The toy store is open

Merry Christmas to everyone. We have had a fantastic day. We, like many families, have been preparing for Santa's visit for weeks. Last night, it was time to lay the groundwork for a good visit.



Jason and Michael grabbed paper from our kitchen--post-it notes that perhaps were a little more colorful than they should be for the Man in Red. Nevertheless, the hand-written part was straight from the heart.

So was the hand-made big cookie for Santa and nine carrot sticks for his four-legged friends.



The boys have had a fine time this week. School is out, Amah, Akong, and Uncle Tim were here--everyone is all smiles.

We extend a special thank you to Uncle Tim who woke up when Jason did at 6 a.m. They watched cartoons for an hour so we could "sleep" in.





We were blessed to spend the day with family and friends.

We are looking forward to seeing Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. We wish them a safe and uneventful trip!

Happy Holidays to all!!

Santa Baby

Yes, there he is.



My Santa Baby.
Joshua is all too quickly zooming toward the ripe old age of 1. He turned 8 months old on Sunday.

Just two days before that, we took him to the doctor, where we learned he weighs 15 pounds now.

We celebrated the milestone by giving all three boys flu shots.

And, this is the crazy thing. Upon hearing the news, Jason and Michael screamed, "Yay!" and jumped up onto the doctor's table. No tears, quite the opposite. And, when it was Joshua's turn to roll up his pants for a shot, both older boys wanted a front row seat. The nurse had to ask them to step aside a bit so she could get to work.

The only "crybaby" was Joshua--but, his big brothers didn't hold it against him. When they went to the treat chest in the doctor's office (a box filled with stickers and plastic gadgets and stuff), they duly picked up a toy for their little brother.

Center stage

It's time for Joshua's big brothers to get space in the spotlight. Holiday programs dominated the week. As the oldest boy in his class, Jason had some critical roles in his production.



He led the program by addressing the waiting crowd. "Parents, welcome to our program. We'll start with 'America,'" he said. He was so calm.

Michael, too, had a successful show.




Michael's class took the crowd through "Jingle Bells" and "Do You Know the Muffin Man?"



At home, we are simply trying to get ready for the holidays and the visitors we're very excited to see.
Presents are a BIG focus for our older two. We are enjoying a gift basket filled with food from Buffalo, courtesy of Uncle Bud and Aunt Joyce. Thanks so much for it!

You may be happy to know that the ENTIRE gift is being appreciated.
The box and the styrofoam peanuts kept Jason and Michael occupied for a good TWO HOURS. That was some gift!

Football season is just about over, but that isn't stopping the boys from enjoying a friendly game. Even the baby is getting involved. It's never too early, you know.

It's showtime!

Jason and Michael are good-natured and generally pleasant boys. We couldn't love them more.

But, they weren't exactly the happiest babies on the block.

Now that we have one, though, we can't stop capturing the moment.



Joshua smiles at everyone.
He loves the sound of his name, the sound of my name, the sound of your name.
He enjoys being held by strangers, he loves to look at the lights and play with hanging toys.

The one thing that is making him uncomfortable, and as a result, making the rest of us feel the pain...is his new teeth.



Jason learned the hard way what happens when you get too close to his gums.



During lunchtime today, Michael was urging Joshua to reconsider: "Joshua, big brother's hand is NOT FOOD!"

Toothy

Yes, it's official.
There really was a reason behind all that drool.

Baby Joshua is sporting a brand new tooth. One of the bottom ones.



Despite his lack of interest in the Christmas parade, I think he likes our in-home holiday decorations.
Might be something to do with the pretty lights.

Holiday spirit

The baby enjoyed his first Christmas parade last weekend.
He was thrilled, as you can see.



Thankfully, the festivities were short, and we left right after Santa rolled by.
Baby Joshua's older brothers were happy to see the man in the red suit, but were disappointed they didn't get any candy.



The weekend was filled with football as well. Joshua doesn't care for it much.



The kids continue to amaze us with their lessons! Jason is learning division. Michael can now count to 100!

He's also learning about sounds and is in the beginning stages of reading. We always talk about words and the letters they start with. For example, he'll tell me, "Mommy, cat starts with "c."

Unfortunately, a lot of our conversations revolve around puking. The baby spits up regularly, Jason threw up recently because he wasn't feeling well, so you can see how things deteriorate during dinner table talk sometimes.

So Michael said recently, "Mommy, throw up starts with "f." He was so proud of himself.

Get it? "frow up?"

You really can't make this stuff up.

Part of the family

Nope. We don't leave the boys alone with the baby. They might pat him a little too vigorously.

I know they love their baby brother, though.

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

We are counting our blessings many times over this year, and we were blessed to have family and friends to celebrate the day with. If I do say so myself, the meal was a fine one.

It's funny how many hours it takes to prepare a meal, yet it takes just minutes to devour it.



Jason was obviously surprised when he took a bite. He told me it was the "best turkey EVER!"



It kept the family smiling, that's all that mattered.
In all the holiday craziness, the baby's 7th month came and went.
Baby Joshua is not moving much, but will tolerate standing on his tip-toes, and he doesn't seem to mind standing next to his biggest brother.




Hard to believe the holidays are here. But you know they are just around the corner when Doug strings Christmas lights. This year, Michael wanted to supervise.



And Jason wanted to play football.




Great.

Mean mommy

Jason has a friend over to play today. Ethan and he are having a great time, flitting fom game to game. Today, Mean Mommy told him he couldn't start another game until he cleaned up the last one.

That's when Jason exclaimed, "There's TOO much WORK in this house!!!"

Just wait until he gets tall enough to push a lawn mower...

Strike a pose

I've taken a few yoga classes in my life, like maybe two.
Michael has taken many, many more.
I learned while speaking with his teacher, Miss Dawn, yesterday, that yoga keeps the children centered to start the day. Every day. Maybe I need to learn some poses to bring him back to center at home.

This is a new position Michael just learned. I can't remember the name of it.



Jason and I call this our favorite. Warrior.



And, of course, downward dog.



The funniest part is Michael will strike a pose and move from one to another seamlessly. It cracks us up, which is probably not the desired reaction.

One little person who is not laughing is our baby. He's seriously concentrating on those milestones. Drooling plenty since he's teething. Here you see him sitting up. We put him there, but he is holding up his parts all by himself. He just had his six-month-old checkup. Baby Joshua weighs 15 pounds and has grown to 27 inches.



The two boys are back in the pool. We've started swimming lessons at another Y near us, and the kids are so far having a great time. Michael has turned into such a nurturing little soul. In my recent conference with Michael's teacher, I learned that he continues to be a constructive force in the classroom. The other day, Michael told both Doug and Jason, "I know you can do it, I know you can." I think they were playing a video game or something.



Meanwhile, Jason is just fighting off the girls.
A 4-year-old in his class apparently wants to marry him, and told him she wanted to have a baby.

He said, "I need to decide more before I marry her."
As for the baby comment, he said, "But I don't want to do that yet."

Let's keep it that way, at least for a couple of years.

Have a great weekend!

Halloween happenings

Halfway through November, and we're still focused on Halloween. The huge bags of candy in our kitchen are a constant reminder!



I know you have seen this costume before. Jason wore it for two years (by his choice, not mine, I promise!), and I guess Michael had seen it so many times, he thought THAT is what a costume should look like.

If you've ever met Michael, you know it is difficult to get him to change his mind.

As a Green M & M, Michael enjoyed the parade at school this year. Jason was there, too, but I couldn't see him in the crowd to snap a picture.

We had a great time trick or treating with friends, T.A. and Emily, and ALL of our children. Boy, we were a big group.



Last year, I remember we walked alongside the excited kids as they went from house to house. This year, I'm just thankful we brought some extra adults. Our kids, much older, and much faster, far outran us. There was no stopping the kids and their candy.



Jason dressed up as Anakin Skywalker. The kid has never seen the Star Wars movies, and it has been years since I saw the last one. His friends at school have seen snippets of the films and apparently talk about it all the time. That's why Jason wanted to play a role in this saga.

But, of course, he had questions. Questions to things I just don't really have the answer to. Like: "Mommy, when Darth Vader takes off his mask, does he look like Anakin Skywalker?"

"Umm, yes, Jason, just older."

"But, why?" he asks.

"Well, he's been through a lot."

"So Mommy, why does Anakin turn into Darth Vader? and DOES HE DIE after he takes off the mask? And why does he die?"

I know there are easy answers to these questions, but I do not know them. And I realize that when I make up an answer, he always seems to know, shooting back more questions in return.



Thank goodness for the child who doesn't talk yet.
My little pumpkin had a good time trick or treating as well. He just doesn't get to enjoy the treats.

Birthday visit

Thanks so much to Grandma and Grandpa for coming to visit us for Jason's birthday! They had plenty of alone time with Jason and Michael, but I think they were a little taken with this guy...



With the exception of a rather long (it felt long!) car ride, Baby Joshua was a delight, and he had a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa. Look at that smile!



And, though the pictures are still in my camera, we had big success in celebrating Halloween, or as Jason knows it, "The day our arms hurt because we get so much candy."



My little artists got to work before the big day. Pictures from trick-or-treating to come.

Birthday bowling bash

The lanes were filled with Jason and his friends last weekend for a birthday bash at the bowling alley.



What a great bunch of kids!



Even Michael, who was having a tough time because the focus was Jason, Jason, and more Jason on this day, managed to enjoy himself.



Jason had a blast with his friends. The highlight, he told me later, was the STRIKE he bowled during one of his games.



Of course, there was much more to be thankful for--the cake, the pizza, the fruit juice, the friends, and the presents...



Thanks to all who came out to enjoy Jason's special day!!!

Six months old

AAAH!

The last six months have passed in a flash.

Half a year old, and Baby Joshua is already following in his big brothers' footsteps. Looks like Jason, doesn't he?



I have never been successful in encouraging the boys to use pacifiers. They have always preferred their fingers.



We've noticed that instead of bothering with the baby, the two older boys prefer to be by themselves. Jason and Michael have really gotten close recently. There's a fair amount of fighting between them, but, thankfully, a fair amount of fun.



And that leaves me time to be with this little guy.



Lucky me.

Family photo op

It's very difficult to get us all in a picture together. But, when we all manage to squeeze in, the first thing that comes to mind: "Boy, do we have a lot of kids."