Innovation

The mind of my oldest is quite............mechanical. Unlike me.

So it is always fun to see him put his creative juices into play time and come out with a new idea. I love to watch kids play when their imaginations are unleashed...the possibilities are endless.

I've learned, through my children, that many times solutions come from great curiosity, not being afraid to ask questions, trying again & again, and looking at things from a different angle.

[Drew: Lego Spy Car]

p.s. I am quite convinced that all boys come with built-in sound effects!

p.p.s. Has your household been bit by the silly bands revolution yet? I held off as long as possible, but it was inevitable. I am collecting yellow ones, if you wanted to send some my way! ;)

12 - 2 =

T.E.N.

(months)

Which means, yes, indeed, we are just 2 short months away from somebody's first birthday!

Unbelievable!

This kid, a.k.a. Mr. Curiosities, doesn't quite seem to be a baby anymore. He is so. so. so. strong, busy, determined, cute, loved, focused and has a huge love of life right now. He has managed to maintain his dimply smile & deep brown eyes, obtain 5 teeth & blonde hair all the while seeing that every square inch of him is ticklish!

While he is getting over the cereal puffs, he is a lover of cheerios. He eats plenty of yobaby yogurt, and prefers his avocado with banana now. He points to something, and in his little baby voice yells, "Da---" (translation: that). Loves peek-a-boo. Laughs at you when you do a body shiver while saying the word. Loves the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Loves-loves-loves the water (except when mommy accidentally & unexpectedly dunks him under the water). He wants everything the big boys have and has managed to succumb many shared popsicles! He's fast, too. Crawls, pulls himself up, grabs, swipes, knocks over, into the mouth, bangs, pats, bites...whatever it takes! He totally held his own being "down" in nursery the other night and was into everything! However, he is still unsure of the grass. So he stays pretty well on a blanket in the middle of the yard. But always manages to get a handful of the green stuff into his mouth.

The other day while in the kitchen I watched him crawl over to his cereal puffs container. He picked it up and tried to pull the lid off. Didn't work. So he popped it off with his teeth, shoved his arm down the tubular container and out came a huge handful of the fruity stars. He was so proud of himself--and was like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar!

I think back to when people would say, "Oh! You didn't get your girl..." and can't help but inwardly laugh, because the third boy has just rounded out our little family perfectly. And he seems to be a perfect balance between his two older brothers.

Time will surely tell.

hot with an H

I am sitting here in my bedroom. About 5 ft. away from the AC unit, the only AC unit in our house. And it is a squelchering...well, the van read 100*, and I believe it! We New Englanders are not in anyway used to this kind of heat and wherever you go around town, you're sure to hear about it!

We really had a wonderful 4th/5th celebration. However, I have not a single snapshot to show for it. But the memories are well linked to in my minds eye, so that shall have to suffice for this year. Drew was a bit sick over the weekend, so he and I and Caiden hung out at the Grandparents watching the parade in the comfort of their living room while John, his dad and Jack pushed through the crowds, stood in the sun and slurped down snow cones & hot dogs during the hour and a half they stayed. Then everyone showed up, hot & sweaty, for a fabulous cold picnic lunch out back under the towering pine & oak trees. Cold, bacon wrapped BBQ meatloaf, corn chowder potato salad, raspberry-salsa layered dip, rolls, watermelon, sweet tea, brownies & blueberry cream pie. Yum! The stuff American 4th of July's are made of (thanks, mom)! Crystal is one month away from having her 3rd (a girl!), the cousins played their little games together in the yard, Drew and Jack put on a new magic trick with the assistance of John, John, Doug & I played pick-up volleyball and the boys found a treasure trove of Uncle Doug's old Lego collection in the basement. (whoa. we had to p-u-l-l them away from those!). Caiden giggled with delight while I swung him on dad's new hammock chair. He also practiced his new trick of waving to all passerbyers. We enjoyed the hot yet breezy peak-of-the-summer kind of day. It was a slow kind of day that seemed to keep going. The kind that seems to give you back time. I love those days.

Then on our way home, as we were all overheating by the moment, we made a quick dash into the house for a whirl-a-twirl change and darted across town for the lake. The overcrowded, worse-day-of-the-year, lake. But, oh, how fabulous the sandy beach, rocky bottom, cool water felt to all of us. Lots of sand castle building, throwing in the air (children, not sand), going under water, get those baby legs kicking went on there. After 2 hours and being water logged and sun soaked, we headed home in our wet clothes with not a care in the world. For we just enjoyed about the most perfect day of S.U.M.M.E.R. together.

Together.

Nothing beats it.

The end.

DRUMROLL, please.......

I am pleased to announce that the names have been written & gathered:::

My early bird readily helped pick the names:::

And for some strange reason (probably because we watched the new Alice in Wonderland the other night, and I'm feeling a bit quirky) I decided beforehand that the winner would be the LAST name picked:::

(sorry, Debbie)

AND, SOOOOOOO, THE WINNER IS:::

CONGRATULATIONS, BETH!!!!!

Beth was on my hall in college and I remember her room being filled with handcrafted items like a twig photo frame & a funky curtain. I was always enthralled every time I entered her room! :) You can follow her life happenings w. her adorable 4 kids & great husband (who had a huge scare in the beginning of this year) here & her creative ventures here.

AND, since I am from a family of FAIRNESS to the max, I am going to give the runner-up, actually being the FIRST name drawn, a sample package, that being ONE CARD/ENV. of each color:::which goes to my friend (and recent addict of the cricut),

DEBBIE GRIFFIN!!!!

***and this all would have been announced earlier, but things like making rhubarb sauce, little boys taking way-to-long to finish their morning chores & a tired momma made it ONE of those mornings. (smile, smile* sigh, sigh*).

THANK YOU for joining in on this first giveaway.

There will DEFINITELY be more of these coming your way!!!!

(*winners: please email me---how's about FB message me---your addresses so I can get those lil' packages your way!)