Trip to Rockaway

Several months ago, my mom asked if we would be interested in taking their week at the beach. She had bazaars and Dad had meetings so they couldn't go this September. I jumped on it! So, ight near the end of the month, we packed up and headed to Rockaway Beach, Oregon for a week of family vacation time.
The thing I love about Rockaway, well 2 things really, is how peaceful it is. Quite a few towns on the coast are so touristy and busy. Rockaway really isn't. The other thing is how much beach there is. Not a rock for miles. At low tide it feels like you are in an entire county of smooth sandy beach.
The unit we stay in has a bed, kitchen, dining in one studio-type room, plus a bedroom with two queens. It was far from E proof--but nothing really is. So that kept us hopping. It also made sue we got out and about everyday! Lots of walks on the beach and trips to the swimming pool.
I never did get a picture of the kids in the pool. They were so cute. Baby M decided the pool was just grand. She splashed her little heart out. :)
Here's a few of the pictures from the adventure.

C helping E fly a kite

M on the same day. For some reason, when everyone else was in shorts, M was bundled. *shrug*


We took a morning trip to Oswald State Park. C took the older 2 over to see some tide pools. They naturally walked in the surf on the way back. Something happened (dunno what still) and G totally went down. Face first. Into a wave. That frosted look to his hair is all sand. His mouth is fine btw, he just needed, like, 5 crackers at once to feel revitalized. He was completely fine. We were just glad it was G and not M that ate it. Or the rest of the day would have been miserable. G is such an adventurer.

The evening walks were more apt to get chilly. Especially for wet little toes. Here's my little E and me, finishing up a walk.

G displying his kelp find. He was too chicken to touch it for awhile, but warmed to the idea eventually. Not long after that, we found a dead squid that had washed up. It hadn't been dead for long, but we don't have a clue as to cause of death. I didn't have my camera and C is a bit squeamish about that kind of thing. So we don't have pictures, but I wish we did. It was huge! And in perfect shape. M had a great time poking at it as we did a semi-science lesson. I would guess the body was a little over 2 feet and the tentacles a bit longer still.

Walking back from town. The boys are racing. You can see just how vast the beach is here. Baby M took all her walks in the wrap, of course. :)

Just lucky ol' me

My scientist at work.
It started snowing last night again and M asked what would happen to the Dead Sea if it froze. We explained that would be nigh on impossible given a) it's geographical location and b) it's salinity. "But what if it got to 0 degrees for 2 weeks?" he wanted to know. Dad suggested he run an experiment. He kept notes even (reluctantly-mom's can be just horrid), and recorded his process, hypothesis and observations.
He stirred in as much salt as his jar of water would hold, drew a line at the water level, capped it and put it in the freezer overnight. The result? Salt water doesn't even come close to freezing in the freezer overnight. Gets dang cold-but no ice.

Grandma and her boys. Can you tell she likes them? Adores, spoils, thinks the world of--yup, true grandma. She had one on her lap. Another felt a little left out. The third noticed that Grandma had become the place to be and well....

M with his new cousin. She was born in October and it took FOREVER, I mean, months, for me to finally meet her. Her momma handed her over first thing, lickety split. Such a smart woman. I am quite in love with my nieces! Of course, can you blame me? Just look at her! And she and M seemed to totally hit it off too. Awwww.

For the past few, well, 15 months, we've been struggling with E's sleep. I am trying to be good about implementing the strategies outlined in Elizabeth Pantley's book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution. It's a great book, I just need to be more disciplined. And maybe not be so careless as to leave trade secrets lying around. Maybe this is why some of them aren't working as well as I'd hoped. Someone got a heads up!

And finally, the joys of my life, my guys. Every gal should be as lucky as me! Aren't they a great looking bunch?

That's gratitude for ya

G is a very grateful child. He says thank you for lots of things in his night time prayers.
Case in point: Tonight, he was looking around the room coming up with all kinds of things to be grateful for when E popped up and spit in his face.
"Thank you for playing with E and he spits in my face."

Oh, yeah, I have a blog

Who knew?

Life has been crazy here of course. Not too long after my last post, I took the 3 boys to the coast with my parents. Dad has great pictures at PapaCoyote. So I'll just direct you there, and you can look at his awesome pictures! Who, Me? Lazy?
On the 27th, we celebrated G's birthday. He's 4 years old, people! 4! He got a skateboard and went right out, got on it, and started trying to learn how to do tricks. Naturally. Sheesh. My mom made him a great blanket, Aunt J bought him pads to wear with the skateboard, and GramRe and PaR gave him a Cars playset. And, he got books and clothes. None of which are nearly as exciting a big ol' sugary cake.
Which he begged for for breakfast the next 2 days running. For some reason, the rest of the cake disappeared soon after.
The next day, Sunday, we blessed E at church. It was awesome to have mine and C's parents, and Aunt J there. And our ward family, of course. E wasn't too keen on having all these men put their hands on his head when they could just as well toss him in the air and play with him (I mean, Really!), but he did very well. Next step is a trip to the temple to have him sealed to us.

In other craziness, we have decided to sell this house and buy another before baby comes in May. Yeah, craziness. But I don't want to move with a newborn, or 4 children period, really. And I don't want to give birth in a remodel. We may have found a house. I always assumed we'd move up close to Portland, but in writing out my reasons for moving up vs staying here, the list looks a little pathetic. We have established lives here for 5 years now and there are a lot of really good reasons to stay. Not least of which is our awesome neighborhood. So we have been talking about the house up the street. Is it silly to move 3 houses away? But it's 2,300 sq feet, 4 bedrooms plus a den, and a gardening-ready backyard. As in-greenhouse, garden area and mature apple trees. And who knows what else is in there. The house has sat vacant for about 3 or 4 months now and it's hard to see through all the weeds.
When we went into the backyard (tresspassing, I know!), the kids had a blast. So M said he definitely wanted to buy it. A few days later when we were talking about the amount of work the house needs, he caught something about yard work to be done. "You mean you'd cut out the jungle?" When told we would, indeed, "cut out the jungle," he expressed that any house is as good as the next then. LOL
So, anyone out there an expert in buying a pre-foreclosure? Know of someone who is? Any tips and advice? I'd love to hear it!
But, now I need to get to work getting this house put into shape to sell. And interviewing a few handymen to do the work on things like the shower, ducts and whatnot.
Hey, at least I have my midwife and love her. I can give birth, I just need a home to do it in. That brings me to something else. I want to do some posts about natural birth. Any questions about it? Things you'd like me to cover? Questions about homebirth? Shoot. Even you, David.

Don't see the yogurt

I made yogurt last night from goat milk. G has been begging for yogurt for days. So I gave him some this morning. Then, while I was making my oatmeal, he said he wanted some. Fair enough. So I made enough for both of us and put his portion in the freezer to cool.
He asked how long it would take. I told him it would be done as soon as his yogurt was gone. I'm not sure he had really touched the yogurt yet and thought this might encourage the eating of it.
He dug in and ate several bites of yogurt. As soon as I stood up and headed back into the kitchen he shouts that his yogurt is done. "Is my oatmeal done?"
"Yup," I said, "if your yogurt is gone."
I mixed up the oatmeal with maple syrup and cinnamon (the ONLY way to eat oatmeal People!) and brought it to him at the table. He puts his hand over the yogurt bowl and says, "don't see the yogurt."
There were at least 5 or 6 bites left.
Goofy kid.

Girls, already?

I was admiring G's eyes to him. They are gorgeous--all bias aside. I told him that someday girls were going to swoon over them.
G--Huh?
Mom--That means they're going to like you and want to be around you
G--That's okay
Mom--what if they want to kiss you?
G--I'll let them
Mom--Really? Why?
G--'Cuz they're cute

Who wants to guess what my life will be like in another 10-12 years?

Busy kids

Every kid has to learn to wave with their own style. E has his. He cocks his head, pulls up his shoulder, grins from ear to ear and bends at the wrist. Down, and maybe up. When up , he splays all his pudgy fingers out in the cutest wave every displayed. See? Cute!
Kids copy mom. Mom is always wearing E, so G has to do it too. It took him awhile to decide to babywear. A couple of days ago, he brought his doll to me and said it was sad. He said, "he just needs me." Aww. Then he asked if he could wrap the baby. I happened to have a wrap I had made back when E was born, for G. It was a little small, but we managed to tie it in a good sling-tie, and that seemed to be just what his baby wanted. It was so cute to watch him pat his baby while going about his tasks.

He has 2 teeth so far, and goes off and on displaying signs of getting more. I have seen lots of people using the amber necklaces, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. So I asked another mom at our parkdays and she said she just loves it. So I bought one from Three Sisters Toys. It came really fast. I was worried that E would pull at it, but he doesn't seem to notice it's presence. And he looks good in it! Of course, this should increase the number of "cute girl" comments I get now. Ah well. He is a pretty baby.

M will be heading home on Thursday. It will go fast I'm sure. I haven't been very productive, but I haven't had the M entertainment factor either. Check out PapaCoyote's blog for updates on the adventures of M.
(If you're reading this to M, PapaCoyote, please stop now--Spoiler ahead!) I'm a little worried about him coming home with not nearly as much excitement as he's grown accustomed to in Idaho, but I have a plan. I read a comment, an aside in a comment really, about the Hogwarts Summer Correspondence School. Its a summer course for kids that looks like a lot of fun. Don't tell M! It's a surprise. But he should have his invitation letter from Dumbledore by the time he gets home on Thursday. That will give us two weeks. I guess if he really likes it, we could continue it. I think I have the really hard work done. I'll post pictures of my efforts in a week or so. Maybe sooner.

Oh, and I'm reading the book, The Revolution Will Not be Microwaved by Sandor Katz. It's good. I'm enjoying it. Yup, another book about food. This one has a bit of different slant. Good read all in all. I want to read his Wild Fermentation book too. Hopefully this year I can get pickles to turn out. I made saurkraut awhile ago and it turned out well. Need to make more of that too. Brother, are you interested in some fresh, real 'kraut?

Everytime I turn around...

He's doing this:
E has learned to pull himself up and is full of pride for his new skill. What a whirlwind he's been. He learned to crawl while my mom was visiting in late March, he cut his first tooth almost a month ago now, and now he's upright. He was trying to figure out that whole furniture cruising thing last night. Egads.
Yesterday morning, when C came downstairs, I heard a very distinct "Da!" from E. He has babbled dada in the past, but this time he seemed to connect the sound with the object. My tiny guy is growing up. *sniff* And here Lanna thought she was going to meet my baby.

In other news...

They do know how to get along:
M and G share a loft bed with M on the top. Over M's bed is a large canopy. Sometimes, when he is feeling particularly generous, he allows G to enter his domain. They often cover the whole thing with blankets and set up flashlights. In this picture, they've hauled up a fair sampling of the kid bookshelves and settled in. Cute, no?

The funny things they say

We were planting the garden last week and M was helping GramRe with the lettuce bed. She had him mix the seeds with sand so they could evenly broadcast over the area. M refused to touch the seeds. When asked why, he responded, "because they'll stick under my fingernails and grow there!"
Fair enough. I mean, really, who wants lettuce growing from his fingers?

On Sunday, we went for a walk with GramRe and Aunt J. G was holding J's hand when they came to a street. "Look for cars. Do you see any coming?"
"Nope!" Says G. He looked right at his shoes and didn't see a single car! Obviously it was safe.

And I do think G may be a bit of a masochist. This morning, M kept losing his temper with G. Totally freak out lose the temper-ish. So I told him that one more outburst and he'd have to go elsewhere to cool off (his room). So, not 20 minutes later, G eggs M on, M lashes out and grabs G, throwing him down in a rage. I grab M by the arm and guide him to the stairs, where he proceeds to throw a huge fit. G is sobbing about M hurting him.
10 minutes later, G is crying again because he can't play with his brother. What, being hit 4 times in one day isn't enough?

Monday, when I took GramRe to the airport, we stopped at IKEA. Among our purchases were 2 laundry hampers for the boys' room. So far they've been sharing a hamper that was falling apart. So I told them how they would be responsible for bringing their own hamper downstairs to the laundry room when it's full. Every day since, G has dutifully brought his hamper downstairs and dumped the contents on the floor of my laundry room. "It's full!" he proclaims of the single outfit inside. I guess at least it's getting emptied.

GramRe is here helping out and the boys are loving it. Here they are getting ready to watch some Wallace and Gromit. Fun stuff!Some pictures of my yard and garden.
Here is my serviceberry. I really hope it produces this year.
Here is the garden wildflower bed ready to go--thanks to GramRe and M!
Look what we found in the yard! A cute bebe!
One finished shirt. Remember my crazy sew-for-all-the-kids idea? G seems to like it. I have the skirt done and all the shirts at least cut out. I still need to start the boys pants. I don't think I'll get the jacket and button front shirts done. I'm okay with that.

Kid pics

My biggest little man. Wow, is he ever growing up! M is getting pretty good about helping out around the house--with a bit of coaxing. I think we've discussed this before?

I can see that mental shift starting to occur where he is moving from being a little child to a tween. It's a fun thing to watch--sometimes.

Everyone loves baby feet. Even the baby! Look at that flexibility!

My little photographer. He actually totally filled the memory card on the old camera. That's 3oo pictures folks. Some of them are even pretty good. I'll have to sort through them and post a couple if I get time.

My mom made matching outfits for the boys. They wouldn't wear the pants this day-except G, but the shirts are cute anyway. I'm going to try again for a complete outfit picture, Mom. And, M--see my laundry chair? I told ya!

G's Prayer

Dad: How do we start?
G: I dunno
Dad: Who are we talking to?
G: Heav'y Fadder
Dad: What are you thankful for?
G: Toys
Dad: What else?
G: Hot dogs
Dad: What else?
G: Toys
Dad: Are there any blessings you would like to ask for?
G: Toys, hot dogs
Dad: Anything else?
G: Toys
Dad: Are there any blessings you want to ask for someone else?
G: Toys and hotdogs
Dad: Anything else?
G: NameJeeChystMen!

I'm just glad I was holding E and could hide my laughing in his huge 'fro!

pictures at last

Momma and the oldest. Also a reference picture of his face for later. This was before the peanut incident. I look a little odd because I'm trying not to drop the camera while G bounces around like the little electron he has been named after.
My three boys. The joy of my life, the cause of all the insanity and deafness. Ain't they cute? Ignore the state of their room. They're in the process of stalling the cleanup process. Showing mom how cute you are sometimes buys you a few minutes. So does guilt tripping her about how long it's been since she last took your picture.

Sleepy, stuffy baby. He's all better now--just stuffy for a few days. But you can see how all this menu planning and recipe re-writing has just worn him out. Me too.

Babywearing

2 kids, 1 wrap and a momma with her hands free.

G always wants to cuddle in the afternoons-typically about the time I need to start dinner. He hasn't been worn in a very long time (he's 36# for crying-in-a-bucket! Look at the proportions in the pic above) so he wasn't sure about the wrap last night. But he had fallen asleep in the car on the way home from Village Home and kept wanting to go back to sleep. I had to make dinner for C's birthday. What to do? Plop him in the wrap. He loved it and it was just enough to transition him to wakefulness. And we had a lovely dinner with my own variation of Turkish chicken and rice.

Babywearing is one of those "crunchy" things, but I can't understand why. Who wouldn't want to have free hands and a happy baby? And who really wants to haul around one of those baby buckets (whose handles are always being recalled anyway?).
I asked for a sling for M and always wanted one, but never got one. Boy do I wish I would have!! He was the ideal candidate for babywearing. By the time G came along, I knew more, and had a pattern for a ring sling. I made 2 and used them constantly. Then I discovered wrapping. I made a couple of woven wraps and wore those quite a bit too. When G was suffering from his wheat allergy that was still unknown to his parents, he screamed constantly. I couldn't put him down for anything. Ever. That's when I made my first Mei Tai. Beautiful thing to have. He lived in that for quite some time. Even after I stopped feeding him wheat. For quite a long time, it's where he went down for a nap. Or should I say UP. Babywearing is how I survived Village Home with a busy toddler.
This time around, I made a jersey wrap like a Moby Wrap. E spends a lot of time in that. I think he has only been transported in his carseat 2, maybe 3, times. If we are out, he's in the wrap. The pictures above are of my very first purchased babycarrier. It is a Hoppediz and I'm in love!
So why babywear? Other than being able to get things done with a baby/toddler around? Studies have shown that babies who are worn cry an astounding amount less. Like hardly ever. They breastfeed better, and mom is much more attuned to the baby's cues. Spending time together just increases familiarity.
Because baby is facing towards mom in all situations (or should be--don't use the outward carries unless you are just at home in a calm setting), baby can see mom's-or dad's- face and therefore learn how to respond to various situations. Babies read expressions on their caregivers faces to learn what situations are safe/happy/worrisome/stressful.
Even though a baby looks pretty squashed in a carrier, it's very comfortable for them and helps them feel safe. Just like swaddling. But, there is more "give" than one might expect. This has an interesting side effect. Because the wearer is in constant motion, baby has to learn to adjust to the movement. This has a dramatic effect on balance coordination. And it may be life-long. You just don't learn much balance sitting in a carseat.
There has been a lot written lately about the flat heads babies are getting. Between sleeping on their backs, sitting in carseats, laying on playmats, sitting in swings and bouncy seats, it's no wonder they are getting flat heads. Not in a baby carrier. Baby is cradled in fabric or sitting upright. No pressure on the back of the skull=no flat head.
Babywrapping is also ideal for skin-to-skin time or "kangaroo care." The wrap goes all around mom's torso and cuddles baby right against her chest. Then mom can still move around or just stand and sway in the living room. This is especially beneficial to preemies and adopted babies.
I love babywearing in public because it provides private space for my babes. In a carseat perched in the shopping cart, it seems like they are up on display for anyone to come and admire. Yes, my kids are amazingly beautiful, but they get tired of hearing it from strangers--or being petted by strangers. People are not likely to touch or sometimes even see a baby snuggled in a pouch of fabric on your chest. It just isn't considered very polite to reach out and touch a woman's chest. That way, baby can sleep or cuddle in peace and safety.
For more information on babywearing, my favorite site is The BabyWearer.

Piece of Chicken

I've heard lots of different insults in my life. My favorites are the ones that the little boys in my life have come up with. My brother used "Conker Head." M said "Bad Guy" with such vitriol it felt like the worst thing that could be said of a person. A few days ago, I heard a new one.
G stood up and pointed his finger at M. "Piece of Chicken!" he exclaimed. Then he fell into a gale of laughter. Now he runs around proclaiming M a piece of chicken at every opportunity. No idea where this came from. I wasn't even really sure if he meant any malice the first few times I heard him say it. I replied with something along the lines of "yum! Chicken is good. Let's eat M." G looked at me funny, so I asked if it was good or bad to be a piece of chicken. "BAD!" Okay then...
So, if you need a new insult--here ya go. Three good ones to choose from. Now I'm curious what E will come up with.

The big 100

I just realized as I went to post this that I had 99 posts. Already?? I must talk too much. So here's the little celebration I deserve-- <3
Now, I wanted to title this "I'm one of those People." Y'know? The kind that is obsessive about puzzles? I cannot have jigsaws in the house. I can't have them because I will not leave them alone until they are done. I won't eat, sleep or pee. And I can only imagine how my children would suffer if I can't meet my OWN basic needs. So, I didn't think very clearly when I started this. And why should I? I had never done chart work before. I had only done very simple lace. I thought it would just be a fun way to expand my knitting skills. That and my niece would get a nifty cardigan out of the bargain. So I bought some fun yarn and waited until my other projects were done to start it. Work commenced directly after Christmas. Wowsa. This was much more complicated than I realized. At first I considered chucking the idea of this sweater and making something more simple. But something made me continue. As I got the hang of reading the chart and the feel of the pattern, it got a smidge easier. It's not easy, it's still quite a challenge. But I can't stop. I have to keep picking this thing up. I prefer to knit it over peeing. My water intake has suffered. E gets nursed a lot more. I'm working on L's birthday present too--which is a blast. But I keep picking up the sweater. And it suddenly clicked why. My brain sees it as a puzzle. Oh dear. I guess this means it will be a finished object. Here is the progress so far:


For Christmas from my husband, I got some great bowls--huge, medium and small stainless-- and the shoe bench I wanted. But it needed to be assembled. Since D is fabulously wonderful, she came over and did it for us. Here is D with the boys sitting atop the finished product. I hope this helps with the shoe disaster.



I had to include this because it is just cute. I made chocolate cake and gave the bowl and beater to the boys. I told them to share, not really expecting that to happen. It did!! They did very well and cleaned it right up. The cake was yummy too.

Chocolate Cake with strawberry yum:
Cream together 1/2 C butter with 1 1/3 C sugar
Sift together:
1 1/2 c brown rice flour
1 C tapioca starch
1/2 C arrowroot or cornstarch
1/3 C sorghum flour
1/2 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
3 tsp baking powder or 1 tsp baking soda and 2 tsp cream of tartar

Add to creamed sugar alternating with 2 C water. Pour 1/2 the batter in an angel food or tube pan. Spoon strawberry jam along middle of batter. Pour remaining batter in. Bake at 350 for35 minutes or until a straw comes out clean.
For instand gratification, I microwave it in an angel food pan on 70% pwr for 10-12 minutes.

Papa and the babies

My new favorite picture--well add it too the list anyway. PapaCoyote with L (my brother's daughter) and G. This was taken by a good family friend, Wendy Martell, at the open house my parents held after Christmas. They had so much fun together.

I'm a mean mom

I learned this while putting kids to bed tonight. For background, our routine goes as follows:

• make beds
• get out pj's
• go potty
• brush teeth
• put on lotion/brush G's hair
• put on pj's
• say prayers
• kisses/singing/sleep

So, I sent them upstairs at bedtime which was apparently unfairly early. I'm not sure if something changed or not, as it was the normal go upstairs time, but whatever. I headed up the stairs with E and found the boys in the bathroom. M was helping G go potty--very cute. But then they proceeded to play and I had to kick them out. Strike 1.
Once in the bedroom, I had a hard time getting G to help with his bed. M dawdled like a frozen sloth. He was particularly talkative and when his mouth moves, nothing else does. It was taking forever and I was having to remind him of every step. I figured since he had been in the bathroom so long, he had already taken care of toothbrushing. Apparently not, but I wouldn't let him go back in. Strike 2.
Then, hairbrushing, and constant prodding, and finally some help with, lotion. 9 year olds don't like help from mom on putting on lotion. Strike 3. But I'm mom, so I don't strike out at 3.
Prayer time. I couldn't get M to acknowledge me so I had to 5-4-3-2-1 him into saying prayers. I got a glare and a prayer. Then G's turn. He hasn't wanted to for days. I put him on my lap and say it for him, just so he knows prayers are important. M is sitting by him, patting his back, saying "it's ok, it's ok." I grab G, put him on my lap and repeat the prayer time of previous nights. M tells me how horrid it is to force people to do things they don't want to do. I tell him that sometimes we have to do things we don't want to. Time for goodnight kisses. M stands in front of me and gets help with his pj's and then turns, saying "people who are mean to other people don't get goodnight hugs and kisses." Huff, and strike 4.
After tucking a pretty happy G into bed, I tell M about his childhood.
"When you were little, you wanted to eat the food other people had and I wouldn't let you. Was that mean?"
"NO! I would have gotten really sick!"
"As a parent, didn't Heavenly Father tell me to teach my children about the Gospel and about Him and Jesus?"
"Yes"
"And if I don't teach my children, isn't that kinda mean? Since then they wouldn't know about Him?"
"Yeah."
I tucked G back into be and got his shark. When I popped up to turn on the lights, M told me he decided I could have a hug and kiss.
"I think you're a good mom."
I tucked G back into bed.

Snow--Yay!

My boys have been wanting snow ever since the last heat wave of summer. We got lots of it during our Idaho trip. I decided to put all the snow pictures together.

Imagine a grandpa's suprise and delight when his grandsons beg to shovel snow! Here they are out in the dark, all bundled up and having a great time in the snow. Grandpa has a shovel on hand for everyone, so there were no conflicts there--phew! They actually did a fairly good job too.

After work comes play! Here they are with their wonderful snowman. G and M made sure he had all kinds of interesting features. I think Grandpa had a lot of fun with it too--can you tell?

In my parents' town is a park with a great sledding hill. After the snows that came a few days after Christmas, this is how PapaCoyote, C, M, G, UncleD and AuntH and L spent the afternoon. They had so much fun!

M with UncleD on a sled being pushed by Papa

G and Dad getting ready for the plunge

Of course, then there's the back-up-the-hill bit. Good thing Papa is willing to help.

Goofy kids

Just a few pictures because I finally took some and transfered them to the computer. My kids are so silly!

G is such a ham. And he is always on the go. I get tired just watching him. And I hear this from at least one person every time we go out. So I'm not alone.

Such a sweet smile. E is such a happy baby. He smiles and laughs so easily. His brothers spend a lot of time "making him happy.

"

Silly face--close up.

Hmm, maybe I should be serious. What is that thing in front of your face?


M is growing up so fast. 9 years old and so handsome. He looks so much like his dad. I think it will be eerie to look at him when he is about 20 and see C as I remember him at that age.