holy smokes you guys,

Tomorrow I'm going to look like the photo below all day. It is 2 a.m. and I'm like a little energizer bunny right now! It's really annoying but I thought I'd take advantage of the quiet to write a few things down and post a few pictures for my mum. Hi mom!













Roman has been quite hilarious lately. He is getting so crazy sassy we are finally having to crack down on him. Its sad how often he slaps his brothers in the face. But kind of funny. But sad. You can see why I've been hesitant to crack down on the hitting and whatnot... secretly I think it's really hilarious to see this little tiny person test all the boundaries he can, but sadly his brothers do not find it quite as funny, so we are working on putting a stop to it. For now he mostly still hits but follows up with a sweet "I'm sorry" and a hug and kiss.

He will only go to sleep if we put him in bed "like an excavator," complete with beeping and crashing sounds. And then blanket, and then bunny, and then silky must all have the same treatment. It's very endearing and makes him so happy to sleep.

Also, he is obsessed with basketball. He plays several times a day, even all by himself. Sometimes he'll just wander out back and start shooting hoops all alone. Ben, as you can imagine if you know him well, is thrilled beyond belief. Keep playing baby! Too bad he'll only be 4 feet 2 inches tall as an adult.

Banks is still as skinny as ever. He is seriously skin. and. bones. It's wild. But he's full of energy and happy to have his best buddy benson at home to play all summer. He is a swimming machine, totally fearless and at ease in the water. It's a total change from last year but very welcome.

Benson is a getting to be gigantic and super smart. He finally can ride a bike, and loves it, of course. Though we've been telling him for years he would love it, he always insisted it was dumb and not worth learning. Ah, we have such ammunition now! It's great to win a few battles like this as a parent, as this serves as a shining example of how smart we still are, and how he should trust us when we assure him he will like something. He has suddenly become very bold in his food tasting, and recently tried (and loved) sushi. I am, obviously, thrilled to have a sushi buddy! Yahoo!

Ben and I are great. Ben is taking his test in just a couple of weeks. He will do well, and is very excited to be done with studying for a while. I have just one burning question in my otherwise very happy life:

Whyyyyy do people wax poetic about hanging their sheets/towels/laundry on the line to dry? What is this "Sun" smell they speak of? Does their laundry not smell like dirt, like mine always does, and -worser still- feel like sandpaper against their skin? I don't get it. Tell me your secrets people. I am even opening up comments if you'd like to throw in your two cents. I really am dying to know!

Well this is stupidly long, and bravo if you made it this far. I am going to attempt sleeping again now. Wish me luck.