Late into our Ninth Year

Here we are in January of 2020, nearly nine years into this parenting journey. These are some of my favorite glimpses of life where we are right now:

• Reed wrapping his little arms around my neck as tight as can be. 
• Beckett's huge smile while he's at hockey practice and at games. Loves being the first guy out on the ice every practice and first one out for his shift in games.
• Theo running his hands over my clothes and saying how nice I feel, and how pretty I am.
• Reed at the dining room table, looking at me, cocking his head, and asking for a hug or to sit in my lap, sometimes mid-meal.
• Beckett watching a show or a movie and just being unable to keep his body still: jumping, bouncing, sometimes laying on his belly on the ottoman and kicking his legs and moving his arms.
• Theo delaying us leaving the room at bedtime, with more and more oddball questions about life, death, and everything in between.
• The kids running in and out of the house on weekends. Theo and Beckett walk or bike to their friends' houses in the neighborhood with or without video game systems in hand. Reed runs all over our block playing mostly with his friend Kamrin, who is 6. Kamrin's treehouse is a hot destination most of the time.
• Theo and Reed playing gentle, sweet games together. 
• Reed's huge smile when he sees me from the top step of the school bus in the afternoon.
• The way the house sounds like there are three stampeding elephants who are all shouting at the same time instead of three small people whose combined weight is less than my own weight.
• Beckett laughing with his head back as I tickle him. He can sometimes look exactly like he did when he was six months old, with a wide open smile and laugh. He never wants me to stop snuggling, kissing, cuddling, and hugging him.
• Theo's requests for "tickle tornado"--where I tackle him and tickle him and he tries not to laugh.
• Reed's request for hippo rides--where he rides on my back as I pretend to be a hippo, and try to shake him off-- and for "mean nasty fighting"--wrestling where he runs and jumps on me.

Visit with Auntie Alexis

After New Year's Auntie Alexis brought Mary Kate and Jane to visit. They had some good playtime and then also some good screen time together, while the grown-ups ate.

Theo's trip to "the ball room"

For a few months now we have been talking about the kids each having a chance to take some friends somewhere for a non-birthday party. The Eastlake rec center is such a neat space and folks from Syracuse don't know about it, so Theo decided for his party, he'd take some friends there. 4 friends turned into 5 and luckily one of them was Preston who can sit in the front seat or else Jeff wouldn't have been able to do it with one car. After playing at the rec center, they went to Joan and Stu's for pizza and chips. I don't know how Jeff did all that driving with six kids in the car but everyone survived and had a good time!

More Christmas 2019 photos

Reed was pretty spicy while he was putting together this Lego set. He was getting snappy with Grandma Joanie and Grandma Kathy.

When Reed gave up, Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Stu decided to continue on with the Lego set.

On a cold but sunny day between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve...

Mama told everyone else to wear fleeces and she wore a heavy winter coat.

Do you want to build a snowman?

In the days before Christmas, when we actually had snow, Theo and Beckett and their friend Kieran built a very funny little snowman.

Christmas 2019

Christmas Eve service at May Memorial. Beckett chose to dress up as a sheep in the unrehearsed Christmas pageant. Reed and Theo chose not to participate. Mama cried through the entire service, singing carols with the boys, watching Beckett follow his child shepherd around, and humming along to Silent Night by candlelight. Amazing and wonderful.

Then, when we got home, after a lovely dinner (MYO burrito bowls!) Joanie AND Theo regaled us with Christmas carols at the piano.

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Christmas gift-giving may have been about perfect this year. The kids' main gifts were a pretend grocery store to share, Harry Potter wands, hoverboards, a scooter and camera for Reed, awesome stuffed animals (a sloth for Beckett and a giant tiger for Theo) and lots and lots of great books.