April - Part 2

Just a little bit of rearranging before bed time.  Little did we know the next morning would begin with the goose egg on the right.  Matthew has a knack accomplishing milestones on memorable dates, like when he rolled over at exactly 4 months (at 1:30am the day he turned 4 months, to be exact.)  So at 6:30am on April 17---i.e. 15 months), he decided to remove himself from his crib. 

Margaret found our 2013 family photo book the other day and was mesmerized page by page.

When Mommy gets talking to a neighbor in the parking lot, Andrew takes shots of Matthew and his first selfie.  Not bad!


















Beautiful Saturday morning at a fun park nearby. They can all now enjoy the big kid swing set together!

LOVES slides...anytime, anywhere.

Luke's 1st Birthday Party - a very happy hour!

Some kind of miracle, it took less than 2 minutes to corral these 18 kiddos in front of the 10 cameras.  Precious birthday boy Luke in the middle with excited big sister/handler!

When will they learn that nesting underneath our deck, which is a swing set and trampoline area, is not going to end well?  Season 3 = 3rd tragic ending.  

Sleeping with his hands underneath his back?  It's mighty cute when he walks around that way, but this is firsr time I've seen it as a sleeping position.

I have made zero progress in detracting him from the new table.  He climbs up there to dance on the lazy susan and then points out to me that I now need to lower the fixture to accommodate the much lower table.

Bedtime stories in the new loft.

A successful MOPS evening with the infamous Janet Mancini - about 1/3 of our group gathered after hours for part 2 of her annual talk on keeping it real and respecting our marriages.  

Love preparing for company!

Surprised Michael with an early 40th birthday present---imported the Vogels and Bronsons for the evening from Boston and DC, respectively.  Andrew LOVED playing basketball with the Dads and 12-yr-old Gavin. 

Nice Killian defense and box out!

These boys go back 32 years. They grew up together into amazing men and wonderful fathers. Always great times when they come to play! Glad to have Julie and Erin along this time, friendships for which I am grateful. 

Ding, ding!  Round 2 of "probably not going to end well". 

No clue what prompted Andrew to leave us this note outside of his room one night:  "From Andrew, Ples do not wak me up. Rub me jently on the back or stumach.  Thank you."

Beautiful Sunday afternoon run after church---and time for nap.  

Favorite driveway toy = "stop and go" 

Coming in from the car after a busy morning...

and not the least bit interested in lunch.

For months, Margaret has had this thing about taking her socks off every time she pulls up to the table for a meal.  She was so proud of herself for leaving them on today...sort of.  

The Kindergarten/1st Grade Musical "Bugz" was precious.  Andrew was really into it, making sure to practice diligently every afternoon and evening for weeks before the big performance.  

April Videos

Our little climber never gives up.

Brotherly Love

The bigger the slide, the better 

(and apparently the bigger fight at the bottom)

Slide too small

Slide and bye-bye

Wish I had a video of the car going the other direction, speeding down the hill, towards the street...probably should NOT encourage this activity:)

Surprising Daddy with the "Circle table"

Matthew dancing to Andrew's Musical "Bugz" Practice, while Margaret tries on her new bathing suit (Easter present courtesy Dody and Graddaddy) 

'cause why not?

Entertaining thighs, apparently

Very sweet song:  
"Firefly, firefly, keeping me company. Turn on your gentle glow, see how you shine.
Firefly, firefly, light up the night for me.  You shine your light and I will shine mine." 

Monthly school-wide morning meeting....

"Woodbrook, more than a school.  It's the heart of our community...."

VT shoots and scores!

Bonk - opps!  Taking it like a champ, sweet boy...
didn't even flinch!  

It's tough keeping up with the big kids! 

April

After a LONG winter of 11 snow days and weeks of sub-freezing temps, spring has finally sprung!  One of our three annual nests under the deck is ready to go and the playgrounds are ready for Matthew.

After nearly a year of looking for suitable round tables to accommodate our family, decor and budget, the table I grew up with in the mountains arrived.  Mom and Dad decided to have a larger one made, so passed on theirs.  After having it shipped and refinished, it was delivered...and Matthew was ready. While he backed away from the power drill, he's been on all over it since---literally.  I am diligently praying for the novelty of dancing on the built-in lazy susan to wear off.  

We finally got Andrew's new bed assembled, his reading nook staged, and his lego storage put together.  Happy kiddos!  Unhappy Mom that the picture is somehow sideways.  

Beautiful day at the park with Dody.

Whistle Down the Wind at FPC, Richmond.  April 5, 2014.  What a show!  Granddaddy made a pretty logical Grandpa.  The kids are still singing, "When Children Rule the World".  Why would that possibly be their favorite song??

Matthew has figured out Fellowship Hour....sit still on the bench and cookies come my way!

Can't keep this monkey off of anything in the house.  I've found him on top of the keyboard, the dining room table, and just today, on the kitchen counter.  

Nothing makes me happier than this scene....Andrew and the neighbors all happily playing defense on Michael, just home from work.  

He shoots, and scores (on a really happy goalie!).  

The commentary here was priceless.  Andrew was diligently showing Matthew how to aim his hips squarely at the goal for the best shooting form.  I'm certain Matthew absorbed the instruction.

The next instruction was to stop for a snack.

My mulch helper.

Matthew hasn't had a morning nap probably since laying in the bucket at the pool this summer, but apparently MOPS was just too much fun today.  Out cold at 11:00am, with all kinds of activity around him.  

This is what MOPS is all about - snacking on donut leftovers, and making room for little friends on the bench....in that order.

Happiness is getting Magazines in the mail after school. (Mom would be happy if the picture posted the way the thumbnail looked!) 

A front yard nest this year!

While Daddy is away for the weekend, we must find ways to wear each other out.  Morning spent at the best playground in greater Charlottesville, followed by lunch at Panera (our first lunch with Matthew AND without Michael was a success!), followed by Sweet Frogs and a festival did the trick!  Everyone was passed out drooling by 2:30 and had to be awakened for round 2 to ensure an easy bedtime.

Nice view on a beautiful day.  

Mommy's little helper.