Life with a collector

A year and a half ago, I told this story about Kendra and her collections.

She is still very much into collecting things and amassing her collections around the house.  And every day I still find them all over the place.  She's pretty good about going through the house with me and picking up at the end of the day, but sometimes we rush to bed or sometimes I don't see them all before she gets tucked in so I pick some up myself.  Though often enough I find them in a very unexpected place and at a very unexpected time.

I can't tell you how many times I've pulled back my covers on my bed and found something similar to this:

My theory is that she likes to play on my bed because Elliot doesn't particularly like to play there and Paxton is still too short to clamber up there.

I further theorize that things end up under the blankets covered when Elliot does join her and she doesn't want him to take her toys away.

I am especially inclined to apply that latter theory to this specific photographed example.

That particular collection of dinosaurs belongs to Elliot, but Kendra was the one playing with them.

Making requests

When Kendra was Elliot's age, she had a very adorable and rather unique way of making requests.

Elliot has developed his own difficult-to-record and very adorable way of asking for things.

He approaches me, usually quite abruptly, with his request.  Though since some of his words sound awfully similar to others he uses, I repeat it back to him most of the time to make sure we're on the same page.  But then when I confirm it, he just casually replies, "Okay," as if I had made a suggestion and whatever, it sounds alright to him.  And he walks to where ever the thing he's asking for his located because he might as well entertain my suggestion out of politeness.

It goes a little something like this.

He runs to me, "Mommy!  Milk?"

"Oh, sure, honey.  You want some milk?"

He starts to walk to the fridge, where he knows the milk, "Okay."

And often a second time, in a quieter voice, "Okay."

Bath time with Paxton

Paxton is by far the most-oft bathed of our children so far...it's a natural byproduct of being the 3rd child and having 2 older siblings who need to be bathed far more often than infants do, but as long as the others are in there, heck, might as well toss in the baby.

Once he learned to crawl, he began making a beeline for the tub as soon as he heard the water running (I start with the others and then bring him in to quickly bathe him while they play).  That was a surprise!  One day I looked down and saw this:

Just chillin'.  Waiting patiently for his turn to get in with his big sister and brother.  Y'know, whenever I get around to it.

And such it was every bath night.  But all too soon after he started crawling, he started pulling himself up as well (seriously, like within 10 days at the most) and then this was the scene I beheld.

Kendra and Elliot are both pretty good with him...most of the time.  Sometimes excessive splashing occurs, but Paxton bears it, like everything else, pretty well.

Fun in the tub!

My blue-eyed babies

It was a very good Mother's Day--I am so very blessed to have so much to celebrate on that day.  When we got back from church, Elliot immediately went down for a nap as per his usual routine, but we snapped a couple of shots with the other two to commemorate just how loved I felt.

At first, Paxton was not impressed.

But he changed his mind...

Fun in threes

I love Paxton's face here, like he knows something we don't...

And I love hanging out with these guys.

Out and about

This Spring we made it to the Parks fairly regularly...though since Monsoon Season started, there haven't been many days when the weather and I have been cooperative at the same time for such and outing for a while.

Kendra and Elliot just go to town.

Meanwhile, Paxton chills out with me on our trusty "picnic blanket".

Sometimes he is not impressed.

But other times he gives his scrunchy-faced seal of approval on the outing.

And Kendra's officially gotten big enough to help with stroller-pushing activities.

We explored one I'd heard about out by the airport one sunny Saturday as well.

 

We made some friends from Japan at the library and had a few dates with them before they moved back home, too.

We hit another park a couple of times...

We do miss our friends!

Then there was one sunny afternoon we didn't have anywhere to go, so we called up Daddy and had him meet us at the Abboretum across the street from the business school where he works.

We've been meaning to go since we moved here and it was just lovely.

And while we had the all of us out there with the camera...

But we did get a money shot.  :)

It is fun to get out and about!

Everybody playin' around...

We all certainly have ourselves some fun around here.

Whether we're trying out the new tablecloth I got to be blanket for the park...

...or just entertaining the baby...

...one way or another...

...or trying on a pair of bunny ears...

...or Daddy's headphones...

...or Mommy's sunglasses...

...or even Daddy's eyeglasses...

...making the box from the latest shipment of diapers our new clubhouse...

...or playing with the reflective material we put up in the windows...

...or enjoying a tasty treat...

...or giving the infant carrier yet another whirl...

...or finding a new toy that's also part of your body...

...or figuring out how to get up on all fours...

...or just layin' around.

Thirties, shmirties--this is definitely the prime of life.  So far.