Bedhead Babies

Shari Brooke is starting to play with Max more.  And she's also starting to take toys out of his hands, and not because she wants to play with them, but because she doesn't want him to.  Sometimes she gets down on his level and plays newborn baby with him, though, like this:

He'll laugh, then she'll laugh, then he'll laugh, then ...  You get it.  It's all very silly ... and sweet.

"Worst Winter EVER!"

That's what Nicole has titled our Pittsburgh winter. 

The kids got new snow gear right after Christmas and have only been able to use it two or three times.  There hasn't even been enough snow for a snowman! 

I don't think they'll be disappointed next year, however.

Grandparent Visit

Papa and Max (6 months).  Papa is a baby expert.  He can get any baby to giggle or cry on command.  Grandma's always telling him to leave the babies alone, but I don't think he's capable.   

The kids were so excited for Grandma and Papa to visit!  We played games, spent a day at the science center and rode the Monongahela Incline, among other things.  It doesn't really matter what we do when they visit.  It's just fun to see them!

We took this photo at the airport.  We don't normally get everyone out of the car when we drop them off because it's so much work to get them all back in the car!  We miss them already!

Waiting for the Grandparents

Scotty's "All the Way Five" Birthday

For several months leading up to his birthday, Scotty wouldn't allow anyone to say he was four years old; he was "almost five."  He would show us this by holding up five fingers that were tightly squished together.  On the morning of his birthday, Scotty woke up so happy and proclaimed that now he was "all the way five," demonstrated by five fingers opened wide. 

 

Grant wanted to spend his own money to buy Scotty a gift.  So we took Scotty to the toy store to pick something out.  Grant has such a hard time spending his money, unless it is for someone else.  After the toy store, Scotty asked where his balloons were.  I only rarely buy balloons, but when Scotty said we couldn't have a birthday without balloons, we had to add in a stop at Party City.

 

Scotty helped decorate his cake.  He wanted strawberry cake and strawberry frosting.  I don't think anyone liked it much, except Scotty, which is why we had half of the cake leftover for three days before I threw it out.  Scotty wrote his name on the cake with a backwards "S."  Nicole and Grant wanted to fix it, but I wouldn't let them.

 

After dinner when we started to sing "Happy Birthday" to Scotty, he told us all to pause while he ran to turn out the lights.  He just has his own ideas about how he wants things done.  I had a thought the other day that I shouldn't hover too much over Scotty because it would hamper his spirit.  Scotty has the biggest "can-do" attitude I have ever seen.  He is always very pleased to do things by himself and in his own way.  He also loves to learn new things, even if it's something undesirable to the bigger kids, like scrubbing pots and pans.

 

We had a fun day celebrating Scotty the whole time (just the way he planned it, I'm sure!). 

 

 

All The Way Five

For the past few months, Scotty has told everyone that he was "almost five," as he held up a hand with all of the fingers close together.  He was most explicitly NOT four!  But on the day of his birthday, he proudly proclaimed that he was "ALL THE WAY FIVE!"



We don't normally buy balloons, but Scotty said it couldn't be a birthday without balloons.  So we bought balloons.  We also had a tractor piñata, but sadly have no photo proof of it.  We did video the breaking open of it, however, and you should have heard Shari Brooke giggle!



Scotty wanted to make his own strawberry cake with strawberry frosting for his birthday.  Nobody told him he couldn't have a pink cake, so ...

... we ate this.  He wrote his name (sort of) by himself and placed his candles.  Nicole wrote out the big "5."



Just as we started to sing "Happy Birthday," Scotty held up his hand and said, "Wait! Wait!"  He ran around the first floor and turned off every single light and then placed himself in the seat of honor in front of his burning candles with a giant smile. 

Many months ago, Scotty said a few phrases to me that melted my heart.  I wrote them down, but I don't think I posted them.  So they are not forgotten, I'll share them with you now.  Out of the blue, he approached me and said, "Mom, I not grow up yet.  I still four today." If only he knew how much I love a four-year-old!  They have an unquenchable curiosity about the world around them.  It's the year of the "why's."  They speak absolute truth, and in Scotty's case, it is usually encoded in sentences we can't always interpret. 



I am sure I have previously stated that Scotty is a doer.  He always wants to go, to make, to touch, to see, to do, to climb, to laugh.  He LOVES our babies.  He is always carrying them, playing with them, teasing them.  He and Shari still laugh at nonsense, and Scotty packs Max around like a toy doll (albeit a very heavy one).  He also likes to scare Max by shouting "boo!" really loud in Max's face.  Of course, Max cries about it, so then Scotty quickly apologizes, "Sorry, Max," while rubbing his bald head and giving him a little kiss.



Scotty still loves engines -- trains, trucks, monster trucks, school buses, monster truck school buses (which he ordered on Amazon with a birthday gift card), planes, spaceships, helicopters, tractors ... what am I missing?  He wants to grow up to be a monster truck driver, and I really think he could do it.



Scotty is a fiercely independent boy.  He wants to learn to do everything.  Sometimes he teaches himself (because we take too long to get around to it).  I've said it before, but Scotty has an unusual zeal for life and all of its opportunities.  I hope he gets around to fulfilling all of his dreams -- it would be an amazing and fun life!