Maybe Tomorrow Will Be Better

Today I took Kuba on a playdate.  He has a little friend at pre-school that he likes, and he was invited for a playdate at this friends grandparents house.  They watch Ethan on Wednesdays, and his grandmother works with me (sort of.)  Anyway, the playdate started out just fine and this lasted for about an hour.  And then....things quickly fell apart.   It began when Kuba went to the front door and announced that he wanted to go home because everything there was "boring."  I've never even heard him say that word in a sentence before, but today he used it perfectly.  Ouch.  His little friend Ethan sadly said to his grandma, "Kuba doesn't like me anymore."  It got better. 
This was followed by a sassy tone, a bossy attitude, and a general lack of response when either of the grandparents tried to engage Kuba in conversation.   He again went to the door with all of his stuffed animals that he brought in his hand and said - "Come on, it's time to go home." I wisked him out of there soon thereafter.

As Kuba was leaving, he was given 2 home baked muffins, one for him and one for his brother Anders.
In the car as we were driving home, Kuba started to eat the muffin.  Soon I heard "Yuck, gross." from the back seat.  He then announced that the muffin was a shock.  "It is so bad it is a shock."  I was so grateful to have him buckled neatly into his car seat where only I could hear him rip apart the apple muffin. When he got home and gave Anders his muffin he told him "You're not going to like this, it gives your mouth a shock."

I remember last week I was so proud of his maturity. 

Maybe this is what happens after spending a full week with my family on vacation.

And so, The End of First Grade!

He did it!  Anders successfully made it through first grade and is moving on up in the world.  Here he is with his first grade teacher, Ms. Mack...whom I will never forget.   

Our First Wedding as a Family

My brother's daughter - the first niece in our family - got married on June 15th.  It was totally fun to prepare for the event and to go as a family.  All four of us had a completely fantastic time, from start to finish.  The boys were so excited to "get dressed up" even if their outfits included brand new tie-up converse sneakers.
Anna and I truly felt elated to be there celebrating with everyone. What a wonderful experience. The weather couldn't have been nicer and the reception was just so fun. There was a photo booth there which all of us couldn't get enough of.  I think we left with about ten photo strips of our family in one combination or another. I loved watching the boys interact and take in this new experience. Here are some of the best photo's from the day.

A Dreamy Way to Fall Asleep

One of my favorite things about Anna is she is an amazing guitar player and has a beautiful voice.
Often at bedtime she will sing the boys to sleep while strumming her guitar.  Last night was magical to me.  We had gone out on a date with friends and shared a sitter.  When we picked up the kids and all came home it was late, but the boys were still awake; the mood was sleepy and happy for all of us.
Once we got them into bed, Anna picked up her guitar and together we quietly sang the boys to sleep.   It was simply so sweet and gentle.  She had a lovely repetoire of songs, and "Twinkle Twinkle"  never sounded as good as it did last night:  
"Twinkle twinkle little star, momma's playing her guitar." 
I had a moment of big love.  What a dreamy way to fall asleep.
It is a beautiful, beautiful life we have.  I love this family so very much.  I love all of the moments like these, peppered with the insanity that sometimes happens in families with young children.
How lucky we are to be awake and full of so much gratitude.  I hope my boys remember just a few of the moments like this, they're pretty remarkable.

Making a Book for Gus

Kuba was very busy for a few days making a book for his friend Gus. He really likes him and when he's not with him, he likes to talk about him.  Anna made Kuba a little blank book and Kuba decided it was for Gus.  He filled the book with many wonderful drawings, including this giraffe, and added many narrated details.  Now... all he has left to do is to give it to Gus.

This Time It's Purple

Here's Kuba's mustache....different day, different kind of juice.  I believe this was a berry, carrot, apple blend.   And on his forehead...not paint, just more juice.

To Good Health

This is Anders with a mustache.  Not a milk mustache. Not face paint.  No, a freshly made veggie and fruit juice blend.  I believe I went a bit overboard with the kale or spinach on this one, but he didn't seem to mind.  I mixed it with Arctic Swirl - a lemonade flavored fish oil supplement I give the boys.  They really like it.   It is our goal to get more veggies into our kids and this is a brilliant solution for all of us.
With the green above his lip and the purple paint in his hair, I find him to be a very colorful little fellow.