a boys brain...

works MUCH differently than mine. it seemed perfectly normal to sean to eat a bowl of chili and half of a grapefruit all WHILE sawing a piece of wood. at least he remembered to wear his safety gear!

keep on dancing!

we said goodbye yesterday to hatch dance company. they are closing and sean, lila, anna, and mia were lucky enough to dance in their last performance. hatch opened our eyes to a new thought on dancing. there were very few routines and the kids were allowed to dance as the music moved them. it is very cool to watch. they LOVED it!! modern dance is so cool.

warming up...

feeling out the stage...
getting a little confident with the help of mia!







they each had their own spots. so cute.








and they danced................
sean waited patiently for his turn and debut as the a sea green monster. none of us knew that sean would enjoy dancing as much as he did. it was so energetic and fast moving however, right up sean's alley. he would become so absorbed in his performance that he was often the last to leave the stage. i am so glad i gave him the chance.

the final dance...even miss germaine danced!

well done guys!!!!!

spaghetti and ice cream

keeping up with the "firsts" theme, i couldn't pass this one up. ben is the messiest eater but he gets better every day. first spaghetti and first ice cream cones are priceless. he has caught on and now just hearing mister softee makes him crazy. he waits in line with the kids and holds his hand out until he gets a cone. and he can eat the whole thing...

joy!!!!

thank goodness jason is so patient and let ben have his moment.


ben follows the tradition of thompson ice cream addicts...
and yet another great ben video. i think he is so funny!!

a great visit

we finally made it to cape may to visit "grandmom and pop pop down the shore." ben hated the car too much last year so we didn't get a chance. what a great weekend! (and ben was so great in the car...yeah!) it is such a peaceful place and we all loved being together. sean and lila told us about a million times that they wished we lived there. i agree- i haven't felt that good in a long time.

here's ben getting a lot of love from grandmom...

we also got to hang out with nana beth and pop pop henry which is always a great time. we had some great meals by the water, some visits to the boat of course and the promenade. thank goodness for pop pops who love to treat at the arcades!!!

lila just couldn't believe how many tickets she won!!!!!


we also had a great day on the bay beach. it's the same spot jason visited as a kid and the first beach for sean and lila as well. i found great joy in watching ben see this beach for the first time. last summer he was so young, but this year he took it all in...feeling the sand for the first time...

seeing the water...
doing what his big brother and sister are doing, but not quite sure why. he's a fast learner...

here are some video clips of ben in the sand and jumping waves for the first time. there is just something great about watching someone experience something for the first time. the excitement of something new and wonderful. i'll never forget it.

our "to do" list (according to sean)

1. go to the park and ride bikes.
2. go to dance class.
3. see anna and mia.
4. eat brownies.
5. have dad stop by from work.
6. snuggle with mom.
7. play barbies vs. pirates.

we were able to accomplish all but the last. not too bad!

tonight's the night

as we were getting ready for bed tonight, i noticed that lila seemed a little stressed. she could not find the right nightgown (which happens nightly, yet tonight seemed different).she was upset that she owned three mermaid nightgowns and all three were missing. any one would do but the white one was the one she really wanted. somehow i turned around and there it was. "thank you so much" she said "because tonight is the night". "the night?" i asked and she said "yes, the night the mermaids come out. they come out of the water tonight and go onto the beaches. they do this only once a week on mother's day . (one of my favorite things about lila is how unconnected to reality and time she is ). they get feet and they party. they party for the mothers and they party the same way we do for our mothers. that is why i needed this nightgown. tonight's the night." then as we all snuggled in bed, which is rare since ben's arrival, i had a few minutes after laying him down to really cuddle with her. she was so happy. she whispered in my ear that maybe in the middle of the night, if we woke up, we could sneak out of bed and see the magic. see the mermaids coming out of the ocean and see their mother's day party. she reminded me though that if we didn't it would be ok beacuse they party exactly as we do. i could feel the excitement in her voice and we took some time to lay and think about it. all curled up in the quiet of our bed.

out with the old

since water, bugs, and old wood don't make for a sturdy porch, we decided that it had to come down. and down it came!


the fate of our porch is unknown at this moment but i am starting to get used to all of the sunlight that we now get coming in the windows. hopefully, with the the porch gone we can say farewell to the carpenter ants as well. good riddance!