pictures of our journey to Bermuda still have the power to take us back.

If you're wondering what it's like to not be connected (no email, no phone access, no text messages), it's kinda nice. And scary.

The minute we left the cruise ship, I had to find a pay phone to call the boys. I almost didn't know how to use one of these.

It's funny that we live by a beach and yet, the beach is the first place we go on vacation. I guess it is what we know. We had to check out the world-famous Bermuda beaches, and yes, they were lovely.

We also did our fair share of eating. But we didn't eat as much as I thought we would. Or what we could have. Oh my, there's a lot of food on these big boats.

We met some really nice people, we had a truly relaxing time and we thoroughly enjoyed our 10th anniversary celebration.

Thank you so much to Grandma and Grandpa for making this trip possible. We love you very much!

Ham and cheese

2010-05-27T19:57:00.005-04:00

We love our friends with pools.

And we recently made friends with a family who lives on a lake. We may have to start hanging out with them more often. Look at the view. If you look closely, you can see Michael in the inflatable on the left. Doug and some friends are sitting in the one on the right. Michael SWAM all the way to the raft. Jason ferried adult beverages to the grownups. Good times.

Joshua was passed around from mom to mom. He loved it.

At some point, the adults and the kids decided to battle it out on the makeshift baseball diamond. Glad to see the dads were putting all their effort into it.

Ahh, the freedom to not have a care in the world. By our third hour at this party, it seemed just easier to leave Joshua in just a diaper. And he just couldn't stand not being in the middle of the action.

It may seem that all we are doing these days is hanging out with friends. We are definitely trying to spend as much time with Claire and her family as we can. They are moving in just a few weeks.

Joshua will definitely miss Lizzie. Unlike our other two boys, who, at this age, played "next" to other children, Joshua and Lizzie are really pals who play together.

On another day we took the crew to the zoo. My favorite animal was the giraffe. All the boys agreed, they loved peeking in on the reptiles. Yuck!

Diamond disappointment

2010-05-24T20:02:00.002-04:00

I have never been so proud of Jason as I was tonight.

Of course, he's 7. I do hope to share more proud moments in the years to come.

First of all, the last two months have been a whirlwind of baseball, baseball and more baseball.

Over breakfast this morning, the boys learned that Jason did not make the 7-year-old All-Star Team.

He didn't really understand. And we don't, either.

But the boy took it all in stride.

And tonight, at his first playoff game, Jason won the game ball. He hit at least two doubles, threw out seven people and generally rocked it!

One more thing. Michael chimed in on the day's events. Before the game, as we were discussing the situation, Michael told Jason he thought this could be an opportunity for Jason to get better. What 5-year-old says that??? We certainly don't think, at the age of 7, his baseball career is over!!!

Jason still doesn't understand why he isn't on the other team, but, in the meantime, we're so excited he's giving it his all right now.

If this is what happens at the age of 7, I'm not sure I can handle what happens when 8 rolls around.

Sleeping beauty

2010-05-18T13:30:00.001-04:00

So peaceful, so quiet, so sweet.
Hope you get a chance to rest today.

Home run!

2010-05-04T19:59:00.003-04:00

It looked like it was going to rain all yesterday afternoon. Good thing it didn't. We would have missed Jason hitting his first real home run!!!

Where was my camera?

At home.

No matter, I likely would not have been able to capture it anyway, I was so focused on the game, screaming so much for him.

He brought home two of his teammates with that hit and we were so proud of the entire team.

The boys need a haircut, badly. Hopefully we'll get that taken care of tomorrow.
Right now, they look like they should be part of The Monkees. Hey, Hey...

Have a great night!

Game ball

2010-05-01T10:07:00.003-04:00

We are so proud of our Little Slugger. He's growing to be a good little ball player and today was a big one on the diamond. The team lost the game, but Jason gave it his all. He's holding up the game ball he received for doing such a good job today! Great hits, great in the field--he's so excited, isn't he?

His brothers are, too!

Who can blame Joshua for thinking about nobody but himself--he's the baby, after all!

The "baby" weighs 24 pounds 10 ounces and stands 34 inches tall. This kid eats like a horse, and I was a little worried the doctor would tell me we needed to put him on some kind of diet. But she told me he was only in the 20th percentile for weight. Long and lean, she said. I supposed that means, for now, his habit of eating just the ranch dressing can continue.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

2010-04-25T20:02:00.006-04:00

You know, it's tough being a third kid. Especially the third of three boys. Poor Joshua's 2nd birthday probably had a little bit more activity than he would have liked.

We started the day bright and early at a walk for the March of Dimes.

Since this baby spent several days in the hospital after birth, I feel this is truly an appropriate way to spend the morning of his 2nd birthday.

I do believe they enjoyed themselves.

Joshua's birthday fell on a weekend, and well, weekends mean baseball.
In this case, a double header.

We spent four hours on the ball field. Michael took it in stride.

So did Birthday Boy Joshua, after I allowed him to play in dirt.

And Jason, well, Jason did all the work.

It's not to say Joshua wasn't busy in the dirt, filling his pants with it, putting it in water bottles, covering his kneecaps in the brown stuff. All good.

But when we finally got home to enjoy Joshua's birthday brownies and presents, well, who could leave him in his dirt-filled clothing? I would say he enjoyed his day pretty well. Thank you for the Mr. Potato Head Family, Grandma!!! He loves his new "friends."

House party

2010-04-18T14:24:00.009-04:00

Where to begin? I realize I haven't posted in a while. I think you'll see things have been a little bit hectic. We wouldn't trade a minute!

Spring is here, so we are making frequent trips to the baseball field.

With Jason in coach-pitch baseball and Michael in t-ball, we spend quite a bit of time on the ballfield. Sometimes, the league wants to make sure I'm on my toes. It will schedule two different places for the two different teams.

It is still pretty early in the season, so both our little sluggers seem to be enjoying the innings, or the "endings" as they call them.

By the way, Michael has learned the art of tying a double knot, thanks to Grandma! We are thrilled with this new skill. It helps us keep those cleats on his feet!

We recently went to the doctor in honor of his fifth birthday. Michael is 37 pounds. He stands 42 and a half inches!

Jason is on two leagues this season. One of them is way more competitive than the other. I almost cannot stand the pressure! We'll talk more about that in coming posts.

It isn't all baseball, though.
Sometimes the circus comes to the town.

And sometimes the circus (that would be us) goes to see how the other half lives! :)
I had the chance to be a Ringmaster for a moment. Just a moment. That was enough.

But you should have seen the kids. What varying reactions to the action under the "Big Top." Jason was a little bored. Kept wanting to know when we could go home. Joshua paid a little bit of attention, then kept wanting to eat popcorn. Michael was enthralled. He is still talking about his favorite parts of the circus. Ask him about it sometime. Specifically the talented female dancers.

And, we had the opportunity to welcome a visit from Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jeanne, Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bud.

What a treat!

Any new visitors should remember they will get a "lesson" on the inner workings of the Nintendo DS before they can fully be allowed to relax. Again, you have been warned.

It was so nice to come together to celebrate Grandma's birthday.
And, we are waiting for the big "2" for my baby.
Joshua can certainly tell something is coming.

He walks around singing all the time.

And smiling.

Oh, when the terrible 2's truly hit, we'll be in trouble!

Chat mode

2010-04-12T18:12:00.003-04:00

Be warned: if your phone number is in our cell phone directory, Michael thinks you are fair game. He has discovered the wonders of voice dialing and will spend hours trying to say the words that the phone will understand. When the phone dials the number of the person he would like to talk with, you guessed it, he carries on a multi-minute conversation with whoever happens to pick up on the other line. By the way, he gets out of school just after 3 p.m.

I think the baby has started to speak in full sentences, without us realizing the milestone was taking place.

I was getting ice cubes out of the freezer and I dropped a couple this afternoon. I didn't even say anything. But his eagle ears must have picked up on the sounds.

He comes running and says, fairly clearly, for an almost-2-year-old, "I'll help you."

And he did.

Where does the time go?

I'll tell you where it is going this season, on the baseball field.
And Jason received his first injury on the diamond. In a scrimmage against the parents. Apparently, the parents wanted to teach the kids a lesson because they played with all the skill they could muster against these 7-year-olds. Good thing they won, by two whole runs.

From what I understand Jason and a 200-pound dad "bumped" into each other as Jason tried to take a base. He has a welt on the side of his neck that looks kinda frightening, but I'm told no tears were shed on either part.

All is quite well here, enjoying the weather! Hope you all are doing well!!!

Michael is 5 years old!

2010-03-27T23:12:00.005-04:00

Where does the time go???

Michael turned 5 years old last week (I know, I'm a little behind) and we had major celebrations to mark the milestone.

First up, the classroom party--Michael, the birthday boy, is holding onto a globe to show the passage of time, one candle lit for each year he has been with us.

So sweet.

Then, all the children were quiet as they took a break from class to eat cupcakes that Grandma made. The kids LOVED them, as they're chocolate-filled hands rushed to give me hugs for being the deliverymom.

Grandma and Grandpa were here for Michael's celebration with his friends. He has never been interested in Chuck E. Cheese's before (and we were happy about that). There was no getting away from it this year.

It was the only thing he wanted, so we told him, "Just this once!"

He was happy to be King for a Day.

This spring has been such a busy one already.

Jason is getting his exercise. Not only is he on two baseball teams, the kid ran his first mile! He still talks about how much he enjoyed it!

Look at that smile!

And then, take a peek at this one...

I guess 5-year-olds have a tough time expressing themselves.

One kid who has NO trouble sharing his feelings is our baby.

He can be serious--he is beginning to focus a bit more, enjoying books, holding "conversations," playing with toys for concentrated periods of time.

But more often than not, Joshua is the boy with the big smiles.

And yes, that's the infamous peacoat at the park!

The weather so far this spring has been kind of wild. Spring-like one day, more like winter the next.

We're trying to get out as much as we can and the boys gravitate automatically to the monkey bars!!!

What I think is so cool is that the three also gravitate toward each other.

We finally got a new dining room table with a bench on one side. Dinnertime is so great these days, watching them sit next together, talk to each other, and sometimes, eat! (Actually, Joshua ALWAYS eats, the other two--that's a different story)

We have had a wonderful weekend so far--we hope you have, too!!!

Play ball--times two!!!

2010-03-11T13:50:00.012-05:00

Baseball season has begun, and we are gearing up for a busy few months.

Last week was the first full week of practice. We spent about 7 hours on the ball field altogether--and at least one practice was canceled for wet weather. Two boys, two practices a week, lots of dirt!

Michael, who has never really shown any interest in t-ball, is now playing t-ball. And I believe he is really enjoying it.

He went right up to the coach on the first day of practice and started firing questions at him, regarding the tee, practice bases and balls being used. It was too funny.

After practice, I told Michael, "You did really great at practice."

Michael replied, pretty smugly I might add, "I know."

I realized during that first practice with Michael that having Jason as a big brother during the session was a good thing. He watched over Joshua, more or less.

Joshua was pretty good while we were outside, but before going out, he was sooo cranky.

During the loud wailing, Jason looked at me and said, rather wistfully, "I wish Joshua had a 'stop crying' button."

Don't we all wish that sometimes!

Marvelous Mario

2010-03-06T21:29:00.004-05:00

It has always been tough to figure out what will motivate the boys. For years, there didn't seem to be anything that they cared about enough to encourage good behavior.

Until now.

We salute SUPER Mario and his brother Luigi.

The boys have had interests, sure--Star Wars, Bakugan, Guitar Hero. But Super Mario, it is almost an obsession. Want to get the boys out of their shell? Ask them about the latest "world" they conquered. Or how they beat the last, baddest Bowser (whatever that is).

Tonight, we came in from dinner and they brushed teeth, took showers, basically got ready for bed in TEN minutes--all so they could play a little bit before bed. Why can't they do this every night? Good question. But so far, the promise of Mario has gotten us a couple of pretty motivated little helpers.

Joshua is "saying" more and more these days. No one really knows what he is saying, though. A couple of words are clear, like "Chason (Jason)," "No!," "Night night," "baby," "bwush tweef (brush teeth)."

While we are still working on his verbal skills, his ability to understand is right on target. He knows exactly when Super Mario is going to on the big screen downstairs. And when his brothers take their place on the couch, he is right there with them.

A busy day at the ball field today with the start of baseball practice for the new season.
Jason is studying Benjamin Franklin in school and Doug told me after practice today they were discussing Mr. Franklin's many accomplishments. That got Jason thinking about electricity.

He asked Doug if electricity had been invented when Doug was a child. In all seriousness, he needed to know if electricity was a benefit Doug was able to enjoy at a young age. Jason's big brown eyes were so earnest while he asked.

Wait, it gets better.

Then he wanted to know if colors were the same, like had red, yellow, blue been invented yet...you get the picture. And then he wanted to know if Doug had "all the numbers" when he was little. Like 17 or 49 were new to all of us.

They are always thinking, aren't they? And at this age, Jason and Michael have no problem verbalizing any of it.

Close quarters

2010-02-28T19:33:00.002-05:00

I wouldn't say our home is roomy, but there is room to move inside it.

This scene made me smile.
For some reason, while playing this afternoon, all three of them decided they had to be near each other.

Baby Joshua specifically picked up his jars of playdough and placed them in front of his big brothers for a little bit of brotherly love.

Awesome!

2010-02-27T15:35:00.002-05:00

Joshua may not say that much, but when he decides to use his words, they come out loud and clear.

We were playing with Jenga blocks yesterday, building towers with them, knocking them over.

Jason and Michael kept saying, "Awesome!"

And so did Joshua.

His little voice kept yelping, "Awesome!" while the demolition took place.

Meanwhile, Michael The Ham, took center stage when the camera moved in his direction.

The boys quieted down to welcome Grace back in the house. Look how big she's gotten!

Have a great weekend!

Happy about haircuts

2010-02-20T13:05:00.002-05:00

They may not all be looking at the camera, and maybe one of them shouldn't be (ahem, Michael). But you can see the boys received some much-needed haircuts yesterday.

And lollipops. And M&Ms. Because that's what happens at the barber shop.

We were happy to have Amah and Akong visit us for the weekend.

Joshua, of course, was pleased with all the attention showered on him.

But, we didn't see a true smile until we brought out dessert.
He does have a sweet tooth, that one.

My snow angels

2010-02-02T17:39:00.004-05:00

It certainly doesn't look like the beach here, does it?

The boys almost didn't know how to react.

Once they got bundled up, Jason and Michael eventually got the hang of it.

Snowball fights.
Running around.
Screaming.

Poor Joshua just got the screaming part out of his system.

He didn't like the cold, he didn't like the boots on top of the peacoat and hat. He really didn't like being hit in the face with a snowball.

No surprises here. Michael and Jason lasted a little bit longer outside than their baby brother.

Snow day 2010

2010-01-30T11:07:00.001-05:00

We know what the boys did today. The snow started falling overnight.

And, while mommy was at work, the boys were at play.

You know Joshua couldn't leave the house without his peacoat.

The Jersey Shore meets....Russia

2010-01-27T13:04:00.003-05:00

One day this baby will want to know why he looks so crazy is some of his baby pictures.

So, we love hand-me-downs. This little outfit was a gift for Jason many years ago. All the children have enjoyed some time in it. But, with the popularity of that reality show, "The Jersey Shore," I thought this photo had some added meaning.

He looks happy in his track suit, doesn't he?

Joshua may be my easygoing baby, but just like the others, he has his quirks. One of them is his coat. This peacoat was meant for Jason as well. But Joshua is the only one who will wear it. It's the only one he will put on.

This is where the Jersey Shore meets Russia.

It's probably a good thing he doesn't realize where these pictures go.

The entertainer, the daredevil

2010-01-25T20:12:00.004-05:00

Aah, there are so many sides to Joshua.

Who knew he may be our musical one?

Several years ago, the boys received a little piano from Auntie Abbi. They have all loved it and the little toy has been through so much. The microphone is missing, the microphone holder points in the wrong direction. But there is nothing wrong with the music that comes from it.

And boy, Joshua sure does enjoy belting out some tunes.

Joshua's favorite by far is a song entitled, "Doooooooodaaaaaaah."
Here he is performing the "dooooooo" part.

Here he is putting feeling into the "daaaaaaahhhhhhh" part.
I'm not sure about his ability to carry a tune. I can say he does have quite a bit of endurance. He can "dooohdaaaaah" it for several minutes if he is in the right mood.

From music to the monkey bars, here's another one of my boys who can't stay away from these high metal rods.

The last few days have been very wet, but there was a break in the clouds yesterday afternoon, so we went to the park. The slides were a little damp, but Joshua didn't care.

Michael didn't, either. Jason was a little under the weather, so we left him at home.

Look at what he missed!
Until next time... :)

Thank goodness for warmer weather

2010-01-18T19:57:00.009-05:00

This is what happens in our house when it is too cold to go outside.

The boys must do something to entertain themselves. And sometimes, mean mommy that I am, I tell them the entertainment cannot include anything electronic.

We notice that 20-month old Joshua seems to think he is much older than he really is. He marches into situations his big brothers do. He has no fear.

I just hope he is aware of the importance of personal space.
We had new neighbors over for dinner the other night and there's a little girl in the family.
Can you tell Joshua was fascinated by her? At one point, I saw him pat her on the arm.

We fear the child is a little advanced, and not in a good way.
I think he's hit his terrible 2s.

I've noticed that each child also gets progressively louder.
This one is off the charts.

The good news is while his downs are pretty loud, his ups are also pretty great.

As you know, we just started a new morning show.
One of the segments encourages viewers to take a picture of themselves with a favorite mug.

This is the baby drinking the hot chocolate that Michael didn't want, then reaching into the cup to fish out the marshmallow. See? He doesn't think he's not yet 2!

Speaking of the new show, I made the boys watch the program the other day. They couldn't help but notice the brand new kitchen on the set.

For dinner last night, I made a pretty decent spaghetti sauce from scratch. I asked them if they thought I could make this meal in our new kitchen on the set.

Jason, with no pause, says, "Mommy, I think you're going to have to get a little better first."

Nice.

Winter blues

2010-01-10T11:37:00.002-05:00

If you're ever concerned about what goes on at our house, just know that we are eagerly awaiting warmer weather.

This is what happens when we have to spend too much indoor time together.

I swear, I looked away for just a minute. How many times have you heard me say that?

Joshua is obviously our artistic one. He giggles, actually giggles when we place writing utensils in front of him. But not just any writing implements. No crayons, pencils, not even pens. They must be markers. I've learned to take any markers with permanent ink away from his view. That would be trouble. Thankfully, this masterpiece washed off in just minutes. Thank you, Crayola!

In the meantime, our older two are also trying to entertain themselves indoors as best they can.

Here the boys were trying to make each other laugh. In my opinion, Michael wins hands down. Eyebrows, anyone?

Baby talk

2010-01-02T20:53:00.003-05:00

At Joshua's 18-month old checkup, the doctor told me to keep track of Baby J.'s verbal skills. Just in case some early intervention was needed. I'm still watching, listening, waiting. But I think he is starting to catch up.

Joshua loves to sing. Certain songs make him stand up and belt it out. "Jump" by Van Halen is a big one. He's apparently tone deaf like I am, though. But that doesn't matter to him. Doesn't matter to me, either. A good song won't keep him down. He'll sing his heart out. And you can't understand a word he says.

For a while we thought he was just babbling to babble. Then, the other day, we heard actual words come out of his mouth. We have heard him say the usual stuff: Mommy, Daddy, bruh (brother), night night, what sounds like baby (but he's referring to his blanket). His phrases are more difficult to decipher. What sounds like "wha wha wha?" is actually, "What is that?" And tonight I could have sworn he said, "It fell" and "Let's read a book."

He's getting there. In the meantime, he's so earnest about everything and will blow a kiss to anyone who will look him in the eye. The politest baby on the block, for sure. Every gesture gets a "tink you" from our #3.

Joshua is also learning the art of yoga from our Wii. Time for Downward Dog.

Michael is teaching him.

Calm now?

School starts on Monday. We can't wait! :)

So THIS is what boys are for

2010-01-01T23:30:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year to all, with wishes for a prosperous 2010!

We treated ourselves to a new dining room table today. We transported the wooden set in the minivan, but then, the boys had to put it together! Good thing they were up to the challenge.

While Grandma and Grandpa were here, we took a trip to a local bounce house. And we are glad we made the effort. The boys wore themselves out! At first, the baby would have nothing to do with the colorful slides and the bouncing areas. It only took some encouragement from his big brothers and Joshua willingly went down big slides. He ended up having a great time!

Hope you had a great time ringing in a new year! Happy 2010!!!

Snack time

2009-12-31T03:26:00.003-05:00

This is the equivalent of a kid being caught in the candy jar.

Joshua is stealth, delving into the Cheeze-it drawer while we were focused on something else. He's resourceful!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T20:15:00.005-05:00

We are swimming in toys and the kids don't mind it at all.

Despite the mounds of packages all around us, some opened, some not, Michael still manages to get this zinger in. "Mommy, what can I do?"

We put him to work in the kitchen.

Look at him put his whole back into making holiday cookies. It is a tradition with Grandma that the boys just adore.

We were lucky enough to see everyone once again this holiday season. Grandma and Grandpa paid a visit. The boys had a marvelous time. And boy did they keep Grandma and Grandpa busy! The baby alone will wear you out!

We visited with our "family" in the neighborhood--Kathy & Natalie.

Before that, Uncle Tim, Amah and Akong stopped by for Christmas smiles. You might not be able to tell from these photos, but Michael was quite thrilled by the visits. Really.

We did enjoy a bit of time out and about this holiday season. We took the boys to their first hockey game in town. Joshua paid no attention to the action on the ice whatsoever. But at least he was warm.

And, of course the season wouldn't be complete without a Christmas program. Here's a look at Michael's part. The actual program is a blur to him now. The only memory he has of the program is of the cookie he got to eat at the end. Here's to a happy holiday season, with sweet treats, for all of you!

One size fits all

2009-12-15T17:40:00.005-05:00

This is the first Christmas where the boys are actually buying gifts for each other. Don't get me wrong. They can't wait for Santa's arrival. They seem to think the Jolly Old Guy has endless pots of cash, by the way. But, it's so cute. They are getting things they believe the other will enjoy.

They are using their own money for these purchases, going to the store with one of us, and wrapping the presents themselves.

Today, Michael told me he would buy me a sweater one day, when he got big and had more money.

He knows he wears a size 4T. So he asked me, "Mommy, how old are you? What size are you? Are you a 37T?"

So earnest.

And I know the next time Michael is at the store, he will be looking for just the right size.

Relaxing

2009-12-14T18:06:00.003-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and the most hectic, it seems.

But the boys are taking it all in stride.

Thank goodness for our electronic babysitter.

On this day, with the help of "iCarly", I was able to pull together a yummy chicken alfredo dish.

Jason, Michael, and especially Joshua are fascinated with the lights of the season. We have put up the Christmas tree, bulbs are twinkling outside. We are definitely in the Christmas spirit. Did I tell you Jason's list of wants is four pages long?

Only Joshua is unaware of what the big day will bring. He's just thankful for the low-hanging fruit, you know, ornaments that are within his line of sight.

How about this for a chance encounter?

We took the boys to a holiday festival a couple of weeks ago. We left before Jolly Old Saint Nick could ride down the street in his horse and carriage.

On our way to the minivan, we saw him! And, he saw us and came straight to us, bearing sweets. And, he was driving a minivan, too!!!

The boys were speechless and smiling.

Merry Christmas!!!

Giving thanks

2009-11-25T17:59:00.009-05:00

We have much to be thankful for, and this Thanksgiving, we had the opportunity to share a day off (yes, we both actually had the day off!) with friends.

Claire and her mother prepared a true Thanksgiving FEAST~and in the future I know the boys will be kicking themselves over the amount of food they left on the plate.

We enjoyed ourselves immensely. And despite the look on Michael's face, we know he did, too.

As is always the case, Joshua ate more than the two of the others put together.

Then, Joshua decided it was time to play.

You can see his playful mood continued through the evening.

Don't let Joshua's angelic face fool you.
Notice that the baby has found a comfortable seat, on Tommy's dog, Archie.

At least he didn't bounce up and down to show Archie who's boss.

Don't forget the ranch

2009-11-22T16:41:00.003-05:00

We have not really had a problem with Joshua's appetite. We still struggle with picky eaters Jason and Michael.

But if it's food, give it to Joshua. He'll eat (almost) anything. With a goofy smile at the end.

Recently, the baby has given us fits in public places. In our last outing for lunch, Joshua screamed through the appetizer, would not be appeased when the real meal came, and I went outside to keep the other restaurant patrons from throwing things at us.

We thought maybe it was because he was getting tired of the high chair.

We were a little worried today, but we pushed ahead, placing him in his normal seat, figuring we would move him to a booster if he got fussy.

He immediately dumped two glasses of water onto the floor before the food came.

But he wasn't screaming, so we thought, "Whew!!!"

Then, the food came, and we thought, "Finally!!!"

I offhandedly asked for some ranch dressing, since Michael has started to enjoy dipping his french fries in them.

Joshua grabbed the ramekin and had quite a grip on the porcelain all through lunch.

He grunted for the french fries, which we gladly gave him.

He proceeded to dunk his french fries into the ranch dressing, but instead of taking a bite out of the actual "potato," he started to lick the dressing off the fry. He repeated this quite a few times, dunking the fry, licking off the dressing. Then he realized he had a free hand.

He grunted for another fry, to fill his other hand. Two-fisting it, Joshua was not without ranch dressing for one moment.

We were astounded--but pleased that he was quiet!!!

He continued for about ten minutes. In between slurps of ranch dressing, I would push chicken pieces into his mouth. All good.

Then, some apple slices. He ate them heartily.

But, our independent-minded #3 needed to hold onto the fork himself. With an apple slice on the end, I thought he would bring the utensil toward his mouth.

He was about to, but thought better of it.

He brought the fork down to the ranch dressing, apple slice on the end, and dipped.

Yum yum!!!

Afterward, Joshua realized an empty fork can carry as much ranch dressing as a french fry...

So now we know.
Happy eating, everyone!!!

Season's greetings 2009

2009-11-21T22:13:00.004-05:00

It is hard to believe, but the holiday season is here.
While it may feel a little early for it, our city had its annual Christmas parade tonight.

The weather was mild, we had a prime spot to watch the festivities, and it was the baby's first true view of Good 'Ole Saint Nick. We took him to a very small parade last year, but it was very small, so I'm not going to count it.

We think Joshua had a really good time, actually.

Of course, he looked like Simon Cowell judging the talent crossing in front of him. He didn't smile much, he waved occasionally, he waved and clapped only when he saw others doing so.

Joshua was truly captivated, not by the singing angels on floats or the loud marching bands, but by one of Doug's co-workers who was standing nearby.

The other boys weren't so interested in the activity in front of them, either. That is, until, some parade participants started handing out candy.

That made the night for them.

As we were leaving, we asked Jason and Michael what their favorite part of the night was. After their brief glimpse of Santa Claus, they both said the candy was the bright spot of the evening.

It was a late night for them. After a good flossing, all three of them went straight to bed.

Good night to you!

Shopping trip

2009-11-16T14:18:00.004-05:00

We finally got out of the house after some terrible weather, and where do we go?

The mall.

Of course.

Boy, we were a sight, weren't we?

As you can see, not everybody was thrilled with this outing. Or maybe the displeasure was with the photographer. In any case, we were not alone. I haven't seen the mall this busy in months!

The kids were too young to enjoy our visit to the shoe aisle, the sweater racks, and the jewelry counter. They had to find entertainment somewhere.

Thank goodness for the play area! We haven't been in a while because Jason and Michael really are too big for it. But, Joshua (who really gets none of the experiences his big brothers did) had a blast.

The baby tried to do everything his older siblings did. He climbed onto sailboats, walked onto the bridges, and tried to escape.

But thank goodness his little blue blanket was safe in the car (we obviously abandoned our rule to never let it leave the house), and we had an uneventful, very quiet ride home.

Hope your week is going well!!!

A boy and his blanket

2009-11-14T16:23:00.002-05:00

For the most part, we missed the "terrible two's" with Jason and Michael. Do not think we went unscathed, though. The "terrible three's" threw us for a loop with first Jason, and then, much to our dismay, with Michael. And, with Michael, sometimes we still feel like he's three!

Since everything has been turned around with Baby Joshua, it stands to reason that he wouldn't follow in his brother's footsteps.

Yup. At 18 months old, Joshua looks like he's hurtling toward the "terrible two's." Already! He is delightful still, but when he's feeling his age, watch out!

We've already learned what calms him down. The blanket that Grandma and Grandpa got him when he was born. Just in the last few months, we have found he cannot be separated from his small blue blanket with little satin tabs on the sides. If I misplace it, I know I am doomed. But when I produce it, for example, when I am laying Joshua down for a nap, I get the most delightful giggles of joy from our #3. He cannot find happiness without this square of fabric right now!

The other thing that calms him down is my phone. If you receive a phone call from us with heavy breathing on the other end, I apologize. It is our baby. He has made phone calls, he has accessed the internet, he has tried to text message. And you know what? I let him. Until he gets through to a real-life international operator, I will likely leave my high-tech phone within his reach. The alternative is ear-splitting.

18 months and counting

2009-11-08T19:15:00.009-05:00

What?

All of a sudden, the baby is creeping, no running, toward the age of 2!!!!

Joshua just visited the doctor for his 18 month checkup--just a few weeks late--and the changes are startling.

If you'll remember, at Joshua's last meeting with the doctor, he couldn't walk, was barely grunting, and he was always in a pretty good mood.

This time, he wouldn't let me hold him as he walked into all the open doors in the doctor's office, he babbled a few words, many of them sounding suspiciously like "no," and he screamed, loudly, when we tried to pin him to the doctor's table for examination.

The doctor looked at our really loud, crying baby (reminiscent of the day he was born) and said, "Sounds like an 18-month old."

Then she pried open his mouth to show me two huge teeth poking out of his gums. Ohhh. No wonder he has been kind of a pain lately. Those teeth are big. His 2-year molars obviously are making an appearance a little bit early.

Here are the stats:
Joshua now weighs in at 23 pounds 13 ounces.
He is 33 inches tall. Growing like a weed.

We were happy to have Amah and Akong with us this weekend.

Unfortunately, the kids (two of them got sick--Jason and Michael), so we gave the gift that keeps on giving.
Poor Amah also had to stay in bed, dealing with coughs and chills when she got home.

We love you, Amah! We hope you feel better.

Before the illness hit, Doug and I got out of the house--again--by ourselves!!! That may be twice in a month or something like that. We went to see Natalie Cole in concert. We had a great time!

We hope you are enjoying the day as well!!!

The weight of the world

2009-11-05T04:36:00.004-05:00

It may be late fall, but we've been treated to some fantastic weather.

We renewed our zoo membership a few weeks ago. It may have been Joshua's first trip to see the animals. But before we could visit them in person, the boys wanted to stop and feel the weight of the world. It's just a little (big) fountain past the entrance gates that the kids like to examine.

We had a great time!

Catching up

2009-11-01T13:01:00.027-05:00

We are getting into a school year routine now, and the days are going by quickly. Really, where does the time go?

All of a sudden, Jason is 7! We told him he could do anything he wanted to celebrate his big day. I was prepared for Chuck E. Cheese or a bounce house place. But, he simply wanted close friends by his side, at our house. Here was the catch, though. They would have to play Guitar Hero.

Many sets. And so they did.

Some of the kids were interested. For the most part, we all just watched Jason huddle over the plastic guitar in a bid to be #1. I think he had a good time.

Jason has had other things on his mind, though. Baseball has occupied much of our time over the last couple of months. He has moved up from t-ball to baseball and there is quite a difference. An out is an out and they keep score. The most nervous I have been all year has been watching Jason at bat or out in right field, where he spent much of his time during games.

Right after I snapped this picture, other baseball moms watched as he looked around and did a little dance. Thankfully, he snapped to attention when the batter for the other team came up, because he did a great job at stopping the ball and throwing it back to his teammates. Whew!

Jason's brothers did not watch one second of action on the diamond. Michael found a new friend, to my delight. Brittany was my hero during baseball season, happily taking away both kids and entertaining them on the playground.

Truly, it has been a nailbiter of a season. Some of Jason's teammates were very, very good. We knew we weren't in Kansas anymore, when during the first play of the first game, one of Jason's teammates easily caught a ball and threw it to a base to get a runner out. All within seconds.

Jason's team, the Red Sox, made it to the championship playoffs, playing a game against a team, the Orioles, they had alternately lost and won against during the regular season. Last Saturday, the Red Sox had to beat the Orioles twice to win the big trophy. They handily won the first game, but lost by one run in the second game.

Two great games, and here's the "baseball commissioner" giving Jason his team trophy.

Other things have been going on.

Halloween, for example. Falling on a Saturday this year was great--it meant Doug could take part in the candy free-for-all.

Jason has wanted to be a Clone Trooper for Halloween since last year. Last month, surprise, surprise. Michael wanted the same thing.

He had a little Halloween parade at school once again--and you can see, the Star Wars theme was a big hit among his friends.

On Halloween night itself, my two Clone Troopers were on hand to protect their little brother, our own Curious George.

Doug went with the older two for most of the time we were out on the streets. I went with Little Joshua, who really didn't get the correlation between saying "Trick or Treat" and getting tons of candy.

However, in between homes, the pull of candy was too great.

He would stop and dig in, wanting a bite of a sweet treat. Those peanut butter cups were definitely a draw.

Some of our neighbors went all out for the Big Night. Some just decked themselves out. For example, one of our neighbors sat in his driveway handing out candy. Joshua and I walked up to him, he turned around, put a Homer Simpson mask over his face, and turned back so we could see his face.

Joshua was not pleased.

After a little while, the sight of the candy, and Daddy, made the baby feel a little better.

Really--only on Halloween, and only when they're this young, can I get away with this.

Hope you had a great Halloween!!!!

Not camera shy

2009-10-20T16:12:00.005-04:00

Watch out, kids!
I just got a new camera. The last one we bought was just before Jason was born.

He turned 7 (!!!) on Thursday (of course, pictures to come), so we figured it was time to get a new one. The technology has changed just a little bit.

These days, the boys are so very interested in words they are not supposed to say.

Not that we talk like sailors around the house, but we really have to be careful with what comes out of our mouths.

They'll call us on it in a heartbeat.

Jason told me the other day about a conversation he was having on the bus.

He said, "On the bus today, somebody told me the p-word, but I forgot it."

Of course, then Jason and Michael spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out what the p-word was.

What is the p-word, you might ask? It's not the one you think.

On the bus, one of the boys gave this as an example, and the boys had never heard this particular word before, so it's no surprise Jason forgot it.

The p-word is from the Piston Cup--as in Pis-ton Cup, you know, the Championship Cup awarded in the movie, Cars. So now you know.

You may be happy to know we likely won't be using the p-word around here.

A mouthful

2009-10-15T14:40:00.003-04:00

Joshua has been babbling up a storm lately, and sometimes, out of the jumble of sounds coming out of his mouth, sometimes we can understand what he has to stay.

He has been saying "mama" for a while now.

Just this week, though, an explosion of "words."

He screamed out "ONE!" the other day, I said, "two," and he finished with "three."

And, something that sounded so much like "apple" came out of his mouth at dinner last night. We happened to be pointing to an apple at the time. Coincidence? I think not.

He has an inquisitive mind, too. Joshua often points to something and then looks at us. "Whah wha?" In my mind, he is saying, "What is this?" or "What's that?"

The other day he pulled some blocks out of his room, pulled up to the stairs, and started building. That left us saying, "What is that?"

Then, a few minutes later, he decided he was tired. So he pulled a blanket over to the corner, sat on the floor, and put his head down on a blanket.

It has been a busy week!

Thanks so much for my birthday wishes and presents!!!

We love you!!!

6 going on 16

2009-10-10T20:31:00.005-04:00

You may ask yourself how many times you can take a picture of your baby with the same expression, different outfits, of course.

Well the answer is: endless.

The boys and I had an abbreviated family TV watching night tonight. The kids, dressed in their jammies, sat with us while we were glued to a few minutes of "Malcolm In The Middle."

Joshua, by the way, loves to wear beads around his neck.

We've had a busy weekend, dodging raindrops.
But before the deluge, Jason managed to build on his skills. He hit pretty well during his baseball game today, one time bringing in two runners from a double. Then, he caught an impressive pop fly. No smiles on the field, the pressure was too great, I'm sure. But he was all smiles during a dinner party we had with Peggy, Rob, and Grace on Friday.

Here they are (Jason and Grace, at least) showing off their missing front teeth.

You can definitely tell our little ones are growing up. Today, while getting ready for bed, Jason proclaimed, "You don't understand me at all."

He was talking about baseball at the time and some sort of equipment he thought he needed, but nonetheless, he really sounded like a perturbed teenager. Can't wait until the calendar advances.

That's why we need to get away.
Doug and I had a great time at a wedding last weekend.

Hope your weekend is going well!!!

Wet weekend

2009-09-28T14:17:00.021-04:00

We were happy to have accomplished plenty of firsts this past weekend.

Our first plane ride as a family (for Michael and Joshua, it was their first trip on board an aircraft--ever). Yes, Joshua could have behaved better. But we're glass half full kind of people. He could have been much worse.

While we were in Georgia, the boys bonded over football, chicken nuggets, and the lousy weather.

We really enjoyed ourselves at our first tailgate. The boys played a game called "Tailgate golf." Big fun that revolved around throwing things at a target. We knew the weather was going to be bad, so we prepared as much as we could. Our whole goal was to make it to our first University of Georgia football game. We bought bright yellow and blue (for the adults) ponchos to try to stay dry. And yes, we needed them.

By the way, the ponchos really didn't work. It was raining that hard.

I still cannot believe how many people joined us for one of the wettest evenings I have seen in some time.

You might not be able to see the raindrops, but you can certainly see how happy we are to be in such soggy conditions. Truth be told, though, I wouldn't have had it any other way. We went through plenty to get to those bleachers.

The game started off fine. Jason was really into the action on the gridiron. By the middle of the first quarter, though, Jason was getting a little tired of squishy shoes. Still no complaints, though. All three held up remarkably well considering the circumstances.

Doug was on cloud nine, soggy shoes and all. Even better, the Bulldogs pulled off a victory.

We had other adventures during our brief visit to the Peach State. We saw Aunt Jeanne, Uncle Dave, Aunt Stacie, and cousins Ezekiel and Elijah. And you know what? The boys still say the best part of our trip was being with their cousins. We had a great time.

Now that we know we can handle a plane ride, we'll have to do it again!
Until next time!!!
We love you!

Fall sports

2009-09-17T09:51:00.008-04:00

I am a proud parent. When you have three great kids, you have to be.

As you know, Jason is a big fan of playing baseball.

After playing several seasons of T-ball, it was time for him to move up.

He's in the big leagues now, playing coach-pitch baseball.

Where does the time go?

He had his first two games this past week.

It is a different ball game, literally. In T-ball, they don't really keep score. Outs really weren't outs. Players got as many swings at the tee as they needed to get that ball into the field.

The easy days of T-ball are now over.

Jason struck out a couple of times in his first game (which I missed. I'll explain below). But he also got some good hits. For example, he got his first RBI while at bat.

On Monday, I got to see him play with my own eyes.
He struck out the first time at bat. I was very nervous.

But then, on his fourth time up, he hit a home run. I was so excited. Mind you, I was trying to keep Baby Joshua from eating dirt, but I was so proud of my biggest boy. It wasn't the prettiest home run. He got back to home plate because the kids in the field kept dropping the ball. BUT, it was a home run, nonetheless, there were two other kids he brought home with him, and I got Jason in the dug out after the big play.

He looks a little stunned, doesn't he?

Meanwhile, Michael is also showing his sporty side.
I missed Jason's first game because I was holding down the fort at Michael's first soccer game.

He was totally into the action. He likes running. He does not like fighting for the ball.

Baby steps.
Until next weekend's games!!!!

Laugh box

2009-09-16T18:29:00.009-04:00

Something funny has happened since Jason started first grade.

While Boy #1 is busy with reading, writing, and 'rithmetic, #2 and #3 are bonding.

I was surprised, too.

Doug is charged with the task of taming the morning madness. He wakes the boys up, gets their teeth brushed, he gets them clothed, he gets them fed. Whew!

Jason is dropped off at the bus stop first.

But, then, there's extra time before Doug needs to leave for work, so Michael and Joshua have time alone.

And, they have really started to take advantage of it, giving them the chance to play with each other. If you'll remember, Michael used to pretend the baby didn't exist.

Here's the baby trying to give his big brother a hug.
Aww.

So, the other day, I was tickling Joshua, and the baby was giggling away.

And Michael said, to me, "Mommy, stop doing that. If you keep tickling him, his laugh box won't work."

So then, I tickled both of them.

Here's one who is smiling these days, showing us the big gap from the loss of his other front tooth.

Enjoy your day!

Back to the drawing board

2009-09-16T03:26:00.002-04:00

Another day, another picture.

This time the brothers tried to draw patterns.

Poor baby.

There's a moratorium on pens in our house now...