End of summer

Most of the kids have gone back to school now, but since Abe's in kindergarten he doesn't start till next week. So we're enjoying the empty pool, the grassy parks, and these perfect late-summer days (and feeling a bit sad about the end of the no-kids-in-school era).

Floating

Boys and Flowers

Birdhouse on top of a pole. This pole has been sitting unadorned in a nearby park for several months, and we've been very curious as to its purpose. We're glad this great birdhouse finally appeared!

Our garden. Looking leafy and good, isn't it? We're eating so many good garden meals!

Rolling down a hill. Remind me why I used to love doing this? Seems like you can never get yourself going in a straight line. And Seb's method was worse: run frontwards down the hill at top speed until he tripped and tumbled headfirst the rest of the way. He seemed to enjoy it, though.

Malachi, Malachi, Boom boom boom!

(I don't know why. That's just something Abe and Seb chant sometimes, and it gets in my head.)

Here are a few more pictures of Ky.

Here is Ky helping us put in some more sod. (We had a few pieces that were moldy when we got them, and those parts died, so the sod place gave us some replacement pieces and we've been putting those in.)

He loves to pick up things and eat them by himself. He seems very pleased with himself when he does so.

Sometimes (not too often) he gets very, very sad. Usually it's when he thinks you are going to get him, and then you don't. And you take a picture instead. Poor little lamb! (Look how big his mouth is! He looks like that Brazilian volleyball player in the Olympics. you know, the one they call "Jaws.")

He can crawl the real way now, sometimes.

I like this picture

Birthday Festivities

We had a fun birthday with Sebboo. He chose Sebby Cake* for his cake, naturally, and it was delicious! We also went swimming:

Seb's present was this little washing machine I found on eBay. It's so cute, and you can actually put water in it and the drum spins, etc. (we haven't done that yet---I need to go buy C batteries), but Seb's been loving it just as is. He helped me do laundry yesterday, and today he's "making cookies" in it (I just heard him say, "Mmmm, the cookies are getting all nice and soapy!").

*UPDATE: I find it hard to believe I haven't put this recipe on here before, but I don't see that I have, so here it is.

Chocolate Sebby Cake
(We call it Sebby Cake because it sent me into labor with Sebastian.  And it's now his favorite cake.)

1 Devil’s food cake mix
1 pkg. chocolate pudding mix (either kind, cooked or instant)
4 large eggs
1 c. sour cream–(I use plain yogurt)
½ c. warm water
½ c. canola oil
1 to 1 ½ c. semisweet chocolate chips (mini chips work well, but regular are fine)

Mix all ingredients. Pour into sprayed bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. After 10 minutes turn out of pan and drizzle immediately with frosting.

Frosting:
1 1/3 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. evaporated milk

Combine chocolate chips and about 1/4 c. of milk in glass bowl; microwave on high for 1 min.; stir till smooth.  Then add rest of milk to reach desired consistency.

Fwee at last!

Yes, Sebby turns three today! You might surmise from this series of pictures that he has gotten happier as he's gotten older. This might be true. However, I do have smiling pictures from previous birthdays, but the ones I chose just captured his suspicious expression so well that I couldn't resist.

He did say to me today, unprovoked by anything, "I love everything, Mommy! Even when it's nighttime, I still love everything!" I said I was glad he did, and what kinds of things did he love? He said, "Well, cars, and lifejackets, and everything!"

We love our little monkey-boy.

P.S. I saw a lady at church with a nice new monkey like Sebby's monkey in her baby's carseat. I turned around and held up Sebby's well-loved (floppy and dirty and ragged) monkey and said (in a voice of doom), "This is what you have to look forward to in a couple years." She seemed somewhat alarmed.

Hungry

(8 months old!)

Malachi is feeling much better, and we're SO glad!! It was so sad to see him all limp and listless, and his week of not being able to eat even made him lose weight! On such a tiny guy, it's noticeable---I can see his ribs, and the way the skin hangs sort of loosely off his tiny arms and even off his tiny belly!! Poor, poor, guy. But luckily, he can eat now, so we're trying to fatten him up again. He seems very happy to gobble down whatever he can get. And he's feeling good enough to start going everywhere and getting everything, like he did before. He can even crawl a few real crawls now, and he loves to stand up when he can.

Zoo II

Here is Abe's picture of the Zoo. (As you can see the bathrooms figured prominently in our visit.) There wasn't actually a bunny there, but he drew one in just for me. I don't know why (probably because he is my child) but I just think all the animals in this picture are SO CUTE.

Zoo

We went the zoo today, where we saw . . . lots of sprinklers! Hooray!

The only thing that could really grab Sebby's full attention, besides the sprinklers of course, was the monkeys. He kept saying "A monkey for me! A monkey for me!" He had a happy grin on his face all the time we watched them.

Malachi is still sick and sad. He feels limp when you hold him, like a soft, floppy noodle. But he occasionally kind of perked up and looked around when there were lots of people around. He likes looking at people.

It was Teddy Bear Picnic day at the zoo. Lots of people had their bears. (We didn't know about the teddy bear day, but Abe and Seb just happened to have their bears with them anyway. Bear and monkey, that is.) We brought our own picnic. That is a lemon bar (Sebby says "yemin bar") in the box. The last one, unfortunately.

Obligatory monkey-arm pictures (Happy Abey, Suspicious Seb, and Sad Malachi)



This carousel is a new addition to the zoo, since I've been there anyway. It was fun. I love carousels with all different kinds of animals on them.

Tiny guy, getting bigger

Malachi has been throwing everything up, even breast milk, for the last couple days. It's SO sad, and yet he never complains. He just cries a little as he throws up, and then tries to smile at me again.

Also, I was starting to get a few subtle cues that it was time to move Malachi out of the bassinet and into the crib :)



--so the last two nights he's been in the room with his brothers. He doesn't seem to like it much yet. After I put him down, he keeps crawling to the edge of the mattress and then kneeling up, grasping the crib bars and crying. Poor guy. (Hopefully it's just because he's not feeling too well, not from any deep-rooted aversion to that room or the crib.)

Glassy-eyed, baggage, red tie

I like the way Monkey gets tucked into the little pouch in the bike trailer. And, what is Abe doing in the background of that last picture?