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!

"Wut cost 8 dolars?"

According to Google Images, an oil rig.

After Googling what the contents of his piggy bank could buy,
Superkid came to me in disbelief and said,
"What! An OIL RIG!"
I could read it in his eyes, "Seriously Mom. Why don't we already have one of these,
8 DOLLARS!"

Because Grandparents Shouldn't Have to Wait So Long

Easter Pictures now... Text later....

Okay, now is later.

Easter is such a fabulous holiday... why, we have been talking about it since Christmas. Sure there are lots of good holidays between Christmas and Easter, but what the kids really want is presents. Not that they get *BIG* presents for Easter, but I told them that AFTER Easter Birthday season begins, starting with Little Chief in May.

...don't get me wrong, we love Easter for the Resurrection, candy and beautiful new clothes too!

...oh yes! and dying eggs!

We actually took egg dying VERY seriously!
Tadpole did not want to part with his eggs, he considered them close little friends to be treasured and played with. It was a good thing the Easter Bunny came to get his mind onto other treasures (the kind that don't reek if they roll forgotten under the bed)!

Little Chief was pleased as punch to have his own little basket to haul around...
Abz is all about the accessories. I found this paper hat she made and lovingly stacked on the pile of Easter clothes that Grandma sent. It was for her little Easter chick, who of course needed to look stunning as well.
And here is the handsome crew... I could just eat them up
(even if they aren't made of chocolate!)
The dapper Superkid, who has been wearing his derby hat since the Easter package arrived.
Abizella, the Easter Princess, who will never willingly wear ANYTHING besides this fabulous twirly purple dress EVER again. Her exact words were, "Mom, how did Grandma know that I love my dresses to be purple and twirly?"
Here is Tadpole with *HIS* (not passed down) first ever tie. I'm melting. He has packed up Tidmouth sheds for a business meeting at church.
And who is the big boy strutting around in the vest?

We are always so happy to to go visit our cousins in RI (click here for more fun there), but on EASTER they knock it out of the park. For me it is all about the food, and they are the experts. If you haven't had Provo Canyon eggs, you need to get on their guest list!
And of course there was an egg hunt...
Little Chief was more into being a "Free Range" kind of guy...
Tadpole was going for "quality" not "quantity", peeking inside and throwing back the duds...
Abz held her own, between twirls and leaps...
Superkid has been bragging all week how he is the most experienced and would collect the most eggs, which of course he would share with Little Chief...
But I'd say the big winner was little cousin Tiney. This kid knows the biz. First kid out the door, eye on the prize. I'm thinking Andie has been grooming her over a few past events...