Labor Day, Birthdays and Boy Stories

We had a great Labor Day weekend.  Dan, Jill, Boe and Kamber came to visit and we spent Saturday in Spearfish wandering around the sanctuary and the rest of the weekend relaxing and chatting.  It's fun to have family move closer.

Sport swinging at the park.

Sport has 4 new teeth and while they were coming in he got into the habit of puckering up his lips.

After our company left Monday afternoon, we took the boys out to play some baseball in the front yard.

Colt "batted" with a tennis racket.

Wednesday was Brandan's birthday.  The boys were so excited to celebrate with him and give/unwrap his presents.

Brandan and the boys blowing out the candles on his birthday cinnamon rolls.

The boys gave Brandan a pic of themselves in a mat them decorated.

Today we attempted taking family pictures.

Colt practiced his smiley face.

Family Photo

I love being able to spend time with the boys and watch them grow and have them make me laugh (and make me mad).  They all have their own unique personalities that develop more and more each day.

Dash is really growing into the role of firstborn leader.  I'm constantly asking him to help out around the house and with his little brothers and he is really stepping up to the challenge. He unloads the dishwasher without being asked and usually gets Sport out of bed after his nap before I can get to him.  The other day we were making pizza for dinner and he was rolling the dough out while I gathered the toppings.  At one point he told me, "You can just relax Mom. We got this."
The other day Dash gave us the perfect example of how completely culturally accepting a child is.  We were looking at the UnderArmour magazine that came in the mail and there was a picture of a black man modeling the clothes.  Dash pointed to the picture and said, "Look Daddy, this guy looks just like you, except (here is where we expected him to point out some very obvious differences) he is wearing a green shirt and you have on a blue one."

If Dash is my helper, Colt is my comedian.  He is always doing something to get a laugh.  Last Sunday the boys were chasing some deer in the park.  As we were walking home, Dash said, "I'm fast like a cheetah."  Not to be outdone, Colt piped up with, "Yeah and I'm like an elephant."
Colt's latest quirk is to "ask you a question" which turns out to actually be a really long story about his Baby Puppy, his imaginary friend.  In fact, we just celebrated his Baby Puppy's birthday today.  Unfortunately, after birthday treats, Baby Puppy died (again...Baby Puppy "gets dead" at least once a day).  Not to worry though, Colt put Baby Puppy in the fridge and I expect he'll make a full recovery in the morning.

Sport is also really coming into his own.  He loves clapping and dancing to the songs we sing and chasing the boys around as fast as his little legs will carry him.  Sport has also learned he can control certain situations by screaming and demanding attention.  He often ends up with most of Brandan's snacks by yelling and pointing at what Brandan has until he gives in and hands it over.  Along with this, Sport has also developed a jealous streak and can't stand to see anyone sitting in my lap.  The other day Colt was snuggled up with me and Sport came across the room and pulled on Colt's feet until he got off my lap and then Sport went so far and to push Colt away from the chair I was sitting in!