Daniel

Little Ones

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They are growing up faster than they used to. I never noticed it so much as this summer. Each time I visit home, Benjamin has increased his vocabulary exponentially. “Pick up your lightsaber and fight me” is currently his longest sentence. He has been well trained under the influence of Master Johnathan.

As if to continuously claim her positions in this large family, Claire likes to use exact familial terms. “Did you come home to see your sister Claire?” is the consistent greeting for me at the door. Mother, brother, grandmother, family bonds are rhythmically reinforced.

These two are rarely apart. Both are slowly working their way out of ‘little boy’ status. Nevertheless, Dominic still charms the entire neighborhood with one smile. They usually smell gently of  outdoors, rough and tumble, and peanut butter and jelly. And never sit still for a moment.

Christmas Day

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Christmas suspense was building. This little watcher kept a tree-side vigil patiently:

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Well, mostly patiently.

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We enjoyed Christmas music from family musicians old:

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and new:

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One of the best parts of the day was a father-son Jingle Bells duet. Alexander has been taking clarinet lessons for about three months.

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Keeping time:img_1981

Little brothers-my favorite.
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Daniel and Dominic sweethearts. Joseph is not amused.

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Grandparents visited:

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Dominic and Claire love to play ‘puppysitting’

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Landon won the originality award for wrapping presents for himself:img_6610

Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Bake!

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When the last test of finals week is taken, and I find extra time on my hands for the first time in months, there’s only one thing to do: bake! Long class days are always conductive to formulating long lists of recipes I’d like to try, and when I go on break there are plenty of helpers ready to assist. Waiting for the cookies to cool and a block of time to frost them was a major test of patience for the youngest ones, but we were able to manage the entire process with no melt downs. Alexander is growing into the role of family helper, and guiding the youngest hands in creating small white faces. Daniel and Dominic worked hard to decorate carefully, as picturesque cookies were promised a place on the blog. Sweet memories!

Well Done, Little Brother, Well Done

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My brothers will inform you that I am not easy to startle or fool. I don’t blink at rubber tarantulas on my shoulder, or plastic cockroaches in my closet. I do usually double check plastic lego spiders, but I’m usually suspicious. So, I must give credit to some mischievous rascal who wound this through the leaves of the garden. I didn’t realize it was made of wood until I was taking a picture before it got away. 
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Daniel later confessed. When questioned for a motive, he replied, “I wanted to scare someone.”

Fair!

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The last day of the fair was marked by steamy, 95 degree temperatures, but Maria, Johnathan and I were invited to spend the day with some friends. In an amazing show of bravery, Mom faced the heat and ventured out with the younger kids as well.

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There were rides:

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An lots of animals, including my Mom’s dream pet, miniature horses:

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“Quack, Quack!”

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But after all the sights had been seen, everyone was very, very worn out. The heat was sweltering, and it was hard for the little ones to stand in the sun for long. Cheeks all around were flushing, and Alexander went completely red.

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But not too overheated for silliness, as soon as the camera’s presence was known:

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Benjamin was much to interested in playing with straws in the slushy cup to notice the heat.

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So many flushing faces called for rehabilitation by the ice cream method. A stop to the homemade ice cream booth did not disappoint, though in the heat we quickly were slurping milkshakes.

 And then it was time to go home.

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August

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The sun’s bedtime is retreating rapidly. Cicada symphonies perform in the dusky evenings, and every once in a while I spot a tree with bronzing tips. Still, August managed to catch me by surprise. (Although I’m not sure it feels like it is time for any month-except perhaps March and April.)

My desk and all my schoolbooks are now arranged, and I’ve started reviewing last year’s notes. The darker evenings are perfect for studies along with a cup of tea. For much of the summer I have been hoping the break would not end too soon, but now I am impatient to get started. Just this one last year stands between me and graduation, and I’m excited to get my footing in the nursing field.

The weather is beautiful, and some of the younger brothers and I have been taking advantage of it by moving story time outside. Joseph has discovered the magic of Edith Nesbit’s Five Children and It series, and Daniel loves Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories.  Cooler evenings put me in a baking mood, so they have also been helping me taste test several new recipes. So far, carrot muffins have been the favorite.

Sun ‘n Sand

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Building an enormous sand castle at the beach was Landon’s childhood dream. It was fulfilled in California, where he spent several hours creating one with the two little boys.  They painstakingly carted bucket after bucket of seawater to wet the sand at a safe distance from the ocean, which terrified Dominic. Then, they had to guard the creation in progress from being smashed by the feet of inquisitive siblings coming to look.

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 I love this picture Mom snapped of the boys posing with their masterpiece, complete with a trench for a moat to its shell flags for the turrets. It’s a pleasantly warm memory for this cold February day.

Christmas Snapshots

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A gate guarded the gifts while they were displayed for a short time before we opened them:

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Claire learned very quickly how to open presents…
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…and was on to the next one.

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The whole family caught the stomach bug right before Christmas. Landon was the last, and he was still recovering until the day after Christmas.
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Note that our family is growing-a little brother coming in May. I cannot wait to hold a little newborn again. Luckily, I’m so busy with school it seems like this pregnancy is passing by more quickly than any of the others. I think it will be spring before I know it.

Sparklers

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These pictures are from the Fourth of July (was that almost a month ago already?). I’ve never been able to take pictures in such dim light before, so I was really excited about the way these turned out. The camera is a little tricky to manage at an aperture this wide open, so some of them are a bit out of focus, but the moment is captured nevertheless.  Here, Dominic gets help from John to hold a flaming fire sword.

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Alexander:
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This one of Joseph is the best photo only lit by a sparkler: IMG_3064

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Daniel also loved waving around fire at the end of the stick:IMG_3024

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Odds and Ends

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Hello, everyone!  Monday I had my wisdom teeth taken out, and the surgery went really well, but recuperation has felt really slow.  I’ve been existing on a pretty much liquid diet, and I’m only just beginning to get back to regular foods. I’ve had enough milkshakes and pudding to last me a year!  Also, everyone around the house can’t wait for me to talk better again.

All that sitting around has had me searching for things to do.  I went through some recent photographs and found ones from several events from the last couple months:

Alexander and his friend from my ballet class’ recital dance at the end of May.  They danced to ‘Danse Macabre’.

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May and June brings a bunch of birthdays: Claire’s first:

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Daniel’s fifth:
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Alexander’s tenth,

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Dominic’s third,

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and Joseph’s eighth.

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Joseph also got to receive his First Holy Communion

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Probably the first photo of our entire family together (including Claire):IMG_2114

 

 

 

A Better Way to Learn Ride a Bike

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Young children everywhere have been cheated.

Little kids around the world have anticipated the removal of training wheels with unneeded dread and apprehension. They have unnecessarily suffered scraped knees and bruised elbows as they try to ride a big kid bike. There is a better way.

Why should we teach children on beginner bikes that they can lean left or right onto a training wheel? Will they not simply fall over the first time they mount a real bike? Wouldn’t it be better to train them to sit upright? The answer is yes, and the tiny Strider bike does this by giving children the experience of balancing on a bike without training wheels or pedals.

Daniel has been the first of the boys to use the Strider, and it didn’t take long for us to see how wonderful it was. All last year as he pushed himself forwards with his feet, he learned to balance, and soon he lifted his feet off the ground to glide short distances.

He is now too tall for the strider, so we brought him home a larger bike with pedals. He could balance on it immediately, and it only took him an hour to figure out the pedals, and he was riding all over in less than an afternoon. No falls, no injuries, no trauma. He only just turned four at the end of May, and he beat Johnathan’s record for learning to ride by almost a year. (John learned the summer he turned five.)

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Now it’s time to start Dominic on the Strider! Who knows, maybe he’ll be riding a bike by the time he’s three!

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