What's in a name?

Alex has been talking so much ... he now refers to us all by name. Mama and Papa (or Mom and Dad, depending on his mood), Ethan is "E", and Benny is usually Baby. But if you ask him his name, you'll get a laugh and the response, "Hot Tea". I have no idea why he has decided to call himself Hot Tea, but he does it on a regular basis. He will occasionally try to say Alex if we ask him to, but maybe he finds it too hard to say.

He does occasionally refer to himself by another name. Cookie.


Somehow that one fits better than Hot Tea, don't you think?

The Dangers and Benefits of Climbing

One recent Sunday, I had changed Benny out of his church clothes and put him in the living room to play with the other boys while I got lunch. Shortly thereafter, I heard a loud crash; when I went went running to see what happened, this is what I saw:


Benny figured out how to climb into the toy box. He fell in headfirst (which I suppose is the danger of climbing!) and didn't even whimper. He just righted himself and started laughing with delight at where he found himself.

And this was the day after his first big-boy haircut, too ... doesn't he look handsome?

Sleepy Boys and a Fuzzy Duck

Okay, I know I put a lot of pictures of Luke cuddling with the boys in his recliner, but I just love this one of him holding Alex. And Quackers, the giant duck.

Fishing Trip

Luke took Ethan fishing this summer, and they came back with a nice size ... uh, fish. I have no idea what kind it was! The highlight of catching the fish, though, was what they found when they were cleaning it ...



... a crayfish! Very recently eaten, apparently.

Something we've been enjoying ...

We like books here. We tend to always have at least one read-aloud going, usually for Ethan's bedtime story. It's gotten challenging to work 15-20 minutes of reading into our evening routine, though. Between Benny fussing, Alex bouncing off the wall, baths, snacks, nursing, Alex's bedtime story ... well, I'm sure you all can relate to how crazy bedtime can be. We tried moving the read-aloud time to a different time during the day, but the other natural time - while Alex is napping in the afternoon - wasn't working for a number of reasons.

Then we discovered Librivox. A large number of books (all in the public domain) are read by volunteers. You can download chapters or whole books and listen at your convenience. So we've been setting the laptop up on the table, and each night at supper we are listening to one or two chapters of The Swiss Family Robinson. (Ethan said last night that he was jealous of those people - he wanted to be in the story!)

There's a wide variety of genres, and I thought I'd share our find in case someone else could benefit from it!

Family Fun Night

We try to set aside a Friday night once a month or more to have a fun family activity. It's challenging to come up with something that the little boys will enjoy that won't bore Ethan, or that won't leave the younger ones out. Luke had a brilliant idea one of the last times we did this ... after supper, all the boys got their pj shorts on - but no shirts. Then Luke blew up a queen size air mattress, and they bounced. And bounced. And bounced.

Even Benny was able to play.




Papa played, too.


Benny did just watch part of the time, but he still enjoyed that tremendously!


See how I manage to cut at least part of someone's head off in most of the pictures? That takes real skill, folks.

Ethan was getting pretty exuberant toward the end.


And whatever Ethan tries, Alex tries too.


This has by far been the biggest "family fun night" hit. The boys all loved it, and Ethan and Alex have been asking when we can do it again. If you have any other ideas for us, I'd love it if you'd share them in the comments!

News Bulletin!

We interrupt this resounding silence to bring you an important announcement. Benny finally has cut his first tooth!

As long as I'm posting, here are a few other news bulletins.

Benny is ...
**is into everything these days. His favorite "no-no" thing is the dog food dish. Or maybe I should call it the dog water dish, since the water is his favorite part of it.
**actually up at night more often than when he was four or five months old. What's up with that?
**loving watching his two older brothers be goofy. He can't wait to join them, and you can just see that on his face!

Alex is ...
**talking more and more. His current favorite word? Poop. Yeah, we wanted him to talk. (rolling eyes)
**loving the color blue, trains, and strawberry-flavored milk.
**sleeping in his toddler bed. At least when he's not sleeping on the floor next to my bed because he had a bad dream.

Ethan is ...
**doing well in second grade, even though he's still not crazy about school.
**outgrowing all his clothes. I'm having to start using regular hangers for his shirts instead of the little baby ones. (sniff, sniff)
**loving playing with his Lego train set that his generous Aunt Ginnie gave him!

I have several posts in mind, lots of pictures on my camera's card, and no time to post them. I'll get around to it eventually!

One more thing ... I'm scheduled for surgery October 2oth. I'd appreciate prayers that it won't have to be an overnight stay, that the boys will do okay while I'm gone, and for a speedy recovery.

We now return you to your previously scheduled silence.