Growing up too fast

Papa and Patrick study together.  Patrick is a great tutor already!

Thomas comes in to audit the course, luxuriously and in high style.

Here are Thomas and Liam, showing off the 'boy bed' in the boys' room... 

The boys have learned how to care for others, and to be patient and keep trying even when there is no improvement for all their hard work.

Liam has generously offered to build a house for his brothers. 

Patrick has grown a beard... in green.  I never thought of him to experiment with colored hair...

Leisurely Saturday

We have been having a wonderful day together, enjoying our family and having fun!  We started out with a special Papa-made breakfast of whole wheat pancakes from scratch, then out for tennis, family-style.

Yes, bikes and other ride-on toys are permitted in our special family tennis league.  We don't keep score either.  I did find out that I actually hit the ball better while holding Patrick on my hip than without holding anyone.  That doesn't say much for my tennis skills, but it does speak well for my concentration when I don't have to look for the baby, but can concentrate on the ball coming when I know the baby is on my hip.  The boys LOVE our tennis games, just because they think it is all about riding around the courts and ignoring the tennis balls.

After tennis, we went out to a terrific local place for lunch.  We went to John's Italian Deli and Grille, http://baltimore.citysearch.com/profile/4993289/baltimore_md/john_s_italian_deli.html 

We shared some of their signature Italian cold cut sandwiches, and had a great time.  We can't recommend this place enough!

 

While we were there, we had a sweet waitress/cook take our family picture:

Building Castles

I went to bed last night well after midnight, leaving a large mound of dirty dishes for the next day. I had dirtied all of my big pots and pans in the process of canning peaches with my husband and a friend, who were both really great help! Unfortunately, we started much too late and I was already tired, so, back to the mound of dishes...
This morning, I talked Thomas into helping me with some chores. First, we cleared the breakfast dishes, then wiped the table. Next, the dishes. I was afraid I would be stuck in the sink while the boys got muddy outside or found another mess to create, but then I had an idea. Let's build a castle!

It worked like this: I wiped the counter down, put fresh towels out, and pulled up a clean 5-gallon food bucket. I told Thomas that he could have every dish he dried to build his very own castle on a bucket. In no time at all, he had built a castle of all of the dishes that had only minutes earlier been littering and filling my kitchen! After several redesigns, somehow looking to build a room for a king with a beard and a stable for horses, and something to look like a window, we decided it was time to move on. Now, I posed another challenge to Thomas. How will we fit all of these dishes in the cupboard? After a split second, he agreed with me that we should stack them, so now came the nesting activity. In even less time than it had taken to wash the dishes, they were now put away! Thomas even learned to use his problem-solving skills, he counted the pots, and he sorted the pile, putting bowls on one side and pots on the other. I am so happy that he was able to help me, and I am proud of how much he is growing up. He is an invaluable force around the house, and I cannot say enough about his good-natured and well-executed work when I call on him, and he is only 4 1/2.

Liam has reminded me of many things lately. He has reminded me that being the mother of a nearly-three-year-old takes more patience than I have. He reminds me on a daily basis that people are more important than things, and his enthusiasm for simple play compels me to enjoy every day, every minute as a gift from God.
Patrick is changing so much, so quickly. He is 14 1/2 months old and a little man! He is my comedian, always making people smile and laugh with his adorable antics and precious posing. I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch him with his hand on the back of his head like a little model, with one eyebrow raised. I need to get a good picture of him making that face. I think it says a lot about who he is, and that sweet teasing side of him. He is teaching me that every child can be radically different, and yet similar. Just when I think I know what little boys do at certain stages, Patrick helps me to think outside the box. Patrick shows me that one can be precocious without being pretentious. He also reminds me that even though he can run with the big boys, he is still my little boy. He loves to cuddle and tell me what he sees in his manly monsyllables, pointing out leaves catching the sun, a bird riding on a breeze, or a button he wants to push on an electronic device. He showed me recently that he can speak many more words with multiple syllables, but that he chooses to grunt and point, and to let his brothers translate. Again, my little comedian, you make me smile.

This leads me to see just how blest I am in these little boys. They care for each other, they help me, and they keep me company. They remind me to think of others unselfishly, and they remind me to smile and laugh when I take myself too seriously. Realizing that today is yet another day I am blest to share with them makes me happy, and grateful to be their mother.

Christ beside me, Christ behind me

I was thinking of the prayer from the breastplate of Saint Patrick recently. Here is how my convoluted thought process got me there from driving in the van:

Recently, Thomas and Liam have been reenacting the Crucifixion in their carseats in the van. Thomas puts his arms out, pretending to be Jesus on the cross. Liam is the soldier, who enthusiastically "screws (or rather, swews)" Jesus on the cross. Sometimes, he even nibbles the fingers of 'Jesus'... maybe inspired by Saint Isaac Jogues.

The boys also keep me thinking about Jesus in the house. In attempting to bribe Liam to behave like a young gentleman at Mass on Sunday, I offered a treat after Mass. His response: "What about nuggets for Jesus too? I think He wants some nuggets after Mass. He is hungry."

These and other events in the household have coincided with some spiritual advise to focus more on the Passion of Our Lord in my prayer. Little did that good priest know that I have a difficult time thinking of Christ being nailed to the cross without smiling at the memory of my own sons relating to that holy event.

Back to the prayer from the breastplate of Saint Patrick, I realize that in our family, I am given the extreme privilege of seeing Christ beside me, behind me, under my feet and crawling on my lap countless times each and every day. I know that many parents already realize this in their own lives, but in my own, I have that realization driven home by the invocation of the Holy Name of Jesus. I thank God for my sons and the opportunities which God affords me to draw near to Him through them. I only pray that I may heed their call.

"Apparently"

Here is a quick anecdote from our family life this morning.

This morning over our breakfast of homemade whole wheat pancakes, Thomas and Liam had a discussion about some important yet minute detail of their play. In the course of their conversation, one of them made a comment that the other thought obvious. The response: "Apparently." Yes, Liam, apparently you DO get to be the workman while Thomas must act the part of the faithful puppy dog this morning. Or perhaps it was over who made a better representation of the Sign of the Cross.

Liam agreed: "Apparently, Thomas."

The word passed back and forth a few more times over breakfast, probably because I smirked and commented the first time they exchanged it.

Keeping cool in the Heat Wave!

Here are the boys, sitting in their igloo! We are keeping cool in the heat!

Happy Birthday, Patrick!

See my happy one-year-old boy on his birthday? Thomas says "Patrick is 'number one"!


We had a great day, with lots of Patrick's favorite games of peekaboo, dumping the folded laundry piles over on the beds, and chasing after the boys while giggling. Later, we had a special birthday supper in honor of Patrick. He presided like the monarch he is, see below. Notice the jesters he keeps on hand for dinner entertainment, one on each side.



After dinner, the cake was brought out and the candle lighted. After a moment to admire the single flame ornamenting that wholesome mountain of birthday goodness, Thomas, as the eldest brother, said a few words fitting to the occasion.


Patrick was pleased, and therefore allowed his jesters the privelege of extinguishing the royal birthday candle, while he applauded with enthusiasm and genuine goodwill.


Hurray for Patrick! May God bless you this year and always throughout the life he gives you, and may you continue to be a blessing to all of us who are allowed to see the goodness and love of God through you, Patrick!

Lots of Florida Vacation pictures, in no particular order

I made something!!!

I finally succeeded in sewing a project, and it is complete and ready to use! I got a pattern from Jan Andrea's "Sleeping Baby Productions", see http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/chairseat.html .
I did some adjusting to make it more durable, bigger ties, more fabric, etc. Unfortunately, poor Patrick bumped his head on the floor while I was sewing the final hem, hence the red spot on his baby face.

This gadget is amazing, though! It's a chair harness that functions on most standard adult chairs to secure the baby, eliminating the need for a high chair at a restaurant.

Late night for the boys

It's nearly 10:00 here, and everyone is still going strong, playing, talking, tellings stories, and driving laundry baskets full of toys and each other around the kitchen.

Please excuse any typographical errors, as I am nak (nursing at keyboard in text-ese).

Here are some photos of the boys in the last few days!

Lent

While February is normally a short month, it seems to have flown furiously fast this year. Perhaps it just melted away in all the snow that accumulated so uncharacteristically here in Baltimore. For me, seeing that it's nearly time to flip the page on the calendar makes me realize how quickly time is passing, and to look and see how quickly these children are growing, and growing up.

Since a little before Christmas, Patrick, our baby, has been sitting, crawling, and mobile enough to get nearly everywhere he wants to explore on his own. For a few weeks, now he has been not only standing up, but cruising and testing his balance by standing independently of the furniture, toys and people that he had been steadying himself on. It will not be long before he is running...

Liam's language has blossomed, or, rather, exploded lately. He has been able to use many words in context in complete sentences, and to express himself remarkably well for a 2 year old, but lately, his thoughts have been very sophisticated for his little body. He and Thomas were discussing the origins of people, stemming from a conversation we had about babies being gifts from God. Liam and Thomas properly applied this concept to include grandparents, parents, siblings, and friends, seeing each individual in their lives as a gift from God. Liam and Thomas have also learned the value of teamwork when it comes to convincing their mother that something is crucial, such as reading a certain story RIGHT NOW or letting the other out of their punishment because of sufficient exterior (or interior, but known only to their brother) signs of contrition.

Thomas is broaching increasingly complicated matters, such as death. These thoughts came from noticing a dead deer next to a road we travel to go to Friday Perpetual Adoration. We discussed the differences between alive but dying and in need of help, dead and in need of burial, and the differences between animals and people dying. He was especially insightful when he observed that when another friend's grandmother had died that she would need to be buried. We followed that conversation quickly with an explanation about funerals, and the grief that we feel when we are left behind when a loved one dies. He has a surprisingly nuanced understanding of these concepts now. I can't help but to think that he is so very grown up for a four-year-old.

Overall, time is passing quickly for us. I see children grow from invisible to not only visible, but very independent in their thoughts, words and deeds. (True, I do still assist in many menial tasks, such as dressing, and serving as their lavatory wench, but I do not usually mind it, since the young masters are so generous with their nuggets of child-wisdom, and genuine thanks and praise. I do not know anyone who has thanked me so sweetly for driving them to the grocery store, or sweeping the steps, or carrying a big basket of laundry before these boys have done it for me.) I have been trying to cherish these fleeting days, savoring them not for the frustrations that I cause myself by manufacturing long lists of tasks that I think I should be doing, but rather enjoying the things that I am doing.