I like to call this series

“Trailing clouds of tissue”

(Apologies to William Wordsworth…)

Someone, and I am not going to mention any names here, discovered the toilet paper while Mama was in the shower.

Simeon turned 4!

I’m way behind.  Not just here, but many, many places in my life.  Moving might have something to do with this.  But it also might just be that I don’t do enough around here.

So I didn’t get a post up on Sim’s birthday, but I want you to know:  He’s 4!  How on earth…?

Four years ago.

On his birthday.  This year, he wanted a dirt cake.  And he wanted gummy worms.  And he wanted to help.  That’s why he’s got the chocolate all over his face.

He also helped clean up before his birthday gathering.

It was a fairly small one – only three families.  It was tons of fun, though, and we were out on the deck and in the backyard until dark – as you can see.  Luckily we have spotlights out there!

Boy appropriate gifts!  A nerf gun!  Rules:  No shooting people.  No shooting in the house.  Time on the first day of ownership from wakeup until breaking both rules at once by shooting Dad in the house:  1.5 hours.  That’s pretty good!  Since then, he’s been much more careful.

Four!

Overheard

I just found this, and it’s from a long time ago – when we only had two kids – but it was funny, and I thought I’d share it.

Naomi, while paging through the guide to wild birds: “CHICKEN!”

Hannah: “That’s not a chicken, Mimi.”

N, turning the page: “CHICKEN!”

H: “That’s not a chicken, Mimi.”

N, turning another page: “CHICKEN!”

I have to admit, I’d be surprised if chickens were classified as wild birds. Even in Washington.

Sweet baby

Clean as a …

Yesterday I helped Hannah clean her room, which was in some need of it.  She wasn’t really convinced, but was happy with the results when we were done. At dinner, I encouraged her to tell Monica about her room. 

Hannah said, “It’s as clean as a den of thieves!”

Confused, I looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“… clean thieves,” she finished.

Freedom for Sim!

Sim is riding a bike with pedals! This is very exciting! The glider has already moved on to another child who needs to practice before getting pedals. It took Sim two tries to ride the bike after using the glider for about six months. I’ve mentioned before how well the glider-to-bike experience has worked for our family. I highly recommend it!

Now he just needs a little more practice in our driveway and alley before we hit the road for our morning bike rides again.  This morning we were doing figure eights and weaving, and he did really well. 

Unlike Naomi, Simeon never did use the hand brake on the glider much.  He would use his feet on the ground to slow down when going downhill, Flintstones-style.  This means that the transition to pedal braking isn’t as big a deal.  The big deal is that Sim will often just forget to pay attention to where he’s riding.  Yeah, we’ll have to work on that one, since riding out into the street isn’t such a good idea. 

In case you’re wondering, the locksmith who was here yesterday had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bike when he learned to ride. I think that means he’s the age of my little brother. Who should probably be called my younger brother, since he’s not really littler than me anymore. I ask you, though, if you don’t have kids around to start conversations, HOW will you ever learn these things about the people who come to work on your house? 

(Oh, and if you think we ONLY learn about TMNT bikes from those who come to work on our house, rest assured that we often learn VERY EDUCATIONAL things.  Some of which we never wanted to know.  For instance, Mr. Brett told us that roof rats almost never touch the ground.  They live in trees and on roofs, you know.  Blech.)

The look of glee on Sim’s face as he pedals his bike around is so sweet.  I will have to try to get a photo of it sometime soon. 

This and that

We are becoming good friends with Mr. Brett, the pest guy.  I think he might prefer “exterminator,” but pest guy is probably better than rat guy or wasp guy.  Mr. Brett is great, luckily, since we seem to be seeing him regularly.  He enjoys having the kids tag along after him, asking him questions, like why is he using chocolate pie in the traps this time instead of peanut butter.  Well, it’s because he remembered the last time he came (to the rental house, before the new renters moved in), Hannah told him she was allergic to peanut butter, which he used to bait the traps there. 

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Naomi has taught herself to do cartwheels.  It’s pretty cute.  Hannah now wants to teach herself to do cartwheels because she feels like she should be able to if her little sister does.  I’m not sure that follows, but she’s practicing, which is fine.

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Today was DENTIST DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Our kids LOVE THE DENTIST!!!!!!!!!!!!  Which is just as well.  The older three all got their teeth cleaned at the same time, lined up in the little chairs.  They were all well-behaved and followed instructions.  They are all in the no cavity club, too.  Just to tell you how much they love the dentist, Simeon woke me up at 7 a.m. to ask if it was time to leave yet, and Hannah was worried we’d be late because we left five minutes later than the earliest time in the time frame I gave her (a 15-minute window) for when we should leave.  However, since we were 19 minutes early for their appointment, Hannah was able to forgive me. 

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We picked blackberries today.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day!  Simeon had none in his colander and I put some in, telling him he could eat some, but not all.  Does it count as not eating them all if they’re all gone, but because you fed two or three to your baby sister?  I don’t know.  No jam from this trip out.  Ah, well, we got to enjoy the sweet taste of summertime today, at least.