max at five

When Max gets a pass from school and spends the day at home with us, which he does fairly often, he is a nonstop fountain of questions. He wants to know everything, and it doesn't even cross his mind that Mike or I might not know the answer. And he remembers everything, too, so if we don't know, we better not give him the wrong answer.

At school this year, Max has really come out of his shell. He runs inside to greet all of his friends, and at the end of each day, we have to wait for the hugfest to run its course before we can pull him away from his pals. He doesn't seem to be very shy there at all anymore, either with teachers or classmates. Every night, he's full of funny stories to tell about the things he did during the day. I think it will be really interesting to see how he handles the transition to kindergarten, considering he has been in this same building, with these same teachers and fellow students, since just after he turned one. I think it's going to be a big change for him, but hopefully having Liam already there will make things a little easier.


It's easy to know what Max's favorite things are because he talks about them all the time. This morning, Mike and I took him out without brothers for a special birthday breakfast, and he constructed stacks of half-and-half and jelly, then told us a long and involved story about how it was a special world from the game Mario Galaxy. When Max likes something, it really permeates all the areas of his life. And it's so much fun to watch him right now as he makes the transition from little-kid stuff like Backyardigans to big-kid stuff like Star Wars.


It's been a really fun year, watching Max become more confident and (slowly but surely) less scared of things like going upstairs by himself. It's going to be even more fun to watch him navigate all the changes and new things that his year of being five will bring. Not only the kindergarten thing, but a whole host of other things from playing soccer and doing 4-H for the first time to riding his first bike (which he got from Aunt Bethany and Uncle Joe for his birthday). And I'm looking forward to a great ride with him.

Happy birthday, Max!

dreaming of spring...

Last time I took the boys to get their pictures taken, it was a disaster. It was a couple of weeks before Christmas, and we went on a weeknight with Bethany and Klaudia (one of our goals was to get a picture of all four grandchildren for Christmas for my folks). Really, truly, it was awful. Henry wailed in distrust of the photographer (who, it must be said, really didn't give much of an effort by way of connecting with the kids), Liam scowled and sighed and wouldn't cooperate (though he was the best of the three), and Max faked being sick -- complete with tears! -- so he wouldn't have to get his picture taken.


So it was with great trepidation that I ventured back to the picture place with the boys on Saturday. This time, I was prepared. I took Avalon and Klaudia as backup, so we were playing man-on-man instead of zone defense, as it were. I made them take naps before we left the house. I stopped along the way for some chicken nuggets (even though lunch had been only 90 minutes before) and drinks. We got there early and played. I tried not to display any irritation, even when we had to wait for a long time or the boys bickered. All good things. But the best thing was that we got a different photographer, one who introduced herself to the boys, talked to them, made them comfortable, and asked me what I had in mind. "I don't necessarily want to worry about getting formal posed shots, or about making them smile for every picture," I said. "I think it's more interesting when they're just being themselves." And the photographer, to my great relief, smiled and said "Good!"


And the boys had no problem just being themselves. They spent the next 30 minutes or so taking turns posing for pictures and rummaging through all the props on shelves around the room. When Max was getting his picture taken and Henry wandered by to stand next to him, Liam would jump in to try to get a good one of all three of them together. And vice versa. It was so easy and smooth! And so many great pictures. I am still pretty amazed. And also pretty sure that next time, the pendulum will swing back around. Or could I get this lucky twice? Anyway, these pictures are just a sample. If you want to look at the whole album, go here.

off to the office

Henry's got his briefcase and his cell phone, just like every other harried commuter.

the great chocolate chip caper

Maybe you've heard, we've had a blizzard. It came through on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, everything was closed. Well, almost everything. Bethany braved the weather and headed to the local big-name supercenter to stock up on some provisions, then she stopped by our house to give the boys some things to entertain them while they were stuck inside. And she was nice enough to give me a bag of chocolate chips so I could make cookies with the boys.

In the late afternoon, Henry started fussing. The bag of chocolate chips was on my desk, and it was his regular snack time, so I opened the bag and gave him a few. Then I closed the bag with a binder clip and buried it under some papers so he wouldn't see it and start crying for more.

This morning, while I was brushing my teeth, I heard a strange noise. I came out to find this:


I guess his memory is sharper than I gave him credit for! Luckily, his big brothers were happy to help out with the cleanup. (The paper scraps are courtesy of Max, who is obsessed with cutting paper -- I just hope he doesn't get the idea to apply his scissor fixation to his hair like Liam did at his age!)


And it wouldn't really be fair if I didn't show you the result: a sugared-up baby who had his treat taken away and thrown in the garbage. And after he worked so hard to get to it!