A Spooooky Story by Emanuel

One day mom and dad and Ben and Isabel and Emanuel were walking in the woods. Then we found a smarshmallow and it went "wiggle, wiggle." We opened the smarshmallow bag and the smarshmallows jumped out of the bushes and said "BOO!" Was that spooooooky?

The Cutest Kids

Yes, I said it! They are. I love being their Mommy.

Easter Sugar Cookie House

Ever since decorating graham cracker houses on Christmas the boys have been hooked. Emanuel even wanted a cookie house instead of a cake for his birthday. Today we were at Target looking for Easter cookie cutters when the boys spotted it... an Easter Cookie House kit!
"Please, mom and dad, can we buy it? Please?" Dad said yes, and Emanuel got to hold it. He spent the rest of the shopping trip waxing on about the virtues of this cookie house and how thankful he was to have it. It's nice to have thankful kids!

For mom and dad, the virtue of the cookie house was as an incentive. They cleaned their room so well and quickly, lunch went by without a hitch (and without seconds and thirds, which NEVER happens), and they even cleaned up after themselves without being told more than once!

Who needs a bathroom

when you've got the great outdoors and an audience?

At a playdate today, the kids were happily playing outside in the backyard while the moms chatted inside.

Everything was going so nicely until someone standing by a window said, "Your son is going to the bathroom out there." Then she turned and looked at ME.

I turned around... no one was behind me.

"Mine?"

"Yes, yours"

I ran outdoors in time to see Emanuel with his pants down around his ankles, chest puffed out proudly, and a crowd of kids standing around watching him. He turned and saw me.

"Mom! I went potty! I'm all done now" Then up went his pants and off he went to continue playing.

I'm wondering if I've prayed for humility recently and forgotten. This seems to have been "Humiliate Mommy as Much as Possible Week."

Benedict's Point of View

A few months ago, Benedict picked up our digital camera and started flashing away. The kid's a natural. At 4 he can work the camera better than I can. He takes a lot of self portraits. There are usually many shots of his lego creations, and many other very random things. It is always interesting to look at his pictures, just to see what he sees and take in life from his point of view. Or to see his little brother doing something that makes me think, "Where were the adults when this picture was taken?" Here are a few examples.

Schramm Park

Today we decided to give Schramm Park a try. We're so glad we went. The hiking trails were great. The boys are good hikers and they really enjoyed the day. The trail ended at a playground... could it have been any better?!

The Joslyn Art Museum

Every few months, the Joslyn has a family day with crafts and activities for the whole family. We finally decided to go to one. It was so much fun! The boys made bead necklaces like the Native Americans and Possible Bags, which trappers would carry on their journeys to hold essentials. Isabel really had fun looking at all the art. We'll definitely be going back for the next one!

New Format

I decided that I like this format much better than our previous website. Much less work!

Happy 3rd Birthday Emanuel!

Emanuel woke up SO excited that it was finally his birthday!


Starting the day off right with blueberry pancakes. Yum!


There can never be too many party hats!

Present time- a pirate ship! Emanuel really likes pirates.

A giant sea baby attacking the ship...

A man-eating sea baby!

The guests arrive. Party time!

Blowing out the candles. What a great day!

The Spider

Yesterday we decided to do a puzzle and discovered a tiny spider in the box. This called for the magnifying glasses, and everyone was having fun looking at the spider... until it got away. This is where Emanuel freaks out. At age 1 he loved bugs... couldn't get enough of them. At age 2 he's terrified of them. No idea why, but a bug sighting is always very traumatic.

Emanuel starts squealing and jumping. "It got away! It's going to get me!" I explain that it is so tiny, it can't do anything to him at all and its probably very scared of him too. I think I'm getting through to him when Ben chimes in, "It'll rip your skin off!"

"No, Ben, it can't rip his skin off," I say.

"Yes, it can. I had a dream about a spider and it ripped my skin off." I told him that dreams aren't real, which satisfied Ben, who really didn't care much anyway. Meanwhile, Emanuel has climbed up on top of the couch, magnifying glass still in hand (because this spider was SO tiny it really couldn't be seen without it).

"It's going to rip my skin off mom!"

"No it won't," I tell him. "It's too tiny. You could squash it with your little finger." I leave it at that and silently watch Emanuel move from couch to end table to chair, avoiding the floor at all costs. I pray Ben doesn't mention that spiders can climb up furniture. Eventually Emanuel ends up on my shoulders and slides down into my lap.

"Mom, that spider is so tiny. I could eat it!" This means his fear is gone. If something can be eaten, there is no way it is scary. 2 year olds and their logic, huh?

"Well, you could eat it but that would be really gross." This makes him laugh. Gross is good.

"Emanuel if you eat a spider you'll die." Oh no. Here we go again. Emanuel gasps, his eyes widen and I turn to Ben.

"That's silly. He won't die from eating a spider."

"Yes, he will," Ben argues. "The old lady swallowed one and she died!"

Darn those folk tales.