Helper

I keep my non-breakable dishes in a low cupboard so the boys can help me set the table for meals. Evidently Ky-guy has been watching closely. Here is what he did the other day when I asked Abraham to set the table for us.

The proud helper:
The finished table:

Things to watch

Now that the weather has been better, there has been a lot of work going on around the neighborhood. We watch it all with great interest and the boys take note of everything.

Last week we had a big load of landscaping bark brought in for the backyard. We figured out we would have had to buy 150 bags of it at Home Depot to get the equivalent amount (and for more money: hooray for buying in bulk!). They blew it in from a truck through a big hose, and it was very interesting to watch. (The boys immediately started saying, "I'm going to 'make this' as soon as they leave!"---meaning, they would build their own pretend bark trucks and hoses and blowers etc. and re-enact the whole situation. They do this with everything. If we go to a carwash or see a cement pump or anything working, before we even finish watching it, the boys are saying, "I'm going to make this when we get home!")

We had to wait quite a while for everything to get set up. At the moment when the boys finally heard the sound of the hose going on, they got very happy:

Malachi was pretty interested, but he also took advantage of Abe's distraction a few times to get Honey (Abe's bear) and sneak in a few hugs. Usually this is Not Allowed.

He was pretty pleased about that.

(Side note: look how fuzzy Ky's head is!)

Most of the time, though, all three of them were glued to the action. (Oh, and Seb is wearing his monkey suit from Halloween, in case you were wondering.)

The workers were really nice, and answered the boys' questions about how it all worked, and let them look at the equipment as they cleaned up. Seb seemed to be particularly interested in the nozzle.

The bark gives everything a nice, finished look (and covers up all that tangle of dripline we've been installing). I like it.

Dirty/Clean

I'm not sure if this is indicative of any larger truths or not, but here are two responses Malachi has had, in two days, to interactions with two different substances.

First: soap bubbles

My mom used to do this to her kids. Give them soap bubbles on their high chair tray to play with while she washed the dishes. (I think I remember doing this in my high chair. Is that possible?) I haven't done it a lot with Malachi, but I do occasionally. This is how he reacts:

Mild concern

Dismay

Accusatory sadness ("how could you do this to me?!")

On the other hand, here he is playing in some dirt outside.

Interest


Smugness

Glee

I will let you draw your own conclusions.

More Spring flowers

A few more pictures of some pretty flowers. In the above picture, a helicopter was flying overhead. As you can see, the boys' attention was all immediately diverted upward. We love being in the flight path of both an airport and a military base!!

Tulips

The tulips are in bloom right now, and they are so pretty! I love the way they look all massed together in huge groups. The red color is so bright, it almost doesn't seem real.

(we have seen some lovely yellow tulips too---I don't want them to feel left out)

We are happy to have such beautiful weather, and such nice parks to play at and walks to go on!

Easter

We had a nice Easter (I always love the boys in their bunny ears).

Abe and Seb got these puppet kits in their Easter baskets, and we made them later that day. Abe did his all by himself. They were fun to make (just stick together, no glue/scissors required) and they turned out cute (the boys flew them around like planes---Abe called his "my BEARplane").

Another good idea

I'm sure you've been waiting with bated breath for the next iteration of Malachi's lid-putting activities. I won't disappoint you: here it is.

He installed himself at this little desk (a step-stool) for some serious work. It involved some climbing out and climbing up and climbing in, but for a Big Boy like Ky, that's no problem at all.

Note: Ky's latest word is "drop" ("BOP!"), which can often be heard emanating from the backseat of the car or from his highchair after he's dropped one of his lids. The other day he was riding in the shopping cart across the parking lot, when suddenly he started saying insistently, "Bop! Bop! Bop!" I looked back and sure enough, way back by the car there was a tiny green lid sitting forlornly on the ground. (Yes, we went back and retrieved it.)

A host of golden daffodils

We had family home evening outside last night to enjoy the nice weather. It was gorgeous out there, with the fields of daffodils (Allison helped me remember the correct word for them: "naturalized"---thank you) and the evening sunlight and the warm air.

Running boys

Tiny!

Pensive Sebby

Long-suffering look (he gets nuzzled a lot)

Happy to be walking with Daddy!