pool party!

A great time was had by all (look at little Elly throwing diving rings for the big kids!) plus it was an excellent opportunity for me to test the capabilities of my zoom lens.

more from michigan

We did go to the beach, but I didn't take my camera. Also, it was chilly and windy and there was a storm coming in, so we didn't stay too awfully long. But there were still plenty of good times for the weekend, including a visit to a giant wooden playground, a stop for coffee that turned into a trip to a meat market for some homemade sausage and spicy mustard, lunch at a fancy tavern, pizza for dinner, and a birthday breakfast for Liam from the Swedish bakery. But the real highlight was our visit to Fernwood Botanical Garden, where we tromped around through the woods, visited a railway garden without having Henry cause a major catastrophe, navigated a plant maze, sampled from the herb garden, and got up close and personal with a bunch of turtles. Check it out:

liam at nine

We've started an unfortunate (for our pocketbooks!) trend this year of going away for birthday weekends. Liam's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we decided to celebrate by spending the weekend at Barb and Kevin's cottage in Michigan (hospitality for which we and our pocketbooks are profoundly grateful). We took the dog (his first trip with us) and we had a great time exploring the area and just hanging out together. We came back Sunday afternoon, which was a workday for Mike (inconvenient holiday schedule!) but the boys and I went to Hacienda for his birthday dinner and were joined by my parents, J, Loni, Bethany, Joe, and Klaudia. It was quite a meal to top off a pretty incredible weekend.

Our Liam is kind of at a tough age. He's old enough that I can trust him to be pretty responsible, but still young enough that he constantly ignores his responsibilities in favor of whatever fun thing is more appealing. He's old enough to ride his bike alone (within set boundaries), but still young enough that he doesn't always come home when he says he will. Yes, I know, these things will get worse as he gets older, but I'm hoping there is a sweet spot in there somewhere -- kind of the calm before the storm of the teenage years.

Right now, Liam is a blur of activity. He's spent his summer playing basketball, baseball, and tennis, and swimming. He got a new bike from us for his birthday, and has been tearing around the neighborhood. He has so much energy, and hardly sits still, though for the past couple of weeks has been spending his afternoons totally engrossed in reading. 

Liam's the elder statesman at home, and when school starts, he'll be in the highest grade (fourth) at the elementary school (next year, he moves up to intermediate school). Sometimes he tries to set a good example, but (and I totally get this) it's just so *hard* to be good all of the time. That part has been a real challenge for Liam (and his brothers!) lately because he wants to be good, but fighting and running and arguing are just too tempting.

For the third year running, we had a party at the local pool for Liam's birthday. This year, a whole bunch of kids came, and everyone (except for the kid who mysteriously got a bloody nose) was perfectly happy splashing and swimming and diving and horsing around. I am pretty sure that Liam's face hurt by the end of the party from all the smiling he was doing. And that, my friends, is what it's all about.

Happy birthday, Liam! We love you ... and we hope that you spend every birthday from here on out smiling until your cheeks are sore.

happy father's day!

This morning, Mike slept in while the boys and I went to a Father's Day breakfast at my parents' house. On the drive over, while Max and Henry watched a movie in the back, Liam and I talked about all the things he loves about his dad. Here is his top five list, in the order that he gave it (although he wanted to be clear that he was doing a top five because he couldn't narrow it down to just one thing he loves the best).

1. He plays catch with me all the time.
2. He teaches me about gardening.
3. He pitches to me so I can do batting practice.
4. He tells me all the time that I am tall and strong and smart.
5. He gets up every morning to drive us to school even though he is tired from working late.

Being a parent is hard work, and Mike (like every other parent!) worries sometimes that he is not doing it as well as he can be. But I think it's pretty telling that the things his son has to say about him are about how his dad spends a lot of time with him doing things they love together and makes him feel good about who he is. In my book, that means he's doing it exactly right. Happy Father's Day, Mike!

nature boys

During the summer, Mike has a lot of mandatory overtime (boo!) on Saturdays, which means I am left to my own devices to figure out something fun to do with the boys. This weekend, I planned to take them to Taltree Arboretum in Valparaiso. Unfortunately, Max's plans (hitting and kicking) weren't compatible with mine, so he went to work at my parents' house for the afternoon while Liam, Henry, Klaudia, and I headed out. We checked out the Railway Garden first, of course, because no little boy can resist its charms. And everything was great, everyone happy as we walked around and checked out the scenery...

 ...Until Henry touched a train and derailed it.  Liam went into the office to alert the staff, but before they came out another train came barreling down the track, there was a collision, and one of the cars fell off the trestle and into the water below. As you can imagine, that was the end of the train portion of our visit.

Next we checked out the Children's Adventure Garden, which is new since we were here last year (and is still partially under construction). We investigated the chicken coop (in which one of the chickens was raising some orphaned ducklings -- awesome!), a building with a turf roof, paths made out of logs, a hidden music garden, and lots of other fun stuff.

After that, we took a walk around the giant pond where the bullfrogs live. This month's exhibit is called People of the Woods. The staff at the arboretum took fallen logs and carved/sculpted them into the forms of some famous environmentalists. Neat!

All in all, it had all the ingredients for a successful afternoon: not too crowded, plenty of interesting things to see and do, and lots of room for the boys to run around and exhaust themselves (which made bedtime a real treat).

sunday drive

Today we headed up to Michigan to see Barb and Kevin and have a little adventure. We met them at their cottage, then had a lovely brunch at Blue Plate Cafe, where the boys were shockingly well behaved. It was nice to see them--somehow we all got busy and hadn't gotten together since before Easter. After brunch, Barb and Kevin headed back home to Naperville, and Mike and I took the boys to Warren Dunes State Park. It was way too chilly to hang out on the beach, let alone dip a toe in Lake Michigan, so instead we set out to climb the 260-foot dune. As you can see, the boys really dug it. They are still talking about it hours later, and already wondering when we can go back for another round!

opening day!

Today was Liam's first baseball game of the season. This year he moved up from T-ball to C League, which pretty much means more of everything: more practice, more innings in the game, more games in the season. He is really loving it so far (even if I am not loving that later games and practices mean I have to keep the little boys up way past their bedtime!) and seems to be doing well. In this game, his team lost, but Liam got his first hit and first RBI of the season. As you can see above, Liam plays "pitcher," which is really just a fielding position since they use a pitching machine.

One thing that's kind of stinky: This game was the only one all season to be played on a weekend day. The rest of the season will be played on weeknights, which sucks for Mike, who is at work in the evenings and won't get to see many games at all. He has arranged to take at least one night off to see a game when his parents come to town to cheer Liam on, but that's pretty much it.

Anyway, back to the game: Max and Henry were pretty good spectators, mostly because I brought a truck and a bucket and shovel for Henry so he could dig in the dirt, and Max discovered that C League has a hidden benefit: a concession stand. Amazing how long a bag of popcorn can keep a kid entertained. It helped that Bethany and Klaudia came too, giving Liam a cheering section six strong. His next game is Wednesday, and I'm pretty sure we won't have any extra spectators, so it will be interesting to see if Max and Henry behaving was just a fluke or a sign of a fun and more relaxed (for me, anyway!) season to come.

the very beautiful quilt

When Henry moved up to a twin bed, he had to part with his beloved Sesame Street quilt, which is sized for a toddler bed, so my mom offered to make him a bigger quilt, just like she did for Liam and Max. And she really outdid herself this time. Look at this beauty! It is possibly my favorite quilt I have ever seen her make, which is saying a lot because my mom's work is creative and fun and engaging and just ... superlative. Henry is totally in love with his Very Hungry Caterpillar quilt, and with very good reason.

school daze

I remember--back in the dim past before I had kids--having a conversation with my aunt about how she and my uncle knew that once their boys started school, they would want to have one parent stay at home. I remember thinking she had it backward; surely babies and preschoolers need a stay-at-home parent more? But now I understand. And then some. The endless piles of paper, the homework that doesn't just do itself, the sports and the school concerts and invitations to chaperone field trips--keeping up with it is a full-time job. And sadly, since both of us already have full-time jobs, keeping up with everything is not something we do very well. A lot of stuff falls through the cracks. Like, oh, I don't know. Blogging, for example.

The past few months have been a whirlwind of soccer, baseball, and 4-H. Appointments at the doctor, the dentist, the orthodontist. (Oh yes, have I mentioned that starting next month we will have TWO boys in braces?) Yesterday was the last day of school, and today Liam and Max are just chilling out, helping Mike in the garden, playing video games, riding bikes. But tomorrow is opening day for baseball, and Monday they start tennis lessons. And then swimming lessons. And basketball camp. It's all very exciting for them, and nerve-wracking for a planner like me. Or at least a planner like I used to be, in that dim past. 

But before we get all caught up in the summer whirlwind, here is a selection of photos from the past week or two. Wheeeee!

leopards

an essay by Liam

Leopards are amazing animals! Their skin color is yellowish-orangish with black spots. An adult leopard's shoulder height is about 55-70 cm. A baby, like most big cats, is a cub. However, a male is called a prowl. A female is called a leopardess.

Leopards live in very many places. Some live in Africa. Some live in Asia, and some in Australia. They can live in trees, caves, and tunnels. The trees also help leopards rest and live.

Leopards eat a lot of different things. They are also called carnivores. They eat impala, deer, wild beast, monkeys, rodents, and in special occasions, birds. Their favorite food is deer.

The leopard has a lot of enemies. Some of them are lions, tigers, hyenas, baboons, pythons, and wild dogs. They fight back by hiding in caves, climbing up in trees, or fight the enemy.

Leopards only have a few ways to communicate. They might roar, growl, or scent. That is when they yawn, but not the tired kind.

Leopards have a lot of cat relatives. Some are lions, cheetahs, tigers, jaguars, and cougars. They even had a relative that was around when the dinosaurs were! They were very fierce, but not much bigger than your pet cats. All of them are similar, only different patterns in their fur.

Leopards are unusual in some ways. You may think leopards aren't shy, but they are! They only come out if they are fighting off predators, or if they are hunting.

Leopards aren't good pets. Unless you like to be hunted, killed, and eaten. Leopards do that, you know.

max at seven

Given the choice between having a big party in town with family and friends and heading out of town for a "just us" weekend, Max decided that we should hit the road. So off we went to Indianapolis to stay at a hotel with an indoor water park. Along the way we stopped at a whole bunch of toy stores in search of his birthday present (an elusive Skylanders action figure), then we went out for a late lunch and checked into the hotel and got down to business. The boys had a great time playing and splashing around until way past bedtime. The next morning, we had breakfast, did some more swimming, then visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum, which we haven't been to since long before Henry was born. It was a short but sweet trip, and a satisfying way for Max to ring in his birthday.

Our Max is a funny kid. He has an infectious grin that just won't quit, and that I suspect gets him out of trouble (and extra homework) more than it should. He can be incredibly charming, but at this point he's just as likely to spend an entire day scowling at everyone for no other reason than that life is unfair when you're the middle son. On the flip side, this is the year that Max is really striking out on his own, forging his own path that's separate from the one Liam made before him. He alone is sticking with 4-H this year (a decision I suspect has more than a little to do with the bonus of more undivided time with the parent who takes him to meetings and with Yami, Aunt Bethany, and Klaudia, who are leaders of the 4-H group), and he has decided that unlike Liam, he isn't really a fan of baseball and would much rather play soccer. It's so much fun to watch him at this stage where he's not just figuring out who he is, but figuring out who he is apart from his brother -- Liam never had to even consider anyone else's shadow, so this is new for us too.

Max seems to have really hit his stride at school too. He's doing very well academically, and he's one of those kids who can be friends with everyone, who can move from group to group and fit in equally well anywhere. Who knows, maybe he'll end up with some recessive schmoozing gene that is totally lacking in both of his parents and will lead to big success in his later life. We can hope, anyway. But for now, we're just happy to know that Max is a quirky kid with a great sense of humor who is perfectly comfortable being exactly who he is, and we're hoping he can stay that way for a long, long time. So happy birthday, Max, and welcome to seven. We love you very much!