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What is the number of diapers Matthew has used in the past 4 months?

Andrew sees each of these milestones as cause for celebration so I'm sure we'll be preparing some special treat this afternoon.

Matthew is a such a joy. His verbal skills, as shown below, are equal to challenging his siblings.

He's also begun "thumping" his legs in the crib working those abdominal muscles to prepare to sit. He definitely prefers to be upright and spends a great deal of time strapped to my chest (not only for his happiness but for his own safety).

The funniest and most frustrating thing, though, is that he hasn't figured out how to roll completely. He can go from front-to-back or back-to-front, but not all the way around. I often find him on his face in the crib, crying unconsolably because he's stuck. Here he is asleep on his tummy, sucking his fingers vigorously.

Happy 4 months to you, Maff-a-yooou!

It's Over

All good things must come to an end, but why so soon?

The heat and humidity were much too much, and Doug insisted we turn on the AC. It's not even June, but with humidity at 95% and temps forecasted to reach 89 on Friday, spring is officially over.

As if they knew it too, the robins are gone. There were no clues as to their whereabouts, no feathers or broken eggs. Just an empty nest of sticks and string. I'm hoping they flew away on their own, week-old prodigies of flight; something tells me it's probably not true. A quick Google of the life cycle of a robin showed that they aren't ready to leave the nest until 14-16 days after birth and even then they aren't really able to fly. I'm going to miss my other babies.

Homecoming

Another road trip for the Hamills, and this time we listened to Emily's Runaway Imagination and Little House on the Prarie. A couple of tense scenes found Andrew covering his face with his baseball cap, but we all enjoyed the stories and it helped to pass the time. When each cd ended the boys would shout in unison, "I want to listen to another one of that." Finally something on which to agree! Here are the highlights of the trip.

Friday Night Bonfire: Dad had some brush to burn so the menfolk built and roaring fire and roasted marshmallows. Andrew and Stephen were bothered by the "brown stuff" on the marsmallows and it had to be removed.

Encampment at the Historic Crab Orchard Museum: "The cousins" spent the night with Papa Cole in a tent at the museum. We came for the games on Saturday, but the kids were more amused by the weapons and water. They sounded like a bunch of wild Indians.

Picnic at the Cascades: We joined Mom's family for a picnic on Sunday afternoon. Once again there was the draw of water with large rocks and fallen trees added for fun. We didn't make it to the waterfall but here is a picture.

Memorial Day Lunch: A smorgasboard of leftovers and play with the cousins.

As soon as we returned I had to check on our robin babies. They were sleeping peacefully.

Tree Hugging

Since Stephen has been diagnosed with food allergies, I've been forced to shop at our local hippie grocery store. The aisles are full of Mother Earth lovers toting their canvas bags to haul home their organic goods. How silly!

During my last visit home, Mom purchased a reusable bag at Food City. As we ribbed her about it, I thought, "I can't believe it - my mom has joined the bandwagon."

Well, a couple of weeks ago we just happened to be in the vicinity of my favorite grocery store, Publix (vicinity being within 10 minutes of the store which is completely on the other side of town and a good 30-min. from our house). They were offering reusable shopping bags Buy-3-Get-1-Free so I caved.

I have discovered what so many other people probably already know - the bags are great! They can hold so much more than the standard plastic bag. They stay put in the back of the van so I don't have canned goods rolling everywhere. They are much easier to carry and haul through our garage, around the basement, and up the steps. And they are better for the environment.

Granted, you can't throw stinky diapers in them, but there are still plenty around for that job (a task that may eventually end in our household).

As we carried two bags into Food Lion today Andrew repeated what Doug had said: "But you cannot take a Publix bag into Bi-Lo." It didn't stop me, and no one seemed to mind.

Cooking, Construction & the Great Outdoors

The weather has been perfect the past few days so we've spent a great deal of time outside. Here is a nest that we found in our gingko tree.

We checked it again this morning

and this afternoon (I feel like the paparazzi following Brangelina's twins).

Homegrown organic baby greens (do you think I could get someone to pay $4.99 for the bunch?).


While in Mississippi Andrew kept asking to build a backhoe, and upon returning, I was issued the same request. It turns out he had misunderstood something in a coloring book and thought we could easily whip up a backhoe by connecting some dots. In order to humor him, we made "Luke Loader" yesterday afternoon (use your imagination). Surprisingly, it almost lasted until Doug came home from work.




In honor of mom & dad's recent trip to Canada, we made a cake.

We've also been on a fish kick lately trying out different recipes with salmon, tilapia, mahi-mahi, and today, rainbow trout. I saw these at the grocery store and knew the kids would love the fact that the heads were intact.

Since Stephen can't have fish until he's at least 3, he had to settle for fish shaped chicken nuggets.

Oddly enough, Andrew loves fish - I wish I had purchased more.

The Three Stooges

We woke up one morning to find our youngest with soft skin and no scratches so we seized the opportunity and had his picture taken. He was very cooperative (unlike my attempt a few days later with #2).

This was one of my favorites.

All smiles!

But this one just cracks me up. It looks like he's ready to fight.

And for comparison's sake, here are all three in birth order at the same age and wearing the same outfit (do you recognize it, Mrs. Yates?).

Even though people often tell me they look exactly alike, my personal opinion is that Matthew is a combination of the two. His face and forehead favor Stephen, but the shape of his eyes and head are like Andrew. They've all got the dark eyebrows and thick, beautiful eye lashes, though. Must be a Hamill thing.

He's Baaack

Andrew arrived home Friday afternoon, and I was glad to see him. The dynamic of our household was definitely different during our oldest's absence. He had an absolute blast being the center of attention in Philadelphia, and apparently something there increased his appetite as he gained a full 3 lbs. while he was gone. I think he was glad to be back, too.



Today we traveled north to Dayton, TN for the Tennessee Strawberry Festival.



The weather was perfect, there were luscious ripe strawberries, and another parade full of politicians and police cars. I think this must be the only thing that ever happens in Rhea County because the parade draws hundreds of people who stake out their spots hours in advance. It was prime people watchin'!




Matthew is in to yoga these days. "Sleep. Eat. Blow bubbles."

Check out these cheeks. He definitely doesn't miss any meals.

Multiple Roles

I've found it hard to be both photographer and bodyguard this week, and seeing that one job is slightly more important, the camera has been laid aside. So for your viewing pleasure, I've found some fun shots from the archives.

The loving brother...ah, to think that in only two months time the same sibling would be feeding his brother bits of celery!

Thrill of all thrills...there was a truck cleaning the sewer pipes in the neighborhood and it was parked on our street. Of course we went to investigate, and the workers let us look into the manhole.



Dad saw these compost bins on sale and bought 3, one of which he gave to us. My trusty handyman used the enclosed plastic wrench to assemble it, declaring after completely each one, "I done a good job!" I'm thinking maybe I'll just use it as a cage instead (there are holes for ventilation!).

I'm assuming that it's just the novelty, but the playmat is a magnet for boys of all ages. I have found, on more than one occasion, Matthew scooted to the side or pulled completely off as the older boys jockey for position on Scary Pooh.

Here are some shots of the tree in our front yard. It was neat to watch the changes that took place in less than two weeks.

This is for Mom: I've never seen a columbine like this and I don't know where I got it (it was probably half-dead at Lowe's).

The Duck Pond

The duck pond in our neighborhood is a constant source of enjoyment. Betty Jo (or "The Duck Lady" as we call her) tends to the ducks, fish, and turtles. She brings them food (cat food for the turtles, corn for the carp, dog food for the ducks) and talks to them. The ducks waddle up as soon as she appears.


Though they recognize the hand that feeds them, they lack any motherly instinct. We find their broken eggs all around the pond, even rolled into the water. There have never been any ducklings in the past 4 years.



In addition to numerous turtles and the 4 ducks, the pond is home to a number of very large carp. Here you can see one in relation to the duck. For some reason they were all swimming very close to the edge of the pond today.


Their job is to clean the algae in the pond, but the boys like to help by catching what they call "honey mustard."

I was thrilled that I brought the camera today because we spotted a blue heron looking for dinner. What an amazing bird!

Because the ducks usually have little appetite for the bread crusts and random scraps we bring, we have started feeding a bed of brim in the stream next to the pond. They are enthusiastic about the leftovers as well they should; what other fish is fed organic whole wheat bread, homemade waffles, shortcakes, and soy butter & jelly sandwiches?

And what was Matthew doing during all of this? Sleeping. I think the poor guy has another cold, but I'm not surprised with all the attention he receives from Stephen, king of the snotty nose. We've tried to institute a hands off rule in regard to Matthew's head and face, but it's of little use. After repeating myself for the 100th time the other day, Stephen snuck in another kiss leaving a wet spot on Matthew. When I fussed at him, he innocently looked at me and said, "I just kissed him with my nose." Matthew fought back today with a big, open-mouthed, slobbery kiss on Stephen's forehead.