The kids and daddy at bedtime

The kids wanted to read a book in mommy and daddy's bed, so here we are getting all set. What's missing? The ritual! Brush teeth, wash faces and hands, put on jammies, THEN read a book, then tuck in and kisses and I love yous.

Nate and Jon and Mary Grace and William!

William and Mary Grace with their cousins Jon and Nate, taking a bike-ride on a nice sunny afternoon!

Daddy, I have a question for you

I put William to bed tonight and he was a dream. Very gentle and cute, talking with his little boy voice, and extra snuggly. We read three short books, then he hopped off my lap and climbed into his bed. After kisses and tucking him in, I went across the hall to my bedroom.

A few minutes later, I heard William call me. I went back in and he says

"Daddy, I have a question for you".
"OK, William, go ahead".
"Will I have bad dreams tonight?".
"No, you won't have bad dreams, just try to think of happy things and when you fall asleep you'll dream about those things. You could think about going to the amusement park, or playing with your cousins".
"OK, I'll think about playing with my cousins".

So Nate and Jon, he REALLY loved you guys being here and playing with him. Anne and I had a nice time with you too. :)

William's made-up foods

Lately, William has been making up new foods and renaming existing foods. We hope this is a trend he continues, because we find it so cute!

Mud-crushers - Miniature Snickers bars
Spider Balls - A new type of cereal he made up which has no sugar in it.
Rainbow Dogs - A type of candy.

(Hmmm, I wonder if William knows that they all have 12 letters? Is this some sort of clue?)

A rare good picture of mommy and daddy

We don't come up with good pictures of ourselves very often, but we both liked this one, so up it goes! (at least until Anne asks me to take it down :) **

**picture was changed by Anne.

It's been nice being your neighbor Mike and Doris

With great sadness, we bid farewell and best wishes to Mike and Doris our neighbors for 7 years, and mine for 14 years, the kids for their whole lives! We'll never forget Mary Grace and William yelling over the fence "Hi Mike!" and "Hi Doris!" EVERY TIME Mike or Doris were in their yard. We'll always be reminded of our ex-neighbors by all the great toys they've given the kids over the years and the beautiful quilt that Doris made for each of the kids when they were born.

My favorite story is when I met Mike the first time he handed me a key to his house and a key to his truck. "If you need anything from the house, just let yourself in and take it; if you need the truck, don't ask me, just take it." It doesn't get much better than that. Mike taught me about building retaining walls, hanging drywall, using leverage to your advantage, trimming trees, and most importantly, pacing yourself and singing while you work.

We threw a little neighborhood surprise party for Mike and Doris a few weeks back and here are some of the highlight photos.


Mike and Doris



The gang



The girls waiting for cake



The boy being a boy

I hope we can keep in touch and see each other again because we will all miss you!

A funny thing happened at Kidtown tonight

As typical on Wednesday evenings, Rick teaches a class at Midtown Athletic Club. I drop the kids off at KidTown, their child care. The kids usually have a great time, and aside from a little over-indulgence with TV viewing.

Tonight when I went to pick up the kids at 7:30, I was very surprised to hear that William fell asleep and was still sleeping. So I walk over to the TV area and there's my boy, sound asleep with a loaner blanket with 5 kids all around him watching TV (including Mary Grace).

That boy was OUT COLD. I picked him up and took him to the car and he barely stirred. Only when I mentioned stopping at Wendys did he snap out of it!