Peace at Last

"Parents aren't interested in justice, they're interested in peace and quiet."

-Bill Cosby

After all of the requests for "dwinks," and "snacks," and "potty" are through and the requests for nightlights and socks or fans are through, they are pretty cute when they finally fall asleep. The boys sleep in bunk beds but no one ever sleeps on the bottom. It's so much cozier with two.

The hair is spring loaded.

Ahwoo and tattoo!

Noah is trying very hard to talk. In fact, he does quite well with single words, he was just a little slow to start saying them. I am under the impression that he was just waiting for the right time to lay this new talent on us because once he started talking the words came out pretty easily for him.... Single words that is. He still has trouble stringing multiple words together. So "I love you" sounds like "Ahwoo" and "Thank you" sounds like "tattoo".

With his personalty though I won't be surprised if he comes home one day when he's older and says, "Dad, check out this sweet tattoo!"

Long time listener, first time blogger

This is the first time I've posted to the family blog.... Just wanted to relate that all the training of done with "Griz", our new chocolate lab puppy is starting to pay off. He flushed and retreived his first bird today. That's good news for him because when we agreed to get a dog I told the kids and Amy that he would have to do more than just lay around the house, consume large quantities of dog food (as if I' not already spending large wads of cash to feed two growing boys and a girl) and poop on my lawn in order to earn his keep. Not bad for a puppy that's not even six months old yet!

Amy is much better at thisblogging thing than I am but I'lltry to do my part

The Joy of going back to school.

Or should I say the joy in Tyler going back to school. Tyler is so lovable and so hard to parent all at the same time. He is a wonderful boy. The same old question of "why" that he has always asked has been joined by "how, how many, how tall, where, what if, can I try that." The general answers are never enough. In fact for many of them I think I need to have an advanced degree in Zoology. Oh, boy. Daddy is a pharmacist and thus we refer to him as "the scientist" and when the questions become too difficult I just say, go ask Daddy. Oh, boy. My least favorite questions, as of late, have to do with our boy dog. All 3 of our children ask it, as do all of the neighbor kids: "What is that pink thing?" Which always leads to reproductive questions. EEeeek! I have become really good at the dodge though. I give them the simplest answer possible, and then ask if they will help me look for ripe tomatoes. Then we look for the grasshoppers that crawl all over our plants which we feed to our neighbors chickens. Subject changed. Awkwardness with a 6 and under crowd averted. I am prepared to deal with the "where do babies come from question" just not with every kid in the neighborhood and not with a 6 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old. It just ain't happenin.

Anyway, it has been great(!) to have T. in school full-time. Last years 2 hours a day kindergarten was just not enough for that kid. All summer we have been on grasshopper expeditions and trying to figure just the right amount of water for the garden, and finding the perfect fruits of our labors in the garden. It has been a great summer for him.