Time outside

On Friday David took the older boys skiing for the first time. While they were on the slopes, Mr. 2 and I headed to the park for a little bike riding. Fun was had by all but it was a bit strange to think of skiing on such a warm day.

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First trip in the swing

Luckily he has enough padding to keep him upright.

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Birthday Fun

We decided to celebrate Mr. 9 and Mr. 7's birthdays with a trip to the Cape Codder with friends rather than the usual parties. My intern retreat was at the Cape Codder - the retreat that began after being awake 30 hours on one of my worst call nights ever and continuing downhill from there. It had been a night of ICU transfers and the sad death of a patient whose family was not ready to let go and there had been no sleep and lots of tension all night. At home it wasn't much better with Mr. 6 (then only 2 years old) didn't sleep and the packing did not go well. At least the boys had a great time with karoke.

So our memories of the Cape Codder were not rosy but the wave pool with water slides seemed perfect for our crew and some good friends joined us and now happy memories can edge out those from 4 years ago.

Mr. 7 and 9 loved the wave pool and would have happily swam for hours while Mr. 2 enjoyed it until his lips turned blue and then he huddled in a towel. Even Mr. 0 seemed interested and his first time in the pool was a happy one (not so with Mr. 9 whose shrieking lasted for a good half hour after his first dip). Despite their love of swimming, the older boys were not interested in the slides at first. On Sunday morning Mr. 9 decided he wanted to go. And then decided that he didn't. And then decided he did. This is all taking place at the top of the slide with lots of people waiting as he fretted and told me that he knew I would be ashamed of him if he didn't go. I thought this was probably a case where he needed a push even it was a bit scary for him and once he finally went down (with me almost having to push him), he loved it and happily went over and over again.

It's always been like this for him. Riding his bike was terrifying until he actually just did it and then wouldn't get off for the rest of the summer. He builds it up in his mind and needs that push to finally get past it.

Once Mr. 9 went down he really wanted Mr. 7 to give it a try. Mr. 7 also went through the back and forth but it involved much more screaming and tears. And at the thought that Mr. 7 really wasn't going to go, Mr. 9 burst into tears. And our lovely friend S kept trying to convince him that it wasn't scary but that just seemed to raise the emotional bar. So in the end he didn't go and I was exhausted from the emotional battles of the morning. It is so hard to know when to push and when to back off. For Mr. 9, he needed that push even though it involved nearly forcing him to go the first time. For Mr. 7, it just wasn't the right time and we'll have to try again another day. Hopefully with a wiser captain.

Trot, trot

I love big brothers!

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Strawberries

Mr. 0 recently learned how to blow strawberries withhis lips and this is now one of his favorite pastimes - that and trying to kick off his socks. I think he's going to have to start wearing mismatched pairs because we're losing socks a quite a pace.

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Good books

I just told the boys that quiet time was over and they both told me no (quite emphatically actually). Mr. 9 started Little Men this morning and is really enjoying it. Mr. 7 continues in his love of Magic Treehouse and just told me that the Civil War was really a fight about slavery so Jack and Annie must be back in the 1860s. I love the way they love a good book.

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Growing up

Our boys tend to grow up in bursts. Mr. 9 has recently just seemed so grown up. He decided he wanted try out for a part in the cantata and memorized his lines for the audition. He did well and nervously waited for the callback results. He was asked to come for the callbacks and learned more lines. When I got the e-mail on Tuesday saying he'd gotten the part he yelled "Yes" and immediately wanted to call David to tell him. He's that big - just decides to do something and just does it.

And don't get me started on how tall that guy is...