Senior Trip

Well, having gotten through the preschool graduation ceremony, the kids were ready to move on to their senior trips. Charlie and Seth went hiking in Colorado. Benjamin and a couple of the other guys found a sweet deal at Club Med Turks and Caicos and went to check out the scene down there. However, Andrew decided to stick closer to home and went to hang out with Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kyle in Columbia. Andrew had a great time being thoroughly spoiled. He went to Leaping Lizards and EdVenture Children's Museum, and he even got to go to his first movie in the theater (3-D Monsters Vs. Aliens). Here are some (extremely tiny) pictures from his Senior Trip:

All right. Fun's over, Andrew. Time to buckle down and get a job.

Pomp and...Huh?

Tonight was Andrew's preschool graduation. Caps, gowns, songs (the kids did the "Montharena," which by itself is worth all the tuition we've paid over the years), diplomas...they did everything but senior superlatives. I was half expecting Andrew to be voted "Most Likely to Do a Fake Burp in an Inappropriate Social Situation." I think he'd have been a shoo-in. While I admit to having some snarky thoughts about dressing 4-year-olds in choir robes and mortarboards in the weeks prior to the event, it was certainly a cute little ceremony and a fun excuse to take Andrew out for a special evening alone with Mom and Dad.

Here is Andrew with his buddies Ben, Charlie, and Seth:

It was a pretty stressful year in preschool. Here are the boys blowing off a little steam:

How You Know It Was a Good Party

1. When one of the guests fell asleep on the way home like this:


2. When it was thrown by Grandma.

3. When one of the gifts was a fairy wand.

4. When there was good food.

5. When the guest of honor wore a tiara and practiced her pageant wave.

6. When there were new toys.

7. When no one cared if you ate your princess shoes.

Libby's almost 1! We celebrated early today with Grandma Betsy, Poppa Keith, and the aunts since we'll be at the beach for her real birthday. Thanks for the great party, Grandma and Poppa!

Love It

Steve and I just laugh and laugh at this picture. Tonya, I think this is probably the first you've seen it. This is such a perfect snapshot of Andrew and Josh's "now." Every afternoon the kids on our unbelievably boy-heavy street are out with myriad light sabers and Clone Trooper guns playing with all their hearts. Yes, those would be four, count 'em, four light sabers attached to my son's waistband. Yeah, I don't know how his pants are staying up, either. But I love seeing how earnest the boys are in their play. There is nothing like an earnest little boy. It just gets me here.

That being said, I know, I know, it would be wrong of me to title this picture of my precious, smart, earnest, adorable firstborn and his sweet, loyal, lighthearted best friend "Dorks." So I won't. I will smile over this picture and be thankful that my little guy has friends and health and play and a happy heart.

And I will remember that one day when my son is a teenager and I need some leverage, I have the perfect blackmail.

Too Many Possibilities

I had such good intentions this week. On Thursday, I thought I knew what I'd call my next blog entry: "Riddle of the Day." But I didn't get around to writing it.

On Friday, I thought my post would be titled, "Prayers of a 3-Year-Old." No time to write that one, either.

On Saturday, I knew I wouldn't get to write a post but planned that my Mother's Day morning post would be called "The Force Is With Me."

But then certain events of the actual morning led me to change my (still imaginary, so far) post to "It's Not a Holiday Until Someone Throws Up."

So, here, in short, is a recap of all the posts I meant to write, starting with Friday's:
For the first time, Adam asked to pray at dinner Friday night. Steve and I were, of course, thrilled that he showed any interest and encouraged him. We reminded him of the prayer we started Andrew out with: "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food." But, this is Adam...he shot us a withering look and announced that he would do it himself. And here is how it went:

"God, thank you for the play outside and the fire keep us safe and the Boing Boing (the boys' inexplicable nickname for their baby sister) and we play outside keep us safe and the fruit snacks Amen." No mention of the food (and no, I did not happen to be serving fruit snacks for dinner that night), but playing outside with safety was apparently a highlight. We are not sure what mention of the fire was all about, but perhaps he is referring to the fire he almost started here:



Which takes me back to Thursday's imaginary post, "Riddle of the Day." As in, what do Adam and cats have in common? Multiple lives. See the outlet right outside Adam's door? See the (METAL) doorstop mysteriously unscrewed from the baseboard? See the tiny little extra open hole in the outlet that the carbon monoxide detector did not use/fully cover? Probably not. I didn't see it, either. NO ONE sees that. Anyone want to hazard a guess where I found said METAL doorstop when I came to release Adam from one of his (many) excursions to his room on Thursday, the Day of Much Disobedience? Yep, sticking out of the outlet. The ONE TINY open hole in the outlet.

Moving on. Ah, Adam. Adam, Adam. Rumor had it that I might be receiving a light saber (yes, of Star Wars fame) for Mother's Day. Rumor, plus Adam racing up to me at every opportunity on Saturday and joyfully whispering -- in the broadest sense of the word -- "Oh, Mommy, we got you flowers and a cake and a LIGHT SAVER!" I did not dare get my hopes up too high, but I have to tell you I was pretty excited that I might be as cool as my friend/neighbor Tonya, whose kids had already gotten her a light saber. Purple, I might add. Am I a dork for coveting my neighbor's purple light saber? And, what do you know? The rumor proved true. Here I am with my kids and my spanking new red light saber...at 7 am, sans makeup, in all my jammied glory.

But, as all you mommies know...It's Not a Holiday Until Someone Throws Up. Guess who it was this holiday? Here is Adam, who is really playing quite a prominent role in today's blog, is he not? delightedly carrying around his throw-up receptacle.

Happy Mother's Day to moms everywhere!

Pigtails and Pulling Up

This is not going to be a "Libby Only" post; I just liked the alliteration in the title. Pigtails and Pulling Up...Pirates and Petunias...I'm particularly partial to P's. Somebody stop me. No, really. Anyhoo, we've had an eventful couple of weeks around here. (Read: too busy to post.) Here are some of the highlights of the good stuff:

PIGTAILS! Need I say more?

Pulling Up! While I don't wish away one minute of Libby's babyhood, anything that brings her a step closer to transporting herself and removes the crippling effect of me doing it is certainly welcome. Plus, she's so cute and proud of herself.

I just can't think of a "P" caption. But here is Adam scooting around.

The apple truly doesn't fall far. It was a gorgeous day. The backyard was full of little boys playing and a rocking playset built by Dad. But someone who shall remain nameless did not want any part of it and had to be forced outside to get some Vitamin D. What can I say? He's mine, and I am the original "indoor gal."