Girly stuff

Have I mentioned that pregnancy is weird?

Because it totally is.

Weird. Weird.  Weird.

The latest:
I am still craving beef.  Any kind, as I mentioned, but lately I feel like I could eat Sloppy Joes all day.  I mean, I have always been a fan but most of the (not pregnant) time I kind of forget about them.  No more.  I have to try really hard not to make beef for every meal.

I could drink gallons of milk a day.  I cannot get enough.  Also, it helps soothe the heartburn monster that likes to visit at bedtime.

Oreos.  I had this with Judah also (or was it Silas?).  I have loved Oreos since I was a kid (double-stuf.  they MUST be double stuf).  But when I am not pregnant, I only occasionally succumb to their magical pull at the grocery store.  It's a rare treat I allow myself.  But something about carrying a child in my womb makes me weak in the knees for those bad boys.  The problem with me and Oreos is that if I'm not paying attention pretty soon I have eaten 7 of them.  For the record, I only ate three tonight because SELF-CONTROL. 

***

Roman has felt baby sister move a couple of times now, which is super fun.  He lights up when he feels a kick.  Judah and Silas are still not patient enough to wait for her to move, but I imagine it will get easier the bigger she gets.


Also, can we please talk about how obnoxious I am with girl clothes?  It's actually so ridiculous.  But look at the cute!

 

 

***

I tried to upload a video of Silas talking about the baby but it didn't work.  Boo.  I'll try again soon.

Also, Lindsay asked me to write a post about how we told the boys they were going to have a sister.  The answer is that we are boring and we just...told them.  We got home from the ultrasound and sat them all down and said "We are going to have a baby girl!"  So, not a super exciting story, but Joe did get a video of their reactions so I'll have to get that off of his phone one of these days and show it to you.  There's probably a naked boy in it or some other inappropriateness, as usual.  :)

But, even though we didn't tell them in an exciting way, they were still very excited. 

More soon!


And Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

 

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

This, my friends, is Baby GIRL Pometto.  

 

!!! 

 

Look how cute she is sucking her thumb.  :)

 

 

To my sweet girl,

There is basically no way to prepare you for the life you are about to live.  There is no prepping you for the madness that is your brothers.  I am guessing that you are so chill in utero because you're just trying to figure out what.the.heck. is going on out here.  I'm still trying to figure it out, too. 

 

There is no way to explain why, yesterday, Judah opened the front door, dropped his pants, and peed all over the front porch. 

 

There is no way I can prepare you for Roman telling you ev-ree-thii-iing there is to know about Narnia.

 

I can't really make you ready for the fact that Silas would like to "give the baby a scratch". 
(What?? I don't know - maybe a back scratch since he's not at all the malicious type?  I promise we're working on the fact that babies like nice touches and kisses...and they do not like scratches.)

 

But, I can tell you this.

 

Your mama (who LOVES being a mom of boys!) cried tears of joy for HOURS after finding out you were a girl. 

 

Your daddy is always thinking of beautiful name ideas for you.  And, don't tell him I told you, but I think he's enjoying picking out baby girl clothes *almost* as much as I am.

 

I can tell you that Roman can't wait to read to you.  And Judah can't wait to hold you.  And Silas comes and kisses and hugs my belly at least 10 times a day.

 

They always want to talk about what your name will be and what you will look like and what they will do with you.

 

I can tell you that you have some crazy brothers who are crazy about YOU.

 

We can't wait to meet you, love!

 

xoxo

Mom



Blogger of the Year

I probably win Blogger of the year.  For writing on my blog approximately four times a year.  I'm sure that no one is even reading by now, but just in case...

I don't even know what we have been up to other than hibernating for the winter.  Our weeks seem to fill up and yet I sometimes feel like I never see the outside world. 

OH!  Now I remember.  I have been growing a baby. 

YEP!  Baby #4 is due August 13 and we are all so excited!

So, my reasons for not blogging:  1.  LAZY.  2.  Preggers.  It's a tiring gig.

My little love is kicking me as I type, but it's the nice kind of kicking.  I wasn't feeling much movement until the last few days, actually, which is different than my other pregnancies.  I started feeling Roman and Silas pretty regularly at about 16 weeks (And Judah at 14.  shocking, I know.)  But I am almost 18 weeks with this little one.  Another difference this time: 
I have pregnancy congestion.  So that's fun.  But so not a big deal.  Suck it up, Ruth Ann.

Other random baby #4 tidbits:
I can't drink coffee.   The idea of it is so unappealing to me.  Weird.
I crave beef a lot.  Steak, burgers, whatever you've got.
I was on a SONIC strawberry limeade kick for a while.  But I think the baby got tired of it after downing a large everyday for about two weeks. 
Scrambled eggs are a no go.  Hard boiled or over hard, please.
Pregnancy is weird. 

Our boys are pretty excited about another sibling.  We talk about the baby a lot and it's so much fun that they all are at ages where they really understand.  Name suggestions:  R - Katelyn or Peter (As in High King Peter of Narnia.  Duh.)  J - nada.  no suggestions.  But his guess is boy.  S- chipmunk.  I'm sure the baby will appreciate that one.

Speaking of those boys, here are some of the latest funnies:

Roman:

• R:  "Why does dad like it cold? (in our house)  He's weird.  He's a weird guy". 

          Me:  "Yeah, but he's pretty awesome, right?"
          R:  "Yeah.  I think he's the best guy in the world."

• "Every time I sleep, my eyes itch.  I'm allergic to sleep."
• Before I was pregnant, one day Roman said to me "We should have a baby girl.  Do you want to?"  I said "I do."  Roman said "Let's ask God to give us one".  (although, now his prediction is boy). 
• He has been so sweet and compassionate during this pregnancy.  It's the first time I've been pregnant that he really understands that pregnancy is very tiring and sometimes makes me not feel good.  The way he talks about it just makes me laugh though.  For example:

             "How's that baby doin, mom?"
             "Have a good rest with your baby!"
             "Did an angel come to tell you that you were going to have a baby?"

• The other day we were doing a puzzle and he looked up at me and said "Mom, will you marry me?"  It was so sweet.  He has said he wants to marry me before but never asked me point blank.  It was a moment.
• He is suuuuper into Narnia.  We read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe recently, which he loved.  We have also let him watch the movie a few times now, so basically all we hear about is Peter and Aslan and defeating the white witch.  I love that he is really using his imagination, that he likes pretending and good guy/bad guy play.  He wants to he a hero and takes his sword and shield with him everywhere.  This does get a little tricky though because he has big questions about who are good guys and who are bad guys?   Can kids be bad guys?  Can a grown up be good and then turn into a bad guy?  Who are bad guys in real life?  And so then we get into deep discussions about sin, Original sin, choosing to sin or choosing to love, making a good choice even after you've made bad choices, etc, etc, etc.  I want to answer these questions well.  But sometimes I have to say, "Can we talk about Narnia more after dinner?'

Judah:

• I painted our hall bathroom (a long time ago!) one night after the kids went to bed.  When Judah got up the next morning he said "Did you make this bathroom for ME?  Thank you!!"
• He calls baby chicks "cheekers".  NO idea how that came about.
• One day I made cornbread.  I left it on the counter to cool and Charlie ate it.  Judah overheard me scolding Charlie so he came in and said "Charlie, what did you did?  Did you eat Mom's bread?  Say sorry." 
• Sometimes he says things that just plain have no context and are a complete mystery to me.  I have no idea how to respond.  For example:

           "Next time can I go in the helicopter?"
           "Is Rapunzel going to be there?"

• He also likes to reprimand his brothers for things that he is 200 % more guilty of than they are.  Such as "Roman, that's too loud" and "Take it down a notch, Silas". 
• He is so wild and yet so sweet (he has always had a personality that is an amazing combination of both).   A couple of weeks ago during church, he leaned over and whispered to me "Mom, you're dressed cool.  You're wonderful." 
• Lost two teeth.  At age 4.5.  STOP with the growing up, children!

Silas:

• When I compliment him on doing something well, he will say "You're so nice, Mom!"
• When he does something he's not supposed to do (i.e. dump a whole box of diapers on the floor or run around the house stark naked) he will say "But it was so funny".
• calls cupcakes "pupcakes"
• calls Judah "Juah".
• Has been potty trained since November?  Or December?  I don't know.  Before he was three.  So that's a first in our family.  Dare I say that potty training him was easy?  It was really only a few days of no pants and then he was good to go.  Although, I will say, we are still doing pull-ups for a lot of outings because, let's face it, that's so much easier than dealing with pee pants in public.
• Calls puppy chow "puppy chex mix"
• I took the boys with me to my last doctor's appointment to hear baby's heartbeat.  On the way there, we were discussing the kind of behavior we should have in the doctor's office and how to use our good manners.  I was reminding them to introduce themselves to the dr. and tell her "nice to meet you".  I said, "Do you guys remember my doctor's name?"  Silas said "Dr. Nefario."  (that would be the evil scientist in the movie Despicable Me.)  Soooooo.  Glad we got that cleared up before we arrived.

The Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have had so many people ask me for this recipe that I thought I should just post it on the blog.  You're welcome.

I know a lot of people who claim that they have THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I'm not going to make that claim.  Because these are the ACTUAL BEST chocolate chip cookies.

I take my cookies very seriously, people.  You can trust me.  It needs to be sweet but not too sweet, soft and fluffy, it needs to be heavenly.

So, here it is.  This gem comes from a cook book entitled "Hershey's Classic Recipes".

6 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla; beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually blend into butter mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips. 

Bake 9 minutes at 350 degrees.

*Ok, the directions actually say that you should bake them 8-10 minutes, but I have this down to a science, man.

Other recommendations for the ACTUAL best cookies:
1.  always, always, always use real butter.  I feel that this should be common sense, but just in case...
2.  This recipe makes a very small batch.  As in 12-18 "regular sized" cookies.  Which is totally not enough because your friends and family will devour them.  I always make at least a double batch.  (Last week I made a triple batch for Bible study and they were gone in 2 hours.  There were also lots of kids sneaking them; don't judge).
3.  make sure that your baking soda is fresh to obtain maximum fluffiness.
4.  semi-sweet chocolate chips are the key to victory.

Enjoy!!

More Things that Don't Surprise Me

The boys that games play.  They don't surprise me anymore. 

See how many potty words we can say before Mom tells us that's enough? 
     Check.
See how we can contort our faces/bodies to gross Mom out?  
     So often I'm almost not grossed out anymore. (PS - is it instinctual for boys to turn their eyelids inside out?!)
See how much food we can sneak while Mom is folding laundry/changing a diaper/trying to have a moment of silence? 
     Happens more than you'd expect.  And the answer is about half a bag of pretzels and/or half a carton of ice cream.

When I shout "disgusting!", they giggle with delight.  When I say "you guys are crazy!", they beam with pride.  This is the norm, people.

No surpises.

The games that Dad creates for/with his boys.  They don't surprise me either.

 Cleaning out the garage?  Perfect.  Let's tie one end of a bungee cord to a bike and the other end to a post.  Walk the bike back as far as you can and let yourself go flying toward the post.  Voila!  "Bungee Bike".

Another phrase that may seem disturbing to the stranger's ear:  "Dad, will you throw pillows at me?"  (Uncle Tony gets some of the credit for this game, also.). But this is a beloved family game now.  It sounds like loving, quality time, no?  And it is exactly what it sounds like.  The boys run laps around the living room while Joe throws pillows at them.

We have no hope of ever being normal, you guys.

And yet, still not surprised.  By any of it.

One more fun-filled game to share:  hide and seek...for money.
  What?  I know.  We might as well teach them how to dial 1-800-BETSOFF now.

But this is apparently a thing.

If Roman finds Joe in the first 3 minutes, Joe gives him a dollar.  And vice versa.

Weird?  Yes.  Am I surprised?  No.

And don't pretend like you don't want to play.

Pride Comes Before the Second Child

Oh, Judah.

God gave me Judah because he knew I needed a sweet, spontaneous, adorable, cuddly, funny, blue eyed boy. 

And also because he knew I needed a little help in the humility department.

Judah is unpredictable in a delightful and terrifying way. He has made me realize that I know nothing about parenting and that I don't pray nearly enough.  As I attempt to teach Judah to obey and to love God and to love others, I am the one doing the most learning.  We have had some growing pains together and I can only hope we will both be better for it. 

Along these lines, there have been a few happenings that have happened over the last few weeks that have left me a little baffled. 

I am baffled at the things that no longer bother me.  I can't say I don't care what anyone thinks (I wish!), but I can say, that I care SO MUCH LESS about what other people think than I ever have before.  This is not because of any virtue in me.  It's all because I don't so much have that option anymore  (unless I never want to leave my house again).

For example, a few weeks ago I took all three boys to Mass by myself.  Everyone was sitting so quietly and nicely and I was about to pat myself on the back for making some progress in taming the wild things.  I was sitting there soaking in the Holy Spirit and then I heard a little crinkling sound.  I turned my smiling head to look at my sweet little cherubs and then I saw it.  Judah had unwrapped a tampon and was dissecting it.  Don't worry.  We were sitting in front of another family...who happened to have a teenage boy.  I'm sure that didn't make him feel awkward at all.  I surprised myself when I felt bad for the boy but not for myself.  I just laughed, shook my head, took it away, and made a mental note to be sure he hears this story when he's scared of tampons someday.  (Right, Adam??!!)

Also, the other day in Target, Judah brought me the largest bra he could find and said loudly "You should buy this, Mom!"  Thanks.  Thanks for that.  But again, the ladies next to me were the ones that were mortified.  I just had a good laugh, asked him to put it back where he found it, and we moved on.

Oh, my Judah.  Never a dull moment.

Wants and Needs

I want to be seen.

I want to be important.

I want to be wanted.

I want to be heard.

I want to be treasured.

I want to be liked.

I want to be needed.

I want to be praised.

I want to be right.

I want to be valued.

I want to be in control.

I want to be on my A game.

I want to be neat, tidy, perfect, pretty.

I want to seem holy, patient, loving, giving.

I want people to talk about the good in me.

But it's not about me.

And it's not about what I want.

What I NEED is to see HIM.  In everyone, in every place, in every circumstance.

I need to make others feel how important they are to God.

I need to want Him above all else.  I need to want Him more than I want what he can give me.  

I need to hear, no, really LISTEN to the cries of the souls I encounter everyday.

I need to treasure His presence.

I need to like doing His will, even when it means I am not liked by those who might disagree.

I need to need Jesus...to need mercy, to need forgiveness, to need help.

I need to praise Him with every word, with every action.

I need to be right only about His goodness.

I need to value humility, service, suffering, grace.

I need to be under His control.  Every moment, every decision.

I need to recognize that failing is my chance to rely on His strength.

I need to be messy...shedding blood, sweat, and tears for the Kingdom.

I need to claim my imperfection so I can proclaim His redemption.

I need the beauty that comes from fearing The Lord.

I need to stop caring about SEEMING any particular way, and start being obedient to what He is asking me to do.  Lord, make me who you created me to be.

I DON'T need people to talk about me.

I want people to talk about HIM.

Sent from my iPad

The one I wrote a month ago.

oh, hey...

Sometimes I remember that I have a blog.

Sometimes I go to write on said blog and Blogger is being a jerk.

So then I send myself an e-mail and hope that tomorrow I still remember I have a blog.

Really, though, I miss writing.  One of these days I'm going to figure out how to make a habit of it.

August was a month of lots of visiting with family and friends.  And finally getting around to ordering homeschool materials and planning a little bit for this school year.  And then September rolled around and we actually started school.  It's going really well so far.  Except that when I start homeschooling in the fall, I kind of forget how to clean the house.  I mean, I remember that I have to spray vinegar and wipe with a rag...it's more that I forget how to make time to teach the children AND clean the house during the day.  Oh, and dinner.  People around here want to eat all the time!  (myself included).  So, I have to relearn how to make that happen while teaching and cleaning.

I really love teaching and so teaching my kids is such a joy for me (most of the time).  Let's not pretend we don't have bad days or unproductive days or days when sending them away for eight hours sounds very appealing.  But, I love getting to see the ah-ha moments, getting to hear them making connections, and getting to be present and part of their growth.  It's awesome.

Here's what my wild men have been up to:

Roman:
We have been reading The Little House on the Prairie and Roman is just so loving that.  Today he created his very own wagon using a wheelbarrow, some rope, and a lawn chair.  He made a "fire" out of branches and he really wants to build a log house.

Roman has been learning (and LOVING) Spanish and then tonight at bedtime I heard Silas in his crib reciting some of Roman's spanish vocab.  So funny to hear his sweet little voice saying "gato" and "caballo".

Roman's current wisdom:
"Sometimes it's hard to stay happy".

Preach it.

That is like the number one thing that is hard to do.

Also, today he was reading his Bible story about God creating Adam and Eve.  He looked ahead to the next page (the Fall) and said "Mom, Adam and Eve look different now".
"How do they look different?", I asked
"Well, their faces look sad now.  They just don't look the same".

I had the humbling expereince of explainging 9/11 to Roman this year.  He saw the American flag hanging over the middle of the street from one of the Fire truck ladders and asked about it.

I am of the mindset that less is more when explainging difficult/adult/tragic things to kids.  I gave a very  brief description and he asked me to tell it again.  he said he was glad he wasn't in New York City that day.  Later at dinner, out of nowhere, he said "I bet there were some babies that died in their mommies' tummies when those towers fell down".


Judah:
Judah's current favoirte things are:
-looking at food advertisements/coupons in the newspaper.  I should have known that the topic would have to be "food" to get him interested in reading.
-the Veggie Tales movie "Jonah".  He loves to draw Jonah and Kahlil.  He also did a lovely picture of Jonah IN the belly of the whale.

Judah has also taken to calling me by my first name.  Except that he can't really say it (no kids ever can) and most of the time it comes out with a little bit of a southern accent "Hey, Ruffann".  It's funny and yet annoying because, HI, I'm mom.  remember?  You came out of me.  Have a heart, kid.

When Judah sees that the sun has risen in the morning he says "Outside is up, mom!"


One morning I was kissing him and he said "No more kisses, mom.  Judah's need a break".

Silas
Silas continues to be super sweet although we are definitely 2 now and have more whining and tantrums than we used to.  His favorite thing to say to his brothers is "don't fodder me" which = don't bother me.  So funny.

He has also started meowing when he is forced to do something he doesn't want to do.  Show me that one in the parenting books.

He is a squirmy wormy during Mass right now.  Helpful (and hoarder) big brother Roman always brings him prayer cards after he comes back from children's church.  (I realy need to write an apology letter to whoever purchases those things.  We have probably stock-piled hundreds of dollars worth).  Silas was looking at one of the cards Roman brought him and Joe said "Who's that?"  Silas responded "Pope Francis".  Later in the Mass he dropped it and screamed "MY POPE!"

A word you'll often hear Silas say:  "super".  Everything is "super fun" or "super yum".

When we are driving, and we turn onto our street, he says "I found my house, mom!"

The other night, Silas had a bad dream.  At breakfast Joe was asking him what his dream was about.
Roman:  "Was it a lion?"
Silas:  "No"
Judah:  "Was it a raccoon?"
Silas:  "No.  There was a ladybug gettig my toes!"

That's all for now, folks.  En

BLOGGER finally doesn't hate me.

Ok, I promise that I tried to post about a month ago but Blogger decided that it hated me for a few days.  Just wouldn't let me type in this text box at all.  Anyway, I'll add the post that I wrote a month ago soon, but today I just have to vent.

I am not entirely sure what is happening around here, but the you-know-what has hit the fan.

Last week we learned that we have to put thousands of dollars into the house we still own in Iowa.  So, that's fun.  We have been renting it out and that's what we will continue to do this year.  But first, we will spend thousands of dollars on repairs and updates.  Which is perfect, because I always wanted to put tons of money into a house that we will never live in again.

BUT, we have the money to do it.  We have been blessed with a job that has provided the opportunity to build our savings.  We may not be using the money on what we thought we would, or what we wanted to, but we have it.  This is nothing more than grace.  There was a time when we could barely pay rent on our two bedroom apartment, when we owned one car, and used a calculator in the grocery store so as not to exceed our small budget.

A few days ago, we had to relace our septic pump.  Luckily, we got it replaced before there were any yucky ramifications, but I'll tell ya, those babies are not cheap.

Yesterday, Judah broke the windshield in our van.  With his HEAD.  I don't even know.  HOW does one accomplish that??  He was just standing in front of the front seat jumping up and down excitedly telling me something...smacked his head up into the windshield, and suddenly a snowflake appeared.  He didn't even cry so he's definitely not hurt.  But SERIOUSLY.  In all honesty, I believe there must have been a chip there to start with.

Thank you God, for giving my child a hard head.

Today Roman broke the window in his room.  With his foot.  Don't worry, he's fine.
And also, take me to therapy now.

When I called Joe this morning to tell him about the window, he said "I cannot believe this week".

How many panes of glass can be broken by a small band of brothers over the course of a few days?  I don't even want to know the answer.  Maybe I'll leave Silas in his crib this afternoon, so as to preserve all the windows that are apparently in danger.

So, in summary, everything is broken.  All the boys are miraculously uninjured.  And God always makes a way.

Just in case you were wondering what we are up to.

It's Update Time

I think it's about that time again.  Time for me to tell you about the ridiculous, hilarious, sweet, memorable moments that have happened recently in the Pometto house.  And maybe I'll tell you about some of the moments that made me want to run screaming into the woods, never to return.  We'll see.

Mr. Roman:

• Lost is front two top teeth this spring.  He looked so cute toothless and I tried to savor the days of no front teeth because his adult teeth are coming in now.  :(  ADULT teeth.  Do we have to call them that?  Let's think of different word, one that doesn't give me premature empty nest syndrome.
• Likes to listen to Adele.  Can't blame him.  His favorite is one you may have heard before "Boomah has it".  Ha!
• Roman describes his Dad as "crazy, but nice". 
• Says the most grown up things sometimes such as "Kim I'd like to introduce you to my new friend, Walker" - Walker was a boy he met at the park two minutes before he said that sentence.  What a social buterfly!  Other grown up things he has recently said:
• "I'm sorry, what was your name again?"
• When I try to get him to leave church he says "I need to talk to a couple more friends"
• The other day we were driving somewhere in the van and everyone was silent.  No, really, no one was talking, it was very strange.  So, all of the sudden Roman says "I have so many things I want to ask Grandpa David".  I smiled.  "Like what buddy?"  He answered "I just want to tell him how much I miss him".  I almost had to pull over because oh, my heart.

Judah boy:

• Recently told me he wants to be an owl when he grows up
• He is still so, very unpredictable and we are always trying to figure him out:  figure out what motivates him, figure out how to parent him, figure out how to help him communicate, figure out how to take the agression down a notch, figure out how to help him find things that he likes to do.
• Had to have his arm in a sling for a few days because he fell off the monkey bars and bruised the bone in his elbow.  He is now fully recovered and back on the monkey bars. 
• When I say "my sweet Judah" he responds:  "My sweet mama".  Heart.melting.
• We had a blues clues birthday for Judah.  This was completely Joe's (brilliant) idea.  Judah boy loves Blue's Clues and so Joe made clue cards with the paw print clues on the front - the three clues were:  candles, presents, and the number 4.  He was very excited and, after sitting in his "thinking chair", he figured it out:  we were about to have a birthday party!  I love to see the sheer delight on his face when he's excited.  So fun.
• He loves to be doing manual labor.  He does really well if you give him a "job"...recent jobs we have given him:  carrying dresser drawers from one room to the other while rearranging, carrying tree branches to the fire pit when we were trimming the trees.  I keep trying to think of more jobs that burn energy.  Ideas welcome.
• The boys are kind of into potty talk right now.  So there's that.  Judah doesn't really get it most of the time, though, which makes for some hilariousness.  Roman and his friends started in on some "pirate" potty talk the other day after church.  (I don't know...your guess is as good as mine) They were taking turns saying sentences like "pirates who wear diapers!"  followed by erruptions of laughter.  So, Judah started saying sentences with "pirates who..." and expecting laughter afterwards.  Joe and I actually do laugh pretty hard at them because, what??  My favorite "Pirates who bite their dolphins". 

Silas baby:

• started saying "I love you" spontaneously, which is always so much fun
• talks to you like you talk to him, for example, he says "Hi, sweet pea!" and "Can I hold ya?"
• Joe travels to Wisconsin Rapids fairly often for work.  Silas thinks that "Wisconsin Rapids" is "Wanna go see rabbits".
• Me:  What does a horse say?"  S:  "Yee Haw!"
• If he can't open something he says "it's too heavy"
• We have been at the zoo a couple of times this spring.  One day, leaving the zoo, Joe asked Roman what his favorite animal was.  A few minutes later Silas asks "What's your favorite animal dad?"  Joe answers and then Joe says "What was your favorite animal, Si?"  Silas said "I saw the moose!"  And then we laughed and laughed because there is definitely no moose at our zoo.  Also, when you ask him about the zoo he will say "I played with the lions!  I played with the monkeys!"
• Tries to say "granola bar"...it comes out "gween-a-willa-baller". 
• Saw a Thor action figure and said "that's a mean Jesus"  HA!!
• tries to say "pistachio" comes out "mestashew"
• Joe is very protective of Silas.  Silas is the sweetest kid ever and so it's hard not to be.  At the park one day some kid pushed Silas and Silas cried.  We actually had to LEAVE the park because JOE was so mad. 

Charlie:
is finally getting past the puppy chewing stage, which is a huge relief.  He continues to be great with the boys but also continues to not realize how big he is sometimes...so occasionally Silas gets knocked over in the excitement.  :(
We have a lot of nicknames for Char:
Char-chee
Char Char
Char Char Binks
Charwee
Charles

I also just have to say that we love Wisconsin.  We love this community.  It's amazing to see the way God has moved in this place in the past year.  There has been plenty of sorrow, but the way this community continues to lift high the name of Christ, continues to share the Gospel, continues to serve is so beautiful.

I am happy to say that we have made so many great friends here.  You guys, I have found my people.  The ones who, at the park, watch your child drench himself in the water fountain, take off all of his clothes and run laughing to the climbing wall....and these friends...they laugh and say "at least he left his underwear on". 

God bless them.