Baby talk

I overheard this conversation this morning:

Hearing Davis fussing in the pack-n-play, Grant tells Brian, "He wants to get out of there."

Brian jokingly asks Grant, "Are you interpreting for him?"

"Yes," replied Grant. "He only speaks Baby."

Boys, Bikes, and Band-Aids

This past weekend we were able to visit Brian's parents (a.k.a. Grammy and Pappy) in Williamsburg, Virginia. The boys had been looking forward to the trip all week. We all enjoyed the day. We brought along Grant and Bryce's bikes and it was in Grammy and Pappy's driveway on Saturday that they finessed their skills of riding without training wheels. Since then we have been riding in our neighborhood at every available opportunity. Grant and Bryce are proud of this accomplishment and are enjoying their new pastime. Bryce seems to be especially brave on his two-wheeler, a scary thought as he has not mastered the brakes as of yet. Last night I told him that I'd put a band-aid on his knee where he had gotten some "road rash" from a fall earlier in the week. Then he told me, "Mom when we went in the circle (cul-de-sac) I went in the gravel but I didn't wreck." I thought he was declaring his expertise until he followed this comment with, "I tried to wreck, but I didn't." Surprised, I confirmed what he had said and asked why he would want to wreck. "Because I want more band-aids than Carter," he replied matter-of-factly. Who knew that there is competition among brothers as to whom has the most band-aids?

Learning to play "Go Fish" with Grammy.

one Little, two Little, three Little Indians...

This past week we had three "Little" Indians in our backyard! I'm not sure where he got the idea, but Bryce pretended to be an Indian by collecting sticks from our yard to make into a bow and arrows. He held the "arrows" in the back of his shirt, grabbing one from over his shoulder whenever he spotted something to shoot (we told him that squirrels make much better targets than brothers). Brian helped him tie a string to the "bow" to make it a more effective weapon. Grant and Carter joined the tribe.

Chief Bryce

All of his arrows.

Carter had one arrow.

Bryce was pleased with the string improvement.

Grant taking aim.

Butterflies

"How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." Psalm 104:24

Recently the boys and I observed the amazing transformation of caterpillars turning into butterflies. A good friend of mine did this project with her children, and I knew that this was a perfect activity for Grant, my little entomologist. We purchased a "butterfly habitat" from a toy store and ordered the caterpillar larvae to be shipped to us in the mail. They came in a clear plastic cup and grew into bigger and bigger caterpillars until one day, about a week later, they were hanging at the top in five perfect chrysalides. We placed the chrysalides into the butterfly habitat and waited for the butterflies to make their debut. About a week and a half later we had five beautiful butterflies. God really is creative!

Grant peering into the container with the caterpillar larvae soon after they arrived.

They're getting bigger! All that icky stuff is their food.

Looking at the new butterflies.

Releasing the butterflies.

Summertime

It's summertime! We kicked off the summer with a fun Memorial Day weekend. In our neck of the woods, Memorial Day marks the beginning of pool season and the boys were eagerly awaiting this big event. On Saturday, the much-anticipated day, Grant and Bryce woke us at 6:30 a.m. (this is not at all unusual)--already in their swim suits! The pool did not open until noon. It was a long morning for the boys as they counted down till twelve o'clock. At one point, Grant came in from outside and asked if the clock needed batteries (the time was ticking by so slowly). We did finally make it to the pool and we all had a great time splashing around in the water. This was Davis' first experience in the pool. Despite the cool water, he thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the baby float and playing in the water. Grant got hooked on the diving board, Bryce finessed his cannon ball off the side of the pool, and Carter drank at least a gallon of pool water while he swam around with his arm floats.

On Sunday evening we were able to enjoy a picnic at a local park with my family. It was a gorgeous night and in addition getting to see Gramma and Grandpa, the kids had fun playing with Uncle Eric and their second cousins, Carolina and Liam.

Eric, Davis and Carter

Getting in some fishing after our picnic.

The grand finale was a cookout on Memorial Day. Brian grilled his famous pork barbeque and friends came over to share the evening together. Between us and two other couples we had 10 kids ages six and under! It was a fun time.

Brian and his barbeque.

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores in the fire pit in our backyard.

We are grateful for friends and family to be able to share these special times with and look forward to a fun summer.

Fly swatting

Fly swatter in hand, I took aim at the fly buzzing around our kitchen. My two-year-old excitedly cheered me on, "Spank him on the bottom, mom!" he said, "Spank him on the bottom!"

Oh boys...

These boys keep my life anything but boring. Here are a few happenings that have peppered the past few weeks.

Mother's Day was extra special this year as we are particularly grateful for my mom and what she means to our family. As the morning dawned Brian and I busily prepared to host my family for lunch that afternoon after church. While working in the kitchen we heard a lot of laughing coming from the stairs. No crying, that's always good, so I wasn't alarmed. After a little while and a few loud thumping sounds I went to check it out. I found the three older boys "sledding" down the stairs, sitting on pillows with their feet tucked into the pillow case, sort of like a toboggan. The stairs are fairly steep, so it made for quite a fun ride. Before putting an end to the fun (before there was crying), I grabbed my camera. It was the perfect (and typical) Mother's Day morning for this mom of boys.

Another recent finding is that one of our boys has a case of arachnophobia. While enjoying a picnic lunch in the backyard, Bryce courteously informed his little brother that there was a spider on him. Carter cried and screamed until mommy came out to brush the spider off. But, this got the wheels turning in older brother's head. Unfortunately for Carter, there have been several "spiders" on him lately, at least according to his older brother, who seems to enjoy watching him writhe in complete panic at the mention of those eight-legged-creatures. I guess that's the fun of having brothers.

I was also reminded a few days ago that I am not an overprotective mom, but rather have a realistic understanding of how boys can make just about anything dangerous. When we moved into our rental house I recall several men rolling their eyes at me when I suggested we not put the bunk beds in front of the window because boys jump off of beds (even though they aren't supposed to, all moms of boys know this occurs) and I didn't want a boy to go through the window. So, a couple of days ago one of our boys called me into his room to "show me something." I walked in and he was sitting on the highest point of the top bunk holding onto the cord from the mini blinds. He then Tarzaned it off the bed and across the window! He was quite proud of this feat and was greatly disappointed that he received a reprimand rather than an applause.

I had to bring our van in for a state inspection not long ago. Because the van (just barely) is still under warranty I brought it back to the dealer where we purchased it. The service center is adjoined to the show room. I am quite used to "looks" whenever I take all four boys out, but this day brought more than the usual glances. You see, waiting to have a car serviced is never ideal with children in tow, particularly four rowdy boys. After receiving word that our van passed inspection I walked with the boys, one in a stroller the other three following behind, up to the counter to pay. It took a minute to fish my wallet out of my purse and hand over the credit card, then as I prepared to sign my name I heard a very loud honking sound directly behind me. If you've ever heard a car honking inside, then you know it is a very loud sound. Of course this got every one's attention in the entire place. I turned around and realized in dismay that it was one of my boys in the car beeping the horn! Ahhhh! I walked over, pulled him out of the car, and told him that there was going to be a certain "consequence" for his poor choice of behavior. Wow, this was a new one I was thinking to myself. This really exemplifies the lack of impulse control preschool age boys have. "Boys will be boys," the woman behind the counter told me. I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about this comment, but I think she was meaning well.

Life is definitely not boring around here, although a little monotony sometimes wouldn't be so bad.