We're All Growing Up

Yesterday was an interesting day of accomplishments.

In the morning, Phil competed in his first triathlon. It was a 1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike course, and 2 mile run. It was a long road to get there which included 4:30 am wake up calls for training (plus an unfortunate run-in with a skunk) - but he did it and he's awesome.

Dean took his first steps. We were just hanging out in the kitchen, and he walked clear into the other room. Just like that.

The older boys finished their latest chore charts. Weeks of scrubbing the walls, cleaning the toilets, sweeping the porch, etc. finally produced a Lego set for Ry and Pillow Pet for Cole. Score.

Charlie cleared his own plate after lunch without being asked. He just said, "Excuse me from the table please" and grabbed the plate, put it in the sink, and went on his merry way. Huh?

I actually feel like we're getting somewhere. Like I can breathe again. Like we can start to have our own interests and watch the kids grow into themselves too.

Of course, as I write this Camelot-esque tale I'm covered in spaghetti sauce from dinner, the toy room looks like it exploded and I have about 972 emails to answer before tomorrow. But for now I choose to bask in our victories - both big and small.

As the sticker on the back of our car says...Life Is Good.

Catching Up On Pics: Dean

Dean graduated from scooting to sprinting in what seemed like seconds. Granted, he's crawl-sprinting, but on the move nonetheless.

He can pull himself up to standing position and also excels at laughing, clapping, smiling, blowing raspberries, and teething.

Love You-Ou

Our fantastic friends came down from upstate New York for a weekend of fun. Friday night we walked into town for pizza and the boys talked us into shoulder rides. Luckily there was a nice flowery backdrop to take my mind off the sharp pains shooting down my shoulders.

We came home for a group bath. No words needed, just take it all in.

The next morning was Cole's first day of T-Ball. The kid's got a great arm, unfortunately he sometimes wears his glove on the wrong hand. Give him time.

While Phil took Cole to his game, the rest of the gang went to the library. Jim found this puppet and chaos ensued.

Last stop on our adventure was The Please Touch Museum. By this time, Graham had totally gotten the hang of the Kerper boys and dove right in.

Charlie stopped to take in the sights...

...and we found this adorable little baby in the faux Children's Hospital.

Everyone passed out on the ride home - three cheers for a job well done. We miss our buds already.

Rolling With The Punches

Dean has been a bit slower to hit some of his baby milestones (i.e. sitting up, crawling, etc.) There's a perfectly logical explanation for this - we can't ever put him down on the floor. This video will give you an idea why.

Baby Steps

This has been a week of many firsts...seems like everyone decided to grow up all at once.

Ryan has declared that he's totally over the training wheels on his bike and is learning to ride a two wheeler. A few more pushes down the alley and I think he'll be crusing into the sunset.

Cole is FINALLY toilet trained I can officially say that I only have 2 kids in diapers. For that my wallet and my sanity are both thankful.

Charlie is walking! It's that cute Frankenstein hobble and it sort of happened overnight. As one of his teachers said, "I went away for a week and came back to a whole new Cha!"

And last but not least, Dean is starting to hit us with the rare but adorable half-smile. It may not take as much work as toddling across the room, but it's a cute stage just the same.

Of course I probably completely jinxed myself by writing this down. If by next week Ry is back on 4 wheels, Cole is in diapers, Charlie is crawling and Dean is frowning...send help.