Jamison Square...

...how I love thee!


Look who loves to grab his toes!

Little brother, big brother.

And look who loves the water!
(he tried for 15 minutes to "grab" the waterfall)

Look who loves apples in the sunshine!

Ready for Summer!

Morgen and Micah rushed to get on their "summer" gear as soon as they got home from school. I'm not sure what the goggles are for, but they were really important. Thank you, God, for days that make us feel like this!





**On a side note, don't you think Morgen would look simply adorable in glasses??

Bad Mom

I always feel a little guilty when I let my kids stay up way past their bedtime. But on Friday nights I'm a little more lax because tomorrow's Saturday, they can sleep in...right?

And I always feel a little guilty when I feed my kids Top Ramen, even though I've seen it in fancy restaurants and I never use that little MSG packet that comes with it.

But when I let them stay up late, eat a bowl of Top Ramen and then pass out at the dining room table while I'm in the other room nursing the baby and the rest of the house is asleep, well...now my mothering skills are looking really lame.

Pieces of EIGHT!

To celebrate Taylor's 8th birthday, we had a bunch of scallywags over for a treasure hunt. It was a lot of fun. Then we all got scurvy and rotted our bones off. Then we made everyone who was still alive walk the plank. You can be eye-in' these here portraits for proof...

This is where everyone helped Taylor "blow-me-down" the cake. Yes. There was spit involved.
The scurvy has apparently already taken the eyes of my eldest, poor girl.

Taylor

Little T-bone turned EIGHT today. He's knocking on the door of Bigkidville, he's on the cusp of goofy, know-it-all prepubescence, and has really come into his own more than ever this year, especially being at PVS. He has been able to tap into his creative and artistic side with meticulous projects he loves while at the same time running hard every day, chasing his friends, making up new games on the playground. He is accomplishing so much and developing a stronger personality.

And just look at the love he's getting in that picture! Everyone was excited to celebrate their first brother. His place in our family is pretty special: Morgen and Micah (but especially Morgen) look up to Taylor so much and love having him as a brother (most of the time). Korah would be lost without him, as he is her primary playmate, and they talk about life together every day. Even though they have no problem being apart, their lives are very intertwined, and it's really cool to see how they are "home" to each other.

Taylor loves getting and giving hugs and is very affectionate. Unlike his siblings, he doesn't make a big deal about hanging out with Noble, he just does it. Undeterred by the baby's cries, he goes to Noble and makes him laugh, changes his diaper, and giggles at all the silly, funny things that babies do. It just comes so naturally to him, and this warms my heart!

Taylor is always surprising us with his athletic abilities; he's not very competitive, so we just didn't predestine him for sports. But as Taylor is proving, there's a lot more to athletics than competition. Here are some pictures of him at basketball class with his friend J (they are blurry because I didn't want to use the flash in the gym...or because Taylor is just that quick!). Seriously, he's a really fast runner...