Forgot to publish this one!

1st day of kindergarten at Woodlawn!

Green shirt and shoes, of course! And guess who learned to tie his sneakers? 

What's school?

My big guy, ready to go!

Fran's ready, too!

Don't be fooled; she cried all day. "I want my brother!"

Even though we dropped Henry off at school on the first day, we waited to meet his bus driver at the end of the driveway. 

Best part of living out in the country? Bus pick-up at 7 am. Okay, so not the best part.

Henry was one of the first kids in his classroom. He easily found his spot at the yellow table.

Check out the iPad. There are enough for each kid in his class to use one. 

Henry said he had a great first day of school. He likes his teacher and he's making some new friends. So far he's eating the school lunch without much complaint. And mommy only cried for the first 2 days of school!

School starts tomorrow!

Me: Are you dancing?

Henry: Yes.

Me: Why?

Henry: Because I have music in my head! That's why I am dancing! 

Fran has several favorite expressions:

But I want to!

Help me, mommy!

Bess you, daddy!

Baby Ted mad!

More milp! (milk)

I got it! (a classic, really)

Nope, not crawling yet. 

Frannie has also turned out to be a big helper in the garden--she can pick out a ripe tomato as well as anyone. If we are picking cherry tomatoes she will require acknowledgment of every single one before it can go in the bag, though.

Ted, 7 months, Henry, 5-and-a-half, Frances 2 (and every bit of it!)

Ted!

Seven months old now.
Eating some solid food.
Too top heavy to sit up unassisted for very long. (Hello Daddy's noggin!)
Still the happiest baby on the block!

Henry didn't want you to think he was forgotten.

Daddy's new tractor? Approved.

This may be the only time he gets this close (at least for a very long time).
Daddy doesn't like to share.

In March we traveled to St. Louis for Mr. John's wedding. Henry was so psyched to be invited.

Such a handsome boy!

And a cheeseball!

As you can see by the wet hair, he worked up a good sweat dancing at the reception.

He would dance for a while, sit back down to have a drink of water, and then head back to the dance floor. The DJ even played his favorite song, Dynamite. Henry was almost too tired to make it through, but he had an awesome time.

Mere made a bow tie for Henry to match everyone's outfits for Easter Sunday.

 Frannie does love her big brother.

Enjoying some strawberry shortcake we made from scratch.

What's Fran up to these days?

She is becoming such a big girl. Almost always playful, and so smart and mischievous. She talks and sings non-stop. She has learned how to screech loud enough to hurt everyone's ears, but if you trick her into singing sometimes she'll forget what she's doing.

 Usually she's not so serious.

 This girl loves her bath time.

Once upon a time she was the well-behaved child in church. Not so much now.

Mere made her a beautiful dress for Easter (it matches the other kids' outfits). 

Both of these kids love to pose for photos. I'm not sure how I ended up with such photogenic children. 

She has graduated to the big girl swing, but only on her tummy. Henry has been her coach, teaching her everything he knows about the finer aspects of belly-swinging.

 Henry had to show off his birthday hat even though it was Fran's big day. Frannie does love to get Henry's attention, and she will grab things away from him to make him yell and cry. He hasn't managed to catch on consistently, but if he just rides it out she will settle down and give his toy back. She really loves her brother's attention!

Frances LOVES fresh peas from the garden. She's graduated from eating the ones I shell for her to sneaking inside and breaking into them all on her own before I even finish working outside. I can't say I blame her. If you've never eaten just-picked peas right from a garden, you are missing out on one of the true joys in life.

He IS the third child,

therefore, we must completely neglect photo opportunities. Or at least posting them regularly. Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?

 Here's Ted at about 2 weeks old.

First bath--little man did not have a fun time.

Ted's Christening--Dad got to show him off to the church.

Here we are with Doodah, Mere, Aunt 'Rie, and Parain Michael.

And the Chathams: Uncle Tim, Grandmom, Cousin Zoey, Nanny Melissa, and Pop Pop.

Here we are with Father Tom.

This guy has always preferred to look to the left. Fortunately he worked that out before we had to start worrying about physical therapy or a helmet. 

Again looking to the left. "But it's my good side, mommy."

The Chatham boys on Easter Sunday.

Hey there, Henry, I mean, Ted!

Look who learned how to roll over! 

Ted is just about the happiest baby ever. 

(Maybe he's just happy to get any attention with these rowdy older siblings.)

"I can also be thoughtful, mommy."