finally

It was finally nice out today, or at least nice enough, so we decided to explore the banks of the mighty St. Joe River in Mishawaka. It was still pretty chilly, but I was so glad to finally be able to get them outside to run off some of their boundless energy!

it's spring!

... allegedly. Will this winter never end??

a conundrum

Does this mean Henry likes Mike a lot, or not at all?

When I am 100 years old...
I will be living in a house.
I will have a dog.
I hope that my dad is still alive.
It will be awesome if I had a cat.

one last first tooth

Henry lost his first tooth last night. The last first tooth I will pull. Yay for growing up! To mark this momentous occasion, he decided to dress up for school today.

teachers beware

... Henry has made it to kindergarten roundup! 

So in case you're not familiar with this glorious tradition, at kindergarten roundup, the adults sit in the cafeteria at tables and chairs made for six-year-olds (comfy!) and listen to presentations on the rules, and the kids get to go off with the teachers and be tested (by playing games) to see how well they already know their letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. And then at the end, happy, excited children are reunited with their bleary-eyed, sore-butted parents, and everyone goes home.

The teacher who escorted Henry back to our table was Mrs. K, who is the Title 1 teacher at our school. When she brought him back, she was laughing, and reported that when they were walking down the hall, Henry leveled her with a very serious look and said, "Now, I understand that in kindergarten I will have access to a drinking fountain." Mrs. K laughed and said, "I can see he won't be spending much time with me this year." 

Meanwhile, Mrs. M, our principal, greeted Henry by name and said she knew this day eventually had to come. 

Good luck, teachers! And good luck, Henry, because it seems they might already be on to you ...

senior night!

I can hardly believe that Klaudia is a senior already! But it's true, as evidenced by tonight's senior night basketball game. During halftime, Klaudia was honored along with her fellow athletes, and she had plenty of supporters cheering her on. The boys and I were there, along with Mom and Dad, James, Loni, Craig, Lilly, and Cole. I have no idea how the actual game turned out, because all my attention was on the cheerleaders. Is it any wonder why?

That photo is by Charman, the official event photographer, but I took a few of my own, below. As you can tell, we had a wonderful time, and we are so proud of our favorite senior!

another jeffirs jaunt

Since our first large-group hotel stay in Michigan was such a success, we decided to try it again, this time a little closer to home. We all booked rooms (like six rooms total, I think) at the Embassy Suites in Schaumburg for a little extended family togetherness. On the way there, we stopped in at the Shedd Aquarium, where we were going to meet my mom and Bethany, Joe, and Klaudia, but the line for them to get in was too long, so we met up outside and decided to go to the Field Museum instead. Really making good use of our museum memberships this year!

So after some time hanging with my mummy (har har), we headed out to Schaumburg and got settled in. There was some swimming, some beverages at the manager's happy hour, and then we topped off the night with a trip to Ikea for carts of random stuff. My find: possibly the trippiest wrapping paper ever, woodland creatures and stylized dolls, all with those eyes that follow you wherever you go. Score!

It was just a short overnight trip, but the kids loved having one of the rooms to themselves so they could stay up late watching movies together, and the adults had fun in the suite next door having yet more beverages and chatting. AND we decided that for fall break we should all head to Gatlinburg together. Now THAT will be a fun trip!

garfield park conservatory and cousin love

On our way to pick up Max in Naperville yesterday, we stopped at the Garfield Park Conservatory. Since we just had Liam and Henry with us, it was a pretty quick trip that consisted of dashing from one lovely thing to the next. It is definitely a place we will revisit, though! Here are some of the highlights.

And as a bonus, Johnny and Erin and the kids came to Barb and Kevin's house, and Barb made a cake so we could celebrate Max's birthday one day early. It cracks me up how much our kids like to play together, especially given their age differences.

max at nine

Who gets nine candles today? This guy!

Max has had a pretty great birthday this year. For starters, he got to spend the weekend with Barb and Kevin while his brothers stayed home. I am so glad he got to do this because I feel like sometimes it's hard to see how great the boys are when they are all together. With all three of them in one place, it's inevitable that fights break out, and it's hard to see much past the constant bickering. But this weekend Barb and Kevin got to do that, and what I'm sure they saw is that while Max is "the quiet one" (a relative term, as it's hard to be anything but when Liam and Henry are so loud by comparison), he is also the sweetest, most thoughtful, and most curious of the boys. So in that spirit, and for those people who only ever get to see the boys together as an unruly mob, let me tell you a few things about our Max.

Max really likes to take his time with things. When we go to a museum, or the aquarium, or a botanic garden, or really anywhere with new information to absorb, the other boys run from exhibit to exhibit, eager to feast their eyes on the next shiny thing and then wait impatiently for it to be time to go home. But Max likes to really focus on things, to take the time to admire them and ask questions and follow-up questions. The last time we went to the Field Museum, for example, Mike and Max spent a whole hour in the dinosaur area while I struggled to keep the other two entertained by going through basically the entire floor of the museum at lightning speed. This year, he has developed a new interest in plants, so we've been taking him to every available botanic garden, arboretum, and conservatory so he can wander around and check things out. (At press time, however, he still wants to be a chef when he grows up.)

At nine, Max is still very affectionate, but he's outgrown the kiss-his-mom stage. I take solace, however, that the first thing he does almost every morning is give me a hug. He feels things very deeply, whether happy or sad, and his feelings can get hurt easily, but a little dose of affection is usually all it takes to fix it. (If only it would stay that easy!)

Lest you think he's only got a sweet side, I'm here to tell you that he's also quite subversive, though it takes (mostly) funny forms and it is really hard to keep a straight face while delivering consequences sometimes. A couple of examples spring to mind. First, during the school book fair this year, Max got it into his head that he wanted to be a high roller, though he didn't actually have the money to bankroll it. Fortunately (at least in his mind) he had observed me squirreling money away in a hidden location (my vacation/fun fund, people!) so he helped himself to $40 and spent the day buying Minecraft guides and novelty erasers for all his pals. He also earned some notoriety this year by starting a "cuss club" with his friends. The sole membership requirement was apparently the ability to whisper cuss words to each other when the teacher was out of earshot and then dissolve in fits of giggles. I'm thinking he should have gone for a loyalty test for admission, though, because one day they got the bright idea to write down all the cuss words, and when the paper was inevitably found by the teacher, all the others immediately rolled on Max and identified him as the true culprit. Whoops!

Max's favorite pastimes include playing soccer and going to guitar lessons every week. He has mastered all the basic chords, and works on learning classic (1970s) rock songs with his teacher. I don't expect him to be the next Eric Clapton (but yay if he is!) but he has fun, and more importantly, it's a thing he has all to himself, a special way to put the focus just on Max for a little while each week. Things he doesn't enjoy so much include reading, which obviously breaks my heart (though I cling to the stubborn hope that he just hasn't found the right reading material yet, so I keep on trying), and homework. I will leave you with Exhibit A, an essay that I believe truly gives you a better picture of Max than any words I could write.

To Mrs. Price,
I do not want homework, so may you please throw it in the trash. I will tell you why you should. I don't like homework because it is boring and takes time. I would not be as cranky if I did not have any homework to do. Everything you are trying to teach me, Mrs. Price, I already know. My point is homework is easy and I need harder work to do. Homework takes time to do. I could be playing with my stuff I want to play with. If I get to play with my stuff, I will be happier. I do not like homework. That is why you should throw it in the trash.

Happy birthday, Max! We love you so very much.

snow daze

This is what life has been like around here the past few weeks. Snow, cold, snow, cold, lather, rinse, repeat. Winter in the Midwest, a joy to behold! Except, of course, for parents who long for the sweet relief of a full week (just ONE full week!!) where school is in session every day...

today in great ideas

The boys get their goat.*

*No goats were harmed during the making of these photos. Tater, my dad's goat, LOVES when the boys come over. He is particularly fond of headbutting them in the behind.

puppehs!

My dad's dog, Lucy, had puppies last night, so of course we had to rush over and fall in love. The boys are working on their persuasive essays to get to keep one, but I think Mike is standing firm against it. Time will tell ...

the not-so-great escape

He's running away, leaving forever, wearing his PJs and carrying his beloved octopus into the freezing tundra. His brothers will RUE THE DAY.

After three whole minutes, he came stomping back inside and declared that he will give them ONE LAST CHANCE. Whew.

molly good times

It's time for Jeffirs Christmas, which the boys look forward to not because they get presents or get to hang out with 150 cousins (approx.), though they like those things very much. Nope, the real attraction is Molly, Great-uncle Matt's dog. Matt always stays at my grandpa's house, but there are other aunts and uncles who have allergies and also want to stay there, so the solution is to have Molly come and hang out at our house. The boys LOVE Molly. She is so well trained and sweet. Unlike a certain dog who is also sweet but gets into a lot of trouble and who they see every day. But luckily for us, Charlie enjoys having company too.

merry christmas!

Merry Christmas from my three favorite Santas. Since my siblings and I are all grown up now, we just do an ornament exchange with each other. We try to get something fun and/or funny. This year, my brother drew my name and spent what had to be countless minutes fashioning an ornament for me. A lovely star, right? Look closer. That's right, closer. Amazing what you can do with an empty soda can, twist ties, and bullets. Thanks, James! 

brotherly love

Liam left this note for Max (and presumably Henry). See, they can be nice to each other!

photo shoot

So I think I mentioned that at basket bingo I won a photo shoot with a local photographer? I bet you were pretty sure I wouldn't follow up on that. Ha! We really lucked out on this one. Charman, our photographer, also runs the before and after school program at my sister's school, so she is *very* good at getting reluctant/crabby kids to do what she wants. We met her at Potato Creek State Park and did some hiking to find the best spots, and she took approximately one million photos of us in various configurations. Here are some of my favorites: