soccer time again

Max is the only one playing soccer this year, as Liam and Henry have elected to go for baseball and T-ball, respectively. This was actually Max's second game -- I missed the first one because I had a previously scheduled appointment. Anyway, the game was in Culver, and I figured it was a good chance for us to take some time to explore the beautiful shore of Lake Maxinkuckee while we were in the area. There are some really neat playground areas, all sort of clustered together along a lakefront path, and there were lots of toys that were new to the boys. Add in some unusual trees, a beach, and a stop at an old-fashioned root beer stand for ice cream afterward, and the boys were in heaven. The only flaw in the day was that Mike had to work, so he couldn't come with us. Next time!

seussian

Today the second grade held a "wax museum." Each kid had to dress up as an important cultural figure, then they posed in the gym while the other classes walked around and tried to figure out who was who. Max chose Dr. Seuss as his important cultural figure, which was great, but didn't tell me about the project until Tuesday night, which was not so great.

So Tuesday night involved a last-minute run to the fabric store and several drafts of a beard template that might work, and Wednesday I spent more time than I care to admit adjusting the frames from an old pair of sunglasses and sewing a multilayered beard that attached to the glasses. After that, it was just a matter of finding him a turtleneck, slicking back his hair, and liberally applying powder to make hair and beard gray. Add a star-bellied Sneetch (he got to carry a "clue" for the other kids), and he was good to go. And all of us had fun trying out the beard at various stages!

overheard at bedtime

Henry: Do you know much about true love? True love is when you have freezing powers and you can make a giant ice monster guy. I learned it from watching Frozen.

Max: Henry, true love is about kissing. [I'm guessing Princess Bride?]

Henry: Kissing? Really?

Max: Mom and Dad kiss each other.

Henry: Then they must true love each other.

splash

We've been trying to plan a day trip for what seems like forever, but every time, somebody decides to act up in a way that makes it impossible for us to go. Sigh. But today we broke our losing streak with a trip to the Shedd Aquarium! We got there right when it opened, so it wasn't too crowded, but by the time we left two and a half hours later, it was so packed we could barely move. Guess we got the timing right! We saw the Jellies special exhibit, the aquatic show (which frankly was disappointing -- more like an infomercial for the Shedd than like the exciting performances I remember seeing years ago), and lots of exhibits. The boys got to touch starfish, which was neat for Henry and Liam, but Max found it to be unpleasant. And the best part is that we got a membership, so look for lots more aquarium pictures in the coming year (hopefully I can get better at taking those kind of low-light pictures along the way).

heartland gallery youth art show

Friday morning, I got an email from the art teacher at the elementary school. It was a form letter that helpfully let me know that "one or more" of the children had a piece of art chosen for display at the local art gallery's annual student art show. Yippee! I thought. But which one? So I waited for the boys to get home from school, and (naturally) neither one of them had any idea what I was talking about. So Saturday afternoon, we went to check it out, and it turns out that for the second time in his short life, Liam had been picked as an outstanding young artist. Check him out:

henry houdini

You know, here at Circus Forticus HQ, we are totally in favor of the boys getting more independent. But this weekend, we found our limit.

Saturday was a pretty nice day, weather-wise. One of the few we've had so far this "spring." So while Henry was taking his nap, Liam and Max decided to get their bikes down for the first ride of the season. They have a pretty clearly defined area for where they are allowed to go, and we reminded them of the boundaries and told them when to come home, and off they rode. It's a system that worked well for us ... until Henry woke up from his nap and decided to go looking for them. We told him they were out riding bikes, and that he could go next time, but that answer wasn't good enough. So Henry informed us that he was going to go out in the yard and look for them. We reminded him of his boundaries, telling him to say inside the fenced part of the yard and come back inside in a few minutes (another system that up until now has worked well for us), and off he went. Mike was grilling a turkey breast, so he was running in and out of the house, checking on Henry each time, and I was working on something inside, so it's not like we just totally neglected him or anything. So it came as a surprise when Mike came inside and reported that Henry was gone. Gone? Yes, GONE. He climbed over the fence, went into the garage, got his bike (with training wheels), and rode off in search of his brothers, eventually finding them at a playground about three blocks from home. Luckily, Liam and Max understood that the appearance of Henry sans parents was a serious deal, so Liam stayed with Henry while Max started riding home to tell us what was going on (Mike met him halfway when he went out looking for Henry). Eventually, we got everyone home, but Henry spent a loooooong time up in his room before dinner.

During his confinement, Henry had plenty of time to think, though we didn't anticipate that he would just use the time to think up his next plot. Which is of course what happened. We ate dinner (delicious spicy turkey and avocado enchiladas!) and cleaned up afterward, then Mike headed to the living room to hang out and watch tv with the boys, and I went back to the bedroom to fold laundry. Henry stayed in the living room long enough to lull Mike into relaxing, then oh-so-casually strolled out of the room and decided to take out the trash. By himself. He somehow managed to lift the trash bin out of the sliding cabinet where it lives, pull out the trash bag, close it up, get out the door, open the (notoriously difficult) gate off the back deck -- letting the dog out in the process -- and make it all the way to the garage door before we noticed. The only reason I even saw him was that some passersby were yelling in alarm at the dog racing around the neighborhood, so I glanced out the window just as he was turning the knob on the garage door. Sheesh, this kid.

And to put a cap on the whole thing, Sunday morning I got a text message from my mom: "Dad wants to know if Henry drove to McDonald's for breakfast this morning."

At this rate, I'm not sure that would surprise anybody.

max at eight

Being the middle child is hard. I get it (though not as well as Mike does, of course). Especially with brothers who tend to suck up all the oxygen and/or attention at every step. But this year, Max has really come into his own, striking out with his own interests, doing his own thing, and developing a perfect -- and perfectly understated -- dry sense of humor that sneaks right in underneath his bawdier brothers.

For Christmas last year, Max asked for a guitar from Barb and Kevin. They were happy to oblige, and now every Wednesday, Max takes lessons at our local music shop. It's really good for him to have something that is all his own, and I think the one-on-one format of the lessons gives him some needed time where the focus is just on him. He can't play any songs yet (he's working on the fundamentals of positioning and notes and chords), and honestly, it doesn't matter to me if he ever does, because seeing him happy about learning something new, something Liam didn't already learn before he got a chance, is reward enough.

Our Max is quite the little charmer at school. His teacher loves him, and so do his classmates -- I'm pretty sure there isn't a single person he doesn't get along with. At home, of course, that's a different story; here, he doesn't hesitate to mix it up with the others and demand his fair share of everything. ("Fairness" is a big theme around here that I would like to just go away, but that's a different story.) He wishes that he, like Liam, could have his own room, but alas, the limitations of this house just don't make it possible for that to happen.

At dinner the other night, we had something particularly good, and Mike asked the boys how it was possible that they all cleared their plates so quickly (since both of us still had plenty left on ours). Liam and Henry launched into a loud argument about who could eat more/faster, but Max got this very serious look on his face, and looked at Mike and said, very calmly, "Well, you pick up your fork, and you stab it into a piece of food and bring it to your mouth. And then you repeat that about 50 times." Then he gave Mike this perfect little sly look and waited to see if anyone would notice how funny he was. (We did.)

Happy birthday, Max! We hope that the year ahead is filled with fun and laughter. And hopefully someday we can work on getting you your own room...

punishing boards for their intransigence

As faithful followers of this humble blog know well, these kids have a lot of activities. Liam plays baseball in the summer and basketball in the winter (as well as other basketball events/camps sprinkled here and there on the calendar). Max prefers soccer as his spring/early summer sport of choice. The older boys take swiming and tennis lessons in the summer, and they have both been involved in 4H. Max got a guitar for Christmas from his grandmother (thanks, Mom!), and he's now taking guitar lessons. Hmm, did I miss anything? Or anyone?

 

Ah yes. Henry. Poor, neglected child. He wants to do everything his older brothers do, but he's just not old enough yet (although I think he may be able to take swimming lessons this summer). He has preschool for a few hours, two days a week, but that's it. So what were his already overextended parents to do?

Actually, Henry (unwittingly) decided for us. He loves watching the endless iterations of the Power Rangers on Netflix (a hobby his dad both tolerates and absolutely detests), and he constantly tells friends, family members, squirrels, Lowe's employees, trees, strangers at the grocery store, and clouds that he's a kung fu master. So we thought he might enjoy and excel at some actual martial arts instruction.

Thus, Henry is now training at Plymouth Family Taekwondo. He loves it, and in addition to the benefits of the physical activity, we hope the lessons of discipline, respect, and responsibility incorporated by the masters there resonate with him. So far, so good.

During Henry's most recent session, Master Castle brought out the board-breaking equipment and gave Henry the opportunity to practice what he had learned. Henry didn't disappoint on his first attempt:

winter break/crafty beavers

Having all three boys home for two weeks for Christmas break while Mike and I still have to work can be a challenge. Having them home pretty much every weekday for the next two weeks *after* break because of snow/extreme cold brings the challenge to a whole other dimension. Our strategy is usually to try to keep them as busy as possible. It doesn't always work, and there is still plenty of time left for them to play video games and run wild through the house (and outside if it's warm enough) and bicker constantly. But at least we're trying.

We built a tin can robot with Liam.

 We made ice cream out of snow.

We broke geodes open with hammers and screwdrivers.

We helped Liam put together a 1,000-piece puzzle. (And Max and Henry put together 100-piece floor puzzles.)

Max built some model airplanes.

We made sand art.

We made and "erupted" a volcano.

We grew crystals.

We excavated dinosaur bones.

We also set up a whole room as a "crime scene" for Liam to investigate with a CSI kit he got from Johnny and Erin for Christmas. He had to use blacklight to find and take fingerprints, string up crime scene tape, and make a record of the thing. But we were too busy subjecting ourselves to printing and booking, so we didn't take any pictures.

At this point, we are just plain out of ideas, and so far beyond ready for winter to end. Too bad spring is still so far away...

merry christmas!

The boys were all cleaned up and looking spiffy in their new sweaters, so I tried to get them to settle down and give me one good picture while we were at my mom and dad's house. Of course, they were too amped up to cooperate, so I give you three different pictures, which you can cobble together in your mind to (maybe) make one in which all three boys aren't scowling, looking away on purpose, or smiling in a way that is wild-eyed and terrifying. And hey, there's always next year!

a snowmound celebration

Mike's older brother was in town this week, so we celebrated Christmas with Barb and Kevin a little bit early. It was really nice for us (and, I imagine, *very* nice for Barb!) that we could all spend some time together. We had a delicious brunch and opened gifts, and I got my baby fix by spending some quality time with my nephew Richie ... then the kids started getting a little restless, so despite the fact that none of us was really prepared with the proper gear, Erin and I took them outside to play in the snow. We tried to make a snowman, but we just couldn't get the ball rolling (har har), so what we ended up with was more like a ... snowmound. Barb popped out to give us some pistachios for eyes, a carrot nose, and a green bean smile, and Liam gave up his beloved Santa/reindeer hat for a little while. Voila! Right after they let us take their picture, the kids suddenly realized they were cold and wet, so inside we went. (On the way in, Liam started a snow fight with Erin and ended up with his glasses full of snow.) Barb threw Lucy's pants in the dryer, and we gave the boys their spare set of clothes (ever since the horror of St. Patrick's Day 2007, I never go to Naperville without a spare outfit for all of us!), and then it was time to head home.

second place, by a hair

Last weekend, Liam had his season-ending basketball tournament. It's been a good season, with him switching back and forth between the A and B teams (which is a pretty fluid distinction) and honing his skills the whole time. There are five elementary schools in our town, so the first round had two games, and rounds two and three had one game each. Liam's team won the first game handily, then had to play (arguably) the best team in town, our local Catholic school, in the bye round. Amazingly, our team won 16-10, and then it was on to the finals, which didn't disappoint. Our kids were pretty tired, given that this was their third basketball game of the day (and it was only early afternoon!), and the other team had a definite advantage because they played in the first round, then got to sit out the second round, so they were well rested. Still, it went right down to the wire. My sister Bethany was at work, so I was sending her text updates that went a little something like this:

Liam just scored again! Up 14-13. A nail biter!
Down 15-14, 1:20 left.
Up 16-15, 1:09 left.
Tied at 16, 0:22.4 left!!!!!!
Kid hurt, still tied, 0:09.6 left.
WE'RE IN A 2:00 OVERTIME.
0:08.9 left, down 18-16.
And that's the game.

Liam played so hard and so well. He got 10 points over the course of the day, plus a ton of rebounds and great defensive plays. We were so proud of him ... but his disappointment at coming in second just about broke our hearts. There was just nothing we could say to make him understand that getting as far as he did was a major accomplishment that he should be proud of.

Which brings us to yesterday. During school this week, the kids who signed up did the first round of a basketball shoot-out. Liam made the cut for the second round, which was yesterday. And of all the kids in fourth grade at all the schools in the whole town ... he came in second. By one shot. And he was heartbroken. He is the alternate for the district contest at the end of the month, and he did so well, but that doesn't matter to him because he didn't win the trophy. Poor kid. We wish we knew the right words to make it better, but for now, we just keep telling him how great it was for him to get that far, and how proud we are of him.

snow day

Just in time to start their Thanksgiving break a day early, school was canceled today after we got about five inches of snow. It's the first real snowfall of the year, so we made sure to take advantage of a little outdoor time.