Fun at the park

We took advantage of being up early recently on a day with cool but not rainy weather to head down to the park for a bit. Funny how if you get to a park at 8:30, you have the whole place to yourself!

Daniel learns how to push Matthew on the swings. I don't know who enjoyed it more...

 One happy kid.

 Loving the swings!

 Then off to the canoe, where Matthew experimented in eating the sand, so...

 we put him in jail? No, he discovered the fun musical tubes!

We left Daniel on his own in the canoe.

 Daniel was happy to finally have enough balance to go on the merry-go-round while mommy spun it around.

Ahhh...brothers. :)

Corn Attack

Matthew tried corn on the cob for the first time the other night and LOVED it.  He literally attacked it.  Check out the video...

Corn + Matthew = Happy Baby

"Oh, did you want some?"

Belated Holy Week pictures

We're really behind in just about everything. Here are some pictures from Easter.

Traditional hot crossed buns on Good Friday morning.

There's what inside these eggs?!

Daniel hordes his goods while Matthew explores the Easter grass.

This is way too much fun!

After Easter Mass. Matthew was out for most of it.

Bigfoot sighting or Daniel on an Easter egg hunt?

Daniel and his friend Matteo searching for eggs.

Happy hunting.

Surveying the goods.

Soccer lessons with Dad

Chris and Daniel had some great fun playing soccer in the backyard a few weekends ago. There aren't many pictures of them actually playing, but here are a few of the main lessons learned.

1.  Don't kick the ball at Mommy's plants.

2. Be sure to hydrate and take breaks when needed.

3. Take time to get a great posed picture--people love 'em.

4. Celebrate appropriately after scoring.



Daniel's new health plan

Daniel came up with this the other day...

"A beef a day keeps the doctor away!"

His father is very proud.

St. Galumio, Italian saint of prayer to Jesus

During prayers tonight, Daniel asked for the intercession of St. Galumio.

Michele and I looked at each other, both expecting the other to make the international parent facial expression for "Just go along with it, you weren't here when it came up before."

Problem was, we both gave the "uhhhh.........." look.

Chris: "Daniel, that was a very nice prayer. But, um....who is St. Galumio ? I'm not familiar with that saint."

Daniel, without missing a beat: "Oh, St. Galumio is an Italian saint."

I'm now impressed the name he made up even sounds Italian.

Chris: "Really? What is he the patron saint of?"

Daniel: "Prayer to Jesus."

I didn't ask if he was martyred.

He is Risen!

And on the third day He rose again, in fulfillment of the scriptures.

God bless you!

Songs in my head!

Michele heard one of Daniel's toys in the background playing a song and made the following comment to him:

Michele: "I get this song stuck in my head all the time."

Daniel: "Oh no!! Stuck in your head??!"

Michele: "Yes, stuck in my head. Do you get songs stuck in your head Daniel?"

Daniel: "Oh yes. My head is full of songs....that's why it's so big."

(Daniel now starts singing) "Robin in the rain, what a saucy fellow...Robin in the rain!"

Oh the madness...

Jerry's vacation

Daniel has an imaginary friend - Jerry - a character from the Veggie Tales Christian TV series for kids. Jerry moved in about 4-5 months ago. Now, for the record, imaginary friends are a perfectly normal part of maturation and play in kids. However, Jerry may have overstayed his welcome.

At first, Jerry would only come over to play now and again, and his activities usually related to making Daniel laugh through silly and harmless antics. Jerry now has a tendency to be a little provocative, often toeing the line on house rules. Daniel has always been good about scolding Jerry when he doesn't follow the rules, but it seems recently that Jerry's antics have started to wear on some members of the family, specifically Mom and Dad.

For example:

"Daniel, why is your chair stacked on top of your table?"
"Uhh, Jerry wanted to sit up there."


"Daniel, why is Matthew crying?"
"Uhh, Jerry didn't want Matthew to slobber on his stuffed animal."


"Daniel, why are you screaming?!"
"Uhh, Jerry and I were chasing each other through the house."


"Daniel, why aren't you in bed?"
"Uhh, Jerry was making me look at this book with him."


“Daniel, why are you crying and yelling?”
“Uhh, Jerry’s poking me again!”

"Daniel, why are you dipping wipes in the un-flushed toilet and mopping the bathroom floor with them?"
"Uhh, I didn't! Jerry did!"

Needless to say, Jerry's been toeing the line for a while now. And, seeing as Jerry is contributing to what appears to be a new trend in fibbing, we decided to see if we could “take a break from Jerry.”

Jerry joined us for dinner tonight…again. It should go without saying that he wasn’t a positive influence on Daniel finishing his dinner. That’s when I finally decided we had to take action – and then it hit me.

Chris: “Say, Jerry, what have you been up to lately?”

I pause and nod my head as if listening to Jerry respond. Daniel’s ears perk up.

Chris: “Really?! That’s so exciting! I had no idea!”

Daniel really perks up and starts to open his mouth and smile in excitement. I can only imagine what was going on in his head: ‘What, Dad, What??!! What’s Jerry doing this time??!!’

I continued…

Chris: “Well that’s just fantastic Jerry. I really hope you enjoy your vacation. When do you leave?”

Daniel’s face begins to turn to one of shock.

Chris: “Tonight? That soon? Wow. I guess Italy can’t wait! How long will you be gone?”

Daniel’s face is now in complete disbelief. He realizes the game is afoot.

Chris: “You’ll be gone 2 months?! Wow! Well, have a great time! See ya!”

Daniel, having been speechless for the last minute now begins to protest.

Daniel: “No, Dad! Jerry is NOT going on vacation!!!!”

Chris: “But Daniel he just told me he was.”

Daniel: “No! No thank you!”

Daniel now starts to appear genuinely agitated and upset. At this point, I realize my ingenious plan isn’t going to work without crushing the poor kid. So, I abandoned the endeavor, acknowledging to Daniel that Jerry wasn’t going to go on vacation...yet.

You’ve won this round, Jerry, so you can wipe that smirk off your face.

Jerry the Squash from Veggie Tales

The beast in the castle

Daniel's prayer the other night:

"I would like to pray for the giant beast that lives in the castle, who poked me with his very large finger. Amen."



And the question of the night:

"Ummm, Mommy, I have to be 16 before I can stay home alone, right?"