Pancake Goddess in the House of Boys

mom's birthday

We met in Cincinnati to celebrate Mom's birthday.

 

 

 

cousins and uncles and auntie, oh my!

We had a great visit with cousins, etc, in July.

 

 

 

 

summer swimming

Over the summer, Ryan had so much fun swimming.  He took several weeks of daily lessons with Jan Gooodwin, and made steady and enthusiastic progress. He often continued kicking along with his kickboard back and forth, long after class was over.  Kellen was able to touch the bottom in the shallow end of the regular pool, so we didn't have much back-and-forth with the baby pool.  It was relaxing to be at the pool with the boys this summer, which was a fabulous and shocking development.  We went almost daily, sometimes twice a day, because this was the one place in the world where Ryan had some caution and serious focus.  It was really wonderful.

The week the cousins came, Porter joined into the swim lesson fun!

pi day socks

I finished these socks on pi day, March 14.  They're knit in worsted weight yarn so they're nice and warm, but not too heavy to go with clogs.  When Grandma was dying and I was visiting often, I brought these, and she wore them for her last couple of days. 

April

I hope this doesn't become a monthly-post type thing.  Between family crises and the effects of facebook and twitter, the blog has been neglected.

Last month, my grandmother passed away. I'm waiting on a CD with some nice photos from my father, and I'll make a post about her.

HAPPY 8th, Fynn!

Earlier this month, we went to see F's soccer game and had a birthday party for him at the playground. It was a beautiful day. Ryan and Kelly super-hero-ed around the track while F played his game.  The bigs kicked the soccer ball around.

Katie's friend's baby found her way into Jamie's arms - he looked very comfortable with her.  

catch up

Gram was here in February. She and Ryan did these mosaic hearts - very crafty, those two. 

This is the big rock at a nearby park where the kids play soccer. Ryan always climbs and often asks me to take a picture.  Last time I only had my phone, which takes crummy pictures. 

Playing in the curtains.  Not allowed, and somehow I think he didn't get that message when we chose to admire his cuteness and photograph him doing it. 

Merry Christmas, 2008

 

We all had a lovely Christmas this year. There were a few small mishaps and sources of anxiety (which cousin was last puking and who did they breathe on?) but it all went fairly smoothly. 

I was hoping to make these nice tree images into a new blog banner, but I couldn't figure it out in time. I love this old elf ornament from my childhood. The crocheted stocking in the center was made this December for Myrtle.  The stocking second from the left was made last year for Ryan.

 

After we moved, it took us many months to get pictures on the walls and other decorative stuff out. One of our favorites is this fabulous branch Ryan found in our yard at the old house. We hang seasonal treasures, art work, and nature items.

Some socks I made for Kelly last week.

Four balaclavas for four sweeties, to use while sledding, shoveling, walking to school or bus.   You would think that getting a group picture wouldn't be so difficult with only 1/4 of their faces showing. Still, eyes can be crossed, hair can go in the eyes, we can look down into our laps... it took a while as usual.

My friend Lizz at ZooLoo Naturals made these custom carvings of the boys. Aren't they cute? Her wooden animals are lovely and her children do some beautiful felting.

A couple of highlights...  rescue safari boat, "Mammoth" crocs for the toddler...

 

MOON SHOES!

And not pictured here, #1 son, not the slightest bit impressed with the crack of dawn christmas, declined to be photographed but was happy with some new shoes, jeans, iTunes card, and an incredible large canvas from Grammy.  [note to Grammy and Grandpa: can we get those photos off Grandpa's camera and into email?]

the two-cousin birthday

grace and clover had their 5-year-old birthday parties last week, and we all had a great time.

 

 

That grin on I's face? That was not a lucky shot - he is  that happy the whole time, whenever he plays soccer.

Of course, during present time and cake time, the non-birthday-kids looked something like this...

and this.

The good weather and ideal play space at K's house made it a lovely evening.

Jeremiah this summer

Unlike in the picture, Jeremiah was serious on the field. His team won first place in their division for the league this spring.

Now, his focus is on swimming, pick-up soccer in the evenings, an upcoming 11th birthday, and some organized activities - soccer camp, Summer Strings (band camp), and possibly a regular sports and crafts day camp in August.

He had the opportunity to go to KI with K, T and the cousins, and will probably do that again a few more times this summer.

In preparation for school in the fall, he's spending time every day on multiplication/division memorization, hand writing, and as always he's in the middle of a novel (The People of Sparks).

playing catch up in the blog

A couple of weeks ago, the youngers attended a "Truck Touch" at a local dairy farm.

We also got a new (to us... nearly 100 years old) piano and Jamie began lessons with a new instructor at A. M.

And here is a little before and after for K's first summer buzz.  I think the new look is really sweet in person - he looks kind of unhealthy-bald in this picture, so you'll have to take my word for it.

Last week, we had cousin F here for some outdoor lunch and sleeping over. He ended up staying two nights because the big thunder storms and tornadoes arrived during our first attempt at dropping him off.