deep blue ceiling

See that mischievous, impish, slightly goofy smile?  That's our Casper!

C: Daddy, will you go punch Linus in the stomach? It feels like he broke my leg!

C remembers "a long time ago . . . when I was four!" 

C asks to go into my "pez room" to look at the presses.

backyard Linus

Casper is cute and knows it (and even at 5, tries to use it to his advantage).  Gwendolyn is approaching the "tween" years and is getting sensitive to how she appears and what others think of her.  But Linus, with his shock of red hair, his big blue eyes, his tall, muscular build, the little dimples and perfect smattering of freckles, is completely oblivious to the fact that he is an absolutely gorgeous child.  Oh how I love this handsome, goofy kid!

backyard Gwendolyn

Todd and I still marvel that our little Gwennie is almost ten years old.  She's not only looking grown up, but maturing by leaps and bounds.  We thank our lucky stars that she's part of our family.

After hearing Mama refer to her brothers as "honey" and "sweetie," Gwennie asks, "What am I? Fierce-y?"

kewpiecurls

This little girl has the most amazing ring of curls all along her hairline, especially when it is humid (as it is 90% of the time here).  Someone recently told me that she looks like a Kewpie Doll, but we think she's way cuter.  Don't tell her siblings, but she may be the cutest one yet (but that may be because she's the baby -- as you know, the older they get, the cuter they ain't!).

trampball

One of our favorite trampoline games involves the children scampering to avoid balls I toss in at them.  My favorite part has always been watching their contortions as they're about to get gotten -- now, for the first time, caught on film.    

Gwendolyn, though, just scowls at the balls until they learn to keep away from her.

roma

For some reason, we've really struggled to grow beefsteak tomatoes in our area, even in our raised beds.  We had a good crop of Roma tomatoes this year, though.

number nine

At nine months, Greta is becoming more mobile and much more interested in her surroundings.  It's exciting to see her desire for independence grow.  Though she's sometimes perceived as stoical or withdrawn when she's away from familiar surroundings or with people she doesn't know, she's very demonstrative and open at home. I've never seen a baby more excited to see others than when she wakes up to see her siblings or parents looking down into her crib.  That smile! 

hold forth

Linus: I'm more serious than Sirius Black.
Casper: He's the most serious! He's the most serious in the universe -- and the world -- and the tri-state!

On Sunday morning after I'd gotten back from my second consecutive week-long conference, I had to wake early to attend some meetings before the rest of the family got up for church.  When Linus came into our room, he saw that I was missing, and asked his Mama where I'd gone.  She's always teasing the children, and most of the time they know to take her pronouncements with a touch of skepticism -- but when Jen told him that I'd gone on another trip without saying goodbye, Linus broke down.  Poor sensitive guy.  In her defense, Jen did feel pretty terrible about it.

li'l tramp

Casper asks for "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely House Club Band."

C: 'Pung piggle picked a plate of fresh peppers.'  Is that a tongue twister?

C: I said Big Giant Red Gooball!  You need to get a hearing aid!  I'm telling you!

The Stake President was visiting our ward the other week, and when he walked down from the stand and said hello, Casper walked up to him.  As soon as President Prier held out his hand, Casper leaped up and gave him a high five.

Casper noted that an oak tree outside the church has a large bunch of "weasel-toe" growing on it.  He wants a kiss every time we walk under it.

seedling

piggie

I don't think that Greta quite has the hang of -- or the leg length for -- Gwennie's shoulder rides, but they both enjoy it so much that I'll follow them around, listening for the giggling, until Gwennie starts to lose Margaret somewhere down the middle of her back. 

splash

Margaret also signed up for swim lessons; she and Jen enrolled in a mother-infant class.  From the look of those kicks, Greta's a natural.

A closeup of Casper's noggin, with Jen and Margaret as background.

underwater lad

Casper is generally a pretty bold fellow, but there are certain situations in which he becomes cautious.  One is when he is confronted with heights; ever since he was a baby, he's been afraid of falling.  The other -- at least last year -- was being underwater.  Though Jen had signed him up for lessons, he wouldn't leave her side at the pool.  Fortunately, things have changed dramatically this year; we noticed how enthusiastically he worked to keep up with his older siblings when we visited the pool before lessons began.  Now he's up for anything. 

springboarder

While he appears less than excited to be sitting on the bottom of the pool, Linus is eager to talk about his exploits on the diving board.  He's becoming quite a good swimmer, and I love to see his confidence in the water or on the slide.

underwater girl

While I was away in San Diego, Jen and the children got to enjoy the first week of swim lessons.  One of the bonus features of the two-week program was that the teacher-lifeguards had secured an underwater digital camera, which they used to snap a shot of each of the students at the bottom of the pool.  Anything to get out of the sun, I suppose.

best pillow ever

Greta is completely infatuated with the cats, but she's especially attached to Pudge -- mainly because he's the least likely to hiss at her lunging and grabbing (Plume) or simply run off when she approaches (Spats).  We remain amazed at how patient he is with her; even though we've been working on teaching her "gentle hands," he endures her petting, pulling, and lying all over him.  I'm sure he's the one she had in mind when she learned her third word, "tat."   

introducing . . .

1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
G: Want to play Warriors Battle Cards?

L:  I don't know!  I'm not good at these; they're boring! [after some cajoling] . . . I love you.

C: It's time to go someplace!

2. What makes Daddy happy?
G:  When he doesn't have to go to work and he can play with us.

 L: When we obey.

 C: Mama.  That's what makes Daddy happy.

3. What makes Daddy sad?
G: When we don't listen and get in his way when he's cooking.

L: When we disobey.
C: When Mama leaves to a far-away place.  Like the place that is close to our house, but half not close.

4. How does Daddy make you laugh?
G: When he tickles us on the trampoline.
L: He tickles us. 
C: Tickling me.

5. What was Daddy like as a child?
G: He was mostly like Linus.  He didn't like big, noisy parties and stuff.  He liked to be with one or two friends at a time.
L: He liked playing with transformers.
C: Hmm.  He liked toys.  Like big and little ones.

6. How old is Daddy?
G: 39.
L: 27.
C: 18.

7. How tall is Daddy?
G: Maybe 6 or 7 feet.
L: Pretty tall.  

 C: Pretty tall.  Really tall.  He can reach down the suitcases from the closet.

8. What is his favorite thing to watch on TV?
G: Movies with Mama.
L: The Beatles.
C: The Beatles.

9. What does Daddy do when you're not around?
G: He goes to meetings, eats candy, watches movies...  Did I mention eats candy?
L: Paints the house.
C: Dos [sic] his exercise thing.  His exercise movies.

10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?
G: For having a dragon.
L: For having the most rare books.
C: Being tall.

11. What is Daddy really good at?
G: Cooking.
L: Taking care of books.

C: Reaching down our suitcases.

12. What is Daddy not very good at?
G: Forgetting how to cook?
L: Wrestling.  Mama, can I restart that one?  Boxing!

C: [After thinking a long time]  I don't know.  He's not very good at turning all of the lights in this house on.

13. What does Daddy do for his job?
G: He works with books at a rare books library.
L: He is the person who takes care of rare books and manuscripts.

C: Go to C** Library. 

14. What is Daddy’s favorite food? 

G: Probably something to do with stir-fry. 

L: Vegetables.  And fruits.

C: His favorite dish?  The one with brown rice and vegetables.  Remember that one, Mama?  What is it called?  Grilled vegetables.  

15. What makes you proud of Daddy?    

G: He can type super fast and he's such a good daddy. 

L: Daddy helped make us.

C: That I'm proud of Daddy.

16. If Daddy were a fictional character, who would he be?   

G: Lionheart or Firestar or Brambleclaw or maybe Graystripe. 

L: Firestar!

C: One of the Wild Kratts.

17. What do you and Daddy do together? 

G: We do sentences and we play games together like Warriors Battle Cards. 

L: We like to build models. 

C: Jump on the trampoline.

18. How are you and Daddy the same?   

G: We both like to read a lot and we both have younger brothers and sisters.  Sister for me. 

L: We're both boys. 

C: My hair sticks up and Daddy's hair sticks up.

19. How are you and Daddy different?   

G: He's a boy, and he's the second oldest and he has green eyes. 

L: I like Thundercats, and Daddy's never watched it, I think.

C: Daddy has so much rare books and books, and we only have one bookshelf in our room.

20. How do you know Daddy loves you?   

G: I know because he wouldn't be nice if he didn't love me.  And he takes me fun places. 

L:Because he helped make us. He plays with us.

C: He plays goo balls with me.

21. What does Daddy like most about Mama?   

G: That you can eat candy together. 

L:That you're his wife. 

C: That you're his daughter.  [Jen: "But I'm not his daughter."]  That you're his mother? 

22. Where is Daddy’s favorite place to go?   

G: To the trampoline to play with us, or someplace wacky, like a seafood place. 

L:  To surprise us by going somewhere.

C:  Chili's [ed: whuh?].

23. What is Daddy’s favorite song?  

G: I don't know.  It's probably something I've never listened to.  

L: Help!  

C: [singing] Help!  I need somebody!  Help!  Not just anybody! Help!  You know I need someone...  When I was younger, so much younger than today... [And then he continued to sing the entire song.]

24. What is Daddy’s favorite book?  

G:  Another thing I don't know.  Probably something I've never read.

L: The Way Things Work. 

C:  What's that one on our shelf that's blue and had eggs all over it?  [Jen: Scrambled Eggs Super?]  Yeah, he likes to read that one to us.

25. What is Daddy’s favorite show? 

G:  One of his shows that used to be on TV, but is now just on discs. 

L: Watching bands play.

C:  I already said that one.  It's the Beatles.

26. What would Daddy do with a million dollars? 

G: Give it to Mama, so that we could all do fun stuff and she could pay for us. 

L: Easy.  Buy rare books.  And manuscripts.  

C: Give some of it to us.

emotional

When I asked Linus to pose for a picture in our recently-painted dining room, it wasn't long before Gwendolyn slipped into the frame.  What follows is his authentic and unscripted response to his sister stealing his limelight.  Fortunately, they both got a good laugh once I showed them Linee's reaction shot; if only it were always so easy to get them to lighten up.  

infant aloha

Sure, this may be one of those things which is best seen in action, but Greta's knowledge of hand gestures has recently grown from the basics of "more," "thank you," and "nurse" to the all-purpose greeting/farewell we call "byebye."  The best part about it is that she generally makes the motion two-handed, with a lot of wrist action and syncopation.  As you can see from the photo, we're all pretty charmed by it. 

Mr. Manager

When she's interested, Gwendolyn is a very reliable and energetic helper.  This means that while it may be a struggle to channel her focus on piano lessons and tasks like cleaning her fish tank or dealing with the catbox, she's very engaged with other things.  She has been vital in our efforts to plant and tend the garden this year, and is always attentive and patient when she's watching her sister.  I hope that she (and her brothers) can deal with her being in charge.

exhaustion

You might expect that Linus, our resident ginger, would be vulnerable to the sun, and that's certainly true -- we've always got to ensure that he's well covered when he'll be outside for any length of time.  The surprise is that he's also highly susceptible to the heat.  More than his siblings, he tends to wilt quickly when exposed to a Texas afternoon.  While this photo may look like a perfect portrait, Linus is showing all the signs of starting to droop; within ten minutes, he'll be coming inside, panting and asking for water.

elfish shellfish

This portrait captures something of the essential duality of Casper's nature: his sweetness and his impishness.  He's a remarkably sensitive and tender boy, the first to apologize (or burst into tears) when he realizes he's hurt or bothered someone.  At the same time, he's our resident goof and prankster, always making up songs and telling us jokes.  It's a pretty winning combination.

bumper derby

While I was away from home studying book history, Jen and the children made a pilgrimage to Dallas to spend the week with Grannie and Grandad.  One of the highlights was their visit to Gattitown, where the children overloaded on flashing lights and loud music.  Oh, and got to ride around on the bumper cars -- a first for the family,  if that can be believed.

one ring

When our good friends in town let us know that they'd found a deal on tickets to the circus, we were eager to join in the fun.  It was ideal timing -- I would be leaving for the first of two week-long conferences tomorrow (first to Charlottesville, then to San Diego).  So the children and I left Jennifer and Margaret at home and went to the University basketball stadium to see the show.  Not only did we get to sit next to our friends, but Linus recorded the experience with the camera, and a woman sitting behind us gave the kids a bucket of surplus popcorn.  Good times all around.

bounty

Our garden is probably at the peak of its yield, now that the heat is rising to murderous levels.  It's done pretty well this season, with a good number of cucumbers and beans, peppers and roma tomatoes.  One standout is Gwendolyn's melon, which we're committed to picking before it can be scavenged by local wildlife (possibly the possum who lives somewhere in or around our backyard), which is what happened to her cantaloupe last year.

The apple and pear trees also bore a little fruit, and we didn't have the heart to cut them to preserve the energy for root development.  We may as well have, though; something (or someone) got my much-anticipated apples, and we ended up picking only one pear.  They certainly were pretty, though.

tramp tricks

We've taken to playing matches of HORSE on the trampoline, with each of the children trying out their best move or routine and the others trying to replicate it.  As you can see, it's an exciting spectator sport.

fountains

Outside the newly-renovated student center, a bank of fountains attracted the children waiting for the transit of Venus.  I'm sure they would have preferred a campus wading pool, since we were all pretty wilted by this point.

one per lifetime

Since we'd missed the 2004 transit of Venus, we wanted to make sure that we would get a chance to observe this year's occurrence, since we were told that the phenomenon would not appear again until 2117.  Fortunately, the campus astronomy club staged a group of telescopes for the community, as well as providing lower-tech options, like boards inset with welder's glass which could be used to view the silhouette of Venus against the sun.  They even projected the image of Venus' crossing from a smaller telescope.

After waiting in the heat for a good half an hour, we were rewarded with access to the larger telescopes.  Once they'd nudged them off-position and the students had come to recalibrate them, the children were able to view the event.  Exciting times.