liam at seven

Tuesday night, Liam went out to dinner (Red Lobster!) with my parents, followed by a special birthday shopping trip. On the way home, he was tired. Not just that, but he told my parents he was tired, and when my mom gave him a blanket and a pillow, he laid his head right down and rested. It doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it's one of those things that sneaks up on parents. We get so used to kids who go-go-go-go until they melt down and collapse in exhaustion, and then before we realize it, we've got a kid who is self-aware enough to know when he's tired and to do something about it before the meltdown stage.

Subtle milestones like that have marked this past year for our Liam. He is leveling out emotionally, understanding the reasons for things without having to experience negative consequences firsthand. He is so responsible, so in charge with his brothers, or at least he tries to be. Every morning, he helps Henry out of his crib and downstairs, where they quietly play together because, as Liam says, he knows that Mike and I are tired and he wants us to rest. Max, of course, chafes at the idea of Liam having any authority, but Henry revels in it. He wants to do everything Liam does, follow Liam everywhere, and Liam is patient enough to not just let him, but to teach him — most of the time.

The world is wide open for Liam right now, and he's doing everything he can to find his place in it. He reads voraciously, gets obsessed with video games, runs with joy. And lately, he's been getting more and more into art. On their shopping trip, my parents took Liam to the art supply store and got him his very own set of colored pencils, markers, paints, charcoal pencils, and oil pastels — that last one was what Liam specifically asked for from them for his birthday, so he can make a cityscape that's been in his imagination — along with a sketch pad and other supplies, all in a very grown-up case. He's been using them all day, and it's so fun to watch how happy he is when he's creating something, and how serious he is about taking care of his tools.

So today, we're celebrating Liam. The kid who doesn't like frosting because it makes him "feel funny" will have a grape Jello cake topped with cool whip. He'll go to swimming lessons. He'll play with his brothers, and enjoy the freedom of being a kid on summer break. And maybe the best part of all, he'll listen to me and his dad joke around — and he'll get the jokes! Welcome to 7, Liam! It's going to be a great year.

dippity do

We are venturing into the arena of "friend" birthday parties, and I have to say that Liam's first one was a great success. We rented out our town pool for two hours on Saturday morning, and the kids had an absolute blast. Liam must have gone down the slide into the deep end 50 gajillion times, while Max and Henry enjoyed more sedate pursuits in the shallow end and kiddie pool. At one point, all of the big kids joined the little ones in the kiddie pool, which was kind of strange with the big pool just sitting there. Anyway, it was just about perfect, except for a debacle with an overly frozen ice cream cake (I couldn't cut it!) and Mike taking a knee to the eye from Liam while they were playing in the water. Liam got a party that thrilled him, and Mike and I got the pleasure of just throwing out our trash on the way out and heading home to a non-party-ravaged house. I really think we're on to something here! Now we just have to figure out what kind of away-from-the-house activity we can do for Max's birthday in February. I sense a sledding party coming on...

a day in the life

Today started out well ... at least for me. I've been up late yet again working on a tight deadline (which could be a whole other post!) all week, and I was so happy when Mike agreed to get up with the boys this morning so I could grab an extra hour or two of sleep. And then I woke up. Two of the boys had managed to spill milk all over the kitchen, everyone was angry, and Henry was rank. Not much new there. Eventually, Mike took Henry to school, and I got showered and dressed for my later than usual work shift for today. Two minutes before I was supposed to log in to work (sheesh!) the crew digging up our road to put in new water mains accidentally hit a gas line. Fire trucks and police cars screeched to a halt directly outside my office window, and the mailman had to drive through the yard (they really take that pledge seriously!) to make his deliveries. After tense consultation, the town officials decided that our neighborhood had to be evacuated until repairs could be made.

So off we trooped with the boys to the grocery store, which has a small cafe with a big sign boasting free Wi-Fi. Work was busy, and I was trying to work on an unfamiliar laptop, and it turns out that you get what you pay for with free Wi-Fi at the grocery store: that is to say, nothing. I finally managed to go online (have I mentioned that my work is all done live on the Internet?) via the free Wi-Fi of a nearby car dealership, which apparently was set to discourage freeloaders by kicking everyone off (and logging me out of work) every 10 minutes. It was a fun time, sitting at the table with two loud and excited boys, the TV blaring behind me and the piped-in grocery store tunes blaring in front of me. After they had some lunch, Mike took the boys to the park, leaving me to wrestle with a busy work day in an unfamiliar spot with an unreliable connection.

So I posted about it on Facebook, that wonder of wonders, and a reply came from my aunt Janis: Hey, you could come to the senior center! We have Wi-Fi. And sofas!

Sold! Between jobs, I rushed out to the car and made my way over to the senior center, where the Internet was strong and the people who were there didn't mind sharing some of their space with me. I was there for about an hour and a half before I had the all clear to come home, and I have to say that it's kind of weird but the most calm and least stressful part of my day was spent there. Seriously, it was so nice and quiet, I might just start going there once a week to hang out and work!

Back at home, Mike was trying (unsuccessfully) to nap while Liam and Max were whooping it up all over the house, and Charlie was barking and jumping on everyone. Mike ended up having to take the night off work because we had no way of knowing if and when we would be allowed back into the house. And that has turned out to be a good thing, because it's now 6:00 p.m., and I'm an hour away from being halfway done with my work for the day. It's going to be another long night here at CFHQ, but I can't wait to see what new excitement tomorrow brings!

so big, so fast

Today is Max's last day of preschool/daycare. He is spending it taking a field trip to Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend and going out on a high note. I'm not sure he realizes yet that not being at school anymore will mean not seeing many of his friends that often, or his teachers. Right now, he's just looking forward to a summer at home before he heads off to kindergarten.

Listen, I'm not a mom who looks back at the baby days with longing and sadness for those firsts that we'll never experience again. But still, I have to tell you that I have enjoyed every bit of Max's life up to this point. He was an adorable baby and toddler, lower lip leading him every step of the way. He was a precious little boy, forever trying to catch up to his big brother and make his own way at the same time. And now he's a smart and caring and thinking person who will need me less and less along the way. To me, that means I'm doing something right in this mysterious parenting gig.

This age that he's at right now, and these steps he's about to take -- it's monumental for him. He's been at the same daycare since we moved here when he was a baby, and he is secure and happy there, and now he will learn to be secure and happy in a new place. And if I get a little misty in a couple of months when he straps on his backpack and walks through the school doors, it won't be with nostalgia for what came before, but with pride for how far he has come, and for the way he can bravely square up and take the next step into his own bright future.