Reading and Laps

The boys love stories, and there were several willing "readers" at Grammie and Grampie's house.

Jonathan fell asleep on the couch while Grammie read to him on this afternoon.

Caleb walked over, with arms outstretched, to Uncle Bruce.

Grampie? Nope...Uncle Steve reading to Caleb

Uncle Steve reading to Jonathan

Fishing but No Catching

Grampie and Jonathan ventured out early one morning on Jonathan's inaugural fishing expedition. Jonathan was beyond excited and they left the house by 7am (my children awoke VERY early in Iowa... 5:40am on this particular day). They didn't catch any fish, but when asked that evening about his favorite part of the day he replied, "fishing with my Grampie."

There were two little boys who were perplexed about Jonathan and Grampie's expedition. They were quite agitated about the fact that the fishing pole was leaving with Jonathan and Grampie, too.

Puddles and Water and MUD

It started out as an innocent time at the park... it ended when a certain Mommy allowed her child to run through the puddle (pictured here) and the other boys followed in hot pursuit. Thankfully, Carla and Abby are laid back and easy going and didn't hold a grudge about the muddy mess my son started :+)




Jake absolutely loved the water and loved the mud! Good thing boys are washable!

Iverson Grandsons

My attempts to get an updated photo of the three Iverson grandsons was not very successful. However, their personalities shine through delightfully...

Caleb bites. Yes, I have the "biting child". Thank goodness I don't have to contend with daycare because he bites when he's tired or really ticked at Jonathan. Yes, we are working on this less than fabulous behavior. These things just take time.

Jacob is very expressive and loves to say "cheese" when the cameras come into view. My children don't provide as much of an easy target!

In the Company of Friends

Much of my teenage years were spent "dinking around" with my sister and dear friend, Abby. We could walk or ride our bikes to each other's houses, and we could be on the golf course within five minutes of leaving home. We lament the many, many miles that now separate us but we take the chance to hang out in our hometown each summer. Between the three of us, we have four boys (and two more babies on the way (one for Carla, one for Abby... gender unknown). Here are the munchkins...

Playing in the Water

Who needs toys when a sprinkler is at hand? My boys and the neighbor's little boy, playing in the water one sunny Saturday:

Summer Fun

Summer is here and so is the chance to ride our bikes. As I've mentioned before, we have an amazing system of bike trails very near our house so we frequent those paths often.
We also play outside... front yard, back yard, side yard, neighbor's yard. We're really not all that discriminating. We also really like the rocks in our neighbor's landscaping. Thankfully they are very gracious people and don't seem to mind the continual visits by our little ones.

One of the favorite toys as of late are some new bungee cords... they are useful for attaching a whole host of things to the back of this Jeep.

It may be steamy and hot, but we are out to prove that we will not melt :+)

Bedtime with Grandpa Maynard and Grandma Judy

Maynard and Judy came for a visit a couple of weeks ago, and the boys had a great time reading and playing with them.

Asparagus Sandwich with Chalk for Dessert

My sister has always accused me of eating "weird things". Vegetables and fruits not commonly served to children, grains beyond bread and pasta, and strange sauces. Guilty as charged. And, I've indoctrinated my children to this behavior.

We had roasted asparagus and chicken sausage sandwiches the other night for dinner. Jonathan decided against using the meat for his sandwich and made an "asparagus sandwich" instead. When asked about the flavor, he replied, "it's delicious, Mom." A child after my own heart.

Caleb loves to eat. Unfortunately, this trait extends to non-food items. Crayons, mulch, dirt, sand, and CHALK. Oh, does he love sidewalk chalk. Jamie brought him in for his bath the other night and he was screaming (REALLY loudly) about coming in, snot and tears were running down his face smearing blue chalk all over everything. When he opened his mouth to continue the tirade his tongue and teeth were blue from the chalk. Yikes!

The Elder Son

The oldest son in this household is now three and a half. He's very talkative if he knows you and decides that conversation is on his agenda for the day.

One of my recent favorites:

"God sent the rain today so there would be lots of puddles for me to splash in."

Jonathan stepped on the scale yesterday, and I realized that we have reached a milestone: he now weighs 30 pounds. He said, "Mom, I'm huge." Not really, kid, but I'll let you believe that until you are faced with reality.