My Smart, Brave, Clever Boy

I know this makes 4 posts in one day, but if I don't blog it now, it may never get done...

I'm so proud of my boy! He never ceases to amaze me:

Gregory's really taken to building intricate spaceships with his Lego's and Duplo's. I think introducing him to Star Wars Episode I inspired him. He's made a very close replica's to Anakin's speed racer. It blows me away every time he shows off his inventions, explaining all the details I would miss, like where you tank it up with gas.


We recently bought Boggle. It's one of my favorite games, and we played it at the hospital while I was in labor with my girls. We plan on going natural this time, but if things don't go as planned, we want to have the game along to pass the time.
Gregory insisted that we teach him how to play. I shouldn't have been surprised when he caught right on. SUCH a smart kid! A cute thing he couldn't grasp, though, was that the cube with "Qu" on it meant you had to use both the "Q" and the "U" together. He kept finding words that just needed a "U", like "PURR". Of course, what do I know, right?


Fred hit the jackpot at Good Will when he found a huge box of assorted Capsela pieces. It's a line of versatile building sets no longer in production. Fred says he LOVED them when he was a kid. When I look at them, I get a head ache trying to make sense of them, or even considering where to start. Gregory has a blast inventing different contraptions with Fred, that actually function with batteries.


And what little boy doesn't love jumping off high places? Luckily, he's not the type who has ever needed stitches, but he does love acting out his adventures, which sometimes involve launching himself off various things and "flying".

Cleaning Up

Yesterday Fred found Charla diligently scrubbing the baby gate at the foot of the stairs, with a toothbrush! Neither of us put her up to the task... which is probably why she was enjoying it so much. I'll hang on to this one to torture her with when she's 14 and complains about doing housework. *evil grin*

37 Weeks Down, ? to Go

(have I dropped?)

Somehow 37 weeks of pregnancy have come and gone. It's absolutely surreal, knowing that within the month we'll have a brand new, tiny family member. Words can't describe how excited each of us is!

In many ways, this has been the most enjoyable pregnancy. There's physical things like not a day of morning sickness (weird, but wonderful) and no ligament pain- I'm carrying this baby differently from the last 2, thank goodness.

I think what's made it such a beautiful experience, though, is knowing this is our last. We just knew, even before Kai was conceived. It's made us appreciate every stage, from the first heart beat, to first ultrasound, to first kick, to hiccups, to watching him move.

While I am DEFINITELY looking forward to laying on my tummy again, seeing my toes, and not needing Tums after every meal, I can honestly say I am cherishing every day, as the end draws closer. I know holding our little boy will be a breath taking miracle all over again, but I know I'll miss this, too.

So, in the meantime, we'll try to make the most of every day left with just our 3. They're such a fun little bunch, and I just know Kai's gonna fit right in!

Gregory's Landscaping Adventures

Yesterday we mowed the lawn for the first time this year. Gregory's not a big fan of loud machines, so we borrowed a push lawn mower for him to use. He sure was enthusiastic, mowing paths through the grass. Fred cleaned up with the gas mower.

Today we were enjoying the afternoon out back. Gregory was concerned about the little heaps of mowed grass spit out by the lawn mower all over the yard. He dragged his truck around the yard, picking up the clippings.

I told him they needed to be thrown in the trash. He gave me a surprised look and told me he didn't want to. Again, I told him to do it and he said, "But, what if I spill some!?" I rolled my eyes, smiled, and told him it would be fine, since there's grass everywhere. Then I turned my attention to the girls.

Next thing I knew, there was a thick path of grass clipping from the back porch door to the kitchen trash can! No wonder he had been hesitant- he didn't realize I meant the outside trash can! Poor kid.

We still had him help clean it up. This meant he also got to help repair the vacuum cleaner. He had broken the belt when he vacuumed a sock a couple weeks ago- we've been borrowing the neighbor's vacuum in the meantime.

SO, in the end it all turned out alright. I'm just grateful for a little guy who is so eager to help out and obey, even if he doesn't totally understand what's going on :)

(she started doing this on her own... so cute!)

My Kids' True Identities

I was watching Disney's "Snow White" with Charla today. At one point Charla declared that Gregory is a prince and she's a princess.

(good likeness... just pretend they're brother and sister)

When I asked what Leora is, she thought about it a moment, grinned and said, "A ladybug." I have NO idea where that came from!

Learning English

I guess maybe we need to expand our children's vocabulary, or at least explain some bodily functions to them...

This afternoon Charla was quietly playing on the floor and suddenly passed gas. She gasped and exclaimed, "MY BUTT BURPED!"

You bet I had a good laugh!

"The Flowers are Waking Up!"

Spring is in full swing here in lovely Ohio! We started the week lingering around freezing, and today will reach 80.

The ground has been so saturated, but it's finally dry enough to walk barefoot in the grass and let the kids roam without them squishing too deep.

(hanging out by the fire hydrant..?)

One great unexpected surprise popped up a couple weeks ago. Apparently the previous tenants planted tulip bulbs. They sprouted all on their own! The only thing I've done to the garden was pull a few weeds yesterday. Our tulips are some of the last to bloom on our street, but it's been something the kids have been looking forward to.

Charla was closely checking all the flowers this morning. Only about half of the tulips have bloomed, so she was exclaiming, "They're waking up!" I hope they'll all be "awake" within the week, so we can see the whole garden in bloom all at once. I had so much fun taking pictures of them poking around the flowers. This is definitely a new thing for them.. and for me!

Our photo session ended after I snapped a few pictures of my girls together. Charla is usually not too crazy about Leora invading her "space", but I guess the pleasant weather softened her.

(near the end, blowing spit bubbles was more interesting than posing for pictures)

Cute story:
Gregory has been learning about how plants grow in class. He even brought home some sprouted seeds that we've potted. Most of the yards here are yellow with dandelions, that are starting to get their fuzzies. A few monstrous ones have taken up residence in our garden. When Gregory asked what kind of flowers they were, I explained they were actually weeds. Of course he needed a further explanation, so I told him weeds sometimes kill flowers. You can imagine this definitely concerned him!

A couple days later we were leaving a friend's house and their daughter, who rides the bus with Gregory, asked me if she could give him a flower. She plucked a yellow dandelion and offered it to him. He eyed it suspiciously, but finally accepted. As we walked home he gingerly asked if she had given him a weed. I had to try hard not to laugh, but somberly nodded my head. He threw it away when we got home. He didn't want to risk it getting too close to our flowers.