They love to read

When I first started this blog, I had no fear the children would read it. They could barely walk, so they were otherwise occupied. They had other skills they needed to master first.

But now, the boys visit this site regularly for stories about their babyhood. I think they mostly look at pictures.

And they have questions.

"Why is Joshua in ALL of the posts?" (I really don't think that's true).

"How come you don't have any pictures of Michael?"

"What do you mean?" I ask. "TOTALLY not true."

"Well, look at this one." This from Jason. It even says, "Michael is 5 years old!"

"But, look at it. It has pictures of Joshua all through it."

And I have to admit, there is a little bit of proof.

See for yourself.

Catch the post about Michael's 5th birthday here.

So, tonight, I'm rectifying it.

Now that he's in middle school, Michael and I have so much more time to spend together. And I'm so very thankful for that time. He talks about his new friends (one of his new friends has a boat - see the picture below from a recent trip on the water), Academic Challenge as well as loving his new Middle School. We are so thrilled to see Michael so happy!

Meets, matches & games

What a difference two years makes.

One of the last posts I wrote before this blog's hiatus focused solely on baseball.

For several years, it's all we knew.

Home from school, snack, homework, baseball practice, dinner, bed. 6-hour double-headers, sunflower seeds, peanuts, bleachers and loads of Sunday fun.

That was the routine for a very, very long time, and I thought it would continue for years to come. 

But right after Cooperstown (pictures and stories to come at a later date), Jason decided no more dugouts and pop flies.

Now it's all about tackles.

We're firmly into football. What?! Football? Yes, Jason played last year and then again this year. You know it's here to stay when we see him and his ear-splitting grin as he walks off the football field.

 
See? Can't believe Grandma and Grandpa are able to smile, too, standing so close to him. He puts his all into those games. Whew!

The football season just wrapped up and he's now practicing for basketball season. We ask him constantly whether baseball is in his future - as in, "Will you be needing any of the countless bats, helmets or baseballs we have stored in our garage?"

"No."

That's the same answer I get from Michael when I ask him about baseball, swimming, or basketball.

Luckily, I think we have found a sport he actually enjoys.

Tennis. We have started to play tournament games with kids his age, and let's just say his first season was the warm-up round. Looking forward to a much better showing in the winter. We love watching him play!


 

Speaking of swimming... Finally! I have one who may like it enough to continue with it. I forced Jason and Michael to do at least one season of swim team in order to beef up their water skills. Joshua has really started taking to the competition of the meets, though, coming in first in all his events in his swimming trials.

We'd actually never seen a first-place ribbon in this sport before, something we make sure Jason and Michael realize.

Look! So many pretty colors!

This past weekend, Joshua was part of a relay and the entire team won first place. Again, a first for us, so I had to document it.

It has already been a very busy holiday season and as usual, we kicked all of it off with the Grand Illumination. This time, we took our neighbors. There were 16 of us and we had a blast!

Happy holidays to all of YOU!

We're back!

I had forgotten the joy I received in sharing the kids' moments.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday 2016, I happened to think about this blog. I went online to see if it was still there. And, thank goodness! It's still standing.

I went back in time.

Funny stories, pictures from homes, vacations and visits past, incredible memories.

From the last time I posted, in 2013, to today, late 2016, much has changed. The boys are bigger (much bigger), they have more to say, and they are simply brimming with personality. I tried to get them to read about their young lives. They were not interested. But us adults? Laughing until we were crying at some of the things these children said and did. A lot has happened in the last three years, since I last posted. So I will attempt to catch you up. In 2012, this was our trio. Kids, right?

 

Today, they are boys, and for one of them at least, a young man.

 

Joshua will always be our baby, and he knows it.

We all call him Baby. For a little while, we made a concerted effort to stop calling him, "Baby," and it felt really weird. So we all call him, "Baby," now.

Even Michael.

I was looking at Joshua the other day - his long legs, messed-up hair (you know, sticking up in the back no matter what I do) and ready smile - and I thought, "He no longer looks like a baby. He is a boy."

But then, I said, "Baby, it's time to wash up and get to bed."

And he said, "Ok."