Toad Time Update

We kicked off the weekend at a birthday party with our favorite 5 year old.

Oh how we love our Jordan.

Superkid has elected to take some after school activities. A "Plug and Play" computer class and an "Animal Art" class. We love having new exotic masterpieces to display.

We also had some kiddos from my primary class over for some outdoor activities. When one of the kids tripped and smashed his face on the front steps and knocked loose some teeth, we decided to move the party inside (I know, I throw the best parties). I have never seen this particular group of kids sit still for more than 1 minute. Now I know the secret, dump a box of Legos at their feet. They didn't budge for 30 minutes. Just enough time to get the injured child's dentist father on the scene. By then the spewing blood had clotted and our little casualty had assembled a line up Star Wars action figures.

We take lots of baths around here. For some, it is mostly for distraction.

For others it is out of complete necessity...

3 out of 4 Toad's prefer "porridge" for breakfast. Superkid abstains.

Some of us LOVE to get fancy for church (Pops warned me about the yellow flower socks. I dug my heels in about breaking the "socks with dresses" rule. But when Abz came around the corner I had to agree they were strangely cute, in a Punky-Brewster sort of way).

Okay, we ALL love getting fancy for church.

Lovin'the Warmth

After a long cold winter, it sure feels great to be OUT again. Maybe it is good to have winter so that we will take full advantage of any warm days available to us! One of our favorites is to go to a nearby estuary with paved roads and rip it up!
While we did manage to pack 4 riding implements, and 4 kids into the minivan, we only managed to bring 3 sets of shoes for the children. Abz got away with scooting along in her new butterfly socks. Why not? She also go away with pouring herself into the middle of a nice big mud pie to play with her ponies after ballet. Yes, she actually was in her regulation new pink tights. Thank heavens for oxy clean.
Superkid challenged his abilities by coasting down some hills. Go Superkid!
He also learned that you aren't REALLY pushing your limits unless you have blood rolling into your socks!
Why not top off all summer activities with our favorite treat
(well one of our favorites, we absolutely adore you too ice cream!)!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm one happy Mommy!
Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Grandma Sheryn, Grandma Sandi, and Grandma Burningham too! We love you and are DYING to be with you soon!

מזל טוב

What could be better than 1 Bat Mitzvah? How about TWO!

Two of our favorite ladies invited us to a spectacular day of celebration. In the morning, Alana and Lauren displayed an amazing breadth of knowledge of the Torah and the Hebrew language as they taught from Leviticus about Sabbath observance and Yom Kippur. These ladies have poise and confidence. Pops leaned over during the service and whispered that he was completely happy for the family. I couldn't agree more.

After the services and delicious luncheon there was a blow-out party that evening, complete with DJ and babysitting services. Oh, how I wish these ladies lived a little closer!

Not only are Alana and Lauren proficient in Hebrew and Torah, they are rockin' hula hoop stars! They won every contest.
My favorite part of the night was the Macarena competition. Abizella and Superkid did surprisingly well for novices!
As we were driving home, Abz said, "That was the best party EVER!"
We all thought so. Thank-you for sharing your special day with us!
Mazel Tof to the the proud parents and big bro. Ben too!

The Little Litigator

Tadpole has taken a tactical approach to getting his little grubs on Little Chief''s Birthday bounty. Instead of throwing a 3 year old tantrum, he is litigating to fulfill his wants. Andie and family gave Little Chief a super fun camera/phone/radio. We were on our way to the beach Sunday night. I thought Tad would flip out and rip it from Little Chief's hands. Instead, he played it cool,"Little Chief, I will give you $10 for your camera..."and then *yoink* he snatched it from his clutch. Little Chief didn't protest so it must be an agreement, right?

When we got back home and I was stripping Little Chief down for a bath I noticed a dollar on the floor by his feet. I asked where it came from, Tad came around the corner with the cool toy in hand and said, "Mom! That is Little Chief's ten dollars! Bremember (he pronounces r's with a b), I gave it to him for his toy!" I asked where he got the money from, he said from our dresser.
hmmm.


Then a package from Grandma and Grandpa arrived. It was snatched from the front porch and ripped open before Pops could even unload the Birthday Boy from the car. Abizella and Tadpole wanted to call Grandpa that night. I came around the corner to find Tadpole laying back on the couch with all of the cars from the package lined up around him, with the phone in one hand and the box above his face with the other (I wasn't quick enough to catch the actual pose). He was reading the box to Grandpa,
"The box says, Grandpa, that Little Chief must share the cars."

Watch out!
This is one sly little guy.

Baby Boy Turns Big Boy

A year ago this morning, I was walking along the beach with my Mom and Tadpole. Even though I had been in the throws of labor for the past week in a half, I had a suspicion that that day was the day. The contractions were about 10 minutes apart, but I wanted to freeze time and lock myself into the moment. My Mom and I watched Tadpole run, jump and splash in the tide. We enjoyed the salty breeze, soft sand and cool water on our feet. Sometimes you get moments like this. Maybe it would have made more sense to be at home watching the clock and prepping for the hospital, but I knew this was a moment that I wouldn’t get back.

I then answered a phone call. It was a job offer. That’s right, a job offer from a company that I had carted my 8.5 month pregnant body in for two separate interviews. There at the beach, between and during contractions, a job offer. That on top of a message left from my future employer calling to say they found my resume on Monster and wondered if I was interested in a job they had. It was turning out to be an interesting day.

Little Chief came into the world about 12 hours later, easy breezy. He is an answer to my great desire to squeeze in one last Toad. I would feel ungrateful if I did not acknowledge the Lord’s hand in this. It is confounding to realize that Little Chief was born when he was, that I easily got the perfect job in the perfect location exactly when I did, that Little Chief turned out to be the most easy going Toad of the bunch, and this time around I wasn’t racked with infections and nursing problems. Everything was surprisingly smooth and easy. Little Chief was a peach of an infant and as I transitioned back into the world of science I easily recalled techniques and readily understood new concepts. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord made my burdens light, that he carried me.

I am grateful to Pops, who loves our family more than himself. Who could be kicking back in a nice downtown Boston office with some of his favorite people, doing his favorite thing. Instead chooses to be there all the time for the kids, and then work late into the night and on the weekend. It is his perspective that keeps our family on track. He carries a big load, but he knows why he does it.

I Love my Little Chief. He is a precious gift. Happy Birthday!

We kicked off the celebrations Sunday with our Rhode Island cousins.

We enjoyed the traditional spaghetti dinner, which includes the ceremonial noodle sharing of the birthday kid with cousin Andie...
Actually, Little Chief wasn't that INTO his spaghetti, even with a little coaxing...
Then he started to swat my fork out of my hand. Got it. He just needed a fork. How uncivilized of me not to offer utensils to the big boy. I then get this look of,
"Can't I get a little respect around here?"
In the end he finally picked up his plate, looked me straight in the eye, and slowly dumped it on his lap.
*Does that make you happy Mom?... you want a mess, here you go!*
Yes, it did make me very happy!
Time to haul in the cup cakes (thanks for the idea Jeni!)
*What now, you expect me to pick up a cupcake and smash it into me face?*
*Fine*
After all of the food related fun, we took to the beach. It has been a chilly year, so sadly this was our first trip of the season, and the first time Little Chief has ever gotten to have any contact with the sand.
He is a HUGE fan!
Awe. Look at my little "Tidepool Toad".
We ALL love you Little Chief!

Museum Days

There is something about Spring time that says "Museum" to me. It is nice enough to *get out*, but not actually *be out*, so why not go to a museum?

Superkid has been DYING to go to the MIT Robot Museum ever since he heard about it. Their recommendation is that it is for kids 12 and older, I figured Superkid could handle it... but probably not the rest of the crew. This makes it tricky and so we kept pushing it off to Spring Break. One sunny afternoon Pops dropped Superkid off at my work and I took the rest of the day off for a date with Superkid. I can't tell you the last time it was just the two of us. Best afternoon ever. First I showed him the museum in the lobby of my work and then we walked down the street to ROBOT land.
You may notice that we have a friend -Flat Stanley- along for the ride.
Okay, it is not JUST a Robot Museum, it also has ROCKETS, holograms, and biology stuff...
We loved it all...but our favorite was this kangaroo leg robot, you should see it in action!




While we were feeling curious and enjoying being out in the world again, we thought, "Why not take 4 wild and crazy kids to a blown glass exhibit (Chihuly at the MFA)?" Who knew that they wouldn't throw up a few rails to protect all of the delicate sculptures from prodding little fingers? We cinched the strollers straps extra tight, reigned Superkid and Abizella in, and wished for the best.

Superkid has recently become a map expert, so he led the way!




We all loved this boat, which was the size of the room, filled with sea creatures...


What really lured Pops to the MFA was the new Art of the America's wing, which was partly built to house this portrait of George Washington Crossing the Delaware River. Tadpole is impressed... or perhaps just happy to be liberated from the indignities of the stroller.
And the "Mommies".
When you go to a museum with little ones you've got to have priorities. I definitely wanted to see the blown glass exhibit. For Pops, the Art of the America's was a MUST. And for Abizella, she HAD to see the Egyptian Mommies. She would not adopt the more traditional "Mummy" pronunciation, and was a little disappointed to not actually see a Mommy.
All of the kids were creeped out to see actual mummies!