Down and Dirty- Camping, Beach and Point Reyes

Using up every last bit of summer, we drove down near Point Reyes on the last weekend before school started, to take our boys camping. They were so excited. They had such a fun time playing in the dirt with their friends, picking berries, roasting marshmellows, visiting the lighthouse, and especially spending a day at the beach.

After the boys were all tucked in for the night, it was fun for Nathan and me to catch up with our friends as well. We are so lucky to know such great, fun people. (We are also thankful that the campsight didn't burn down due to the huge log that the guys scavenged for the fire--they said they got it from a troll.) It was a fitting end to a summer of fun. Next time I'm bringing an airmatress though!

Just for Kicks!

Daniel not only started school but also started playing soccer recently. He has had fun over the past few weeks practicing with his Mather friends (it's a bit of a drive, but we wanted Daniel to have a fun first exposure to organized sports).

The coach is a high school varsity basketball coach, helps with the football team, and has coached many soccer teams as well. With the coach's experience, I worried that it might all be too competative. But the coach has a son on the team and seems to laugh and enjoy the kids as much as the rest of us do from the sideline. He is really patient with all of these little guys who don't know which way to run, and who get confused about when it's ok to use your hands.

We arrived early for the 3rd practice and while we were walking over Liam pointed out an airplane flying over us. I was a little confused when Daniel refused to look and said, "I can't look, it's a rule!" The coach overheard and laughed a bit as he explained that he'd told the kids the first day, "The rules are no picking dandelions or grass, no watching airplanes, and no holding onto the flags." He was impressed at Daniel's listening and so was I. Maybe I could pay him off to add in a few rules for me....put your socks in the dirty clothes, pick up your toys before you leave the room, and don't tease your brothers.

Daniel's first game was Saturday. We had a full day with two birthday parties and soccer. I dropped off Daniel and Nathan at the soccer field while I took Liam to a birthday party then I rejoined them at the soccer field. Before I had made it back (only missed the first 10 minutes) Daniel had already scored his first goal! I was happy for him, but sorry I'd missed it. He must have understood how I felt because he went on to score 2 more goals and blocked 3 goals (when he was goalie). Wow! Nathan and I were so impressed.

At one point I tried to explain that as goalie you can move up a few feet from the goal to stop the incoming balls. Daniel turned to me and said, "No thank you, Mom." That is so Daniel.

We were so excited when we looked at the pictures and saw Daniel smiling in all of them. I'm so glad he's having a fun time. I love the

way they've set it up for his team. At this age they don't keep score. They use smaller boundaries, and they rotate players in and out a lot to make sure everyone gets lots of different playing time. They were all so excited at the end of the game to go through the tunnel as we all cheered on both teams. It was really fun. I guess I'm officially a soccer mom driving a mini van. --I don't even mind!

School Starts for Daniel

This past week Daniel started Kindergarten. This has been a highly anticipated event for quite some time now! We worried about Daniel's separation anxieties and his readiness until he attended a Kinder Camp program during the month of June. It was such a great experience for him. He did so well, had so much fun, and gained so much confidence. It was obvious that he was ready for school.

The first day of school was really fun for our family. Nathan went into work late so that he could walk with us. (I don't blame him. It's fun to be the mom and be around for all of the firsts.) We stopped to take pictures. GG (adopted Grandma across the street) came out to give him a love and send him off. He looks so ready. He loves his Darth Vader back pack (thanks Grandma Bohman) and Thomas the Train lunch pail (thanks Grandma Brady). When we arrived, Daniel's teacher took a picture of our whole family seeing him off. We took Daniel inside, found his cubby and name tag, and Daniel sat down with a book. When we peeked in from the window outside he was too into the book to even notice.

He has two very nice teachers Mrs. Suleiman and Mrs. Oxford. They teamteach so that they can be home with their own families for half the week. Daniel's teachers were very complimentary of him. They said he is a good listener and followed instructions well. After helping out in his classroom on Wednesday and seeing his classmates, I'd have to agree. I'm grateful that Daniel has had Primary at church and Joy School to get him used to sitting still and listening. After his first day of school I asked him what his favorite part was and he said lunch! I didn't expect that answer so soon, but boys will be boys.

Each Wednesday I drop off Liam and Caleb, with a friend, so I can help out in Daniel's classroom. I have looked forward to it ever since I had Daniel. It was fun to be back in the classroom (especially since I now have a bigger vested interest in the class). This week I got to help start assessing the kids' beginning levels. Mostly, I tested them on letter recognition, capital and lowercase, and letter sounds. I didn't give Daniel any added help but he scored the highest in the class by far. It was a proud Mommy

moment. Actually, I wish some of Daniel's Joy School or church friends were in his class (I'm sure they'd have scored similarly to him). It was nice to know he's on the right track.

Daniel's biggest complaints about school are that he wants to bring all of his projects home to show us (on the day he makes them) and that he wants to keep his Eagle tickets that he earned (the kids earn tickets by being on task, being respectful, etc.). On Friday all of the tickets were put into a drawing and Daniel won a popsicle from the principal. What a lucky boy. It's been a great start.

Liam, Liam, Liam--Human Pinball

Liam is such a fun kiddo. But he doesn't watch where he is going. He is always more interested in something else to worry about the wall he's walking into or the step he's missing. It seems like he always has an injury from the last spill he took. I feel quite blessed that he hasn't broken anything or had any injury that required stitches (knock on wood). He seems to be a human pinball, always bouncing off everything just long enough to get whacked by something else. His toes and knees are nearly always skinned or scabbed. Unfortunately his head also takes quite a beating. We were looking at toddler pictures of him and Liam was pointing out to us all of his head injuries in the pictures. Yikes. Thursday after walking Daniel home from school we all decided to cool off with a Popsicle. Liam decided to climb on his bike up to the freezer in the garage to 'help' me get them. You guessed it...the bike moved and Liam fell down and whacked his forehead on a chair leg and the cement floor. It got huge fast and it bled a little. At the end of the day there was still a bump the size of the teaspoon on his head. The picture I took is from 3 days later and it is still a huge bump. It looks like he's growing a unicorn horn. Liam does fall down a lot, but he is pretty tough. He doesn't worry about his owies for long.

One of my favorite things about Liam is his contagious laugh. He is so much fun to tickle. I don't even have to touch him, if he sees my tickling hand approaching he can't help but giggle. If I need to smile all I have to do is tickle Liam.

I need to give Liam a haircut--I still want his curls but his 'bed head' is out of control. On Wednesday I took some pictures, because I couldn't resist his crazy curls. He should be on a commercial for shampoo with volume. (I only wish I had half that volume! Half might be OK for Liam too.) ;)

Liam still loves his winter jammies and mittens
and hats--he sweats relentlessly--but even in 104 degree weather he begs for them. Maybe it has something to do with all of those head injuries. He fell asleep on the couch in his monkey jammies with his train in hand and I just had to take the picture. Comfy?

Liam loves his brothers. He smothers Caleb with hugs and kisses all day long. When Daniel went to school this week he said, "Daniel, I will miss you." And he does, although he doesn't mind a little time to himself with the trains and other toys. He has told me that he wants to go to school too. I am excited to start teaching him preschool in September.

Six Flags Summer Sendoff

We decided not to let our last week of summer slip by, so we used our season passes at Six Flags one more time. We decided to make it a day of animals, since the shows are our boys' favorite part of the park. We had a great time together. The weather was perfect--a nice breeze. We filled the day with sharks, a wild animal show (including an anteater, a bat, and something that could only be described as an ROUS), a bird show, dolphins, Shuka the killer whale, feeding the giraffes, tiger show (diving underwater for their meat!), crocodiles, and elephants (they even watched one paint a picture, holding the brush in it's trunk). We walked past the camels and decided they smell like a deathly case of BO! Liam loved feeding the giraffes. They had crazy long bluish tongues that wrapped around the green leafy food and carrots. Caleb seemed to be enjoying the giraffes while he munched on their carrots. (Yuck!) He wasn't that happy when those mean giraffes took their food from him. Daniel and Liam thought it was fun to touch an elephant. Daniel used the money he won from the Library Summer Reading Program ($25!) to buy a dolphin stuffed toy for himself and Liam. (Just what we need...another stuffed animal. Oh well, it was his money! He named his dolphin Pipe. I thought it was a great name for a dolphin.)

We were all exhausted by the end, but it was really fun.

A Small Step for Caleb, A Giant Leap for Momkind!

Look Mom, no hands! Baby stepping... I couldn't decide which title I liked best but they're all appropriate. Over the past two weeks Caleb has decided that walking has its merits. I'm a little surprised that it took him so long. For quite some time now, he has been doing the 'elephant crawl' (like Mogli does when he joins the elephant patrol in the Jungle Book) where he's on all fours, but doesn't let his knees touch down, bum up. For months, he has also been very good at standing himself up without using anything to pull up on. Until now he would just stand there and look around or wait until one of his brothers knocked him down or he lost his balance. Caleb is 14 months. Daniel was 11 months when he took off and Liam 1 yr.

"The elephant crawl"

It is so cute to watch him. Daniel and Liam cheer him on when he takes steps. He's up to about 10 before he falls down and starts again. It amazes me that even with the 3rd one, it's still so exciting to watch them learn new things. They are all so different, and yet they all get there in the end.

So with this new found freedom comes all new adventures. He is not only walking, but climbing as well. I keep finding him up on top of the little kitchen table that the boys eat at. I have also found him at the top of the ladder leading up to the bunk beds. He hasn't fallen yet, luckily. He just laughs or yells for me when he's stuck on top. Yikes. My other two boys never climbed out of the crib, but I think this child may be the one that does. When I get to him, he grins and giggles. His expression reads, "I'm so clever and cute, and you know it!" Actually he is right especially about the cute part. I just hope he doesn't get any broken bones. Yesterday, I fed Caleb lunch while his big brothers played outside. After he finished his chimichanga I took him out of his booster chair. I went out to the back yard to get Liam and Daniel to come in and eat, but when we got inside Caleb was on the table and he'd eaten Liam's chimichanga too. I guess he was hungry! I couldn't help laughing. Those big brothers had better not under estimate this little monkey. One of Caleb's favorite new games is finding a ball picking it up, throwing it, and running after it to start again. It's a great game. He totally entertains himself. Sometimes he laughs while he plays (the simple joys!).