Legends in the making

Don't know why, really.

But, we call this the "Mick Jagger."



Amah tells the boys to pucker up, and here it is! There is really no resemblance to the Rolling Stone star. It makes all of us laugh anyway.



Then, if you keep the camera turned on, they laugh all by themselves.

Happy Friday!!!

Stop the presses!

The boys got a haircut. Thank you once again, Mr. Jack!

Horsing Around

It was a rare moment of quiet, so I snapped a picture.



Of course, moments later, the two were at each other's throats.

These days, Michael doesn't use his hands (for hitting) as much as he's using his words.

He's threatened to "un-invite" every member of the family to his birthday party until we "behave."

Right now, I'm on "time out," and am unallowed to step foot inside his birthday celebration.

We hope, for his sake, that changes before the bill comes due!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Looks like a normal gathering of Doug's poker buddies, doesn't it?



Look closer, and you'll see some extra helpers, who liked to share the details of what was in Doug's poker hand. So, maybe Jason and Michael weren't exactly HIS buddies in this situation.



Luckily, for Doug, the boys were easily distracted by a Nintendo Wii brought to the house this past weekend.



But, first, let me explain why Doug looks so SURPRISED at the gathering in the first place.
You see, we were planning for a party; he just didn't know the guest of honor was HIM.



We hope you had a good time, Daddy! We had a great time putting together this gathering for you!!! We love you! Happy Birthday!!!

Dividing Line

Our playdate with Ethan started normally enough.
The boys ran around and played with a dartgun. They taunted Michael.

All was well.

Then, Ethan and Jason decided they had to do some math.

Math??! Where did THAT come from?



Jason, so far has only done addition and subtraction.
Ethan, however, is a year older, and is doing multiplication and division.

Both wanted challenging number problems--on paper.

Well, Jason realized, after looking at Ethan's paper, that HE could do the work.

By the end of our "playdate," Ethan and Jason were clamoring for more and difficult division problems! I had a tough time keeping up.



Thankfully, Michael simply wanted to be...Michael, and not a math whiz for the day.

"I Can Do It Myself!"

All hail the King of Independence!
Michael is in rare form.



Way back when he was 18 months old, he used to climb up those curvy ladder steps at the playground with no fear.

Then, he hit two, and was "scared."

Now, he's confident once again, and climbing like a monkey.



Jason, thankfully, is also trying to get things taken care of on his own.
These days, I enjoy sitting on park benches rather than pushing 40 pound boys on a swing! It's good that he's finding ways to entertain himself at the park!

Showing Off

We know the boys work hard at school.
Their teachers tell us they do.
Yesterday, I got the chance to see how far they have come.



It's the discipline that I love about this Montessori school.
Michael knows what is expected of him in the classroom, and he behaves accordingly.
I watched him pull out a mat, place a lesson on top, and start to work independently.

He was simply moving little spikey balls from a bowl to a plate, using tongs.
It works his motor skills, and his little fingers were flying.

Proud as I was, Michael had a "moment." Those of us who see him on a daily basis know what this is all about. We were supposed to leave after he showed me ONE lesson, but he had a total MELTDOWN in class until we allowed him to do two.



Jason's progress, though, is nothing short of amazing.
Here he is sorting through fruits and placing the correct identification of each fruit below the picture.

He hasn't eaten many of these fruits, and knowing him, probably never will.
But, rest assured, he recognizes in pictures and in words, papayas, avocados, and kiwi.

The most amazing thing I saw him do yesterday: Add and subtract three-digit numbers using what is called a "stamp" game. We adults could learn some lessons from these kids!

Super Sunday

It is so nice to have visitors.



We had the pleasure of seeing Cousin Bennjin, who was making his way to our area on business.
We're so glad he had some time to enjoy a little, and relax with us on Superbowl Sunday. Our dear friends, Natalie and Lito, hosted a bash, and we all ate to our heart's content.

Jason, though, as you can see, is none too happy. We had to wrestle him away from the game, just to snap a picture.



Of course, it was likely not all fun and games for Cousin Bennjin. We left him upstairs to fend for himself with our rambunctious boys before we left for the party.

Before he left, I remember him saying how much energy our boys have....