Happy 4th birthday, K.!

Today was K.'s birthday and quite a day he had. We started off with a little paper mache. Having finished the Civil War, we are moving onto a unit on geography, using a resource that ties art lessons into the study of the different continents. Yesterday we talked about positive and negative space and did chalk drawings of the earth and today we started making paper mache globes. I've never thought that paper mache was rocket science, but judging from our efforts today, I guess it's trickier than I originally thought. But K. was happy because it was something he could join in on, even if it meant having to change his clothes because of the messiness of the project. I am amused that the ingredients for the paper mache paste are nearly exactly the same as for hard tack.

Following lunch, because it was such a nice day and because most of our usual weekly commitments were cancelled due to Holy Week, we headed out to the zoo. It turns out I was not the only one with this fantastic idea because the zoo was incredibly crowded. One would have thought it was a weekend in the summer based on the crowds. The zoo evidently wasn't exactly prepared for the weather or the crowds either, since the drinking fountains still hadn't been turned on and concession stands were running out of bottled water. After I finally tracked down some water for my thirsty hoards and nursed a couple of babies, we decided to head to the far, far end of the zoo which houses the farm, thinking less people would end up there. It turned out to be a good idea. We saw two 8 month old pigs which were enormous and everyone was very amused that they were younger than G. and L. We also got to see the cows being fed. Now, you have to understand, that Holstein cows are TM's absolutely favorite animal in the world and he was very excited to get to watch them eat. His only disappointment was that he couldn't pet one of them. The keeper mentioned that the cows eat all the time and act as if no one ever feeds them. I almost said that as a lactating mammal myself, I could completely understand the need to eat all the time. If I was producing a gallon of milk a day I would be starving, too. But since the keeper was actually having a conversation with someone else, it seemed as though it would be an odd thing to jump in and say.

Here is the crew watching the cows:

D., TM, A., and P.

G.

K.

This evening we celebrated K.'s birthday. It has been so fun to prepare for his birthday this year because he understood what was happening and could talk about it. All week he has been talking about how his birthday was coming to his house. And being a cake man, I made him a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting, covered in coconut. (It's like a giant Host*ss snowball.) It took a little effort for him to blow out all four candles, but he did it. (Last year, I think J. or I ended up blowing them out for him.)

Then it was time for presents. Here are some of the onlookers:



A. made K. a cape and mask (he loves Superman) with 'SK' sewn on the back to stand for 'Super K---'. Since K. also loves dogs, she chose one of her stuffed animals to give as well and made the stuffed dog a mask and cape to match. I think K. liked them:

But what K. loves most in the world are trucks; especially trucks that can carry other cars. He already owns a transporter truck, but Grammy and Grandpa sent a tow truck and a shiny red race car for the tow truck to pull. With that gift, K. acted as though his life was complete; he needed nothing else. I'm not sure, but he may have taken them to bed with him.

K. has been home almost two years and we are astounded at his progress. When we brought him home, he could fit into some 9 month clothes (the size the babies have just outgrown)...now he wears a 3T. He is still a small boy, but is continuing to grow, eat better, and build muscle. Pedalling a tricycle, hanging from a chin-up bar, playing Lollipops (it's what he calls Candyland and we all like the name better), and telling us how old he is are some of his more recent accomplishments. And he uses sentences! Real, multiple word sentences about abstract ideas. For a little boy, who less than two years ago didn't even babble, to be able to tell me, "This truck is cool!" after opening his tow trucks is a huge deal. It almost makes me want to cry whenever I think about it. When compared to a newly four year old with a stable background, K. is still obviously catching up, and I sometimes mourn what he has missed. But I also rejoice over all the progress he's made and look forward to seeing what he does in the next year. K. is such a loving and funny little boy; we are so blessed and thankful to be his parents.

And lastly, we have been hearing some grumbling that there have not been enough pictures of the babies recently. So, for those of you feeling a bit in withdrawal, here you go:

L, making one of her silly faces

G., who is looking a little tired after all the festivities

And, because they are now mobile, this is what I get to see all the time. Two cute babies, who like to scooch close to me whenever they see me.