Family Photo Shoot

After shooting our annual Christmas family picture Sunday, I left the camera on the tripod and pulled aside each family member individually to shoot some mug shots. Ezra and Asa took a lot of these. The picture of Marlow and the iPod in the previous post came from this set. I uploaded the set to our Picasa Web Album - full size, original quality. So, Michelle, you can download print-quality versions from there...

Mugs

Can you say "Apple"?

I'm not sure whether to be concerned or proud... OK, actually, I'm just amused... Last night, after showing the kids a slideshow of the photo shoot we had done that afternoon, I closed my PowerBook. The white apple on the cover caught the eye of Marlow (my 2 year old daughter), and she started tracing it with her finger.

It is a parent's natural instinct to test their toddler's rapidly expanding vocabulary with questions like, "What's that?" So I did.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

Thinking surely she should be able to recognize a simple apple, I prodded, "Come on. You know what that is. Haven't you seen one of these before?"

And she gasped and beamed because she suddenly remembered what it was. "iPod!"

I laughed and said, "That's right! That's the same symbol that is on the iPod. And doesn't it look like an apple???"

"No," she shook her head... "iPod."



(BTW, we wouldn't even own an iPod if it weren't for Coptix purchasing them for all their employees a couple years ago. Thanks, Coptix!)

I've been meaning to post for a while now....

Eliot had his first birthday the beginning of October.






The kids playing outside the aquarium in all the little canals for the last time this summer. Katie, Mason and Grandma were visiting and came too, they just don't happen to be in this picture.



Marlow and Mason playing in the sandbox.


Halloween. Marlow the princess, Ezra as Spiderman, Asa as a Knight and Eliot the puppy.


Marlow wanted me to take a picture of her doll. I told her to smile and show her teeth. This is the doll the pink glasses in the follow picture belong to.



She likes to do whatever her big brothers do so here she is working on her homework.


You can't have too many cute pictures of Eliot, right?



We took a camping trip. We hadn't been camping in two years...it is amazing how much work it is to go somewhere and sleep outside for a night with a bunch of little kids. I think next time we will try for two nights to really make it worth our while.


We were right on the water and the kids spent a large amount of time throwing rocks in the water and feeding the ducks anytime they would come around.



Not as cute as the kids but these are six books I made on commission for a friend. I bound pages that she had printed of a family reunion, and in return she bought me an awesome double jogger stroller.

My accent, or lack of accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

I'm from Florida, my parents are from the West coast...I've always lived in the South.

Happy Birthday Meesh!

To Michelle on her birthday,

I think this may be only the 2nd (maybe 3rd) birthday of yours that I haven't been with you to celebrate. I miss you Meesh. I hope you are having a special day with your husband and boys.

I was just thinking it is interesting how what is "special" changes as our lives change. Years ago it would have involved gifts, dinner, a movie, maybe a weekend away or a party with friends. Today, special would be not making dinner, not cleaning anything up, but relaxing and just being able to enjoy the kids...and then leaving them with someone and spending time with Joseph....and maybe later a bubble bath and a new book. I am sure your idea of "special" has changed now that you have two little ones and are living far away from family and friends. I wish I was more on top of things and had finished assembling your birthday package and sent it already.....but this way we just get to drag your birthday out a bit longer....and in the mean time if you think of anything you want me to stick in let me know.


I miss you being around. I love that you lived here for so long, and spent so much time with us. I love what a big part of the boys lives you were/are and I look forward to you guys moving back someday. I want to know your kids the way you know mine.

Much love to you on your birthday and all the other days. kisses and hugs.

--A

Swing fun

Here are some fun shots I took the other day of Asa, Marlow and Eliot riding recklessly on their tire swing. Tire swings are great, especially if you can find a really high branch to hang them from. Ours hangs from about a 40-foot high branch, so the arc of the swing is very long.


Click on the picture above to open a new window (or tab) which will display the whole tire swing set.

(In case you were wondering where Ezra was, you can see him climbing on the swingset in the background in a couple of these...)

School

Well, school is in full swing now. This is Ezra's third week (first grade) and Asa's first full week (kindergarten). The first two weeks he only went three days total for phase-in. Asa LOVES school. The first two weeks were hard because he wanted to go every day. Ezra seems to be getting into the routine and enjoying it more. I really like both of their teachers. Asa got the teacher that he liked best so I was glad for him. He also has one of his good friends, Aidan, who lives down the street and goes to church with us in his class. Aidan's mom and I worked out a carpool plan for afternoon pick-ups so now I don't have to go to the school every afternoon and wait in line, which is super nice.

Joseph took some pictures of the boys on Asa's first day. They look so grown-up in their uniforms. One cool thing is Asa loves to tell me about his day and what they did and what he liked best. Ezra has never really liked me asking questions about what goes on at school and volunteers very little information. But Asa telling me about his day sparks Ezra to remember things he did so then I get them both talking.


So far I have enjoyed the time with just the two little ones. I have walked some with them, gone to Rembrandts after walking the bridge for muffins and tea, grocery shopped and hung around the house. Marlow gets really excited when I tell her it is time to go get the boys. Unlike Asa who doesn't know what to do with himself when Ezra is away, she plays well by herself.... but not so well with Eliot. She tends to just tell him "No!" a lot and take toys away from him. She was nice to him today though and let him sit in the wagon with her for the walk to Bible Study. She enjoyed handing him animal crackers on the ride over. She really likes feeding him and always wants to feed him his yogurt or whatever he is eating. Thankfully he isn't too opinionated yet and doesn't mind who feeds him just as long as he gets the food.

Marlow turns 2

Marlow had her second birthday. We had a little birthday party for her and invited over a few little girls she knows (most of them conveniently had older brothers for the boys to play with). The kids played in the yard in our little pool and on the slip'n slide. At one point I looked around the yard and there were kids in the sandbox, some kids swinging on the tire swing, a game of tether ball going on, kids in the pool, some playing on the swingset and a couple kids in the tree house. It was nice to see the various play areas of the yard being used by a fairly large group of kid so well. We played and ate dinner outside. We used our new large picnic table Joseph built (sorry, I forgot to take a picture), and it held the crowd pretty well. I made a big taco salad, big fruit salad and hot dogs for the kids. It was pretty hot out so we came in for cake and ice cream and opening gifts. Marlow had a lot of fun, and really enjoyed the attention. When we set the cake in front of her and started to sing she just beamed and then started to sing along.

She has learned from the boys that it is special to get to lick the candles off after you blow them out and she was very happy to lick her two candles.

And just so you don't think I am giving my little girl "boy" stuff -- I bought party hats that just said "Happy Birthday" and I also got out the left over Justice League hats from Asa's birthday for anybody who wanted one. And Marlow, being the little sister of two boys who play "guys" all the time, wanted a superhero hat.

The hats were actually quite a bit of fun, all the boys were trying to see how many they could get on their heads. Asa chose one of each. Marlow thoroughly enjoyed her birthday party and is eagerly looking forward to her next one...anytime she sees cake she says "My birthday cake." And I have to tell her, "No, your birthday is over until next year." It is kind of a tough concept to get, she just says, "Oh" and looks a bit confused.

Superhero Rappers

I thought these pictures of Ezra, Asa, and their friend Alex turned out funny. I look at it and imagine them busting out a rap about superheros... sounding something like the Beastie Boys, perhaps...

Ezra as "Spider-man", Alex as "Batman", Asa as the "bad guy"

Black-eyed Asa

I used to be really nervous about throwing the ball to Asa, because I didn't want to hit him in the face. He has been so determined to improve his catching skills, he probably put in a good 2 or 3 hours of practice time just tossing the ball with me or Amy over the weekend.

He was getting so good at catching that I became comfortable throwing straight to him rather than a little off to the side. He kept asking for me to launch them high into the sky... and so I did... and he caught a lot of them! But alas, one did not make it into his glove...

Asa proudly tells the story of how his Dad gave him a black eye...

5 & 6 Baseball

Ezra and Asa have had a busy summer of baseball. They hadn't seen Alex (Ezra's friend from school) all summer. So when he came over the other day, they were catching him up on their summer and proudly pointing out their collection of tiny plastic baseball trophies. Impressed, Alex said, "Wow! You won all those trophies?!" To which Asa replied, "No, we got 'em 'cause we lost." (Sounds like sarcasm, but he actually was being serious.) Ezra followed with, "Yeah, we've lost like a hundred million games."

It is kinda confusing the way the participation trophies are handed out. In the all-star tournaments, everyone who plays gets a trophy. The winning team gets a bigger trophy (or so I've heard). The tournaments are usually double-elimination, so immediately following the game in which a team is eliminated, they line both teams up. The losing team gets trophies, and the winning team gets... nothing! (Until they lose two games or make it all the way to the top.)

And Ezra does have a point. They have lost a lot of games. I am amazed how good some of these 5 and 6 (and 7) year olds play. Ezra and Asa have come a long way from when they started in April. They've had a lot of fun and have made new friends, but I think they are ready for a break from baseball. Our final practice tonight will bring us to a grand total of 12 hours of practice for this week. The Dizzy Dean World Series (Dizzy Dean's "world" is comprised of Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee) starts this weekend and then we are done with baseball for the summer. Does this mean... free time? More time to blog, perhaps? We'll see...

Asa Turns 5

Asa's birthday was April 12. We did have a family celebration then, but due to scheduling conflicts, we couldn't have his big party until Saturday... which if you know 4 year olds... took FOREVER! Asa picked superhero theme and had Amy construct another one of her awesome pinatas. This one was Flash's head (or Flash Gordon?). The kids were extremely giddy during the cake-eating part of the party. At one point, they were all laughing for like 10 minutes straight!

Here is a little slideshow of Asa's birthday party in Quicktime format. (There is also a smaller version if you need it.)

The Joseph Nichols Tavern

Evidently, no one I know has been to Lynchburg, Virginia. At least, you would think if they had, they would have noticed The Joseph Nichols Tavern and told me about it as Austina McFarland did last week. She was there for a Habitat for Humanity trip and snapped a shot of the sign and emailed it to me.



Intrigued, I did a little further research. On the City of Lynchburg, VA City Facts page and on the Garland Hill Historic District site, I learned that it was built in 1815 as a tavern (although it's Federal style architecture really doesn't look very tavernish to me). Over the years it served as a hotel, a brothel, and a rooming house. Eventually, in the year of my birth, it was renovated into 4 apartments.

The 8:01 Hustle

As we rolled through the drop-off line at 8:01, things were hectic as usual. Ezra stepped out of the car, and Mrs. Streip, intending to hurry things along, greeted him with, "Ezra! Hustle!" He looked at her and gave kind of a half-smile, then stepped back into the car and said, "What does that mean?"... Heh!... I quickly defined it and he re-exited the car.

It's a funny site. One of the rules on campus is "No running." So during the "8:01 Hustle," you hear the teachers saying things like "Hurry! Hurry! Come on! Hustle!... But don't run..." So you see all these kids kind of frantically speedwalking down the sidewalk. And there is almost always one kid who looks like he didn't know the meaning of "hustle" or "hurry" and didn't stop to ask...

I'm torn. The responsible part of me want to show up at 7:50 like we used to... But it's just not nearly as interesting at that time of morning.

From the archives: Ezra's first day of school.

Five Months

Eliot is five months old now. He's one heck of a baby.

I posted this from my Dashboard

There is a new Blogger widget available at apple.com that lets you do quick posts like this one. Pretty cool...

On Accident

The other day after picking Ezra up from school, we were driving by some houses and a little cat (like a teenager cat) ran out in front of our van. Because it was a neighborhood and a school zone I wasn't going very fast but I hit the brakes so I wouldn't hit the reckless little guy and waited a second before proceeding. I didn't feel like I hit anything but when I looked in my review mirror I saw the cat struggling to drag itself across the road. It was my first time ever hitting an animal. I pulled over, trying to figure out what I should do.
Asa was sitting closest to me and said, "What is it Mom? What happened? Why did you stop?" He has my talent for asking several questions all at once.
"Well Asa, I think I hit a cat."
"Hit a cat!! Did you kill it?"
"Umm, no. It is trying to walk." I said as I watched the cat in the mirror. About then I noticed three dogs standing on the sidewalk watching too. A big whitish/yellow dog, a medium size scruffy black dog and a little dashoundish brown dog.
As a child I loved the cartoons about animals, especially about dogs. There was one in particular about five stray dogs who had a lot of adventures together. My favorite was the dog with the red bandana.

I read books like "Amazing True Dog Stories" and would have liked, "The Dog Who Rescues Cats: the true story of Ginny." So sitting there in the car I watched the dogs looking up and down the road checking for cars before they cautiously approached the cat. I imagined them being friends even though dogs and cats aren't supposed to be.
Asa asked, "What is the cat doing now?"
"Well, I said, there are a few dogs walking out toward the cat."
Asa craned his neck to look out the back window but couldn't see much. "Why?"
"I think they are going to save the cat." As I said this the white dog carefully scooped the cat up in his mouth and they all quickly trotted over to a clump of bushes. I imagined them getting the cat some water and nursing it back to health. That is they way I explained it to Asa anyway.
Later I told the story of my first roadkill to Joseph. When I got the part where I told Asa that the dogs were saving the cat he said, "Yeah, saving it for later."

Catch up post

It's been a while since our last post. I guess the Christmas letter took too much out of us. :-) Since our last post, the Gasts new blog has taken off and they will soon surpass us in number of posts if we don't get on the ball! So here are a few pictures taken off our camera from the past couple months along with a little commentary...

Oh yeah, one minor change I've made to the layout of our blog... I think it is not obvious enough to see who the author of a post is the way Blogger has it set up by default. So I did a little rearranging so now it says who it is by at the beginning and is even color coded (green for Joseph, blue for Amy). OK. Now, on with the pictures.

Ezra and Asa check out the Nichols Christmas Calendar with "Ma" (their great grandmother).

Someone stole a shot of Amy and Eliot. I like this one a lot. We don't get that many pictures these days that are actually of Amy or me. Usually we are just in the background... Notice the abundance of drool coming from that baby!

Marlow in what appears to be a calm state as she stands at the barrier that separates her from the great outdoors and her big brothers.

Ah... there it is. The all-too-familiar begging state. Notice how merely giving her a cookie won't do the trick.

"I got a little bit dirty."

What a cute mess!

The grandkids at the Bollman grandparents house. Picture time proved quite challenging.

They calmed down long enough for a decent shot. Left to right: Marlow, Moriah, Ezra, Jack, Eliot, Asa, Mason.

Eliot and Aunt Marlow.

Marlow and Mason find their way out of the cabin...

... and set of to find adventure.

Back at home, Asa snaps a nice shot of the rest of the kids with Heidi (our neighbor).

Our latest project: The treehouse! Planning on putting the roof on this weekend...