It's all about communication.

Scene 1: I'm having a conversation with an adult. The Blond Guy approaches with something urgent to say. I try to explain that I am talking with someone and he needs to wait. He freaks out. Later we talk about what happened and he explains that he can't wait to tell me what is so urgent because that will cause him to forget his words. I offer a solution: Why not turn away and whisper to yourself what you are going to tell me so that you will remember what to say when it is your turn to talk to me? He agrees. In subsequent similar situations he puts it into practice with a little reminding. "I was gonna tell my mom that........ I was gonna tell my mom that....... I was gonna tell my mom, etc."


Scene 2: I'm teaching a violin lesson. The Blond Guy approaches with something urgent to say. I tell him I'm not available because I'm teaching. He turns away and starts whispering, "I was gonna tell my mom...." Feeling a bit sorry for the lad, and knowing he won't be able to whisper to himself for the duration of the lesson, I suggest he write down his thoughts so he won't have to remember them for that long. He leaves the room and later returns with this missive:

Ples can I hav a sgoodr, I wonid a sgatbord, acchlee. Its litning mcqueen.

Please can I have a scooter, I wanted a skateboard, actually. It's Lightning McQueen.


Scene 3: Post-Thanksgiving. I have been prodded into bringing my violin to give a little casual recital for the in-laws. The Blond Guy, who is 5 days into a vacation filled with very late nights and wii overstimulation, is not in any sort of mood to sit and listen to violin music. First thing during O Danny Boy, he storms into the bedroom and shuts the door, making clear his disapproval. Then, somewhere in the middle of Orange Blossom Special, he emerges and returns to his craft project. Soon, Stone and I begin our joint number, Devil Went Down to Georgia (yes, it's humiliating. don't ask.) TBG starts pulling on my leg and trying to talk to me. Stone tells him several times not to interrupt. He grumpily makes his way back to the crafting table. Last thing on the program is Greensleeves. Just as I approach the final 3 measures, I look down and see a little blond boy holding up a full sheet of paper for me to read. This time the message is short:

STOP.

Love

This is me.

I am in love.

With these beautiful golden curls

That just figured out how to walk.

Beautiful golden curls walking around.

What's not to love?

Family Photos

My very talented artist-of-a-brother, Kirk, agreed to take some photos of us with that jolly nice camera of his. Here are just a few highlights from the photo shoot. Perhaps there will be more to come.


Oh, and in case you're wondering, Yes. It is almost impossible to get everyone to hold still and smile at the same time. Fortunately we only needed one winner, and that one you will find displayed in all it's glory on my header.

Pics From My Phone--Part 2

Last Spring I signed The Nog up for an art class through Montgomery County.

It was just because I wanted to have an opportunity for us to do something together, just the two of us.

It was a big ordeal to arrange babysitting for my other two kids, and then drive all the way to Chevy Chase for only a 45-minute class. And I'm sure he's already forgotten it by now.

However, I still think it was worth every minute and every penny. We both enjoyed it so much. And because he is the "middle child," the moments we have to spend together one-on-one are very few and far between.
His teacher told me several times, and very enthusiastically, that my son is "VERY talented." I didn't have the heart to tell her that it just might be because he was a good 6-12 months older than everyone else in the class. But that session was the only one that fit with my schedule so that's the one we took.

I love this kid.

Pics From My Phone--Part I

Amidst the hustle and bustle of preparing to move, my phone broke. We had to replace it and were supposed to send in the broken one within 10 days.

We didn't.

That's because there were pics on my phone that I wanted to keep and we didn't have the necessary hardware to get them off. So now we are probably going to receive some astronomical bill from Verizon because we took so long to send in the broken one. But you, my friends, will be the beneficiaries because I am going to display those pics here.

And you will have to get your fill because the bad news is that our real camera is also broken, among other things including our curs-ed van. Heaven knows when someone will plug up that money drain long enough for us to replace our camera. There may be a dearth in photo postage in the near future.

But what am I carrying on about? We have a beautiful baby to talk about here!

I took these photos on one of those lazy Maryland summer afternoons. I was playing around with the color settings on the camera-phone. The boys were blowing bubbles. The baby was smiling that beautiful smile.

I miss this life so much already.

First Birthday

First cake.

First refined sugar.

First chocolate.

can I offer you some more?

Well....if you insist.

Well, we made it.

It was a very long drive, with some really late nights and then some fun visits with our peeps in Colorado. The good news is, we didn't have to clean up any vomit. Not once. Thanks to good-old, homemade, laffy-taffy-encrusted dramamine and an in-house dvd player. Truthfully the only really annoying thing about the drive was how much time we wasted looking for that blasted binky.

And while I still don't have internet access on my own computer, I decided to go ahead and post something for those of you who tell me you are repeatedly disappointed when you check for an update. But keep in mind that my photo selection is limited to what I've been sent via email in the last little while.

p.s. when I get my computer back I am going to post one wham-dinger of a photo you won't want to miss.

Speaking of missing, here are just a few things we already miss.

The Blond Guy's fiancée

We've had so much fun this year listening to TBG talk about his plans to marry H. He speaks of it very matter-of-factly. It's just the way things are. Not until a few days before we moved did she actually confirm that his plan was, indeed, accurate. When he realized we were moving he asked how he could still marry H. I told him he would have to write her letters. (He's way into letter writing lately.)

Sadly enough, only about 5 days after we arrived in Utah, I heard him say...."Mom, what's A's sister's name? The one that's 4 years old?" He was spouting out variants but couldn't quite arrive at the right name. Stone and I just looked at each other in amazement. How quickly we forget.....

I'm also missing these ladies, and all the other girlfriends I made during my 6 years in Maryland, pictured or not. My girlfriends have been my life's blood in so many ways. We swapped babysitting, carpools, freeze-ahead meals, and just about everything else you could ever think

to co-op. They also came to my rescue on so many occasions beyond the long recoveries I had with each new baby. In fact, I was amazed by how much help I received just with the whole moving process. I had enough offers for help that I had 2 playdates a day for almost every day of the week we moved so that I could focus on packing and cleaning. I could hardly believe it. I also had 3 angels of mercy come to me on Thursday night to help clean my house when I wasn't ready to do it and was also struggling with a very sad, feverish baby. Thank you so much, ladies. I really can not thank you enough! I love you and hope we will always stay in touch.