brotherly love

you know your brother will do anything for you when he's willing to pick your nose.

yes, today hudson tried to pick libby's nose for her. i was changing her diaper and hudson says, "oh, she as a boogie" and then attempted to get that boogie out of her nostril with his finger.

let's just say, i was touched in both a that-is-so-disgusting way and a oh-isn't-that-so-sweet way. i certainly make him wash his hands.

but i tell you what, that's love. can any of you say as much of your brother?

summer plans

we want to do more camping this year and ethan has been telling this to the kids. he's trying to plan a camping trip with their input. it's really funny. they keep talking about camping and playing that they're camping. tonight, as soon as ethan got home, they started talking about camping.

hudson: dad, i've been thinking about camping!

ethan: ya?

hudson: like trees and stuff!

ethan: oh, ya? what should we do?

hudson: we should get a rope and put it on the tree and climb the rope on the tree . . . 'cause i'm really strong!

then hudson jumped off his chair (we were eating dinner) and ran around the house picking up things to show his dad how strong he is.

hudson: (picking up a chair) see how strong i am?

hudson: (picking up a big backpack) see i'm a strong boy!

hudson: (lifting up something else) i can even lift this!

he was cracking us up. isn't he just like his dad?

kids

here are some recent pictures of the kids:

quite the trio.

maria loves her new outfit.

i'm not sure this is how one is supposed to wear a headband, but maybe libby is trying to start a new trend.

hudson. so hudson.

sleeping baby

i know no one can appreciate these pictures as i do - mothers can't seem to get enough of their own babies, taking way too many pictures or hours of video that would be boring to anyone else. you'd be amazed at how many pictures i took of this sleeping baby.

i just think she's too precious. and she's so much fun. she keeps me laughing all day long, well, almost, not the parts of the day where she's pulling my hair or hitting my face . . .

she's not walking yet, but it's obvious that she could if she only realized it. she'll take a step or two between a chair and a couch or such, but doesn't yet have the faith to go further. she does do this funny thing where she'll "walk" around the whole house on her knees. it's so funny to watch. i'll try to get some video of it some time.

she likes to sing and loves to read books. she often does the two together. she starting to actually play with toys - scooting cars along the floor, flying planes in the sky, and clomping horses around the house. she still loves wrestling with dad and the other kids and definitely can hold her own - she's the meanest wrestler around these parts!

with the thought of spring approaching comes the wish that my yard was fenced. i don't know how i'm going to keep her in the backyard when we are out working. she's already trying to leave the house! i'll often find her at the backdoor, hand on the knob, trying to get out. none of my other kids picked up on that so early! what am i going to do with this girl?

question

what is proper? home school or homeschool? i am guessing home school (two words) but i have seen it both ways.

maria's first ski trip

ethan took maria skiing last night, and boy, did she have a great time! when she got home she was all smiles and excitedly told me about her teacher, learning to put the skis in french fry or pizza formation, riding the "elevator" up to the top of the hill, going into the "big log cabin" to have hot cocoa, going fast down the hill, and she even had fun on the ride home because she and ethan were listening to music really loud and, as she put it, "dad would sing the boy parts and i would sing the girl parts". so cute.

ethan was amazed at how well she did and how long she was able to ski for. she skied until closing time!

our little skier.

riding the "magic carpet" up to the top of the hill.

going down the hill all by herself!

maria with her ski instructor. i love the face she is making.

she had such a great time i know she will be back on the mountain the next opportunity she has. maria was fortunate to have such an awesome dad there to be with her every step of the way. he didn't even plan on doing any skiing his self that night, being totally focused on maria and helping her. what a great dad to give her this opportunity and let it totally be for her.

libby's first cake

it seems to be a tradition in our home to let our kids eat cake for the first time on their first birthday. it's fun to see how they each approach it differently. i thought libby would go crazy for that cake because she's such a crazy kid, but she ate it very carefully, just picking at it at first, then doing a little more, but she never did grab a whole fist-full and shove it in her mouth.

the pictures rearranged themselves so that instead of going first to last they now go last to first and i am too tired to try to change it so, you get to view it backward.

all done!

the bowl must have been in the way.

she decides she likes it.

trying a small sample.

excited to be having some food.