his buddies

Henry had some fun with friends today... a buddy party for his birthday. These fellows had a lot of energy, which we tried to contain in a maze of boxes and some party games. Perhaps the candy prizes worked against us. Anyway, they had fun. He had fun. And now we are exhausted.

And this is Janie "napping" while the party goes on outside her window. (Please note, that, yes, she is stuck there, between the wall and her crib.)

happy birthday, henry francis

We are so happy to celebrate you, our passionate son, our sensitive soul, and our fierce fighter. You love music and sports and books and Lego and Pokemon. You're so gentle with Janie. You're such a bug to the rest of them. You cry at sad endings. You have a buddy in St. Francis. You just want to hug your brother. You've got some cute dimples. You're funny and sweet and your hugs are really nice. You ask good questions and you think of other people. What a great treat to call you ours.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Henry. Let's find out what eight will bring.

birthday eve-ing

"God gave me a present," said Henry when we saw the sunset on his birthday eve.

Later, Henry said heartfelt good nights to his siblings. "This is the last time you will see me as a seven-year-old," he proclaimed. Janie looked up from her book to reply, "I'm going to miss you." And then back to reading.

janie

She is a firecracker. Yup, she says sweet things to the baby and she will comfort her crying sibling with a pat on the back and an, "It's okay, it's okay." But she's also the kid who disappears and there's danger in her silence. Danger that usually involves markers. Or toothpaste.

And then there was the day we were out shopping for kid clothes and Clara asked, "Where's Janie?" Just then we hear a faint voice, "Clara, come here. Come here, Clara." We head to the voice, on the other side of the two-tiered display table, to see a row of pants... and one pair of pants wearing shoes. That's the kind of kid she is.

She's independent and stubborn, a little wacky in her thinking, and not afraid of anything (except the sound of the blender). She's really a bit of trouble. And a lot of love.

baby vs. baby

I love my baby, soooo much!

That's what Janie tells me when she hugs my belly. She has also asked, loudly at the grocery store, "Is your baby going to pop out?"

I don't know who told her all these things, or how she understands so much about babies. We'll see how much she gets (or appreciates) when the baby actually does pop out.

frere or souer?

Or maybe a basketball just shoved up my shirt. Hard to tell, really.

a hike in the woods

Because summer isn't over yet. (The calendar says so. And also it's stinkin' hot outside.)

her turn

Here she goes! Clara was all smiles (with the exception of about two minutes when she realized I was dropping her off... like actually leaving her there) for her first day of "school." She will go to a program at The Little Gym - two hours of class time, and one hour of gymnastics - for crafting and reading and learning and somersaulting. This is perfect for her and her bouncy personality. Go Clara Go!

and finally...

... baseball season is over. Joe's playoffs were this weekend and, after an exciting trip to the finals, his Yankees walked away with second place. He learned so much over the season, really improved his pitching, and grew in confidence. We're really proud of our Joe.

and now...

... first day of school! We're all a little but blue to say good bye to our lazy days of summer but excited for new things ahead. Here they go.

phewf

The girls and I watched Cinderella tonight. Partway through, Clara leaned over to tell me, very sincerely, "Mommy, you are better than Cinderella's mom."