The text

The other day I was laying down with my eyes closed while the boys played nearby.  My cell phone started ringing and I knew it was Steve by the ringtone.  Zach picked up the phone and carried it over to me. 

Zach: "Mommy, your phone is ringing."

Me: "It's daddy, you can go ahead and answer it."

Zach slid the phone up to answer which automatically puts it on speaker phone.  Steve says hi to Zach and they exchange a few words.  Then...

Steve: "May I speak to mommy?

Zach: "She's sleeping."

Steve: "Oh. I'll call her later."

Zach: "You can send her a text at 888-99."

Zach's field trip

Yesterday, I went with Zach on his class field trip to the pumpkin patch.  He got to ride the school bus for the very first time!   The kids each got to pick out a pumpkin, meet Zorro the long horned Watusi, complete a 'corn maze', feed the goats and go on a hay ride.  We had a great time.

The many faces of Eli

Here are some recent pictures of Eli that we have enjoyed.

Eli's 2nd Birthday

Eli turned 2 years old at the end of September! He has grown up so quickly and within the past 6 weeks is suddenly talking non-stop. The most common question we hear from him throughout the day is, "Now, mom?" repeated about 20 times in a row until you want to give him whatever it is he wants right now! It is very effective.

Eli continues to be interested in trains, especially Thomas and Friends, as well as baseball, football, soccer and any other sport he can get you to play with him. I've been surprised at his ability to pretend play already both with the boy's kitchen set and other small animal figures. It has been a lot of fun to see the differences in personality and temperament between he and Zach.

PreK

 Today was Zach's first day of preschool!  He is going three mornings a week.  I have very mixed feelings about seeing him grow up so quickly, mostly I feel desperate to find a 'pause' button so that I can remember these wonderful days with him.  It is all going too fast.

 You should all be proud of me because I didn't cry at all when I dropped him off.

Puddle fun!

Every time it rains our street temporarily floods leaving behind wonderful flowing puddles as they drain away.  They are perfect for floating a boat down the street!

 Just in case running and jumping didn't provide enough wetness, there is always crawling....

 

 Or better yet, laying down!

 

Which usually ends with a different sort of water-play!

A Favor

Here are two Zach-stories from the past few weeks.



The other night while getting the boys ready for bed, Zach said,
     "Hey mom, will you do me a favorite?"
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Zach has also been very interested in sword fighting lately.  My mother was tired of getting her knuckles hit by our wooden-spoon-swords so she purchased two foams ones.  When she told Zach about the foam swords  he asked if she had gotten three so that Eli could have one.  She told him that she hadn't thought about that and had only purchased two.  The next week as they were playing with the new swords they had the following conversation:

Yia yia: "Zach, remember not to be too rough with the swords so that they don't break!"

Zach: "If one breaks we would need to buy another one.  Then you could buy two of them so that we would have three!!"

***He must get his math skills from his father.

Out of the mouths of babes

The other day, Zach and Eli were playing in the yard at my grandparent's house.  Zach was driving Eli around in a motorized jeep toy and I walked over to them to make Eli sit down in the car (see previous posts regarding Eli's propensity to injure himself). 

As I approached, Zach said, "Who are you coming to boss?"

Another one!

 No, not another one of those.....

...Another bruise and 'almost' trip to the ER for Eli!  This time it was a head first dive out of the crib.  We're still not sure how he managed, but needless to say, it was also his last night in the crib.  Thankfully, he is still adorable with a black eye!

Family Photos

4 1/2

We celebrated Zach's birthday while we were at the beach.  

Where does the time go?

 

Beach Boys

 Our family went to beach again this year and had a wonderful time!!  The boys were at perfect ages and abilities to enjoy playing together in the sand and water.  We would spend the first thirty minutes digging a tide pool and then they would spend hours playing in it and re-digging it as the water slowly broke it down.  It was the first time in years that I got to sit at the beach, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them play!  (Don't tell, but it was actually a relaxing vacation!!)  Zach was much more adventurous in the water this year and would wade out to about thigh level and let the waves crash into him.  Eli was more timid with the crashing waves, but it didn't really stop him from playing along the water's edge.

Watching the water come into our tide pool.