So a few days ago, our neighbor Sue brought over a huge cardboard box, a sheet and some markers she had found. She had been watching the kids playing and remembered the hours of fort making that her (now older) girls had enjoyed. Our kids also love a good fort - and this was a lovely treat and a fun surprise. Once the fort of was set up (and MJ was entirely self tattooed in florescent marker), the kids settled into some imaginary playtime.
After a little while (and some uninterrupted newspaper reading for me) I heard this horribly loud, screeching screaming. It was unbelievably high pitched and I jumped up from my chair wondering what had happened to MJ. Alas, I saw the two boys running out of the fort, arms flailing wildly above their heads, and I realized the screaming was coming from them. "She's getting us! She's got a HUGE bug, Mama. A HUGE BUG!"
Out popped MJ, large beetle in her hands, gleefully chasing the boys around the yard. She was also growling a little.
The camera is (I fear) officially dead. I have missed some many funny pictures over the last few weeks - but this morning I would have given anything to have a picture of James cuddling MJ and Finn on the porch reading stories. Tender moments (I need to be reminded of these during bug chasing and potty training exploits).
Grandma Barbara sent MJ a new full sized bed for her birthday (also a matching dresser) and I'm dying to get photos of her sleeping in it. She thinks she's a queen. The boys also love the bed and have taken to laying down and reading stories to her at nap time - cheerfully telling me "It's OK mom, there's room for you too!"
We're almost finished with the 6th Harry Potter - Seamus is back to being obsessed with the story and would spend hours sitting listening to me read. This is a guilty pleasure for me because very little else gets done when we're on to a new good book. We also just finished Holes for the second time (which precipitated a lot of digging up chunks of the back yard - we will not read it again soon that is for sure).
Seamus is also learning to ride a bike without training wheels. This started last weekend with Bob and Paula. We all went to St. Kate's to try it out on the soft, grassy hills. Paula and Bob have very strong opinions about the right and wrong ways to teach a kid to ride a bike and let's just say that the first step is for Paula to encourage the kids to roll down the hill by pretending to set them on fire. Oh, the memories...
Pretend fire aside, Seamus got the hang of it almost immediately. There were a few moments when we saw terror wash over Seamus's face, but it was quickly replaced by proud smiles. Oh, what a boy! Finn brought over his big wheel and speed down the hills truly just like Evil Knievel. How he didn't break a bone, I do not know, but he sure had a good time. Finn sometimes seems fearless. And certainly a little mischievous.
I've got lots more to write - I already feel summer speeding by - but I'm out to cut the grass and go for a long run (thank God for periodic babysitting). The kids think they love Carolyn more than I do, but they are oh so wrong.
1 comment:
When Anne says "Pretend Fire" from Paula - think actual props. Our favorite Paula is so well prepared.
I had no idea my boys were that awesome at stop, drop, and roll. Paula must be drilling them when I'm not around.
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