Genevieve's 5th Birthday

My niece Genevieve is five. Happy Birthday, Gigi!

I cannot believe how time has flown by. In just a few short years my my parent went from zero grandkids to six; three girls and then three boys. Now they are all starting to grow up. They, also sit across from each other at the dessert table. They are all cute as can be though!

Fire Station Party

Today we took the boys to a birthday party at the Ashburn Fire Station. They had face painting, a tour of the fire house, and the highlight: a visit from Spiderman. Avery reasoned out that it was "just a man in a Spiderman costume" but it didn't detract from his excitement and fun playing the games "Spiderman" led.

Avery got his face painted with a rainbow on one side and a smiley face on the other. Zach didn't want anything to do with the face painting and didn't join in on the games with Spiderman either. He did enjoy balloon sword fighting, which quickly degenerated into balloon sword popping. Both boys loved the cake and ice cream, of course. You'd think we never give them goodies.

Snow Angels

This has been a dry winter, but we finally got some snow and the kids went CRAZY!!! We got Zach down for a nap right as it started snowing, but Avery was too excited to take his nap. After a protracted negotiation we got him to lie down long enough to doze off and get a short nap.

Afterward, both boys played outside with Eli and the neighbors. Enjoy the cute matching snowsuits as this may be the only time they ever get worn.

Cute Pictures of the Boys

Sometimes I try to picture the boys as an outsider would, to have an unbiased opinion of how they look. I still think they are the cutest boys I've ever seen.

Zach loves to grab my head and look into my eyes and say, "I love you mama." Here's a picture of him doing that.

Zachary's Big Show at Little Gym

Tonight was Zachary's turn to have a Big Show at Little Gym. It was less structured than the one Avery had, and felt more like a regular class. The kids still had various techniques to perform, like somersaults and balance beam routines, but everything was less complex and structured.





Eli and I brought Avery along with us, and the staff allowed him to join in on the fun too. This was his original group so he got to see some of his former classmates and his original teacher Starla. At the end of the show when Zach got his award, Avery went to get one as well. The lady handing out medals said, "I'm sorry, I don't have one for you." Even though he already had one from his own class he got very upset and ran to me, crying.

Avery's Big Show at Little Gym

Avery had his big show on Monday at the Little Gym. Since it was a holiday, Grandma, Grandpa, and Eli were all able to come and watch. Even though we've been going for a year and half, these may be the first photos we have of Avery in class.

All of the parents and family members waited inside the gym area for the kids' big entrances. Each was called by name and had to do a forward roll and come sit down in the circle. When Avery's name was called he came running straight to me, overwhelmed by all of the visitors and extra attention.

It took several minutes to get Avery calm and willing to participate. What finally did the trick was when I thought to suggest he take Zachary along with him. Of course he spent almost as much time pushing, pulling, and wrestling with Zach as he did listening to the teachers, but it gave him the courage to do all the rest of the activities for the audience.





After Little Gym we went out to lunch with the grandparents. Everyone else in Loudoun County seemed to have the same idea because the first couple of places we tried were all packed. Finally we went to Lonestar Steakhouse. It's not the first place you might think to take kids, but the service was speedy, the food good, and the kids well behaved.

Avery's Magnetic Artwork

Avery has become quite the budding artist lately. But for some reason he doesn't like to draw on paper, at least not like he does on the Magna-Doodle (scribbling, on the other hand, is no problem).

Since i can't save them, I've resorted to taking pictures of some of his drawings. He has started drawing hands, feet and hair on his creatures. Sometimes they even get eye lashes. I love how the hair stands up straight on their heads.

Nutmeg Gets Locked In

So you may recall that we have a new craft room for the kids, and that it has a little secret area for them under the eaves of the roof. Well, this morning I opened the door to the craft room and heard a faint meow. I immediately opened the door to the storage area and Nutmeg came running out.

Nutmeg was extremely affectionate, which is normal any time she is shut-in somewhere or doesn't see us for a while. But, on a hunch, I looked inside the storage area and smelled something bad. She had used a spot at the farthest spot from the door to pee and poop (I give her credit for keeping it self-contained, and probably holding it as long as she could).

Usually I get concerned any time I don't see her for a while, but I went out last night so it slipped my mind. I wanted to figure out when she got shut in so I asked Avery what happened (he has locked her in small dark places before, like the master bathroom toilet room, a cabinet in our living room, and various closets). He said they shut her in when Gigi and Sammy were over, which was Monday. The poor cat had been locked in for almost two days.

Now she is curled on my lap, purring away, and very happy to be out of the storage area (and probably glad the kids are finally asleep).