Yelling and Chatting and Jumping

Frances has discovered her voice. She likes to yell, which doesn't surprise me since our house isn't exactly quiet. She's very chatty too. She likes to repeat "mama", "dada", and "baba" over and over again. And she's a jumping bean. We love our little wild woman.

Some Pig

I remember sitting in the nursery. Henry was just a baby, and Gus said to me, "One day when he can read, I am going to buy him Charlotte's Web." Gus did just that last week. Henry has been reading on his own for awhile now, but this was the first time he truly got lost in a book. He read the 180 pages of Charlotte's Web in 5 days. His favorite place to read was on the couch in the Keeping Room while shirtless (because it's summer and it means less laundry for Mama). His favorite character was Templeton the Rat because "he's funny just like me."

Since Charlotte's Web, Henry has been on a reading binge. We go to the library once a week to check out 30 books and it's not enough. When he wakes up in the morning, he picks up a book. And when I call him to eat breakfast, he brings a book to the table. One hand spooning cereal, the other hand flipping pages. The Boxcar Children set arrives tomorrow (thanks Amazon), so hopefully that will keep him satisfied for awhile.

Chair Naps

John loves to nap. But his daily three hour nap started to turn him into a night owl, so it was time to (forcefully) give it up. Instead of napping, he has "quiet time" with Henry while Peter and Frances nap in the afternoon. Henry and John build legos, color, or read books. Sometimes quiet time is a little too quiet though. And I find John dozed off in a chair with a book open in his lap. Poor boy just loves his nap. And sometimes even Henry joins in on a chair nap too.

Swimming for Skittles

Henry swam in his first swim meet last night. He did not win any first place ribbons, but I could not be more proud. His goal was to swim across the pool without stopping during his freestyle and backstroke races. "Mama, I didn't win the race, but I won my goal. And that's pretty good, so did I earn a bag of skittles?" Yes, my boy, you certainly did.

Steel Magnolias

The bigger the hair (or bow), the closer to God.

Love Notes

After school ended, Henry was sent home with notebooks and folders of work. Some things went in the "keep" pile, while others were tossed (I know, but I can't be a hoarder with four kids). Without question, these two notes were kept. I couldn't help but smile to hear him describe his crazy family of six as "sweet and calm". And his prayer is mine every night.

Stand Up Comedian

Henry and John taught Peter a knock-knock joke. It's the only one he knows. He likes to repeat it. And he finds it hilarious.

"Knock-knock!"
"Who's there?"
"Tow" (cow)
"Cow who?"
"No, moo moo moo!"