Griffin, 4.5 months

Kids Charity Concert

We went today to a charity concert downtown. We ran into some friends we knew, so the kids were thrilled. Rhys was a little shy for most of it, but Avery was a dancing fool.

Finished product

After several long days of shoveling dirt and wheelbarrowing it into the backyard, we finally finished the sandbox. Bill did a great job. The kids have enjoyed it already, and I can only imagine how much they'll like it when the temperature drops below 100!

Tripod!

Griffin is sooooo close to sitting on his own! He can sit forever in the tripod position with his arms supporting him, but he can also sit by himself (with no hands!) for several seconds! Apparently he didn't realize that he's not even 5 months old yet!

Superman party

On Wednesday, we had Rhys's birthday party at the sprinkler park. Rhys picked a Superman theme, so I made a Superman cake and we used red and blue decorations. It was a pretty low-key party; we only invited a handful of friends. We were lucky that everyone we invited was able to come. There were 13 kids total: Avery, Rhys, Jeeper, Mia, Duncan, Colin, Sage, Fletcher, Sara, Avery, Evan, Maya, and Benjamin, plus the babies, Griffin and Caden.

The kids had a blast going between the sprinklers and the park by the pavilion where we had the cake set up. They played and played, and we had snacks, drinks, and cake. Rhys got lots of great presents too. Really, the party couldn't have gone more smoothly. YAY!

Happy anniversary to us!

As if a birthday wasn't enough, it was also our 8th anniversary this week! Unfortunately, it had to take a backseat to Rhys's birthday festivities. Instead of doing something special, I spent all evening making Rhys's Superman cake. Oh, well. We'll have to make up for it by doing something fun this week!

Rhys's birthday

On Monday, we got up early and headed downtown for Rhys's 3 year checkup. Rhys did very well and was very cooperative this year (unlike last year when he refused to be weighed or measured!). He was 39 inches tall (85%) and 33 lbs (75%). He's doing great.

After his appointment, we rushed back home so we could get there in time to see the dumptruck drop off the sand for the sandbox. We made it, and I think the dumping of the sand was maybe even better than the sand itself! The kids also enjoyed climbing all over the giant sand pile in the driveway.

In the afternoon, Nonnie came over to bring Rhys a present and visit for a while. Then we went to Home Depot to get the supplies for building the sandbox. Once we got home, Daddy started building it, but it was sooooo hot that he didn't last long out there. He came in, and we ate Rhys's favorite dinner: chicken nuggets, french fries, and homemade macaroni and cheese. We sang to Rhys and had brownies for dessert. I think it was a nice birthday for him.

Happy 3rd birthday, Rhys!!

I can't believe my baby is turning three!

Birthdays are always rough for me. I'm happy, but at the same time, I get very sad that the time passes so quickly. Rhys is such a joy - he's sweet, funny and so sensitive. I'm enjoying watching him grow from a baby into a boy, but I miss my tiny little Rhyscake. We may have had a hard time his first year, but all of his crying sure bonded us. I wouldn't change a thing.

We've already had a couple of mini-celebrations for Rhys's birthday. Yesterday, Mamar came over and gave Rhys a drum for his birthday. He absolutely loves it! He appeared in my bedroom at 6am banging his new drum. Luckily, Griffin and I were already awake. Today, Papa, Ronnie, and Linah came over, and they were kind enough to bring a Bob the Builder cake! We sang and Rhys got to blow out the candles. Linah brought Rhys a Spiderman mask and gloves that make web spinning noises. I'm guessing I'll be making many store trips with Spiderman in the near future! ;-) Papa and Ronnie contributed money toward the sandbox that we're building for the backyard. We're expecting the sand to arrive tomorrow afternoon, and I imagine that the truck dumping the sand in our driveway will be the best present ever for Rhys! I can't wait to see his face when his very favorite thing - a dump truck - appears in front of our house!

The Rhys Show

"Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and grills. Introducing the great boy, Rhys!!" Rhys yelled from the back of the couch. He then jumped off with a flourish and continued. "Once upon a time, there was a boy named Rhys. He was a great jumper, so he decided to jump. Bouncy, bouncy, bounce! The end."

NBTSP!

Today was the annual Not Back to School Party for Austin homeschoolers at Northwest Pool. We ate at Top Notch for lunch, then stayed at the pool for most of the afternoon. We saw lots of our friends, and Avery and Rhys played for hours with Maya, Benjamin, Allie, Patrick, Christopher, Ella, Eva, Ginger, Lily, and Sage. We also took the yearly AAH group picture. We feel very lucky to be spending another year learning with our kids at home, and it's nice to start the year out with a bang!

Bear hug.

Peter Pan meets Fireman Rhys.

Cathedral of Junk, take one

This morning we drove down to south Austin on a field trip to see the Cathedral of Junk. Unfortunately, the guy's grandmother died, so he was in New York. So we all decided to head to a nearby park instead. We stayed until lunchtime, and the kids enjoyed playing with their friends. We got lunch on the way home, then later Mamar came over. The combination of the park, friends, and Mamar makes for a perfect day, according to the kids!

My sweet boys.

Griffin, 4 months

Fans?

Rhys and Bill went to play soccer during Avery's gymnastics class this week. Rhys got to wear Avery's old soccer cleats, which he loved. Every time he kicked the ball, Rhys would yell, "I WIN!!!"

A few minutes after they got there, Rhys was running with the ball, when he stopped suddenly and turned to Bill. "Daddy," he said, "where is the crowd to yell YAY?"

Rhys, almost 3.

Griffin in his sling.

Rainy summer!

I don't remember ever having a summer with so much rain! Not that I'm complaining. It's very nice to have a break from the heat. The kids have been enjoying it too. They love to go outside and play in the rain, and when mean ol' Mom forces them back inside, they make a "fort" on the couch with blankets and pillows.

Puddles!

Wet and happy.

Rainy day entertainment.

Math Whiz!

Avery seems to have an inate understanding of math! We've never formally studied math, but she just seems to get it. She's constantly working out math problems in her head and telling me things she's figured out. Recently, she's told me that:

4 + 4 = 8, so 40 + 40 = 80

2 + 3 = 5, so 200 + 300 = 500

100 is 10 sets of ten

And my personal favorite: If you had 2 birds and 80 pieces of bird seed, each bird would get 40 pieces of birdseed.

Spy Kid

Avery told me the other day that she wasn't sure if she'd ever get married. I asked her why, and she said, "Well, it might mess up my spying plans. You know how boys always want to spend so much time with you. But maybe I could do my spying while he's at work...."

Griffin is 4 months!

He went to the doctor this week, and he's now 14lbs, 5oz. He's right in the 50th %ile! Sounds perfect to me! Our pediatrician said that now they recommend not starting solids until around 6 months, which was our plan already. :-) He is just not at all interested yet, and breastmilk is so much denser in nutrients and calories. It only makes sense to hold out a couple more months.

Griffin is such a sweet baby. He's no wall flower either! He spends much of his time "grackling" (as Mom calls it). He says, "Aaaaaaaaaaggghhhhhaaaaaooooaaaaaagggghhhh" in a really loud voice. Everyone turns to stare when he starts "talking" in public. I'll have to try to get a video clip of it soon.

He's on the move now too! He's been rolling for a while now, but now he can do it really fast! He's not rolling all the way across the room yet, but between rolling and scooting on his tummy, he will inchworm himself across the quilt in no time!

Our little Hot Shot

Avery's first Hot Shots class was last week. We stayed and watched the whole two hour class, even though about halfway through, Rhys started asking to "go home without Avery". Hehe! The first hour of the class was all conditioning - sit ups, chin ups, lunges, running, etc. As we watched, I was just sure that this wasn't what Avery had in mind. The second hour, they started doing gymnastics, and they were working on back walkovers and bridge-kickovers. Some of the girls could already do them, and some couldn't. Avery had never really worked on them before. They had her doing them off a high mat, then they moved her to a much smaller mat, since she was doing them very easily. She could still do them off the lower mat, so she moved to the floor. She was trying so hard! It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming to see her work so hard. I could see her talking to herself with little clenched fists, saying, "I can do it! I can do it!" Tears started streaming down her face. I kept watching through the window, and was so thrilled to see her succeed in kicking over on the floor! She was so proud of herself, I thought she might burst!

So after all this, I wasn't sure if this is what she wanted from gymnastics. I kind of expected her to come out and tell me that she wanted to go back to her old class, where it was all fun and not nearly as much work. Boy, was I wrong! She loved it!!

Last weekend

I'm slow to post, but we had a fun weekend! We saw the movie "Pulse", which is the story of the inspirations of the drumming group Stomp. It was at the IMAX, and I very bravely took all three kids by myself! It went much better than I expected, since Griffin fell asleep as we were waiting in line to go into the theater. He slept for all but the last five minutes of the movie. Such luck! Rhys spent the whole movie clapping and drumming on his knees and shoes along with the drummers on the screen. When the movie was over, we walked out and immediately, both Avery and Rhys started saying, "Can we see it again, Mom?? Please, please, please!" I'd say it was a hit!

On Saturday, the we went to the library's summer reading program party. It was a celebration for the participants in the program. Avery read 15 hours and Rhys had 75 books read to him in less than a month! (Don't we get some kind of reward for reading that much to Rhys?! ;-) The party was fun; Joe McDermott came to perform. We love him - he sings the funniest songs! Avery and Rhys danced and sang right along.

After the library party and a quick lunch, we met some friends at the Children's Museum. It's still the ball exhibit, so Rhys was in hog heaven. We stayed for a few hours, then went home and collapsed. It was a great weekend - but exhausting!