rain, rain, come our way

We've had four consecutive days of rain this week! Now, it was no more than a half hour each day, but judging by this summer's standards, that's a miracle.
I let the kids go out and play in it on Tuesday (when these shots were taken) and by Thursday, Gwendolyn was running a 103 degree fever. I personally think these events are completely unrelated.

nature spot, August

the grandparents

Granny and Grandad left today and we miss them already. It is always so much fun to have them here and the kids love them so much. Thank you for coming down to help us celebrate Casper!I love the sweet relationship between Gwendolyn and my mom. There is a very close bond there and it makes me so happy to watch them together.

Grandad is a storyteller and as soon as he starts telling a tale, all the kids pile onto his lap.

celebrations

We continued celebrating our sweet Casper today with more presents, a birthday feast prepared by Todd (corn on the cob, grilled tomatoes, zucchini and squash, salt-and-pepper shrimp, bratwurst and kielbasa), and, of course, birthday cake.
Casper's favorite gift may be this little dragon bank (which we bought for him way back while I was still pregnant). It is a slightly smaller version of Linus' dinosaur bank, Yoshi, and Gwendolyn's unicorn bank, Sparkle Horn. The big kids brought their banks out to meet the new addition and little Casper kept nodding his bank toward the other two, saying, "Hello! Hello!" They were all very pleased to get acquainted.
Casper's favorite part of the day may have been the picnic cake. While dinner was cooking he kept begging for "birthday cake" and asking me to pick him up so he could admire the cake cooling on the stove. It was (as it always is) a hit.

birthday preview

My baby is going to be two a week from today and I can hardly believe it. To help us get the festivities underway, Granny and Grandad came to town! We took the birthday boy out for dinner (and he, attention-seeker that he is, loved being sung to by a group of waitresses who thought he was the cutest thing ever). We came home to open a couple of presents before bed. The party, cake included, resumes tomorrow.

grateful sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

• Central Air Conditioning. We had a couple of days of sporadic cooling followed by an afternoon and evening of no cooling (and almost unbearable heat). Though the repairman had to come two separate days to fix two separate problems, he was quick to arrive and quick to replace the broken parts. I'm also thankful that the entire unit was not one of the broken parts.
• Todd. I'm always grateful for Todd, but he is pretty amazing. This week I've given him a number of extra household jobs (like repairing our leaky toilet, which he might not have been able to do without the helpful supervisors pictured above) and babysitting assignments, which he always has a good attitude about. He's also great at saying exactly the right thing when I'm feeling down or experiencing a lack of faith. Our marriage may not be perfect, but it's pretty great. I'm glad I'm married to someone I can look up to.
• The miracle of prayer.
  

mouthing off

Casper calls Mama “Mama Kitty” (which, incidentally, is pronounced “Mama Titty”)

Every couple of days, Casper will remove my glasses and then proceed to give me very gentle kisses all over my face: lips, each cheek, eyelids, forehead. He is such a lover.

Casper talks all the time and ends nearly every sentence with “Mama", even when he's talking to Todd: "Want some too, Mama, Daddy."

Linus wants to play DardleDash (Balderdash), and after he asks about fifty times, Casper starts asking for DardleDash, too.

Sir Huckleburn

Lest you think that Linus always dresses in leotards, we give you "Sir Huckleburn":

(Incidentally, that name was invented and self-applied by Linus. In the second picture, as you can plainly see, he's riding his invisible horse. I did mention to him that knights typically wear some kind of breeches under their armor, but he refused, "Nah, I like it like this.")

just kidding

Here are the children sleeping in the living room under the window air conditioning unit we added earlier this summer, since our main unit lasted only one day before breaking down again.

But Plume (Mama cat) is back with us, and believe me, there will be no more butt waggling or caterwauling from her. Poor thing.

We're all hot, but nobody's in heat.

home improvement

Today, we were finally able to take care of some projects around the house:

Our sporadically-cooling air conditioner got fixed;

Our leaking master bathroom toilet got fixed;

Our constantly-in-heat mother cat got fixed.

(We also succeeded -- after a tense six hours in which Jennifer was convinced that he'd gone out with the diaper pail -- in finding Caper's lovey, Toffee.)

getup

The kids spend a lot of time in dress-up clothes around here. A lot. A favorite ensemble these days is their detective getup.

Detectives always wear sunglasses and hats, of course, but we understand that they also wear capes, and generally dress in black (these particular detectives are in leotards because we don't have many black kids' clothes over here). Note that Linus's disguise also includes a false mustache.

We're also taken with the "fireman-in-bear-mask -and-knight's-armor," which later in the day morphed into "acrobat-in-bear-mask-and-knight's-armor."

faces

Gwennie: Can you lift Mama up?
Todd: Yeah.
Gwennie: Then show us. We want to see a circus.

While angry, Linus started threatening to sneeze: "I'm going to put my allergies on you!"

"Lowly Worm! Apple Car!"

grateful sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

• The amazing women who are the mothers of my children's friends. We've had a number of really great play dates this past week. When I witness the patience, capacity for love, gentleness and devotion that these women have for their families, it makes me a better person and a better mother. I'm grateful for their wisdom and examples.
• The fact that we were able to place one of the kittens in a great home. Little "Key" is going to be so adored and well taken care of. I'm also pleased that we now have only 4 cats living with us!
• The Certified Archivist exam being a thing of the past. Todd went to Austin this week and took the test on Wednesday. We'll get the results in a month or so, but he feels good about things and I'm certain he passed -- he's one of the smartest and most talented people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.
  

impromptu family portrait

new ensemble equals silly pose

Quiddich

In keeping with the recent interest in All Things Potter at our house, we've got a new favorite sport. Quiddich is generally a one-on-one game with us, though, with Gwennie playing the part of keeper and seeker.

Periodically, the snitch (constructed by Gwendolyn) appears and then gets lost; by the time we're both out of breath, someone usually catches it:

At times, the Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff teams (in descending order of popularity) are joined by a beater. Yes, that's a lint roller used as a bat for the bludger.

You can imagine how lively it gets. I think Gwennie especially likes the ongoing color commentary (I do a better Lee Jordan than the kid in the movies -- the first two of which these kids have seen, for the first time, in the past couple of weeks).

I think that we've decided to read Gwennie the fourth book in the series, possibly in a slightly expurgated version. Has anyone read the death scene to an almost-seven year old? Any advice?

reptiles and amphibians

Today we went to the children's museum, where we met a giant turtle and a snake so friendly, it began to slither down Gwendolyn's shirt. There were also assorted lizards and an albino python.

fearful asymmetry

When you ask Casper to smile for the camera, this is the face you get.

grateful sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

• My supportive husband. My church calling often takes me away from home in the evenings and on Sunday mornings, leaving Todd to deal with bedtime and the pre-church chaos all on his own. He is so supportive and helpful and patient. I really appreciate it because I couldn't imagine having a stressful calling while at the same time being stressed about things at home.
• Great produce. Our town is surrounded by farm land so it's easy to get access to locally grown produce. This time of year, our greengrocer's seems to be overflowing with earth's bounty. When I open my fridge and find it stuffed full of fruit and vegetables, I get a bit weak in the knees. Truly.
• The blossoming maturity of my four-year-old.
  
• Linus's responses to Casper have grown more patient and gentle in the last couple of months. Instead of getting angry at his brother for interfering with/destroying a project he's working on, he'll often take Casper by the hand and say, "Let's go find Mama." before depositing Casper at my feet.
• He's less shy and more sure of himself. On Saturday he even went to a friend's birthday party all alone. A few months ago, he would have insisted that I (or at the very least, Gwendolyn) stay with him.
• He's taking pride in his room/things. It used to be difficult to get him to help pick up toys in the playroom. These days, he will take it upon himself to clean his room or organize a drawer and then will come get me so he can show off his hard work.
  

missing at bedtime

Tonight Gwendolyn was distraught because she couldn't find Baby Pillow, as often happens when she procrastinates going to bed. She decided that BP was probably in the room where Casper was trying to get to sleep, but we refused to let her go in to investigate. Finally, in a tone of righteous indignation, she said, "How would you feel if I was locked in a bathroom, and you couldn’t go get me because there was a sleeping pillow in the room?"

schoolroom

We recently acquired some used school desks and chairs to put in our playroom/schoolroom. They are already much used and much loved.

kitten in a basket

kids' museum

haircut before and after

Shaggy Casper:
Clean-cut Casper:This is only the third haircut he's ever had. Reasons include his inability to sit still, the fact that he cringes when ever he sees the scissors coming toward him, and his mama wanting to keep that silky baby hair on his head as long as possible. Interested parties can reminisce about his first haircut here.

grateful sunday

The children, out back making potions

This week I'm grateful for:

• The friendship between Gwendolyn and Linus. They play together so sweetly most of the time. I've witnessed many tender moments and cute creative games this week -- for example, Gwennie locked Linus out of his room (to his frustration), but only to buy the time she needed to clean it and organize his things. Or, this afternoon, after quiet time, she woke him up, saying, "Linus, would you like to play a fun game with me? I'll give you the best part." -- to which he responded, "Sure, Gwennie; I just need to wake up first." I love it.
• The Relief Society lesson we had at church today on temples. The lesson and comments were great; the Spirit was strong.
• My ipod. All the kids have playlists of their favorite songs so we have dance parties almost every afternoon (Gwennie has sharpened and extended her moves to "Wildcat," now that she can wear her TigerGirl getup; Linus has some acrobatic poses for "Rock and Roll Rhythm." And Casper just wants "Shoes.") I've also been re-listening to The Half-Blood Prince before I go to see the film. It certainly makes folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher a lot more interesting.
  

deciphering the english language (as a six year old)

Gwennie keeps telling me something is nagging her, but asks what "nagging" means. I explain that nagging is usually a thought or feeling that keeps bothering us and we continue to think about it.
Gwendolyn: So it’s something inside you?
Mama: Um, yeah.
Later she comes out and asks, “How do you get rig of nags? My stomach keeps nagging me!”

One evening I begin to read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, picking up where Todd had left off earlier in the day. There was discussion of an argument between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and, not remembering this plot point myself, I ask Gwendolyn to remind me what the argument was about. She explains helpfully, "Mr. Weasley wanted something to be hanging over Harry’s head and Mrs. Weasley didn’t."

After Linus gets upset when Plume (the Mama cat) nips at him while he’s petting her, Gwennie says, “Linus, you’re so disposable.”