David and Mary were fighting about what would happen if, sometime in the future, they found out that Tom and I were actually some sort of royalty. Like, how do they handle the sudden bump in status? What about all the wealth? Or the horses and carriages, what’s a commoner to do!? This argument was
I’m not sure why, but I’m suddenly really aware of Thomas and Anna’s friendship. All of my kids have individual relationships, but each one has to be forged. Maybe I’m noticing their friendship because it’s just now really emerging. Anna is finally old enough to really play and be a part of Thomas’s shenanigans (which she
Last summer when we were in Pennsylvania, we visited Tom’s cousin. In addition to an actual roller coaster, they also had an amazing swing set in their backyard. We really liked the size and design of this particular swing set, so Tom made a mental note to get back in touch with his cousin after
A huge part of the life of a toddler is just evolving methods for getting attention. Anna’s newest strategy is to just yell: “MOM! MOM! MOOOOOOM!” Not Mommy, not Mama. Mom. It’s such a funny thing because she’s not crying, and it’s not shrill or whiny like typical toddler fussing. It’s top-of-the-lungs shouting: MOOOOOOM! It’s
One morning Anna’s pajamas were half-on. (Ok, so sometimes/all the time after a diaper change we don’t bother to wrestle Anna back into her clothes. Whatever, we get the important part taken care of.) Somehow this transformed into a game where Thomas was holding the legs of her pajamas and pretending she was a dog
There are a great many traditions I started when I had my first baby. Almost none of them have lasted through the fourth (R.I.P. baby book intentions) Some things I’ve mostly given up on (R.I.P. baby book intentions) and other things I haven’t gotten around to, but I still hold out hope (like making a
Every morning the kids wake up way earlier than they have to. Then, for two full hours, they chase their tails until the five minutes before they have to leave for the bus when they scramble to find shoes and jackets. We have a checklist, we have alarms, we have reminders. And yet almost every
On the morning of Thomas’s preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch, I was in the bathroom frantically getting ready. Because she never strays farther than six inches from my heels, Anna joined me in the bathroom. She insisted, INSISTED on using my blush (I tried to just hand her the blush brush but baby
These photos were actually taken on week 33 and I never got around to posting them, so week 34 it is. Not that you’d ever notice, I’m only telling you because I’m extremely honest and this entire blog is built on trust. There’s a time when babies are teeny, and parents post weekly updates and
I am interrupting my previously-scheduled recap of our trip to Vancouver to get back to my previously scheduled weekly photo project. Last week Tom had a work trip, and I decided to take the opportunity to take the kids to visit my parents. I have a lot to say about this trip. I could do