A Minute to Myself

Happy Easter!

2011-04-23T22:38:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in forever on this blog. The other day I was reading back through some of my posts from years ago (like 2006!). I can't believe I've been blogging so long!! Lately my days have been busy and full with the three little boys and the adoption, but I hope I can find some time to post more frequently. It's nice to use this blog as a journal and look back at it as the years pass. Check back soon!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

2010-12-21T00:31:00.003-05:00

None of the boys were very excited about going to see Santa this year. Caleb is still too young to care. Matthew was having serious doubts that Santa was real after snooping last year and finding all his presents hidden in the basement. He had pretty much ruined it this year for Sam by constantly telling him that Mom and Dad are really Santa. Well, after our visit on Friday, I sent each of the boys one of these videos and let me tell you, I blew their little minds. Each video is personalized with a picture of them and a special gift they hope to receive, as well as information about them like their age and favorite food. They're really cute and the Santa is very convincing. I think it's safe to say that my two big boys are believers again.

Click here to watch Sam's video.

Goo Goo for Gaga!

2010-10-27T01:01:00.006-04:00

Caleb babbles a lot. All day long he says Mama, Dada, Nana, Baba, and his newest word...Gaga. It's actually more like gaga, but I started saying Lady before Caleb said gaga and we all got a laugh.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-24T00:15:00.005-04:00

Cutie Caleb

2010-08-23T00:59:00.002-04:00

I better make some space in the family room!

2010-08-23T00:38:00.004-04:00

This is what Sam told us he wants for his birthday this year. Before you click the link and ask the question, I'll answer it for you. Yes, he was serious.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=129742&navAction=push

I guess I'll save the blood pressure machine I already got him for next year! I've always said he's like an old man trapped in a little boy's body.

Macy

2010-08-06T20:34:00.006-04:00

We had to put Macy to sleep today. These kinds of decisions are some of the hardest to make and I always end up second-guessing my judgment and feeling guilty. Not easy. She is the 3rd cat I've had to do this with in 8 years. Needless to say, I don't think there will be anymore pets in our future, at least not for a while. It feels so strange not to have her around anymore. I expect to see her napping at the end of the couch or walking in front of the computer screen as I'm trying to work. I know that it will just take getting used to, but today it's hard. We will miss our sweet little Missy Macy.

Happy 7th Birthday, Matthew!

2010-06-27T21:45:00.008-04:00

My Birthday
by Matthew

Today was my birthday. It was really fun. I'll tell you the presents I got: a Batman set, a tricky worm that I'm naming Teensy, a fish that swims in the pool, a pillow pet, and an aquarium for real fish. I went to Chuck E. Cheese on my birthday and played lots of games and ate pizza. I got 135 tickets. Sam bought candy with his tickets. I bought lizards and one snake with mine. I also got to go to Build-a-Bear today. I built a dog that I named Diggy. I had a cookie cake..it was good. Yum!!! Yum!!! I had lots of fun on my birthday.

Sam left Chuck E.'s with a big bruise on his face, a filed accident report and instructions on how to follow up with the company's Risk Management department. Just another ordinary day with Sammy! :)

New Picture of Danil!!

2010-06-24T02:04:00.006-04:00

I got a new picture of sweet little Danil today!! Look how much he's changed! He looks so grown-up I hardly recognized him when I saw the new picture. What a cutie!!! He's still waiting for a family to come rescue him from his orphanage in Eastern Europe. He will be 5 years old this December. Donations to his adoption fund can be made here. Please pass this on to anyone you know who might be considering international adoption.

Thanks, Lu, for updating my button. You're awesome and it looks great! :)

A quick update

2010-06-22T01:57:00.002-04:00

We went to Chicago over the weekend and had a great time! When I find 5 minutes to upload the pictures from my camera, I'll post more. Until then, here's a cute one taken at the zoo in one of those fun photo booths.

We're so cool, we're in the pool...everybody act like a total fool!

2010-06-15T09:15:00.003-04:00

That's the song Norm, Matthew and Sam sing everyday before they hit the pool. Now they have a fourth amigo to sing along. Caleb joined the guys last night and went to the baby pool for the first time. He had a lot of fun and must have really tired himself out because he slept great last night! Matthew and Sam didn't think the baby pool was so cool, though, and look forward to returning to the big pool later today!

Our Trip to Scottsdale

2010-06-14T16:40:00.003-04:00

Caleb

2010-06-13T12:28:00.003-04:00

How can I not be in a good mood when I get to hang out with this guy all day?

The Boys of Summer

2010-06-12T10:27:00.001-04:00

Black Pine Animal Park

2010-06-11T10:00:00.011-04:00

We recently visited Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, in Albion, Indiana. They provide a home for rescued and retired exotic animals. I had been there about 10 years ago when it was housed in the owners backyard!! They have since moved and now have a large facility with lots of room for the animals. The park is home to a black bear, leopards, bengal tigers, lions, bobcats, cougars, chimpanzees, donkey, camels, kinkajous, several ostrich, lots of gross reptiles, and many exotic birds. The kids had so much fun. Matthew was there once before, but he is very interested in animals and loves learning all about them so he especially enjoyed the day.

Welcome to Black Pine!

The boys are feeding a goat some oyster crackers.

This guy really knew how to smile for the camera! :)

It takes one to know one! (And I mean that very lovingly, of course. :))

This dude was BIG and UGLY! Matthew thought he was "so cute"!

Even Caleb managed to have fun!

School's Out for Summer!

2010-06-10T21:14:00.005-04:00

Today was Matthew's last day of 1st grade! I can hardly believe it. What a year!!! We laughed, we cried, we cried some more, but in the end, we learned a lot. Matthew has become an absolutely awesome reader this year. He has also become quite the history buff and is constantly telling me all about the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. He finds that stuff fascinating. He was so lucky to have another great teacher. Mrs. Marcum definitely kept things interesting for him and shared his love of Skittles...who could ask for more?

This morning started off with our traditional breakfast out. (Just for the record, Sammy got to go out for breakfast on his last day of school a few weeks ago, but he refused to have his picture taken at all the whole day!). Matthew chose to get a bagel from the am/pm gas station convenience store. He LOVES the bagels they have and never passes up an opportunity to stop in and get one. (I know it sounds like a strange request, but in his defense, the bagels are surprisingly good for a gas station.) Once he got to school, K-4th grade was having Field Day. Even though it was a hot day, we had so much fun!! I volunteered to help out and ended up running the water balloon toss station . After field day, the class had a picnic lunch and then headed inside to cool off with a movie and some snacks. It was a great end to a great year!

Getting ready to head off for his last day as a 1st grader. :(

So happy to be having one of his favorite things!

Bagel bug eyes!

That's him going down the slide at Field Day. Some teacher walked right in front of my camera.

Luke has been Matthew's best friend at school this year.

Matthew and Mrs. Marcum

Happy Birthday to Reece's Rainbow!!

2010-06-09T15:46:00.015-04:00

Today Reece's Rainbow is celebrating 4 years of finding homes for orphans with special needs. Although they mostly focus on children with Down syndrome, there are lots of other children with many types of special needs that they place as well. All these little kids are so worthy of the love of a family and Reece's Rainbow is doing such important work helping them find one to call their own.

Little Danil is still waiting.

So is Darya.

If you're not in a position to adopt, but would like to help Danil or Darya find a family, please follow the link (click on the kids' names above) to their page and scroll to orphange 19 for Danil or orphanage 33 for Darya to contribute to their adoption fund.

Look who's walking!

2010-06-08T00:13:00.002-04:00

A House Divided

2010-06-07T23:58:00.001-04:00

One follows in his father's footsteps-the other, a true contrarian. One will have money for the college of his choice-the other will be relying on the generosity of his like-minded family members. One will travel with his dad-the other will view the postcards from the trip.

eta-This is, of course, just a joke. We love the contrarian and all his quirky contraryness!

Things Sam is Obsessed With

2010-06-04T10:42:00.003-04:00

alternative title: The Only Things Sam is Capable of Talking About

1. Joker (from Batman)
2. Oscar the Grouch (We realize he's a little late to the party on this one.)
3. Ke$ha (He thinks they are destined to get married and can't get over her prolific song catalog. She has 3 songs that get played on the radio!!!!)
4. Homemade waffles

I think it's so funny that someone who is interested in #2 would be interested in #3! :)

Matthew has an admirer!

2010-06-04T10:24:00.004-04:00

I found these notes inside an evelope in Matthew's backpack yesterday after school. When I asked him about them, he was totally mortified and begged me not to tell his dad. Norm may have a slight tendency to tease him about stuff like this. :) He told me the notes are from a girl in his class named Cayla. She has been embarrassing him on the playground recently because every time the class goes outside for recess, she starts yelling, "Matthew, come give me a kiss." He says he and his friend Luke hide under the playground equipment and ignore her. He made it VERY clear he does NOT like this girl because she is "crazy". Besides, he already has a girlfriend named Jaden. :) By the way, in case you couldn't figure it out, apparently the long magenta thing in the picture is a kiss.

A couple of new pictures

2010-05-29T23:20:00.003-04:00

Caleb's First Haircut

2010-05-03T17:30:00.008-04:00

Caleb was beginning to get a little shaggy, so we decided it was time for a haircut. With Matthew and Sam, I waited until after they were one year old because I thought that once you cut their hair, they lose the "baby look". I still think that's somewhat true, but now looking back on pictures of the other boys, I always think, "Why didn't I get their hair cut sooner?", so I decided not to make the same mistake a third time. Caleb didn't really mind the hair cut. He watched an Elmo video and sat fairly still and barely cried; just fussed a little towards the end.

This is the before picture. There's a reason my mom calls him "Squiggy".

This is his after picture. He looks like a big boy now!!

It's outta here!

2010-04-27T20:08:00.001-04:00

Matthew has been hoping to lose a tooth at school all year. Not only does he get his name on a tooth chart, but his teacher gives the kids these cute little tooth-shaped boxes to keep their tooth safe until the end of the day. It wasn't looking too good for him since it's almost May and he's only at school 2 days each week. Well, today he lucked out and wiggled his front tooth loose at lunch. He came running to the car at pick-up so excited to show me the hole in his mouth and the little tooth box. He did inform me on the ride home that he's sure the tooth fairy is just mom or dad because the notes she leaves him look like they are printed from our computer.

My Cutie-Pie

2010-04-26T15:06:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T15:53:00.002-04:00

Poll

2010-04-03T21:48:00.002-04:00

What does this picture of my brother most look like?

a. his mugshot
b. Sam
c. an orphan
d. a child whose mother should be reported to CPS for letting him out of the house without combing his hair.

Play Ball!

2010-04-03T09:37:00.009-04:00

Sam played t-ball for the first time this winter. His team was the Cincinnati Reds (or as I called it, the Cincinammy Reds). It was an indoor league and it was very low-key and relaxed, which was perfect for him. The coach was very sweet to Sam and didn't mind dealing with his quirks. Sam refused to wear his hat or use a baseball mitt, so he is quite easy to spot in the pictures. He loved t-ball so much that we're signing up again for an outdoor league this spring.

Warming up

Can you spot him crouched in the outfield? He was pretty much always in that position ready to tackle the ball. He would literally fight with his teammates to be the one to get it!

We learned that Sam can bat either left or right handed.

So proud of his first trophy!

Team picture. The older boy in the top right of the picture was the coach's older son, Davis, who helped his dad. Sam LOVED Davis and had so much fun during practices playing with him.

We missed the actual hit, but here's a short video of Sam at bat. He'll need to work on the run. :)

Caleb turns 5 months old!!

2009-12-03T16:44:00.008-05:00

Little Caleb Elijiah is growing so big! It's been an exciting month for him. He spent his 5 month birthday recovering from his first trip to California. He finally got to meet his Baba and Big Zeide!! He loved being outside in the warm sunshine, spending time with his family, and his time at the ocean, but he most loved his first trip to Rubio's! :)

The big news around here is that Caleb is now sitting on his own!! He actually did it for the first time on December 2! We all started cheering for him, which scared him and made him tip over! He's officially wearing 3-6 month clothes now and I just bought him some adorable little boots for winter.

At 5 months, some of his favorite things include chewing on his fingers and hands, watching his big brothers and playing the "Do you want me to get you?" game, the "How big is Caleb?" game, and the "Mommy's Cheeks/Caleb's Cheeks" game (all completely made up by me). He also likes peek-a-boo. Caleb is very ticklish and I love to get after him and make him laugh. His cute little laugh is one of my favorite sounds.

4 Months Old!

2009-11-22T00:08:00.004-05:00

Caleb is 4 months old! It’s been a big month for him. He rolled over for the 1^st time on October 21^st. Matthew, Sammy and I were all there to see it and we were so excited for him!! Even though he’s the third baby, it’s so much fun to get excited over his milestones. We celebrated his 1^st Halloween and Caleb dressed up as a giraffe. He didn’t seem to mind it too much. He enjoyed walking around the neighborhood trick-or-treating. He loves being outside! He got his first cold this month and was sick for about 3 days. No fun!! He weighs 12 lbs. 10 oz. and is 25 inches long. He now wears size 2 diapers and is very close to outgrowing his 0-3 month clothes. Personality-wise, Caleb is so easy! He just quietly hangs out with us and sometimes it’s easy to forget he’s even around. He loves kisses and hugs which is a good thing because he gets lots and lots of them everyday!

Trick-or-Treating

2009-11-21T23:54:00.006-05:00

After much debate, the boys finalized their Halloween costumes with only days to spare. Matthew was a Shadow Ninja, Sam was Palpatine from Star Wars, and Caleb was a giraffe. The trick-or-treating didn't last all that long. I think they were really tired from the birthday party so they only stayed out about an hour, but they had fun.

Halloween Fashion Show

2009-11-21T23:35:00.005-05:00

It was a bash...a monster bash!!

2009-11-21T22:54:00.006-05:00

The celebrating continues! Sam asked to have a birthday party and invite the boys from his preschool class and a friend from the neighborhood. We hesitated to do it because we worried that once they arrived he would hide in his room and refuse to have anything to do with them. When the party began, we were pleasantly surprised to find that he was actually very social and seemed to enjoy himself. It definitely helped having his big brother there with him! The party ended up being on Halloween, several weeks after his birthday. The kids painted pumpkins, played Pin the Mouth on the Jack-O'- Lantern, and hit the pumpkin pinata in between pizza, cake and presents. It was a lot of fun having a Halloween birthday party!

Party Boy!

2009-11-21T14:34:00.007-05:00

The day after Sam's birthday, we had a second celebration for him with my mom and grandparents. We had lunch and cake and he opened some more presents and played with his new Legos with Grandpa Bill.

Sam's Birthday

2009-11-21T09:05:00.005-05:00

Sam's 4th birthday was October 8th. The day was rainy and dreary, but Sam still had a great day. When he woke up and saw all his presents wrapped in the kitchen, he was desperate to open a few of them. We decided that we would let Matthew be late for school that day so he could watch Sam open a few of his gifts. He had, as usual, quite the list of hard-to-find items on his birthday list this year. He really wanted a beanie baby Grimace that had been a McDonald's kids meal toy over the summer. (I know...kind of an odd, random request, but that's Sam.) We were never lucky enough to get one in our kids meal, so I had to buy it off eBay. He also wanted X-Men figures, a Dragon Castle, Legos, and lots and lots of Ben 10 stuff. The Ben 10 figures he wanted were not the ones that could be found in the store because that would be too easy. I had to order the ones he wanted off (surprise!) eBay. Anyway, after opening a few presents and seeing Matthew off to school and Norm off to work, Sam, Caleb and I all started getting ready to leave for Sam's art class that he takes on Thursday mornings. Well, at the last minute he decided that since it was his birthday, he wanted to skip art class and stay home and play...so we did. Then we met Norm at Sam's current favorite restaurant, Subway, to have a birthday lunch together. After lunch, I asked Sam how he wanted to spend the afternoon and he said he wanted to visit the library, so off we went. We stayed for several hours looking at books and playing the computer in the kids section. We had a really nice, quiet time. That evening, we ordered take-out and had a mini-celebration at home, just the 5 of us. Sam opened the rest of his presents and we had a cookie cake with candles and sang Happy Birthday. I think Sammy had a really great day!

It's so fun for me to watch Sam grow and see his personality develop. As a baby, he was so extremely difficult that he made it hard to really enjoy him. Of course I always loved him, but he was just so fussy and cranky and unhappy that it was not too much fun to be around him. Trying to console me on one of our bad days, our pediatrician told me that, in his experience, these types of babies usually turn out to be the sweetest kids. He was so right. Sam is the sweetest, most loving little boy now. He gives hugs and kisses all the time and tells us he loves us constantly. He's definitely an introvert and prefers to be alone or in very small groups of people. He's the comedian of the family and is always doing or saying stuff to make us laugh. He loves art and says he wants to be an artist when he grows up. He creates dozens of new pieces of artwork each week, most of which get proudly displayed on the walls or the refrigerator. Each day with Sam is truly an adventure, and I'm so glad I get to be his mom.

Meet the Great-Grandparents

2009-11-21T08:59:00.001-05:00

Caleb finally got to meet his great grandparents in October. They came for a two week visit from Arizona. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very nice while they were here and they ended up getting sick, but we enjoyed having them nonetheless and are looking forward to seeing them again at Christmas!

October Review

2009-11-21T00:20:00.004-05:00

To say I'm running behind these days would be an understatement. I couldn't not post about October though because it was a great month! First, Caleb turned 3 months old! Then my grandparents arrived for a 2 week visit. Sammy turned 4 years old and we had a family party for him, followed by a Monster Bash on Halloween. And of course, there was Trick-or-Treating and costumes and candy! I'll post on each of those events, but here are some random October pictures.

The 3 amigos snuggling on the couch.

Matthew's last soccer game. He got a trophy and was so proud!

Sam got a new hair do. He now has spiky hair! He's already asking to grow it out so that it's flat again.

Caleb taking a nap in his crib for the first time on the day he turned 3 months.

3 Months Old!!

2009-10-19T14:30:00.004-04:00

Cuteness Overload!!!!

2009-09-22T23:00:00.000-04:00

Lunch Conversation

2009-09-11T15:00:00.003-04:00

Today at lunch, Sam says to Matthew:

"Matthew, you should have an Animal Crush Cup cuz they're about to spire. Spire means get stale." If only Bill Keane could draw the picture for me.

2009-09-04T21:16:00.000-04:00

2 Months Old!

2009-09-04T20:45:00.004-04:00

Caleb turned 2 months old this week! He weighs 10 lbs. 7 oz. and is 23 1/4 in. He's definitely a growing boy! He's completely outgrown his newborn clothes and is wearing 0-3 months now. I know I say this a lot, but he is just so sweet. He absolutely LOVES to be carried around in the Baby Bjorn (thanks Tio Mark!). I wear him in that thing ALL THE TIME. Last Friday, he smiled for the first time and we've spent the past week trying to make him do it again and again...it's so cute! One thing Caleb does not like is riding in the car. This makes life a little difficult for him because with two older brothers who need to be driven to and from school and all their various activities and playdates, not to mention our regular day-to-day errands, we are in the car a lot. Matthew and Sam don't have a lot of patience with him when he's screaming from the time we leave the garage until we pull into a parking space somewhere. They frequently sit in the backseat with their hands covering their ears. Oh well, nobody's perfect, right? :) Caleb is such a special addition to our family and we love him so much!

Future USMNT Player...at least his dad hopes :)

2009-09-04T20:22:00.005-04:00

Since I didn't have any game pictures to post from last weekend, here are a few from the scrimmage that Matthew played in on Tuesday evening. It was held at the local high school and they played during half-time at the school's varsity soccer team's game. Matthew's team lost 2-1 and he got mad at his dad (who was playing on his team because they were short on players) because he let a goal get through. Then Matthew had to sit out because he got a mosquito bite. No, unfortunately, I'm not kidding.

The Sidelined Soccer Star

2009-08-31T19:06:00.004-04:00

Saturday was Matthew's first soccer game. Unfortunately, it was too much for him to remember to bring BOTH of his soccer cleats, so after arriving at the field and realizing he only had one, he had to sit the game out. Norm is the assistant coach, so we all stayed and watched the game and luckily the team was able to pull off a win without the help of Matthew. :)

Watching from the sidelines...notice the shoes. :(

He just keeps getting sweeter!

2009-08-31T19:00:00.001-04:00

A New School Year

2009-08-31T16:53:00.009-04:00

The kids finally started school today! Sam has been nervous all summer about returning to preschool, even though it will be his third year at the same school. Drop-off was difficult this morning; they had to pry him from my leg, but they told me he recovered very quickly and had a great day. We'll see how day #2 goes tomorrow.

Getting ready to head off to the 3's class!

Last night, in preparation for the 1st day of school, we read The Kissing Hand and colored a picture of Chester the raccoon from the story. This morning, I drew a heart on Sammy's hand, put a Kissing Hand sticker in the middle, and kissed it so that if he got anxious at school, he could remember how much I love him.

Even though he was near tears here, he put on a brave face for one picture.

I think his face says it all.

Matthew's first day was a home day and it was a lot of work! I'm already looking forward to next Monday being a holiday!! Tomorrow will be his first day at the learning center with his teacher and class. Now that he's a first grader, he eats lunch at school and is excited about that. They have a microwave that the kids can use and he thinks that's pretty big stuff. :)

Our school room-all clean and shiny and ready for a new year. :)

Hard at work on a math lesson.

Our Little Peanut

2009-08-08T21:29:00.000-04:00

One Month Old

2009-08-02T22:25:00.004-04:00

Caleb is one month old already! He is the sweetest baby and we are so happy to have him as the littlest member of our family. He is such a good baby and is a very good sleeper. I have no complaints with this little guy! :) The last month has gone by so quickly and at the end of each day I am a little sad because his newborn days are passing by so fast. At one month, Caleb weighs 8 lbs. 12 oz. and is 22 inches long. He has really grown a lot since he was born! He outgrew his newborn diapers and is now in size 1, but he's still wearing newborn clothes (although probably not for much longer). Matthew and Sam continue to love him to pieces each and every day, giving him lots of kisses and attention. He almost never cries, except when he gets his diaper changed. He doesn't like the cold wipes on his tushie. :) The one thing that helps settle him when he is crying is to sing "Mary Had a Little Lamb". That's his favorite song and it usually calms him right down; it's very cute. We are all looking forward to the coming weeks as he begins to smile and laugh. We can't wait to watch him grow!

Sweet Baby Caleb

2009-07-11T21:17:00.003-04:00

Born July 2, 2009
6 lbs. 4 oz.
19 3/4 in.

Bear for Baby

2009-06-29T15:37:00.008-04:00

I took the boys to Build-a-Bear to choose a stuffed animal to give their new baby brother when he arrives in a few days. They ended up picking a cute little teddy and named him Chubby Cubby. We got a recordable sound box to stick inside him and the boys each recorded a really sweet message on it. It was so fun to watch them make this bear. They wanted to make sure that everything about it was just perfect so that the baby would like it. They are both going to be great big brothers!

Choosing the bear

Adding the sound box

Filling it with stuffing

Giving it a bath

Making the adoption certificate

Introducing Chubby Cubby! We hope Caleb loves him! :)

Last Day of School

2009-06-29T15:18:00.011-04:00

Leaving for his last day!

Even though it happened a few weeks ago, I wanted to post about Matthew's last day of school. Growing up, it was a tradition that my mom took my brother and me out for breakfast on our last day of school. I've done that with the boys the past few years of preschool, so on Matthew's last day of kindergarten I let him pick where he wanted to eat. He chose Burger King because he loves those little cinnamon rolls they have. :)

He was SO excited to be done with school. The thought of no more work had him almost giddy. I will say, he's had a very challenging year and a break is much needed for everyone at this point. This program was nothing like when I went to kindergarten many years back, nor was it like the program I student-taught in only a few years ago. It was WORK! A lot of work!! He learned SO much, though, and I'm so glad we did it, but I'm also glad it's summer and we have some time off. We don't start first grade until around Labor Day so we're going to enjoy each and every day of freedom!

Here he is with his teacher, Miss Goebel, on the last day. She was the nicest, sweetest teacher I could have hoped for in kindergarten. He loved her and really enjoyed the days he spent at the Learning Center in her class. We will miss her a lot next year!

Touch-a-Truck

2009-06-29T14:45:00.009-04:00

Last week was Touch-a-Truck at Broad Ripple Park. This is where they park all the vehicles (like fire engines, mail trucks, police cruisers, tractors, trash trucks, etc.) and let the kids climb in and check them out. We go to this every year with Matthew's friend Grant. It was such a HOT and HUMID day this year and it was pretty miserable to be outside, even at 9:30 in the morning. We ended up only staying about an hour and when we got home we all needed a shower and a nap!

The traditional pose in front of the sign (this year Ella joined the boys!).

Inside the ambulance

Sammy is pretending to be the Coke delivery man.

Matthew has always wanted to see the inside of a limo, so he was excited about this one.

Hot, tired, and (what's new) grouchy!

Acting silly in the fire truck

Six

2009-06-27T22:20:00.005-04:00

Today is Matthew's 6th birthday! He had a very low-key, but fun, day. He woke up early this morning as asked to be called "Birthday Boy" instead of Matthew. That got old with us pretty quickly, as he was correcting us all day long if we slipped. He was a little worried that the baby might decide to show up today and that the arrival would interfere with his opening of presents. We assured him he would get his gifts. The boys played all morning and waited for Nana and Grandpa to arrive from Fort Wayne so we could start opening presents. As soon as they got here, Matthew ripped into his first one...and it was the BIG one. He has been desperate for a Nintendo DSi for several months now. Apparently they are all the rage among the kindergarten set. I told him that since the DS is so expensive, there would be no big party this year. This excuse actually worked out really well because I had no intentions whatsoever of having a party since I'm 39.5 weeks pregnant. After opening the presents, we did what my kids ALWAYS want to do on their birthdays, we went to Chuck E. Cheese. I tried to offer some alternatives this year such as duckpin bowling, Bounce Zone, swimming, etc. but nothing sounded as appealing to him as feeding tokens into game machines. After we had our fill of Chuck E.'s, we went to dinner at Boston Market. It cracks me up that of all the restaurants he loves (Macaroni Grill and O'Charley's are among his favorites) Boston Market, like Chuck E. Cheese, seems to be a birthday favorite for him. After dinner, we headed home and went to the pool then finished the day with more presents and a birthday cookie. He went to sleep tonight a very tired but happy 6 year-old boy. Happy Birthday, Slug! We love you!!!

My soon-to-be first grader!

2009-05-13T15:33:00.007-04:00

We only have 3 1/2 weeks of school left!! I can't believe kindergarten is almost over. We've had a great year and plan to return to the same school for 1st grade. Matthew has learned so much this year and made several new friends, plus he had the sweetest, nicest teacher a 5 year-old could hope for (and no, I'm not talking about me, but I wasn't too bad, either). This is his spring school picture...what a big kid!

Funny Sammy!

2009-05-12T15:43:00.003-04:00

Next week is Sam's last day of school, so today when I picked him up his teachers were passing out student portfolios. These portfolios highlight the developmental milestones the child has reached during the school year and each milestone is documented, usually with a photograph or a story. One cute story noted on Sam's Language and Communication milestone page caught my attention. This conversation with his teacher happened back in December. Here is what the paper said:

At the end of the day waiting for pick up, Sam says, "My daddy can't drive a car very well." Teacher says, "Oh, why do you say that, what does he do?" Sam says, "He runs into things." Teacher asks, "How does your mom drive?" Sam responds, "She is a girl. She is a good driver."

Out of the mouths of babes!

Baby Names

2009-04-22T12:15:00.003-04:00

We may not have decided with 100% certainty on a name for the new baby, but Sam has. He wants to call him Cupcake Jean-Claude and is very adamant that this is the name he will be using, no matter what we decide. We are giving serious consideration to the name Mayes, since we discovered the meaning is "servant of Matthew". We figure #3 doesn't stand a chance against his oldest brother. Actually, we are thinking of changing all of our names to Mayes. :) Just kidding, we won't be using that name (in case anyone thought I was serious). We do have a first name chosen and the middle name is a work in progress, but we are getting closer so I don't think this kid will go nameless for days like Sam did.

Bunny Picture!!

2009-03-31T19:04:00.003-04:00

After last year's bunny picture debacle, my mom took the boys for the real deal. I'm sure the white bunny enjoyed being squashed as it fell through Sam's legs. :)

Matthew Lost His 1st Tooth!!!

2009-03-29T12:53:00.006-04:00

Before:

After:

On Saturday, March 7, Matthew's first loose tooth fell out! He was walking by the basement door and it just fell out! It had been loose for almost 2 weeks and he had been through the full range of emotions during that time. The past few months he was so excited about losing a tooth. Then once he discovered his first loose one, he panicked. He couldn't fall asleep, he would wake up at 5 am worrying about it, he made me call the dentist and ask detailed questions about what would happen when it fell out (I couldn't remember the details of when I lost my teeth, so I was no help), and he continually moaned that he wanted the dentist to reattach it! In addition, he would eat nothing that required him to bite into it, so as not to disturb the tooth. I called the dentist again and he said this was all normal behavior and that some kids go for months babying the loose tooth. He told me that if it continued it would probably be best to bring him in so they could remove it. After that, Matthew's attitude suddenly changed and he became really, really excited about it falling out. He wiggled it constantly and asked when it would fall out. Eventually it did and he was so happy. He put it in his little tooth fairy box (which was mine when I was a little girl) and the tooth fairy brought him $1 and a letter. It was all so cute! He already has a second loose one and can't wait for his grown-up teeth to come in.

It's for you!

2009-02-13T13:46:00.004-05:00

A strange thing has begun happening around our house. Matthew is getting telephone calls. Since he started kindergarten this year, he's made several little friends who enjoy calling him up for lengthy chats. It's very cute to listen to their conversations (yes, I eavesdrop). They mostly talk about what they're going to do the next time they see each other but it's just too funny. The cutest part is that a lot of the time neither one of the kids can understand the other, so there's a lot of "what did you say" and "huh?" that goes on. This usually leads to one of them yelling into the phone because they think louder means clearer. I've been surprised at how long the calls have lasted. It's not unusual for Matthew to stay on the phone for 30 minutes just yapping away about nothing. I guess it won't be too long before we have to have to have a phone line installed for the kids, although that may be too old-fashioned. They'd probably rather have cell phones!

This is why I stay away from the ocean...

2009-01-22T13:54:00.001-05:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090121/wl_asia_afp/australiamyanmarmaritimerescue

2009-01-06T10:30:00.003-05:00

We're trying to get Sam to move into Matthew's room and sleep in the bunk bed with him. The only problem is that Matthew refuses to sleep on the top bunk because it's like "sleeping on a beanstalk" to him. That means that they're both on the bottom, which would normally be fine because it's a full size bed so there's plenty of room. However, they act so silly and giggle and laugh and get very loud and wound-up and end up taking hours to fall asleep. This picture is from the other night. I put them to bed around 8:30 and they were finally asleep sometime before 11:00. When I went in to check on them around 11:00, Sam was curled up with the flashlight, just in case, and the only part of Matthew I could see was the very top of his hair!

The truth hurts!

2008-12-20T18:28:00.003-05:00

I got the highest compliments on my cooking from my kids this afternoon. Matthew told me that the thing I make best is mac & cheese (and he only eats the boxed version). Sammy feels like my specialty is cheese and crackers. Nice.

A visit with Santa

2008-12-19T17:06:00.003-05:00

It was with much excitement that we visited Santa this afternoon. Poor Matthew is so sick, but I wanted to get to the mall before school got out for the holidays and the lines became much longer. Matthew told Santa that he wanted a Roman arena for Christmas and Santa proceeded to tell him all about the ruins in Rome and how he should visit them when he grows up and maybe he can even squeeze in a visit to the Vatican to see the Pope. It was cute. Sammy told Santa he wants surprises (how easy is that?). Both boys drew Santa pictures and couldn't wait to put them in his mailbox. Luckily, I think Santa should be able to deliver a pretty good Christmas this year. :)

The boys meet their new cousin!

2008-12-14T11:55:00.003-05:00

On Thanksgiving day, Matthew and Sam got to meet their brand-new cousin, Eden. She was only 3 weeks old and so adorable! They both loved holding her and were very gentle and sweet with her. They are so excited to finally have a cousin!

Mr. Slick

2008-11-20T20:10:00.004-05:00

Sam recently had his pictures taken at preschool and one of the parent volunteers must have gotten after him with a comb and some water. When they first showed me the pictures I didn't recognize him! I think he looks so funny (in a cute way, of course). :)

Old Pictures

2008-11-19T22:18:00.004-05:00

I was recently showing Matthew some pictures of my brother and me from when we were little. In fact, I was probably about 5 years old and my brother would have been about 3-just like Matthew and Sam are now. It was very funny because as we were looking at them, Matthew thought several of the pictures were of him and Sam. It's not hard to see why when you look at them. Even I could not believe the resemblance between my brother and Sammy in a few of the pictures.

Matthew was really convinced that this one was him and Sammy. Take away the dress and it does kind of look like him.

This is such a sweet picture. We were headed to the airport after a visit with my grandparents in Connecticut. If it weren't for the red vinyl car seats and winter coats, I would have a hard time figuring out that these aren't my kids. :)

Matt or Sam?

My Sweet Guys

2008-11-16T14:47:00.001-05:00

Sammy turns 3!

2008-10-26T15:23:00.012-04:00

Sam turned 3 on October 8th. Unfortunately for him, October 8th was the beginning of Yom Kippur so he didn't get to chose where we went for his birthday dinner. Instead he got baked chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and dinner rolls. We did meet Norm for lunch at Penn Station and had some generic cupcakes for him after dinner so he could at least blow out a candle and he seemed fine with that. The presents were, of course, the most important part of the day and he loved what he got. The big hits were an action figure Penguin (thank you, ebay), some Veggie Tales toys and movie, and a cute stuffed pig he creatively named Piggy Piggy. Since Sam does not like crowds of people we knew we weren't going to have a party for him. He does have a little friend from school who he like playing with named Georgie. Georgie just happens to be the son of one of Norm's coworkers so we invited him and his family over for a Kung Fu Panda mini-party to celebrate Sam's birthday. Georgie got Sam the coolest toy. It's called the Big Loader and it's so much fun. Even I can just sit and watch it for a long time. Apparently it's an old toy but I had never seen it. Somebody with way more time than me actually posted a video of it on YouTube, in case you're dying to see it.

I was a little sad about Sammy turning 3. When he was 2, he was still like a baby to me. Now that he's 3, it seems like he's on his way to being a big kid. At 3, Sam is as sweet as ever. He is so goofy and is the comedian of the family. He will do whatever it takes to get a laugh. He thinks toilet humor is the funniest thing in the whole world and words like underwear, toot and butt will have him rolling on the floor! Although he is extremely silly, he has a very quiet and shy side. He prefers to be alone and loves to do puzzles, color, or listen to music. For about 6 months this year, he became obsessed with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I read the book to the boys last winter and Sam couldn't get enough of it. We talked about it, watched the movie, reread parts of the book and listened to the soundtrack daily for almost 6 months. Just about the time I was ready to shoot myself if I heard an Oompa-Loompa one more time, he got sick of it and moved on to something new. The current fad is Veggie Tales and the Grapes of Wrath (no, not the Steinbeck novel...he's smart, but not that smart!). Sammy definitely keeps life very interesting with his temper and personality. We love him so much and hope he has a very happy year being 3.

We meet again, Bob!

2008-07-22T09:20:00.003-04:00

The kids were able to spend some time at the Discovery Center in Santa Ana on our recent trip to SoCal. They had a Bob the Builder exhibit going on and Sam got to see Bob (again)!

A Trip to the Beach

2008-07-22T09:11:00.005-04:00

The Party

2008-07-02T11:03:00.006-04:00

Matthew's birthday party was the day after his birthday. For the record, it will be his last party until he graduates. I am so over having birthday parties. He's had a big one (sometimes two) every year of his life and they are a lot of work and a lot of money. This year he shared the celebration with his best friend Grant, who turned 5 ten days earlier. They wanted to have the party at a spray park and I reluctantly agreed. The weather the day of the party could have been a lot better. We had thunderstorms for part of the party followed by high winds, but we managed to have a fun day despite the uncooperative elements. One of the best parts of the party for him was getting to see some of his school friends for (probably) the last time since they're all going to different kindergartens. He also enjoyed opening presents, of course! He got some really cool things. Probably his favorite gift was a Batmobile that I told him I wouldn't buy for him. He was soooo excited to get that!

Playing in the spray

Having lunch with his best friend from school, Alec

It was so windy that my mom had to lay across the paper plates and napkins to keep them from blowing away while we got lunch.

Cupcake cakes are the greatest birthday invention ever!

Playing with friends Jake and Madisen

The Big 5!

2008-07-02T00:59:00.005-04:00

Matthew celebrated his 5th birthday on Friday. I'm still having trouble believing he's already 5 years old. Time has flown by and he's so grown up already. At 5, he still LOVES superheroes. Currently Batman is his favorite, but he likes Spiderman, Ironman, and Hulk as well. He would play superheroes all day if he could. He's got a great imagination and is always making up stories to tell me. Matthew really enjoys animals, especially dogs. He says he wants to be an attorney when he grows up so that he can go to work with his dad everyday, but lately he's been talking about wanting to be a veterinarian. He's becoming a great reader. Most recently, he read Go, Dog. Go! and Hop on Pop all on his own. He's a caring big brother and is very patient with Sam. Matthew's greatest skill at 5 remains his gift of gab. He can talk, talk, talk, talk, talk all day. He's a very, very good negotiator and could probably work something out in the Middle East, given the chance.

He had a really low-key birthday. My mom and step-dad came down to celebrate the day with him. We met Norm for lunch and let Matthew pick the place...he chose Penn Station. We took some presents along to let him open at lunch. He played all afternoon inside and out at the park and then that evening we got carryout from his favorite restaurant, O'Charley's. After dinner, he opened his presents and we had cake. Then it was off to bed to rest up for the big party the next day.

Underoos! Did you know they still make them?

Sam's gift to Matthew was a set of handcuffs!

Eating(what else?) mac and cheese from O'Charley's

Mommy and the birthday boy (and his favorite gift-the Batcave!)

Making a wish

Kung Fu Tuesday

2008-06-24T22:50:00.005-04:00

We finally saw it today! After weeks of daily questioning from Sam about when I would take him to see Hung Fu Panda (as he calls it) we went this afternoon, pandas in tow. We had the entire theater to ourselves so we could talk and laugh as loud as we wanted. It was fun! I had to take the camera along to get a picture of the boys with the panda cardboard cutout. :)

Broken Heart

2008-06-24T00:45:00.005-04:00

Tonight I was giving the kids a bath and the phone rang. It was the mom of one of the little girls from Matthew's class named Sally. She was calling to tell me that Sally wouldn't be able to come to his birthday party this weekend because she was leaving for vacation. I knew this wasn't going to be good news because Matthew has had a big crush on Sally all school year and was soooo excited about inviting her to his party. I got him out of the tub and broke the news to him. Here's how it went: he dropped to his knees and started crying and screaming "She's the one I wanted the most!" After a good 5 minute cry, he finally settled down and was consoled by the idea of a play date with Sally once she returns from her trip.

Gymnastics Dropout

2008-06-24T00:31:00.005-04:00

Don't expect any cute pictures of Sam at his new gymnastics class because he quit today. He went to his first class last Monday and was the only boy in the class with three girls-- all of whom were wearing pink leotards. If there's two things Sam doesn't like, it's girls and the color pink! At one point during the class, the teacher gave him a ring with colorful streamers attached, turned on some music and told the kids to dance. Sam, refusing to do it, looked at me and said, "This is not fun!" When we showed up for class today, everyone pretty much knew how he felt since he was crying (very loudly), "I don't want to do this!" They were very nice about it and gave us a refund. Sam was visibly relieved that he didn't have to be subjected to another class and I was just happy I got my money back.

Sam meets his idol

2008-06-24T00:26:00.004-04:00

Referring to a stuffed Bob the Builder toy he keeps in his bed, Sam told Bob: "I have you in my crib."

Touch a Truck

2008-06-24T00:09:00.004-04:00

We went to Touch a Truck on Friday with Matthew's friend Grant and had lots of fun. After more than an hour of getting to play in a fire truck, delivery truck, Hummer, school bus, speed boat, race car, camper and garbage truck both Matthew and Grant said their favorite part of the morning was playing in the park after Touch a Truck was over. Go figure! Sammy's favorite part of the day was getting to play on the school bus. He's always asking to ride the bus when he sees them in our neighborhood so he loved actually getting to sit in the driver's seat and pretend to drive one.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T20:47:00.004-04:00

It was a beautiful day to celebrate Father's Day outside! Norm played soccer in the morning and then we spent the afternoon swimming at the Yacht Club with some friends. The boys had so much fun because they got to jump off a diving board for the first time! They loved it! The evening ended with dinner and snow cones. All in all, a pretty good day.

Good-bye, Johnny!

2008-06-10T23:25:00.003-04:00

Matthew's best friend from our neighborhood moved to Peoria, Illinois, today and we're all a little sad. Johnny lived directly behind us and he and Matthew loved playing together. They spent their time driving their jeeps around the yards, playing stuffed animals and, most importantly, sharing a deep, deep love for all things Batman. We'll miss Johnny banging on the back door asking if Matthew can come out to play. They're already looking forward to their first web-cam play date! These are a few pictures of their last day together.

Sam's Gift for Mommy

2008-06-08T17:14:00.000-04:00

He made the flowers and decorated the pot with fingerprint bugs (yellow, of course!).

Last Day of School

2008-06-08T16:41:00.010-04:00

The boys recently had their last day of school. It was kind of sad because it's Matthew's last year of preschool but it was a really great year! I took them to Burger King for breakfast (they LOVE cini-minis!) and then it was off for a last day of learning.

Matthew with his buddies Patrick and Alec

Sammy will miss his teachers Judy and Hana.

"Hey! That's not a real bunny!! That's a man dressed in a rabbit costume!" ~Matthew

2008-03-19T11:32:00.008-04:00

Every Spring since Matthew was born we've gone to Fort Wayne to have pictures taken with live bunnies. It's become a tradition. They always turn out so cute and the kids have fun playing with the bunnies. This year I decided that I couldn't justify spending $80 for gas just to get some pictures taken (besides, I wasn't in the mood for a 4 hour car trip). I also figured that if Fort Wayne had bunny pictures, someplace in Indianapolis had to do it too. I began calling around and found one place that did it (it sounds even cuter because they have chicks, too), however we had missed it by a few days. After calling several places and not having any luck, I decided to call Walmart. I'm not a big Walmart fan, but I thought just maybe they would be doing bunny pictures. When I called I asked for the photo studio. When the girl answered, I said (and this is EXACTLY what I said), "Hi. I was calling to see if by chance you were doing pictures with live bunnies for Easter." To my surprise, she said yes they were and she told me the dates and times. The next day I called to confirm and asked the EXACT same question as I did the day before, "Are you doing pictures with live bunnies for Easter?" Again, the answer was yes and she also told me it was FREE!! Well, it doesn't get much better than that. So the next morning I got the kids all dressed and ready and Norm and I took them to Walmart. When we arrived, we saw this big, ugly bunny sitting on a bench with a fake background that you could see the creases in from where it had been folded. I was SO mad!!! I told the lady taking the picture that I had called twice asking about LIVE bunnies and she said to me, "This is a live bunny." Sadly, I don't think she was trying to be funny. Anyway, we went ahead and got the picture taken because we were there and we eventually ended up laughing about the whole thing. So, as tacky as it is, this is our Easter picture this year. No cute, cuddly, real live bunnies. Just one evil looking fake bunny.

Writers Strike Has Ended

2008-03-02T13:00:00.009-05:00

If the writers in Hollywood can go back to work, then I guess I can update my blog. It's been a L-O-N-G time since I've written anything! Life has just been so dull and boring that nothing noteworthy has happened. Just kidding!! The truth is that around Thanksgiving things just got really busy with the holiday, our trips to California and Hawaii, Hanukkah, Christmas, family visits, swimming lessons, soccer lessons, my trip to Arizona, and the list goes on and on. Also, around this time I decided I hated our camera. In reality, I've hated it almost since the day we bought 3 years ago it, but since I was the one who picked it I figured I should keep my mouth shut for awhile. I recently decided that if I declared the camera a piece of junk and refused to use it, Norm would be so upset by not having new pictures that he would take me seriously and look into getting a new camera. This hasn't happened yet. So, as a result of my camera boycott, I haven't had too many new pictures to post to the blog.

Here are a couple of the more recent ones:

In the playroom with toys everywhere

Playing in the basement with Grandpa

Watching SuperWhy on the iPod at Nana's house

Can't handle the excitement at the dinner table

Sweet smiles

The last one is my favorite. (It's a video and you have to click on it to watch it.) It makes me laugh so hard that now whenever Sammy gets in trouble, he tries to get out of it by doing this. It usually works because I can't help but laugh!

Some New Pictures

2007-11-17T18:31:00.000-05:00

La Cucaracha

2007-11-13T11:25:00.000-05:00

I now present to you Sam and the love of his life, Kitty. I know this is going to weaken the argument that I'm really busy, but Sam loves it!

Dentist Visit

2007-11-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

The boys went to the dentist last week. Matthew's been going to the same place since before he turned one so it's no big deal for him. This was only Sam's second visit and he didn't like it. In fact, they weren't able to do much in the way of cleaning this time because (big surprise) he wouldn't cooperate. He did get a new toothbrush and can now use big kid toothpaste, so he was happy about that. FYI, Matthew is wearing the sunglasses because the light they use was just too bright for his eyes. :) He must not be the only one to complain about it because they have those sunglasses ready to go.

Swag Bag

2007-11-10T17:34:00.000-05:00

Maria, here is what you missed! Not much!! No itunes downloads this year, but lots of repeat junk from last year. If you see anything you want, it's yours!

Halloween

2007-11-08T16:51:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from our night of trick-or-treating. Sam had so much fun and he and Norm stayed out almost the whole night gathering candy. Matthew however, couldn't believe that we would make him walk AND carry his candy bag, especially when he was thirsty, so he decided to quit after only about 10 houses. I took him home and he asked to do a reading lesson. I told him he was probably the only kid in America who would rather do a reading lesson than go trick-or-treating. In the end, he may have had a master plan. When Sam got back with all the candy, Matthew conned him into sharing some with him. So, in typical Matthew fashion, he got what he wanted with minimal effort exerted.

Just too tired to continue. This picture was taken about 12 minutes after we started.

Note the look of love on Sam's face. :)

Sam at School

2007-09-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pictures of Sam's first day of school. He's doing pretty well with it. He still isn't a big fan of me leaving, but his teacher swears he's only unhappy for a few minutes. He even napped on his first day!

Stopping to visit Harvey the bunny on the way in.

Miss Johanna is helping to wash his hands. Hand washing is the first thing they do when they arrive each day.

Playing with a few of his favorites.

Sound asleep on his cot!

This made me smile today.

2007-09-27T17:30:00.000-04:00

ACC Boy Wonder!

2007-09-07T23:33:00.000-04:00

Nana's Birthday

2007-09-07T23:30:00.000-04:00

Zoo Trip

2007-09-07T22:58:00.000-04:00

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Too Cute!

2007-09-06T16:10:00.000-04:00

The First Day of School

2007-09-06T16:00:00.001-04:00

This is what sold Matthew on this school. They have a gerbil named Thunder.

Matthew's New School

2007-09-06T15:32:00.000-04:00

Matthew started school on Tuesday and had a great first week. Last week we went and met his teachers and spent some time in his classroom. He even got to meet a few of the kids who will be in his class this year. The school is so great. I cannot say enough good things about it. I only wish I had found it earlier. He only has 11 kids (including him) in his class and 2 teachers. They have quite a bit of free time and get to choose from activities that the teachers have set up around the room. They also have a pretend area with a play kitchen, dress up clothes, baby dolls, etc., a listening center where they can listen to music and books on tape/CD, an art table and cabinet stocked with every imaginable art supply, a science area, and lots and lots of games, toys, and books. I also love that they really encourage writing. Each child has a journal in which they can write. The school has adopted the Handwriting without Tears program for the 4 year olds this year and I'm really excited about Matthew using this method for his writing. Sam starts on Monday and he already knows his teacher because he had her for summer school. She is the nicest, sweetest lady and even Sammy likes her. I think he's getting more used to the idea of school, although he wasn't too happy about me buying him a new blanket to use on his cot at naptime. I didn't get any pictures of Sam when we went to meet his teachers because Norm took the camera to a Colts luncheon to take pictures of Mike & Mike from ESPN. Thanks Norm...so glad to have those pictures instead of Sam at his school with his teacher. I'll definitley take some on his first day Monday and post them.

These are a few pictures from when we met his teachers last week.

Summer Pictures...June

2007-08-31T10:13:00.000-04:00

These pictures were taken at Touch a Truck at Broad Ripple park. We do this every summer with Matthew's best buddy Grant and the boys have so much fun.

These next few pictures are from Grant's 4th birthday. Dawn and I made the cake. Isn't it cute?

Emily got this Spiderman costume for Matthew for his birthday. He bought the matching gloves with some birthday money. He wears this costume ALL the time. In fact, he even brings it along when we travel. You never know when you're going to need the friendly neighborhood Spiderman!
Lindsey came for a visit and brought Matthew his birthday present...Sandman and Venom. They were a big hit!

I could scream!!!!

2007-08-27T09:39:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems like the 2+ hours I spend Saturday night uploading pictures were wasted!!! I don't know what happened, but these stupid pictures aren't posting. I'll try to fix it later. Sorry...I tried.

It was high drama at the breakfast table this morning

2007-08-26T00:02:00.000-04:00

Who knows why, but he was mad! Maybe it had something to do with his hair?

Sammy Colors

2007-08-26T00:01:00.000-04:00

Sam is spending a lot of time these days coloring. He likes me to print coloring pages off the internet of Bob the Builder, Noddy, and Batman. Matthew has never been a big fan of coloring, so this is usually something Sam ends up doing alone.