10 Months

 In the midst of a whirlwind two weeks--someone turned 10 months old!  We were in Boise the actual day of--but I left all the cameras at home.  It was a shame since the wedding we attended that weekend was quite gorgeous.  But I was a little relieved not to be chasing more items around since we flew to Boise and then drove the remaining 3 hours deep into southeastern Idaho farm country.  It was a fun two days spent with cousins and grandparents and friends.  The kids reverted back to country life quite easily.  Then we enjoyed a day in Boise while Daddy worked. 

 We returned home just long enough (a day and a half) to do laundry and re-pack the suitcases.  This time we headed off to Walla Walla for cousin Janie's nuptials.  I did take my camera on that trip and I got some fun pictorials.  I'll post about that another day.  These pictures of Henry were all taken on July 4th. 

 His newest trick is to stand up.  He crawls along on his feet and hands and then carefully stands up.  At first he scared himself silly.  Now he thinks it's fun.  Sometimes he even looks like "okay, now how do I move around?  I like this position better than crawling!"

 Maybe if I changed his diaper a little more often it would help him out : ) 

 He's still enjoying life--eating dirt, rocks, sticks--whatever he can get his hands on.  He's pretty cranky right now, but I can't really blame him with all the traveling we've put him through. 

 He currently has 7 teeth--I'm sure another one will arrive any time now as they tend to come in pairs. 

 And....thanks to two weddings he now knows about cake and frosting.  He could leave the cake--but the frosting--oh, yes please, he says.  I think he knows the sugar hits his blood fastest that way.

Growing up way too fast, this little monster is. 

Season's End

 The baseball season has come to a close for number 8 and the other Marlins.  This is the first year I was kind of sad to see the end come.  I am very happy for more free time.  I'm not so sad to quit packing up the stroller, blankets for sitting on, blankets for keeping warm with, stadium seat, folding chairs, waters, snacks (or dinner), baby toys, baby food, extra clothes, jammies for Henry, camera and the three kids I'm in charge of three or so times a week.  What I mean is  that this was the first season that it was often like watching real baseball.  Our boys were pitching.  There was hitting and good fielding sometimes.  We kept score and sometimes that meant nail biting at the end of the game.  We cheered for good plays.  It was fun. 

 Assistant Coach Tadd's season is also over.  I think he had a fun season with his boys.  He did his job well.  He was real helpful to the boys--for instance, if they forgot where to go after first base he kindly pointed at second.  Just kidding.  He did more complex things than that.  As first base coach he had to watch the third base coach for the sign to steal.  The signs at this age are pretty sneaky.  You know, a touch of the cap brim or something.  It's not a job that just anyone can do.  All joking aside, Ezra is thrilled that his Dad is willing to take time to help coach his team.  It means the world to him to share this part of his life with his Daddy.

 You would think that Nora and Caroline would be glad the season is over.  But to them, baseball is just one big party.  We have a team with tons of younger siblings.  And we played at a lot of fields adjacent to playgrounds this year.  The girls did not watch much baseball.  Although, Nora did get into it at the end of the season and would often stop playing to come watch.

 When you are eight years old you are sometimes in an aggressive "ready" stance....

 And sometimes you just still want to play in the dirt. 

 Checking out the results of his handiwork.  If you know me at all you know that I am not the kind of mom who uses bleach or worries about stains.  Ezra's pants were never very clean to begin with : )

 His favorite part of this year was pitching.  He loves to pitch.  I love to watch him pitch.  Of course, as a beginner he has some on days and some off.  And some way off.   But that's okay.  He also had one stellar day where he pitched three shut out innings and got 8 strike outs.  He rode that high for a while.  However, it also became the yard stick he judged the rest of his season by.  It was a tough standard to live up to.  He never stopped enjoying it--that's a good sign.

 When he looked at this picture on the computer he said "I can already see it's not going to be a strike at all!"  That's okay--it made for a fun picture.

 The team started out hot at the beginning of the season, hit a mid season slump and then started up their winning ways again just in time for the play offs.  They lost the first game of a double elimination tourney and then managed to win the next three and make it all the way to the championship.  The team we played was one that we really, really wanted to beat.  It was a long road through the loser's bracket, however, and they boys were tired by the time they got to this game.  They fought a good  battle and came in second.  Second is a pretty good place to land for their first year in this league. 

 They even earned a trophy. 

 (Those are what his pants look like fresh out of the wash.  I am not at all kidding.  In my defense, he has used them for two seasons and he only has one pair.)

Good job, Ezra!  Baseball has the shortest off season of any sport.  I'm sure it won't be very long until we're hearing "Play ball" again.

A Little Bit of Summer

Summer is coming!  Summer is coming!  Only 7.5 days of school left.  Only 11 days of spring left.  Summer is coming!  In honor of the coming solstice here is a little preview:

Summer
by Caroline

the summer sun is Large and yellow!
the summer grass is green and tiklish
Summer birds flying and chirping!
Summer bunnys hop with Joy!
Summer bug's all say good-day!
Summer wind's Blow lightly with Glee
as Summer Juices are drinked
up fas  I Love Summer
when the summer sun is Large
and yellow! 

Baseball Game With the Idahos

 Grandpa and Grandma Idaho came to visit us for 8 days!  They got here on Sunday evening of Memorial Day weekend.  It was fun to have time with them during a long weekend.  It meant that we could all stay up late visiting Sunday evening, we could sleep in Monday morning and have a leisurely breakfast--and we got to go to an afternoon Mariner's game all together. 

 Our seats were perfect for a baby--there was plenty of room in the upper decks to roam about when he got fussy.

 The sun came out and heated us up quite a bit as the game went on.  All the excitement on the baseball field happened early as the M's scored 5 runs in the first three innings.  There were so many stolen bases in the second inning that we felt like we were at one of Ezra's baseball games!

 Caroline looks mad here--haha.  I had just called her name to get her to look at me and I think she was surprised.

 We were glad to have this relaxing day together because the rest of the week got dreadfully busy.  Grandma and Grandpa had a chance to see the kids at their various activities and Grandpa took over school bus duties for the week (MUCH to my delight).  The following weekend was the Bible Conference at Northwest University.  It was a busy but nice weekend.  And shortly after that Grandpa and Grandma headed for home.  It's always sad to see them go--but this time we have three dates in the near future that we'll be seeing them--that made things quite a bit easier. 

Thanks for coming to visit Idahos!

9 Months!

 The happiest little chunk that ever lived!  Here is Henry pictured 2 days after he turned 9 months above and 4 days before he turned nine months below.  No pictures the day of.  We were a little busy that week--more to come on that later.  Seriously--this kid was born to make people happy.  He smiles, smiles, smiles.  He crawls at top speed now.  My favorite thing to see is when I look out the back window and watch my girls playing happily, my boy playing catch with his Daddy and my little chunk crawling madly around the yard trying to join in the fun.  A few months ago I would have told you it was really hard to get anything done around the house.  Now I'm telling you that it's flat out impossible.  He climbs everything.  Pulls lights down on top of him.  Climbs stairs.  Bashes his face on the wood floor.  Eats dirt out of the flower pots.  Empties the drawers and cupboards.  Dumps out EVERY LAST BIN in the playroom.  Rolls off of beds.  Finds any tiny toys that are left out and stuffs them in his mouth.  He's a busy boy on the go!  I love it--except when I'm in a hurry to get something done.  He is willing to be worn in the back pack when I really need to do some work, though.  And he LOVES to go for walks.  He just soaks in the world around him as we stroll around.  The day he turned nine months I took him in for his well check up.  They confirmed that he's continuing to grow both up and out.  And then the doctor informed me that he had an ear infection in both ears--poor boy.  Even sick, he's so patient with all that we put him through dragging him around to baseball games, gymnastic practices, school volunteering, Bible Conferences, etc.  We all love our little man, that's for sure.  He's been alive on the outside as long as he was on the inside now.  And we are still thanking the Lord for giving us this precious gift!

P.S.  If you had told me ten years ago that I'd have two red headed boys someday I never would have believed you!

Cousin Fun & A Little Mother's Day Love

 A couple of weeks ago this Cutie Pie came to visit us for the afternoon.  He taught Henry some new tricks.  His little peanutty face is just too much for me to handle, I tell ya.

 These two boys have so much ahead of them.  I love watching the early interactions and wondering how it will be 1, 2, 3 years from now.

 After they all left for the evening I found some very interesting pictures on my camera--here's one of them.  The others I'll just keep to myself and giggle at them every now and again : )

 Henry thought that all that crawling business Oliver taught him was super cool.  Two days later he put his own crawling into high gear.  Now he motors allllll over the house pulling furniture on top of him, emptying my drawers, trying to get into the toilets, etc., etc. 

 He knows exactly what to go for when Mommy is not paying attention--I find him quietly trying to unplug all the computer cords quite often.  And when he hears us coming he starts doing things at a frantic pace like he knows his fun is about to be spoiled and he better do what he can in the next five seconds. 

 This past Sunday was a day to celebrate our Moms and reflect on what a gift and privilege it is to be a Mom.  These four little ones who call me Mom are the heart beat of my life. 

 The man who is their Daddy is pretty special himself.

 And--my own Mama.  She's also a gem.  I was very happy to be able to spend the day with her.  We all relaxed in the sunshine outdoors for most of the afternoon.  We took a break and went inside for a delicious mid-afternoon meal at McCormick and Schmick's.  I really enjoyed my meal.  Often I come away thinking I made the wrong decision when I order at nice restaurants.  But this day I was beyond happy with my choices : ) 

 Now for the best part.  The kids each wrote a Mother's Day poem for me at school.  I can't explain how much I love each of them.  I'll just let you take a peek and see how fun they are.  Ezra's is the top one.

 That little phrase "I love you no matter what" is something that Ezra likes to whisper to Henry before bed at night.  It really sums up the love between family members, doesn't it?
My sweet Caroline was pretty generous with me.  I know I will treasure these poems forever!