Giving Thanks

On Thanksgiving Day, I asked Joey and Tommy what they were each thankful for. I was proud that for the first year ever, they didn't need any prompting to come up with their answers. And I was pleased with their answers:

Joey: "Jesus."

Tommy: "My dad."

Not to be left out...

Our little Samuel is growing up so fast! He's now 10 1/2 months old. He weighed about 23 pounds at his 9-month checkup and was equally chubby and tall. To me, he seems just right! He can crawl, feed himself cheerios, say "da-da," pull himself up to standing position at the stairs (from where he sadly cries for Mommy while I'm fixing dinner), clap (almost), laugh at his brothers, splash in the bath (his all-time favorite activity), and entertain and bring joy to everyone who sees him. He's almost always fully dressed, so when he does end up in just a diaper, we think it's the cutest (and funniest, according to Tommy and Joey) thing ever.

In this picture, you can just barely see his "twofers," but those cute little teeth are in there--right at the bottom of his big smile. They came in when he was 6 1/2 months--exactly the same time his big brothers got their first two teeth! Now he has 2 or 3 teeth slowly growing in on top, so I knew I had to get this picture of his cute twofer smile before it changes!

Samuel is still the most darling, happy, funny, sweet baby. He's starting to get a little attitude when you take anything away from him, which is all the funnier. Soon he'll be toddling around, but I don't even like to think about that since he's my little Angel Baby.

The Swirly Was Worth It After All

This kid...

...is potty-trained!

And it is a story of hope for all moms who have water-obsessed children. How will he ever be potty-trained, you may wonder, when he's more interested in putting his toy (or foot or...gasp...head!) in the toilet than putting in his Number 1 or 2? How will you ever be able to afford the endless supply of toilet paper that gets flushed away when he sticks the end of the roll in the water, flushes, and watches gleefully as it unrolls itself while swirling down into the tank? Will you ever be able to trust him to wash his hands without making a swimming pool in the sink? Will he ever stop teasing you with questions such as, "Hey Mom? Should I lower my bottom into the water? (giggle, giggle)" Will he recover from that swirly he just gave himself? And last but not least, will you ever recover your sanity?

The answer is YES! Joey is potty-trained, and your little crazy-water-boy can be too!

Of course, this might be a false alarm of hope. But let's hope not.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful! But Look What's Been Going on Inside...

Winter has come to Minnesota! We got our first real snowstorm last night, and with it a reminder that summer and fall have faded away. I've fallen far behind on our family journal (aka, blog), so I thought it was time for an update!

Tommy is enjoying Spanish Immersion Kindergarten. But one of his favorite activities outside school is drawing maps! He has an uncanny memory, and he created each of these maps free-hand, without even looking at an actual map while he was drawing:

A strikingly accurate depiction of our neighborhood
Map of the world

A partially-completed map of the United States