Cinco de Mayo.

I love my family.

And I miss Tyler like crazy when he can't be with us.

If you asked me to name three of my favorite things about my family, I'd probably say something like this (in no particular order):  we're loud, we laugh A LOT, and we love to eat.  Out.  Any chance we get.

And so this year, we chose to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with lunch at Los Hermanos.  It's perfect for us.

We ate (a lot), laughed (a lot), and used the "fatify" app (a lot).  Have you seen the "fatify" app?  You can basically add about 100 pounds to your face...it's pretty funny stuff.

Harris' technological skills amaze me.  His honesty amazes me even more.  Harris told Ben that evening that he had seen someone who was "fatified" in real life.  I don't know how Ben kept a straight face, because I'm pretty sure I spit out my water when Ben relayed the story to me.

I also started questioning the types of things I'm teaching (or allowing) my children to laugh at...but that's another story for another day.

Thank you, Mexico, for winning your independence and for your fantastic food.

Project.

Harris was assigned his first (of many) research projects. :)  He chose to learn more about "sabertooth cats."
If there's anything I'm thankful for in the homework realm, it's the internet.  I can still remember my mom dragging me to the public library (back when it was in downtown Lawrenceville) to "research" and check out Babysitters' Club books.  It's tough enough for me to find uninterrupted time to print out a word document; I can't imagine loading up my crew and heading to the library!

Harris did a great job with his project, though.  We learned that sabertooth cats killed prey with their teeth that were the size of bananas.  Sabertooth cats were also three feet tall.  That's some pretty exciting stuff when you're a six-year-old boy!

We worked on that poster for about a week...even though Harris enjoys school, homework is like pulling teeth most of the time.  I'm trying hard to create a homework routine that will stick with him throughout his educational career...truthfully, I'm not sure it's going so well.

I can't wait to see what first grade brings!

Sweet Boy.

One of my favorite things about this sweet boy:  he'll sleep all night long, wake up to nurse, and go right back to snuggling until we're ready to get out of bed.  Ben and I spend a lot of time with him like this, also, once the older three go to bed.

My boys seem to be the snugglers in our family.  I'm not complaining one bit.

Daddy and the Babies.

Spring Fling 2013.

We headed over to Primrose last Saturday for the annual Spring Fling.  Even though the day was slightly overcast, we ended up spending a wonderful morning with Hadley and her friends.

My favorite part of the day was probably watching Emmy participate in the cake walk.  The girl picked up the rules rather quickly and had such a great time "playing" with the big kids.  She even won quite a few times!

Hadley invited Auntie to come to the Spring Fling with us.  Harris made sure to remind Auntie how lucky she was because "even though Granti is getting to go on the Disney cruise with us, Auntie got to come to Spring Fling and that's pretty much the same thing."  I'm not sure Auntie agrees.

All the proceeds from the Spring Fling benefit charity, which makes the morning a little more meaningful.  It's also a nice way to spend some quality family time together and get to watch our girl interact with her teachers and peers.

And, in case you're wondering, here's a picture of Babe and her boyfriend, Aaron.

Aaron is in the Pre-K class across the hall from Hadley's and also happens to play on Harris' baseball team.  I think Aaron might actually be the first boy who knows that Hadley is his girlfriend...I've seen them hug each other multiple times and even watched them blow kisses when I picked her up one day this week.  For some reason, Babe has been VERY into "boyfriends" this year and has come home at least four different times telling us about a new boy she "loves."  She's only had one boy tell her that he couldn't be her boyfriend (his girlfriend was his mom) and has ended up telling three boys that she does not want to be their girlfriend anymore (after telling them that she did).

In case I haven't told you lately, that girl is a mess.

A crazy, cute, fun, stubborn mess.

Who is almost finished with preschool.

Game Ball.

My sweet, sweet, sweet Harris earned himself the game ball (finally!) last week.

I couldn't be more proud of this boy.  Not because he earned the ball, and definitely not because of his baseball skills (or lack thereof).  I'm proud of him because he's becoming comfortable in his own skin, and that has been such a beautiful transformation to watch.

He's already announced that he's "retiring" from baseball after this season.  He doesn't mind playing, but he doesn't mind not playing, either, and while we want him to find that extracurricular activity he connects with, it's okay with us if he doesn't continue with baseball.  The boy doesn't seem to have an athletically competitive bone in his body.  He loves "getting a hit" but doesn't get upset when he strikes out.  He enjoys playing infield but doesn't complain when he spends most of his time in the outfield.  And just last week he realized the joy of "getting his baseball pants dirty" by sliding around in the grass.  He's awesome.

And he's smart.  And funny and quirky and (mostly) kind.  And he's himself regardless of his situation or circumstance and my heart is so full of love for that boy that it hurts.

He was so proud of that game ball, especially because he'd already (and matter-of-factly) let us know that he was pretty sure there weren't going to be enough game balls to go around.  He's now the owner of one, though, that he's chosen to display in the arm of his R2D2 robot.  It's actually a pretty perfect illustration of my pretty perfect boy.

Go Rangers!

Three Months.

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

Whenever people ask about my baby, I always answer with some version of the following:  "He's chunky, fat, and absolutely adorable."   And it's all completely true.

People who know my family typically respond with something along the lines of:  "That baby is your Dad."  And that's true, too.  You look a lot like your Pop.

You smile all the time.  You drool all the time.  You blow spit bubbles like a pro.  You "talk" and coo and blow raspberries, too.  And the dimple on your left cheek makes me melt every time I see it.

And you're strong.  You hold your head up very well, are getting better and better at raising your chest while on your stomach, and LOVE to "stand."  I'm always amazed at the strength of your little fat legs.

You're still in a size 2 diaper and now wear 6-12 or 9-month-sized clothes.  You're also still nursing five times a day (7:00ish, 11:00ish, 3:00ish, 7:00ish, and a nightcap around 9:30) and sleeping from about 9:30 until 7:00.  During the week, you're drinking two 8-oz. bottles at Ginnell's.  I have no idea how much you weigh, but you look bigger to me every single day.

You nap whenever and wherever and are still a pretty great nighttime sleeper.  You've started to break out of the swaddle lately, so every now and then we'll hear you whine in your crib, but you always go a good 9 1/2 hour stretch between feedings.  Thank you.

You love to be bathed, love attention from your siblings, and love Ms. Ginnell.  You notice more and more of your surroundings every day and toys now hold your attention for quite some time.

While daily life is often crazy and chaotic, I can't imagine it without you.  You are the perfect "baby" of our family and your go-with-the-flow temperament is perfect.  Babe, Harry, and Emmy lavish you with attention...all you have to do is whimper and at least one of them is at your side.  Daddy and I still enjoy spending a little one-on-one time with you after all the biggies have gone to bed...it will be bittersweet when your bedtime more closely resembles theirs.

We love you, Thatchy-Buddy.  And you can thank Hadley for that nickname.  It's the one we use the most these days, although "Thatchy Doe" has morphed into something more along the lines of "Thatchido" and is still used quite frequently (mostly by me).  You respond with a smile to all of them. :)

What a sweet boy you are.