A bit of a story:  So the other day, Jack had an army BlackHawk helicopter pilot come to school and talk about his job.  Jack was seriously impressed with the presentation, and the first thing he did when he got home was create a Lego BlackHawk and fly it around.  Thomas got wind of what Jack was making and decided that he wanted to make his own Lego helicopter (pictured).  Jack, for various not-nice behaviors toward Peter, earned the consequence of being Peter's servant for a day (i.e. play whatever Peter wanted, help him get snacks, do his chores for him, etc.).  And one of Peter's first requests was to ask Jack to build him a Lego helicopter.  And then all 3 boys played army helicopters together after that.  It was neat to see the trickle-down effect that one cool presentation by a soldier had on our family for a day!

Not Amused.

The elusive smile!

Another one!  This just about makes up for all the chops this little lady has been busting lately.  :)

Overheard yesterday...

Davy was in his room with all of his stuffed animals and blankets, with a truck/train/boat/plane picture book:

"Doggie, I read it to you?"  (pause) "OK!" (pause again) "Sailboat!  Re-cue boat (i.e. rescue boat)!  Tanker boat!" ... etc.

Davy has such an exuberant nature about him -- he gets SO excited about books, trucks, cars, jumping on the trampoline, you name it.  It really is contagious to watch his pure joy in the simplest of things.  And I love it when he comes running to share his excitement about something.  "MOM!!  BIG TRUCK!" he announces at top 2-year old volume whenever he sees or hears a big truck.  He is just thrilled to be alive, and I love seeing the world through his eyes. 

Three Weeks

Claire is outgrowing her newborn-sized outfits now, and she definitely has more heft to her when we pick her up. She has been showing off lots of smiles, especially anyone blows kisses at her or makes silly noises. The boys have all been really good about holding her and playing with her, although we really have to watch Davy. He likes trying to shake her hand, pointing at (aka in) her eye while he announces "Eye!", and hugging her, but he is so exuberant and strong, and we have to make sure he's not loving her too hard!

Peter is doing excellent work on his homeschooling, and his confidence and excitement about reading have really taken off. He read "Put Me in the Zoo" by himself the other day and was beaming with pride over his accomplishment. I am really enjoying our time together doing his work.

Thomas is doing a special archaeology unit at school, which he's excited about. Jack joined an afterschool Lego club that meets every Tuesday and he is thrilled with that.

Davy continues to make us laugh with his antics and funny observations. I love hearing him put new words together. He is getting his 2-year molars in (the last teeth we have to worry about, for a little while, until Claire's start coming in!) and he is still protesting naps, so he is often a tired, cranky mess these days, but hopefully that will even out in the next few weeks.

Good heart appointment

Claire's heart appointment went well yesterday. She does have 3 small holes in her heart -- 2 between her left and right ventricles and one between her atria, but the cardiologist said they are small enough and in the right places that they should close on their own over time, and they shouldn't cause her any problems. So, we'll go back when she is 1 year old for a follow-up to see how the holes look, and other than that, she's in great shape! She weighed in at 9lb 8oz, so she is definitely starting to plump up a little. Otherwise, this week has been going better than I expected it would. The bigger boys have been very good -- doing their homework well and having pretty good attitudes, and Peter has been doing great with him homeschool work. Davy has not taken a nap so far this week, so he is starting to look (and act) a little ragged, but there's not much we can do except wait for him to adjust to less sleep and dial back his bedtime. He is actually hanging in there pretty well, considering. David and I are kind of stumbling around, tired and dazed, but we're doing well :).

Two weeks

Claire is two weeks old today, and aside from being tired and mentally fuzzy, we're all doing pretty well. We said goodbye to my Mom yesterday morning as she flew back home to CA, and we are missing her already. This morning on the way to Mass, Davy piped up all of a sudden and asked "Grammy? Grammy?!?" and looked around the van to see where she might be. We reminded him that she had to go home, and then he remembered and said "Airplane", though I'm not entirely sure he understands where she went :). We are so grateful that she was able to spend nearly 3 weeks helping us and spending time with the kids, and we can't wait to see her and my Dad hopefully later this year, and hopefully David's Mom and Dad soon, too.

This week will be .... interesting. Mondays are typically a little nutty, since everyone has to get back into the swing of work and school. But tomorrow may turn out to be a nuclear meltdown Monday, considering the new baby, Grammy being gone, David being at work, and Davy giving up his afternoon naps (Noooo!). I'm preparing myself for the perfect storm of craziness, and if it's anything better than that, then I'll be pleasantly surprised :).

On Wednesday afternoon, Miss Claire gets to have an echocardiogram and an EKG by a Hopkins pediatric cardiologist because her pediatrician noticed a heart murmur at her last well-check that needs further evaluation. Apparently heart murmurs are common (and usually harmless) in newborns, and our pediatrician wasn't overly concerned, so I'm not super concerned either. But still ... I kind of bristle at having to take my newborn to a pediatric specialist for anything, you know? So, prayers are especially welcome that her heart murmur turns out to be nothing to worry about.

Sleeping Beauty