Introducing Mr. 1

Happy birthday Mr. 1!

Once you were small and snuggly but no more.  Now you are big and have things to do, making the times you stop to give a big hug and slobbery kiss all the more special.  We wish you would not pull down all the books, unroll the toilet paper, and eat woodchips, but we know you are just discovering the world.  We love it when you dance for us and give us your cheesy grin (especially while you attack your brothers). You are well-loved by all these brothers and we can't imagine our family without you.

Numbers

Mr. 3 rated his swimming lessons today at a 68 and he says that's a very big number.

While changing into his clothes he changed it to an 88 which he sais was even better.

He then told Mr. 0 that he had 26 lives but Mr. 0 had only 10.

Orchard house

Six months ago I bought a Groupon for Louisa May Alcott's house in Concord.  Mr. 9 was reading Little Men at the time and I had never been so it seemed like a great idea.

Fast forward 6 months and the expiration date arrives.  And David is out of town.  I decided I would brave it and take my four boys on my own.  Bold, perhaps.  Foolhardy, likely.

But actually it was great.  Mr. 0 was in the carrier so he was safe and everyone else was attentive and respectful.  Our tour guide started by telling us that 80% of the furnishings of the house are original to the Alcotts and the other 20% original to the period so please don't touch.  And they didn't. 

It was an interesting tour, even if you haven't read Little Women in 20 years.  Bronson Alcott was a very interesting man and very involved in the education of his daughters.  Thoreau and Emerson frequent visitors.  There was even a schedule on the wall for the girls which I really liked and bought a copy of to hang next to our own schedule.  I hope I'm creating great thinkers for the next generation although I doubt our house will ever be on any tour.  Time to find an estate!

Baby destruction

I know it's a phase but the continuous extraction of baby from undesired activity is beginning to wear me down.  No eating shoes or electrical cords.  No legos.  No pulling every book off shelf.  No climbing up stairs (or downstairs) in the two seconds it takes me to get something out of the fridge (and no climbing into the fridge either). 

A few days ago I ran into Ace Hardware for something.  When I was checking out I set Mr. 0 down for 15 seconds to sign the receipt.  We got back in the car and I heard him gagging in the back.  I pulled over and fished a piece of wood out of his mouth.

Now it's time to go rescue Mr. 0 from the bathroom...

Swimming lessons

Mr. 3 really wanted to take swimming lessons with the older brothers so this week I signed all 3 up.  The first day it went great and he loved it.  The second day he refused to go in the water despite a half hour of coaxing and cajoling (all while holding Mr. 0).  He then spent the afternoon swimming with his friend O in the nearby pool, happily jumping off the side into the water.  Today he went right into the pool smiling and came out smiling 30 minutes later.  Crazy!

Solar airship

A few weeks ago I came across a website with all sorts of crazy things that I though the kids would like.  Space hoppers (picture big bouncy balls with handles), a hologram chamber, balls that have an odd center of gravity, etc.  The box came earlier this week and it's been a hit (although perhaps one space hopper would have been enough).

Included in the box was a solar airship which promised 20 feet of fun.  Mr. 9 has been wanting to try it so tonight we headed out to the park to see how it would fly.  Mr. 0 was freshly awake from his nap and well-fed so I hoped that he could be a little patient while we figured it out.  We headed out to the field and got it out, immediately attracting the attention of a two boys from the playground who ran over to join us.  Perhaps I should add that the 20 feet of black plastic the airship is made out of is very thin and easily punctured.  I clipped off one end and tried to run backwards down the field to fill the bag with air.  With five helpers and one very unhappy baby on the sidelines.  Things were not looking good.

I managed to get it filled and tied off.  But how can any young boy resist chasing 20 feet of giant balloon?  So there was much laughing and chasing and accidental holes in the airship.  I sent Mr. 9 home for some tape while I tried to calm Mr. 0 down and keep the smaller kids away from the ship.  We patched up as best we could and tried again.  With still more help.  I was starting to think the whole thing was a mistake but Mr. 7 and Mr. 9 were still enthusiastic that we could get this thing off the ground.

Finally our young friends headed home and Mr. 3 got himself in enough trouble that he ended up strapped in the stroller.  I still had a moderately unhappy baby and an airship with holes but with enough tape we got it filled.  It never really rose in the air like the picture but the boys had a wonderful time chasing it down the field.  I sat down with Mr. 0 to watch them and he pulled up on me and kissed my face (big, open-mouth, slobbery kisses) while Mr. 3 ran down the field laughing with Mr. 7 and Mr. 9 in hot pursuit.  It sometimes takes some patching up to get there, but it's all worth it for moments like that.

A day at the beach

We hadn't made it to the beach yet this year so when the opportunity arose to join some friends up at Wingaersheek we had to go.  It was a gorgeous day and everyone had a blast.  We arrived with the tide coming in.  After some tidepool exploring and climbing rocks, the kids decided to dig an enormous pool (largely our friend I and her assistant Mr. 3 with help from everyone else at different times).  All was well until the tide started crashing at the door.  They were shoring up the walls as best they could but it seemed inevitable that the waves would win.  I ran over to the lifeguard station to find out when high tide was and was told 12:50pm.  What time was it?  12:47pm.  I ran back to tell them not to give up and everyone joined in saving the "hot tub".  

Even Mr. 0 loved the beach and didn't seem at all bothered by the cold water or the crashing waves.  He happily sat at the water's edge, playing in the water and eating sand.  Now I'm trying to decide if I'm up for another day by myself with the 4 kids (I promised Mr. 9 we could go back at low tide so he could do more exploring).