Birthday Celebration

The wild hair at birth should have been some indication of this kid's personality.  

The hair has tamed to slightly unruly curls, and I suppose the same could be said for the boy

(depending on the day, of course).

Being only 2, he was a little clueless about the happenings, but he quickly caught onto the siblings' excitement.  They were all sure he wouldn't know how to open presents and therefore remained on standby should he need any help.

Apparently Matthew thought Jonathan must have been a little exhausted after the first one and took over.

 

 Um, just a reminder: it's Jonathan's birthday.

Eventually, the others walked off with various opened gifts and Jonathan got to finish unassisted. 

While I was engrossed in decorating the birthday cake (a lovely carrot cake!),

a certain two-year-old grabbed a fork from the drawer and helped himself. 

We sang and he blew out candles,

and I marveled at just how quickly these childhood days fly by.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!

Jonathan is 2

More birthday photos to come.

Two Worlds Collide

Friday Afternoon

What a beautiful fall afternoon!

The night before I had remarked that I wished it were just a bit cooler (after a wave of days in the 80s), and so it was - 70 and sunny!  I shooed the kids outside so I could tackle a few things around the house.

Matthew discovered theses duds in a box of clothes for Josie and immediately claimed them.

As for the shoes, "I'm going to wear them when it gets cold." 

  

Meanwhile, the others played outside, Stephen making dirt grenades.

Matthew joined them sans his new wardrobe.

Jonathan always asks to go out and always heads for the same spot.

Needless to say, there have been lots of baths lately.

But where, oh where, is Andrew?

I discovered him in the garage...

on the lawnmower...

reading a book.

At least the doors were open and he was exposed to fresh air.

First Day of School

Lunchboxes with yummy snacks,

fresh haircuts to complement sweet dimples,

large backpack (and swim goggles),

a shiny barf bowl at 5 am....

When I awoke to make preparations for the day, Stephen appeared announcing he was unwell.  Mercifully Doug stayed home so the rest of us could go, and by the time we returned, Stephen had recuperated.

Maybe next week we can catch the whole crew.



The Mini Men

Another One Bites the Dust

Bugs in the summer are always worse,

probably because there's so many fun things you'd rather be doing, especially outdoors.

What started out as a possible case of pink eye with Jonathan two weeks ago has morphed into a raging-fever, achy throat, stomach churning virus that has worked it's way through the house.

Stephen was hit yesterday and though you can't tell from the picture, he's been pretty pathetic.

Hypochondriac Andrew told me this morning he didn't feel well either (but I suspected it was simply a ploy to watch a video).  Sure enough, he had a fever this afternoon and easily fell asleep amid the chaos.

I hope Doug and Josie are spared.

Conversations

The boys received a package in the mail last week and as Stephen and Matthew attempted to open it, I heard Andrew mutter, "I hope it isn't shoes."

Stephen and Matthew were supposed to be sharing a bag of pretzels but Matthew seemed to be taking more than his share.  Stephen declared, "You are being selfish!" to which Matthew matter-of-factly replied, "Yes, I am."

For some reason, Stephen announced that he was no longer going to talk to me; he was only going to talk to Andrew.  "Is that a promise?" I asked.  He was silent for a moment and then said, "Um, probably not."

I always have to cruise through the dead-and-dying plants at Lowe's to see what I can find, and as I perused the boys were asking about the names of various plants.  "That's 'spirea'," I told them.  Surprised, Matthew exclaims in his loudest voice, "Diarrhea?  There's a plant named 'Diarrhea'!  Diarrhea plant!  Diarrhea plant!"

Cheap Thrills

I've been racing around the house like a mad-woman lately, decluttering, tossing, and cleaning. 

While I scrubbed, this boy took over the vacuum and figured out how to turn it on.

Ah, the power of suction!



I'm not sure about the energy costs of leaving a vacuum cleaning running for 15 minutes,

but it was worth every penny.

Bedtime

Boy plus

belly button plus

bottle plus 

a good read equals

a perfect bedtime routine.

Bath Buddies

On My Toes

This is one reason I don't get a lot done:

Boy, this boy is busy.

Jonathan at 15 Months