First time in the corner

Sabrina spent some time in the corner tonight. It was her first time.

Early Morning

This photo is from an early morning at the Howard Home. The sky was
radiant that morning and I'm sure the photo below doesn't do it
justice.

Family photo

This photo was taken last night shortly before the kids were in bed.

Family birthday

Today, August 30th, is the official Adam and Annette wedding anniversary. So, we celebrated the birthday of our family tonight with a special dinner. We had a lovely evening where everyone came to the table dressed in nice clothing and using their best manners. It was pretty amazing how well the kids responded to the formality of everything.

On a related note, at one point Annette got up and started gathering plates and spoons for the dessert. Here's a conversation we think you'll enjoy:

Christopher: Mama - Why are you getting out those spoons?
Mama: Because I like to eat my cake with a spoon.
Christopher: I like to eat my cake with ice cream.

Early Morning Magic

Waking up to a foggy day feels a little magical... especially as school is starting and that 'fall feeling' is creeping in. This magical morning was full of surprises as the fog outlined a perfectly crafted spider's web. What fun to discover.

Little Man in Uniform

In trying to process our eldest making his way into 'formal schooling' both of us have been affected by different elements. For me, it is unbelievable to see the transformation from baby to big kid that seemed to take place as soon as he put on the uniform! We're so proud of our baby...er, little man!

Cool photo

Adam here ... I snapped this image of Clara while we were at the hospital when Molly was born. If you haven't seen Clara recently, she's had much of her hair chopped off. Its cooler and much easier to wash - though she still isn't very cooperative. Anyway, I found this when I was looking for another image and wanted to share it with you. Christopher is with her as she's pointing to something outside the hospital window.

Molly Playing

Hard to believe she's big enough to be playing already, but Molly has taken to batting at her jungle animals very well... always with a little help from her friends!

There's No Place Like Home

Backyard Discovery

You never know what you will find when you step out the back door with two curious preschoolers. On this particular day, we found ourselves eye to eye with a praying mantis! Every day is an adventure.

Camp Out!

We didn't have any smore's last night but we did read Jack and Annie
books by flashlight. Clara, Christopher and Papa slept out on an air
mattress on the back patio. We watched clouds come and go and woke up
to a rabbit munching on some grub about 20 feet away.

The photo below was taken on Sunday morning. Sabrina inspects the
book collection while Christopher protests the sun from underneath his
blanket. Clara, who was up at 5:30 am at least, is getting herself
dressed.

Baptism

Welcome Molly Elizabeth to the family of God!

New Tricks

It's been nearly 7 weeks since Miss Molly joined our ranks and she is surely getting bigger (we hate to say growing up) every day. She's learned some new tricks in the past 2-3 weeks that we had yet to share... so here is Molly Beth - smiling.

Special breakfast for a special day

Christopher woke up early this morning since today is the day for his
birthday party. He told me since today was a special day he should
have a special breakfast.

I brought him with me to 8 am mass but not without a quick stop at
McDonalds first.

This photo was snapped in the church parking lot.

(If you look closely his shoes are on the wrong feet.)

Editors note: Annette went to 4:30 pm mass last night.

Nap Time Math

Here's an example of nap time math

1 napping mama
1 five year old boy
1 three year old accomplice
+ 1 can of shaving cream
------------------------------
one heck of a mess

Ambitious

This is a picture of an ambitious woman. And her mother.

Cuts

Christopher getting his quarterly haircut from Mama.

Molly

Here's just a sneak peek at Molly's first portrait session. Hopefully those birth announcements will finish themselves soon!

New Do

Here's what happens to a little girl with red hair when an aunt comes over to play... too cute!

Butterflies for Father's Day

We took the chance to do something unusual for Father's Day by visiting the Krohn Conservatory for the tail end of the annual butterfly exhibit. The kids got up close and personal with all kinds of beautifully colored, winged friends. We were surprised there were so many left at the end of the exhibit, but they did not disappoint. We especially liked the big bright blue ones that liked to chase each other... no pics of those though, they were too fast!