Catch-A-Cop

Logan and the big boys enjoyed the catch a cop fun run again this year with Grandma Kathleen!











Logan said both boys are significantly faster than last year. He had to make an effort to keep up with them both for the first time!

The medals are so cool at this run. 

And they enjoyed he other activities too. 

Almost 5 Months

Levi will be five months in two days. He’s accomplished a lot! He enjoys the exersaucer. He’s been sitting up for three weeks now. He got a tooth. He had his first haircut (See next post). He rolled over back to front. He discovered how to use his fingers, including using the pincer grasp a little bit. 



We put the swing away because he’s just too big for it. The swing can’t keep a steady pace with a 23 lb baby in it. 

He mostly takes naps on my lap or in the bouncy. 



His brothers make him laugh the loudest. Especially when they put on their Batman costumes and do all the fighting moves. 

I tried to transition him to a big boy binki, and he tolerated it, but he really prefers his fox. He falls asleep in no time and gets a solid nap if he has the fox. Seems like a reason to just keep using it. Why sacrifice sleep?

The day I realized it was time for that first hair cut. 

His newest face. He makes it all the time when he’s playing. 


Hanging out with this buddy, Mary. She and her husband are in our Wednesday night bible study. They are also in our parish so sometimes we sit together at Mass and they get more cuddle time. 

When your big brother is asked to get you something to play with you get to try things your mommy would never think of. 

He’s even too long for the swing. 

Tolerating the big boy binki during a nap. 

He’s still very happy playing with his ducks. He is using his feet to kick them these days, and he has noticed the toys on the sides too. 

Studying with Daddy. 

He sits with us at the table for meals now and is quite happy to be in the mix. 

Home

Elias enjoys school, but he now appreciates a day at home to relax. 

“Stay behind da liiiiine.” He told me. 

Watching for a morning coffee date. 

Dressing up with the big brother. 

This was an elaborate game he set up and played for a long time. 

Putting out all the fires. 



And again, putting out all the fires. 

Outside the Box

I’m still working on seeing the world the way Lewis sees the world. His view is so different from mine. 

Messy is necessary. 

There’s always something to create. 

Outside is a happy place. 

Elaborate, silly stories are on the tip of his tongue.

There is humor in all situations. 

Treasures are to be shared and given. 

Spelling is easy. 

Conforming to traditional schooling is not. 

Opportunity is everywhere. 

Helping others is an instinct. 

Browning hamburger is a delight. 

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. 

LEGO directions are optional. 

These two. Their minds have similar ways. Creative. I’m grateful for her insights on his little mind. 

Elias Logic

E: Daddy, Lewis litewally just punch me. 

Me: How did you just use that big word in context?!

I was giving Lewis directions at the lunch table and he was arguing with me. Elias said “Lewis stop complicating it.”

Elias just measured Levi with a ruler And said he measured “5,  10, 11, M, N ounces and 5 dollars.”

Elias: Mom. I bet Jim Bash is gonna be at Grandma Susan's for coffee because it's Tuesday. 

Me: How on earth did you know it's Tuesday?!

Referring to the big fountain Elias asked

“Mommy? Why those are not raining?”

E: I want to take a bath. 

Me: it’s too close to bedtime. Not tonight. 

E: but I want a bath!

Me: you can take a bath tomorrow. 

E: Mommy can I have a bath or a shower? You can choose. 

Me: neither. It’s too late. 

E: make a choice or I will choose for you. And I choose bath.

Lewis: can I go to grandmas?

Me: no. She has a doctors apt. 

Lewis: I could stay with grandpa. 

Me: he works at the vet hospital on Thursday  mornings. 

Lewis: what’s that?

Me: it’s a special hospital for soldiers and other people who have served our country. 

Elias: and ninjas. 

Grandpa: I’m leery of those ninjas. 

While talking about Augustine’s bday party:

Elias: when is my birthday?

Me: not for a long time. 

Elias: I don’t have any birthdays. 

Me: then how are you alive?!

Elias: bones. 

Me: be careful when your (Duplo) guys climb the slide steps. 

Elias: oops. 

Me: it’s ok. It’s easy to fix. 

Elias: or Augustine will be mad at me. 

Me: well it’s easy to fix so he doesn’t need to get mad. 

Elias: [pause] oh, Augustine Burda. 

Me: 😂

Me: Did you have a good swim Elias? 

Elias: Yeah it was kind of embarrassing actually. 

Me: Why was it embarrassing? 

Elias: Because that girl Hella, she had slippers on and she slipped her feet right in and they were making waves. 

Me: That’s why it was embarrassing?

Elias: Yeah. 

Elias: This piece here [on his LEGO building] is a walrus protector. It will get shocked and protect us. 

Me: why does the crepe paper keep falling down?!

Elias: maybe it’s the lemur in our house. 

Elias went upstairs to get clothes. I waited for him on the couch, and suddenly I heard his voice. It sounded upset but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I ran upstairs to see what was wrong. He was reading I Really Like Slop by Mo Willams out loud. Nothing actually wrong. 

Grandma Kathleen was helping Elias put on a pair of shorts and asked him if he needed clean underwear. He said no. Mom does that on Wednesdays.

3rd Grade Thoughts

Augustine says one of the worst part of school is Levi isn’t there. He gets home from school and needs some serious Levi cuddles. Augustine often holds him while having screen time, but I insist he hold Levi away from the screen. Sometimes Augustine forgets to pay attention to his baby brother during this time. The other day he was forgetting so I said, “what are you even doing?!” to which Augustine replied, “I’m multitasking, Mom.” It made me laugh really hard. 

Third grade is going great for Augustine. He enjoys the work, chapter books, and a new lunch/recess time. He won’t admit it of course. He’s noticing a lot of social changes in his class, so we often stay up a little later than bedtime chatting in his room about how to handle the awkward situations he’s noticing between girls and boys. From what I can gather, it really confuses his 9 year old self when 1) girls whisper and 2) girls look at you funny and 3) when girls ask to play a game on the playground and then don’t know how to join in the game. When I told him he was right, that his class is at the age where girls and boys start to have awkward and confusing interactions, he asked how long this would happen. I told him truth be told until he and his friends go all the way through high school, which made me laugh. He couldn’t believe it. 

Preschool Thoughts

We sing songs TWO TIMES today. I don’t sing. 

Me: guess what. You don’t have to go to bible study with me anymore. 

E: why not?

Me: because you’ll be at school having fun. 

E: yeah, that’s good newsing!

E: Mom one of my classmates found something that’s not exactly a porkepine but it’s something that’s sticky. 

Me: is it an animal?

E: oh! It was a pinecone. 

Me: so how was preschool?

E: pretty good. 

Me: what did you do?

E: a tornado drill. 

Me: what do you do for a tornado drill?

E: you exit. 

Me: so did you talk to any of your new friends?

E: no. I was the only one. 

Me: weren’t there a lot of other kids at school today?

E: nope. Just me. 

[we later realized he was saying there were no other children at school that we already knew]

E: we didn’t go outside today. Oh wait. We did. I played in the sand pit. I was digging a swimming pool.  

Me: wow! Did you finish digging the pool or do you have more to work on next time you’re at preschool?

E: I finished. 

E: [very annoyed] a boy was playing with the fire truck and I wanted a turn. So I say ‘can I have a turn when you are done?’ and he said yes. 

Me: did he give you a turn when he was done?

E: [annoyed] yes he did. 

Me: sounds like you did a great job being patient and he did a great job sharing with you. 

E: yes I did.