What a difference a year makes

I see these two boys every day. Sure, I realize they are growing up, but it wasn't until I saw these pictures side by side that I realized just how much they had grown over the course of one year.

Nick is turning into quite a great young man. It's hard to believe he is only 10! Especially when you stand next to him. He's 5'3" and strong as can be. He still isn't a huge fan of school, but he did well and has found other areas where he can excel. He played hockey all winter and is already practicing for a summer of baseball.

Then there is Zander. He's also grown up quite a bit this year. He loves school, is a great reader and wants to learn more about everything. Even better, once he learns it, he remembers it. While he's not a sports kind of kid, he's super excited for summer because he gets to go to Camp Invention for the first time.


  

Ben's 5th birthday (and Mother's Day)

How is Ben five? Well, almost anyway. We celebrated his birthday (and Mother's Day) with our usual little family party. It's nothing too exciting, but the boys don't seem to mind. Look how excited Ben got for some Matchbox cars.

 

And a Power Rangers Nerf-esque gun.

 

 

But his favorite was the soccer ball. He's been playing with a hand-me-down ball for two summers and was so excited to finally have one of his own.

 

 

 

Since it was actually Mother's Day and everyone was already together, we also celebrated that with my mom and mema.

 

 

Game day

Look at that cute little Met.

 

 

He thinks he's pretty smart. He's been practicing with his dad at home. Dad taught him to keep his elbow up when he's swinging. Now, every time he gets up to bat, he puts his elbow high in the air, turns and looks at us, and says "I got my elbow up!"

 

 

Look at that stance. He almost looks like he knows what he's doing.

 

 

 

It's also great that the other team isn't the enemy yet. I'm pretty sure Ben doesn't know this little guy, but they had a pretty animated conversation at second base.

 

 

Rock painting

This kind of afternoon should earn me a Mother of the Year Award of some kind. Zander's been asking for a few days now if he could paint some rocks, and usually I say no. Until today. After school we got out the paints and brushes, invited up the neighbor girls and opened a little outdoor art studio in the driveway.

Just don't mind the mess in the garage. I never claimed to earn a Clean Mother of the Year Award.

 

Every color represented a different element power. I'm not sure what it all meant, but they had fun painting their own set of "powerful" rocks. Our driveway may forever have a little colorful corner, but I guess that's not so bad.

 

 

Why we play t-ball

It's all about the comic relief. These little boys and girls look so serious when they are waiting for a ball to come their way.

And when it finally does, it's a wild goose chase to see who can get to the ball first. Most of the time, they end up rolling around on the ground and completely forget about the ball. This is why we love t-ball. No one worries about winning or losing. It really is still just fun and games at this age.

Stuck inside

We are getting a little tired of being stuck inside. This spring/summer has been a wet one, and when it isn’t raining, it’s so buggy no one even wants to try going outside. Today, we pulled out the REALLY old favorites to make it through without inflicting any physical harm. We did enough of that in the morning. Ben started the day by pulling his dresser over on top of himself. Thankfully Nick was just a few steps away and pulled it off before any real damage was done.

While Ben made his own fun in the hallway …

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… the big boys brought out the Play-doh. I’m honestly surprised any of it was still good. It’s been a long time since that box has come out of the closet.

In between downpours Mike and Nick ran a couple errands. One was to Toys R Us in search of some safety straps for the little boys’ dresser. They didn’t find the straps, but they did find Hungry, Hungry Hippo.

The old school game kept them entertained for at least 30 minutes before the emotional breakdowns started. Is it bedtime yet?

A picking we did go

Despite the weatherman’s dire predictions of rain all day, the sun pushed it’s way through the clouds about 8 a.m. and didn’t let the rain take over until late in the day. We took advantage of the nice morning (and Mike’s apparent ability to walk again) and headed for the local strawberry patch. The fields were full of mud (and a few moldy strawberries), but we managed to find about 5 pounds worth picking before the boys decided they had had enough. It’s really a good thing we don’t live in a time when you have to raise your own food to eat. I’m pretty sure we’d all starve.

We spent a few minutes saying hello to the animals (these goats were awfully mean to each other) …

… then headed over to the berry field.

Ben really didn’t care to do much picking, but he was happy to hold the little bucket for me. Until the leaves started itching his legs.

Hey, it isn’t exactly the kind of picture I want to blow up big for the wall, but at least they all look mildly happy. Ok, really, I’m just happy no one is crying. It might be because we promised McDonald’s if they were good. They were so good, in fact, we decided to brave the pool this afternoon. No pics there; the pool makes you get a pass to wear around your neck if you want to take pictures. It’s really not worth it. Suffice it to say, they had fun and for the first time we almost felt like having three kids was becoming manageable. Yep, it was a good day.