I sometimes wonder...

Are my children normal? Canaan's birthday is fast approaching. I took him to the commissary to pick out his birthday cake. Many of the popular character cakes had already been discontinued. Finally he asks, "Do you want me to get this one?" A cake with the Air Force emblem on it. I said no, keep looking. He said, "Why not? It's to honor dad!" What soon-to-be 6-yr-old boy talks like that?! I am proud that he so often considers the feelings of other family members.

And am I the only one with a child that will talk or sing himself to sleep? Matty doesn't do it every night. Usually, it's those never-ending nights. The ones that follow days in which he accidentally slowed down long enough to fall asleep for 10 minutes in the van. If I listen closely on those nights, I'm in for a real treat, if I can get over my exasperation at how long he's continued to toss and turn beyond his bedtime. If I listen closely, I can hear him count to 10 in Spanish. Or repeat selected scenes from the movie "Madagascar." Or wonder softly, "Where do the stars go when it's day?" Or, I can be completely taken by surprise like I was tonight when I hear him whisper-sing:

Da-Da
Da-Da-Da

Da-Da
Da-Da-Da

Stawt spweadin' da news!
I'm weavin' today!

I have no idea where he's even heard that song! And now that he's sound asleep, I can admit how cute it was!

Grace's many faces

Snow Day

We got about 4 inches of snow. And 2 days of school cancelled so far! We all had a blast playing outside. It wasn't the right kind of snow for making a snowman, so we had to settle for snow angels and flinging it at each other. And after seeing the boys fall asleep on the sofas tonight, I sorta wish it snowed here more often!

Proud Big Brothers

First Bath

Gracies's cord stump fell off last week. I've just now gotten around to getting her baby tub out of the garage and cleaning it up. I thought for sure she'd like bathing in the tub much more than the sponge baths she's been getting. Maybe she did like it a bit better, but not much! And, apparently, bathing is such a big event in our house, all 5 of us were crowded into our little hall bath for Gracie's special day!

Holiday Baking

If you wanna call it that. I cheated this year and bought prebaked gingerbread cookies. I still had to mix up the frosting, though, does that count?! There's no telling what they taste like-Canaan coughed on his, Matty sneezed on his, and then used the same spreader he licked to spread more icing on his cookies. The boys enjoyed themselves, and that's really the point. Well, that and now they have 8 gingerbread cookies to eat all by themselves!

2 Weeks Old

At her 2 week check-up, Gracie weighed in at 7 lbs, 5 oz! She gained nearly a pound in just 7 days! She's still a tiny little peanut, in the 10th percentile for both height and weight. She's awake a little more during the day and is still a happy and content baby so long as she's fed and her bottom is clean. And the novelty of a new sister still hasn't worn off the boys, which could be due in part to the fact we are limiting their contact with her since they both have been sick recently.