My Little Artist

Motor control has always been Matthew's strong suit..look at his letters as he practices writing the fruit of the spirit for the day!

Window Washers

The boys have been doing this for two days straight. I gave them a bucket of soapy water and some sponges and they are in Heaven.

Our little patio ain't much, but apparently it works for them!

The Baby Whisperer

I've commented before about my regard for the Baby Whisperer, whose advice I feel is responsible for our having three out of our three babies be incredible sleepers and all-around happy kids.  It could be luck and we could be in for a surprise with the next one, but I'm still sticking with her advice.

But that's not who I'm talking about.

I'm talking about Matthew. He is so good with Molly it's unbelievable.

You know how some people are just good with kids? Matthew is one of those people. He can get her to stop crying, he is always coming up with silly songs or silly things to do to entertain her.


For him, Molly is not someone who is just sort of there and he has to work around, but he really is a good friend to her and he seems to really enjoy playing with her.

So much so, as our family was battling pinkeye the past two weeks, we caught Matthew, who was pinkeye's latest victim out with her in the morning wiping her eyes, "Taking care of Molly." .

As horrifying as it was to see a person with a very contagious disease using a tissue he was just using on his own eye to wipe his baby sisters, it was very endearing. And so far, she is pinkeye free.

I'm so blessed we have such a good helper as Matthew! I'm hoping the trend will to continue when his baby brother arrives in September!

More Best Friends

After Mass on Sunday the boys simultaneously wrapped their arms around each other.

I had to snap a picture a) because it was so endearing and b) because that kind of unprompted affection is definitely not the norm...

Nighttime Adventures

We love that the boys are best of friends and have their little bonding time at night.

But sometimes their antics, especially lately, are getting a little silly.

Somehow, in the recesses of a boy brain, they discovered that it's funny to "shake their bottoms at each other."

But, this isn't just a boy doing a silly dance, in order for the humor to really take effect, the shaker has to be totally naked.

So, after we say our prayers, kiss them goodnight and send them to bed, one boy or another strips off his clothes and shakes their bottom to peals of laughter from the other boy.

We've asked for a demo of this ritual. I'll admit, it's hysterical, but not really conducive to bedtime.

The next thing they do comes from this hyper-competitiveness to be the first one to get dressed in the morning. 

It's awesome that for the past several months, I haven't had to even suggest that they get out of their PJs because they wake up and instantly get themselves dressed and so they are ready for the day before I even know they are awake in the morning.

But if one boy should get dressed before the other and the slower one woke up on the wrong side of the bed, he SCREAMS and yells and pouts. Michael and I run in there because it sounds like someone got seriously hurt only to find out that he was just the second one to get dressed and that merited a total meltdown.

So, trying to get a head start on the other to guarantee he will be best first, the boys have started to just get themselves dressed in their day clothes....at night!

We put them in their PJs, read them a story, say goodnight and turn out the light, and sometime after that, one or both of the boys will clamber out of the bed and get dressed and ready for the next day.

Overall, they are pretty good about going right to bed. Every once in a while, we have to get in there and quiet them down, but boys will be boys.

Taken a few months back when we had to put our video monitor to keep an eye on the chaos. A  blanket as a very warm scarf? 

Molly's Hair

This post is for Sarah who asked about Molly's curls.

Yes. She has amazing, amazing curls and I LOVE them.  They may be a struggle as she gets older (I know you have mentioned in the past that sometimes curly hair can be a pain to get just right, but for the record, since I've known you, your hair has been flawless).



But I really enjoy Michael's Lebanese genes that are manifesting themselves in her hair (and her beautiful brown eyes and beautiful long eyelashes-I also enjoy the other manifestations of Michael's genes in the kids, for the record).

Molly's hair began straight with one curl on top, as regular readers of the blog may remember, then the ones in the back started coming like crazy

and since then, her hair has gotten curlier and curlier and curlier.

Every once in a while, the most perfect ringlets form in the front and around her ears. Oh my, it is cute.

The two down sides are the tangles in the curls in the back; and the curls on top which aren't always as cooperative as the ones in the back. They flatten like a pancake and it doesn't look very good at all.

But my sister-in-law who is a cosmetologist gave us some great products that I can use to make the curls on top look awesome and something to help with the tangles for the tight curls in the back.

Photo credit: Michael's Dad

In the mean time, her hair keeps growing bigger and bigger, and cuter and cuter!

Best Friends