Michael is 5 years old!

Where does the time go???

Michael turned 5 years old last week (I know, I'm a little behind) and we had major celebrations to mark the milestone.

First up, the classroom party--Michael, the birthday boy, is holding onto a globe to show the passage of time, one candle lit for each year he has been with us.

So sweet.



Then, all the children were quiet as they took a break from class to eat cupcakes that Grandma made. The kids LOVED them, as they're chocolate-filled hands rushed to give me hugs for being the deliverymom.

Grandma and Grandpa were here for Michael's celebration with his friends. He has never been interested in Chuck E. Cheese's before (and we were happy about that). There was no getting away from it this year.



It was the only thing he wanted, so we told him, "Just this once!"

He was happy to be King for a Day.



This spring has been such a busy one already.

Jason is getting his exercise. Not only is he on two baseball teams, the kid ran his first mile! He still talks about how much he enjoyed it!




Look at that smile!

And then, take a peek at this one...

I guess 5-year-olds have a tough time expressing themselves.



One kid who has NO trouble sharing his feelings is our baby.



He can be serious--he is beginning to focus a bit more, enjoying books, holding "conversations," playing with toys for concentrated periods of time.



But more often than not, Joshua is the boy with the big smiles.



And yes, that's the infamous peacoat at the park!



The weather so far this spring has been kind of wild. Spring-like one day, more like winter the next.

We're trying to get out as much as we can and the boys gravitate automatically to the monkey bars!!!




What I think is so cool is that the three also gravitate toward each other.



We finally got a new dining room table with a bench on one side. Dinnertime is so great these days, watching them sit next together, talk to each other, and sometimes, eat! (Actually, Joshua ALWAYS eats, the other two--that's a different story)



We have had a wonderful weekend so far--we hope you have, too!!!

Play ball--times two!!!

Baseball season has begun, and we are gearing up for a busy few months.

Last week was the first full week of practice. We spent about 7 hours on the ball field altogether--and at least one practice was canceled for wet weather. Two boys, two practices a week, lots of dirt!



Michael, who has never really shown any interest in t-ball, is now playing t-ball. And I believe he is really enjoying it.

He went right up to the coach on the first day of practice and started firing questions at him, regarding the tee, practice bases and balls being used. It was too funny.

After practice, I told Michael, "You did really great at practice."

Michael replied, pretty smugly I might add, "I know."

I realized during that first practice with Michael that having Jason as a big brother during the session was a good thing. He watched over Joshua, more or less.



Joshua was pretty good while we were outside, but before going out, he was sooo cranky.

During the loud wailing, Jason looked at me and said, rather wistfully, "I wish Joshua had a 'stop crying' button."

Don't we all wish that sometimes!

Marvelous Mario

It has always been tough to figure out what will motivate the boys. For years, there didn't seem to be anything that they cared about enough to encourage good behavior.

Until now.

We salute SUPER Mario and his brother Luigi.

The boys have had interests, sure--Star Wars, Bakugan, Guitar Hero. But Super Mario, it is almost an obsession. Want to get the boys out of their shell? Ask them about the latest "world" they conquered. Or how they beat the last, baddest Bowser (whatever that is).

Tonight, we came in from dinner and they brushed teeth, took showers, basically got ready for bed in TEN minutes--all so they could play a little bit before bed. Why can't they do this every night? Good question. But so far, the promise of Mario has gotten us a couple of pretty motivated little helpers.



Joshua is "saying" more and more these days. No one really knows what he is saying, though. A couple of words are clear, like "Chason (Jason)," "No!," "Night night," "baby," "bwush tweef (brush teeth)."

While we are still working on his verbal skills, his ability to understand is right on target. He knows exactly when Super Mario is going to on the big screen downstairs. And when his brothers take their place on the couch, he is right there with them.



A busy day at the ball field today with the start of baseball practice for the new season.
Jason is studying Benjamin Franklin in school and Doug told me after practice today they were discussing Mr. Franklin's many accomplishments. That got Jason thinking about electricity.

He asked Doug if electricity had been invented when Doug was a child. In all seriousness, he needed to know if electricity was a benefit Doug was able to enjoy at a young age. Jason's big brown eyes were so earnest while he asked.

Wait, it gets better.

Then he wanted to know if colors were the same, like had red, yellow, blue been invented yet...you get the picture. And then he wanted to know if Doug had "all the numbers" when he was little. Like 17 or 49 were new to all of us.

They are always thinking, aren't they? And at this age, Jason and Michael have no problem verbalizing any of it.