Just a typical quiet evening in our house

So the boys have invented a new after-dinner game called "I'm Strong!"  See if you can figure out the rules.  (Make sure you turn your volume all the way up for the most accurate game experience.)

 

The game always involves several interludes similar to that at the end of the video.  No serious injuries, though... yet.

Also, the game requires that all the doors of the upstairs hallway be closed.  It gets preeeeetty warm up there after a while.  I should really capitalize on that -- we could save a fortune on heating costs.

Best Anniversary Gift Ever

Before I (finally) publish our first post about our Great Western Trek, I realized that I first needed to post about our 14th wedding anniversary last November.

So, Mr. Pickles asked for a cappuccino machine.  At first I balked (what a yuppy appliance!), but now... I'm in love.

Miriam is turning out to be quite the little barista.

So, I gave Mr. Pickles a fancy coffee machine.  Mr. Pickles gave me (ahem)... another sweet gherkin!

Once again, he wins.

Since EVERYONE was hoping for a little girl this time we HAD to find out the gender beforehand.  So we could all find out together (since everyone from Katie down was at a sitter's -- Miriam came with us), we averted our eyes at the critical moment, and asked the sonographer to write the sex down on a piece of paper.  She was very sweet about it -- even including a couple shots of Evidence, and folding everything up carefully so we couldn't cheat. :)

....Aaaaaand the big reveal (along with a certain sassy person's reaction)......

Miriam was incensed by Katie's commentary and erased it soon after. :)

After the initial shock of YET ANOTHER BOY (two sets of bunkbeds!  no food in the house!  all that smelly laundry!), we are now totally excited and having fun debating about names.  Sweet little gherkin is due the first week of August (we'll be taking bets soon!), and there are TONS of awesome feast days around then.

I say this is evidence of God's sense of humor, since I never pictured myself as a mother of boyS, plural.  But I see how having boys has been good for me -- it's made me tougher.  And boys are a little easier to figure out -- everything's on the surface for all to see. :)  I'm happy that the boys have each other to shoot/wrestle/fight with.  AND I'm glad we had the girls first!!

{Random}

Because I am all about string of consciousness in summer.

This is one batch of blueberry jam.  ONE. 

  I've made two batches so far.  I think that makes about half of our year's jam supply right there.  We have to move soon -- I'm running out of space in the pantry!

-----

Katie invented a new game: Fishing For Baby!

 -----

Andy is SOOO helpful folding the laundry

 -----

my two hard-working men

-----
This next one is from my birthday a couple weeks ago.  I only include it to prove that my husband is a first-class goober, since he put the WRONG AGE on my cake.

the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

 Aside from the failed attempt to make me feel old (since Mr. Pickles is SO much older than I am and always will be and I am so young and carefree compared to his advanced age), I had a lovely birthday!  I got to do just what I wanted to do, the girls made me handmade presents, and Mr. Pickles cooked some fabulous meals.  Just what one wants for a 30-something (NOT -8) birthday.

-----
So we've had a hard time getting Andy to accept big people food.  I think at first it was a texture issue -- he couldn't handle anything that had to be mouthed.  He loved the mesh feeder, though, and had fun with that, when I had the energy to find things to put in it.  Finally after the home hurricane passed and I was able to spare brain cells on other activities, I introduced Andy to O's.  That was the gateway to a whole new delightful world of flavors and textures.

the girls love feeding him -- he is a very satisfying baby bird

yay!  food is fun!

 He seems so skinny to me that for a while I felt like a failure as his mother, that I wasn't able to provide him with the calories he needed to grow and thrive.  But then he started sleeping until 5am and I relaxed.  I figured if he's comfortable enough to sleep that long without needing to wake up to eat, then he's getting enough.  He's just so dang mobile, I think he burns the calories off faster than he can consume them.  He's due for his 9-month checkup, so I'll get a status report then.  And hey, ya know what?  SOMEbody has to fill that 5th percentile.

-----

I have nothing to add to this, except yes, he is dead asleep, and he was very confused when he woke up.

-----
This shot is amusing because...

how pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

...mere seconds later it devolved into a Lord of the Flies scenario and the boys had to be forcibly separated before they killed each other.

Never a dull moment, I tell you.

-----
To close, I want to share a surreal exchange I had in the Trader Joe's parking lot today:
Jojo, chewing on a lollipop stick: "I'm a smart kid!"
Me: "Oh? What makes you smart?"
Jojo: "I have a cigarette!"
Me: "...Cigarettes make you smart?  Where did you hear THAT?"
Jojo: "From a book!"
Me: O_o

Modern world, your anti-smoking propaganda has utterly failed.

(Lest you think I let it go at that, I impressed upon him that cigarettes actually make you stupid because they kill brain cells, and that the smart kids are the ones who read.  I'm still wondering what book he was talking about, though...)

My baby boys

Daniel's first time holding Andrew

baby brothers are okay, but flying firetrucks are more fun

oh, wait, he's looking at me!  that's pretty cool

*smooch*

MY hold baby!

I have to share a story about the last shot -- I so wish I had caught it on video!  Katie kept offering to take the baby from Daniel, and he kept saying, "No!  Hode beebee!" until finally to make his point he pointed his finger at her and made a shooting noise!  We all fell over laughing.  Ahh, siblings!

The Boys' Room

Hi all!  As I was lying down on Joseph's bed and being attacked by small male persons I decided I wanted to post about the boys' new room setup.  A couple months ago I was noticing that the boys were barely fitting into their beds -- Daniel was in a pack-n-play, and Joseph was in a toddler bed.  Both of their feets were rammed into the bottoms of their beds each night.  It was time to bump them up a mattress size.

Of course, I don't have a "before" picture.  (Why do I never think of these things until afterwards?)  But here is their setup now, looking in from the door:

we put their fan and lamp on top of the wire cubbies

I hauled the old twin mattress up from the basement, realizing how much I loathe vinyl mattress "protectors". I think this one ripped AS I was putting it on the first time. Anyone have any good recommendations for where to find good quality waterproof mattress covers?

Daniel thinks big brother's new mattress is perfect for jumping off of

his own is pretty good, too -- plus it adds the extra thrill of the possibility of braining oneself on the edge of the door!

I was tired of waiting for inspiration for how to fix their window covering.  The blinds had broken beyond repair, and they need SOMETHING for their window, preferably dark, since the sun is now starting to shine directly in at quarter after 6.  I had a curtain rod, but the matching brackets had been ripped out (by a small nameless person) ages ago.  So, finally fed up, I just hammered two box nails into the plaster and balanced the rod on top.  That way if any small nameless person tries the same curtain-pulling stunt again, they will end up with a curtain rod on their head, and be strongly discouraged from trying it again.  Hooray for negative reinforcement!


To make the fleecy car curtain darker, I cut up the part of an old fitted jersey sheet (which doesn't fray) that had the fewest number of holes, cut some slits across the top to match the fleece curtain, and threaded them together onto the rod.  (Old sheets are The Bomb!)

sheesh, look at those wrinkles.  Doesn't this woman have standards??

Then for a tie-back I used a section of the elastic from the fitted sheet, cutting slits in the ends to hook over the already-existing screw in the wall.

 It makes the room nice & dark.  I'm so proud of my window mistreatment! :)


Now we're in the process of getting a workable dresser for the boys.  I'll have to rearrange their room again, and creatively, to fit it, but I'll just be so grateful to have one I won't mind.  Half their clothes are currently in boxes and stacked on the floor, b/c there just isn't room in the little three-drawer plastic thingy that we usually keep the baby's clothes in.  I feel like such a failure as a middle-class parent, that I don't have space to store my children's clothing.  Once I finally find a Real Dresser for Mr. Pickles (the one I wanted on Craig's List is gone) :(  the boys will inherit his.


I'm realizing that we have A Lot of Stuff in this house.  I think my nesting goal of this pregnancy is going to be some serious decluttering.  That, and to get over my reluctance to commit to the Container Store.

September Photodump

Just some random cuteness, mostly of ma boyz.

Brothers hangin'.

Yes, archery is an essential aspect of a well-rounded education, in addition to catechism and good penmanship.

Mini-portraits of the Whirling Dervish and the Michelin Baby.


So much for mental stimulation...

The very hungry babypillar.

Ooo, 'cary face!

More posts coming down the pipeline!

Random Summer

Several more posts in the queue, and a ton to upload from the camera, but meanwhile here are some random shots from late summer.

Aren't they cute? (and photogenic!)


portrait of Smokey


Daniel showcasing his talents -- grabbing stuff, and sleeping in the swing


The reason it will be a miracle Daniel survives to his first birthday.

I took Joseph to a real barber for his first haircut. I had been putting it off for months, dreading what an ordeal it might be. (he is two, after all) But the last haircut I gave him was so less than satisfactory that I decided it was time to hire a professional -- someone who knew what he was doing and could do it quick.

The Shag

Hey, he got his ears lowered!

He did great -- he balked at sitting in the chair at first, but eventually complied, albeit sullenly. The lady took a lot longer than I hoped -- but Joseph sat very patiently at the promise of a lollipop afterwards. Never underestimate the power of a good bribe.

Now Joseph really looks like a little boy. He's been acting like one for a while -- he's the reason we hear ourselves saying things like: No, don't lie down on the baby; or Hey, get your feet out of the baby's face; or Stop, the baby doesn't want to play swords right now. Joseph and Daniel are going to have great fun in about 2 years, or whenever Daniel is big enough to punch back.

The Face of Perfection

Or maybe I'm just an eensie wee bit biased.


...Mmmm, nah, he IS perfect.

Daniel is six weeks old today. That means he is officially not a newborn any more. He's quickly growing out of the "brand new model" look -- his legs don't look like chicken legs any more as he develops the Thighs of Thunder TM, his skin is becoming more like porcelain every day, he's growing yet another chin, and his chub folds are multiplying rapidly. I can already see the beginnings of knuckle dimples.

And speaking of dimples, he SMILES! (The real money shot is about 1:30 in. -- I just couldn't bear to edit any more out!)




He just loves being held. He can tolerate being alone for maybe 5 minutes tops before he starts on his really cute "Where did everybody go?" fake cry. Even when he gets worked up to the semi-hysterical point, he calms down the second he is picked up. Mr. Pickles and I were commenting last night on how satisfying that is -- to have a baby be so contented in your arms -- knowing that simply your presence makes them feel happy and safe. There was a time when I would feel resentful that I had to hold a needy baby ALL DAY LONG and couldn't get ANYTHING done. But now I consider it a privilege to be able to hold a baby all day long -- knowing that this stage is going to pass allll too quickly, and that the other stuff which is much less important will eventually get done someday (that's what older children are for!). Even now Joseph doesn't want to snuggle much -- he's certainly not a baby any more. *sniff*

But he LOVES being a big brother!

Mama's boys

I'm still wrapping my mind around the fact that I'm a mother of sons -- sonS, plural. Boys are such foreign creatures. But I look forward to learning more about them! :)