Random May pictures

Mother's Day with my three boys. Notice the ties. Their choice, every week for church. :)

Field trip to Wedel's Garden Center with Jojo's preschool class. They each got to plant a flower.

First family bike trip. Ben rides in the chariot behind me; Jojo rides on Corey's tagalong bike behind Ed, and TJ rides his own bike.

Taking photos while biking...the three big guys in front of me.

Jojo's end of the year preschool picnic. It was unseasonably cold for mid May--we were all freezing!

Thank you for a fun year, Mrs. Modderman!

Thank you, Mrs. Gavan, for a great year!

Canoeing in the pond behind Nancy's house (in her canoe).

Ben trying to golf with Miss Nancy.

TJ's kindergarten field trip to the zoo--another unseasonably cold May day, but at least it was sunny! We had a great time.

Kalamazoo Half Marathon

Kathy and I signed up for the Kalamazoo Half Marathon. We both started training less than 12 weeks beforehand, so our goal was not to die. :) 

Us before the race

Ed and the bigger boys came to cheer us on. 

While Ed and the boys were standing near the finish line, the lady next to them suggested that Ed send TJ over the fence to finish the race with me. The Kalamazoo Gazette got this great shot at the finish. A great picture and a great memory!

Our post-race photo. I finished in 2 hours 17 minutes. I was pretty happy with that and still felt good at the end of the race. 

My cheering squad. They carried the Packer flag around to make it easy for me to find them.

The Friday before the race, there was a kids' fun run (1 mile). TJ had a Little League game, so I took Jojo and Ben. These next two photos would make you think that Jojo loved the race; that couldn't be further from the truth. He sobbed through most of it and begged me to carry him. I have no idea how I ended up with a picture where he's smiling!

All smiles now because it's over! He was thrilled to get a medal.

Little League for TJ

This year, Thomas moved up from t-ball to machine-pitch Little League, and Ed coached his team. He did really well and was very into every aspect of the game, as you'll see in the pictures. We struggled a bit with his frustration when he didn't get on base but otherwise played hard. His team was the Green Goblins.

Playing second base

Directing the pitcher where to throw the ball

Celebrating an out. I love this picture! Apparently he gets his competitive nature from his parents.

In the hole

 On the ground after fielding a ball and throwing it to first

At bat

Catching. All of the kids are supposed to try catching, and most don't care for it because they don't like getting hit by pitches. TJ did pretty well and seemed to like it unless he got hit by a pitch. The kids all have trouble keeping their throwing hand behind their back, so they frequently get hit in the hand.

Random April pics

I like to draw mustaches on the boys for April Fool's Day. This year, Jojo thought it was hilarious. (isn't his cute?!)

Thomas was NOT amused at all when he woke up and saw it.

Look how helpful Jojo is! (And how much Ben is enjoying the yogurt!)

This is a great activity to keep these two occupied while I make dinner.

We have a lot of pancake Saturdays at our house!

...with bacon

Even Ben gets some. Don't you love his hair?

Waiting for TJ at the bus stop...

It finally got warmer and Ben's little toes were introduced to grass.

This hat was Jojo's. I absolutely love it.

I think he likes the sunshine.

Escaping!

TJ had an art fair at school. He knew exactly what he wanted to paint for it. We bought canvases and I pulled out my box of craft paint. Thomas wanted to do his painting using the pointillism method. I was glad I had bought smallish canvases! He did move on to other techniques part way through, thank goodness, or we wouldn't have finished before the deadline!

Art studio in session:

Here's TJ's finished painting. He did a great job and the ideas were all his. The title is: "The Day and Night Skys Mixed" and subtitled: sun vs. moon (shown in drawings rather than words), blue vs. black, pointillism vs. spread, Seurat vs. not Seurat

Jojo wanted to do a painting too. He drew his inspiration from TJ. 

Ben: 8 months

Look at this little (getting) chunky monkey! We love his fluffy hair. 

 He has started crawling, and has two teeth. He stands holding onto things all the time, and frequently tips the over on himself. He's finally (mostly) sleeping through the night again after a winter-long hiatus.

Jojo wanted in on the photo taking. Isn't this a cute shot?

Balancing with Daddy

Momma is still your favorite person. Look at the love...

Spring break in Milwaukee

After church on Easter Sunday the boys and I headed to Milwaukee with Grammy and Buppa. Ed had to work the night shift, and it was easier for us to be somewhere besides home, plus it was TJ's spring break. 

It may have been April, but the weather wasn't warm yet! 

We headed to the park to enjoy the sunshine. Probably Ben's first time in an outdoor swing.

Brothers swinging in the baby swings

These two wanted to sleep together. :)

We went to a Brewer game at Miller Park. Thank goodness for the roof--much warmer (and drier) inside than outside! The boys all have their new (Easter basket) Brewer gear on.

Jojo enjoying his hot dog.

Ben's first baseball game. He pretty much snacked his way through the game.

 Using pillows to protect Ben from the hearth. Of course he had to practice standing there!

We had a fun few days with Grammy and Buppa!

The Challenge of 2015: Containing Ben

Before Ben arrived (and started to get mobile), we were spoiled by our ability to let the boys play while we got things done (such as yardwork). Now, with a mobile 8-month old, there is a need for a much higher level of supervision. In an attempt to keep our productivity high with plenty of spring clean-up to do, I tried containing Ben in our plastic kiddie pool. Did it work? See the evidence below:

Yes!

Mmm....mulch snack!

He's escaping!

More out than in...

Face plant!

And he's out!

So, yardwork isn't going to happen this year.