Safety first!

This is how Liam ran around all afternoon. I guess, given his penchant for adventure, we should be glad he's protected!!

He did eventually find his way onto the bike that usually goes with helmet-wearing. All systems were go...if only he could reach the pedals.

March Madness comes to Decorah

Warming up before the game

He shoots...he scores!!!

Don't even THINK about taking this ball away from me!

Did it go in?

Just look at that defense!

Oh, to get my hands on that ball!!!

Liam finally gets his chance!

We all had a great time at Drew's Biddy Basketball game. Drew was right in there, dribbling and shooting the ball -- just having a great time. Of course, it was pure torture for Liam, but he was very good about waiting until the game was over to get his chance to play.

After Drew's team had had their snack, Liam had gotten a chance to play a little and the next teams were lining up to do their "warm ups," we gathered our things and started to head for the door. Suddenly we realized Liam wasn't with us. We looked down on the gym floor, and there right in the middle of a line of red-shirted 5- and 6-year olds was Liam, patiently waiting for his turn at the net, like he was just another member of the team (he was wearing red, after all!). Before we could grab him, he found himself at the front of the line, took the ball, shot and scored.

We did manage to snatch him out of there before one of the coaches recruited him.

Blame it on the tooth fairy

This is Drew.



This is Drew with a very loose tooth.



This is Drew after he lost his first tooth!!!




And now, for the rest of the story.

Drew was actually home sick the day he lost his tooth. Of course we made a big deal of putting his tooth (in a baggie) under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

(A little back story here. A friend of his had already told him her parents put the money under her pillow, so he was not only sick, but also highly skeptical. I told him we certainly were not giving him any money, so his only hope was for the tooth fairy to come through.)

So, morning came and Drew slept in until after 9am. The rest of us were downstairs in the kitchen when he came in, all feverish and red-cheeked, hair standing on end, big scowl on his face and slapped the baggie with his tooth still in it on the counter.

"This is all there was!" He said, and walked away.

Yeah, the tooth fairy FORGOT to come. I know. Worst parents ever. Just give us the medal right now and be done with it.

In a matter of about 20 seconds, we exchanged horrified looks over his head, stifled our laughter at the dramatic scene that had just unfolded before us and then -- in a moment of brilliance only a mother's guilt could produce -- I offered this:

"You know, Drew, you are pretty sick. I bet the tooth fairy didn't dare come while you were sick, because she has to go from house to house and she wouldn't want to get any of the other children sick." (And we wonder why he's a germaphobe!)

He didn't respond.

Later that day we were playing the Allowance Game and Drew landed on a square that says "Lose a tooth. Receive $1." Drew looked at me and said, "Why can't MY parents give me a dollar for my tooth?!!" I reiterated our position -- either the tooth fairy comes through or you're out of luck. He just scowled at me.

So, that night we put Drew to bed and then realized the tooth was still on the kitchen counter. I went up to his room and suggested we give it another try. He responded by saying he was still sick so the tooth fairy would probably not come. His Bestemor had suggested putting the tooth in a glass of water beside his bed (I'm not sure where this came from, we never did that growing up!) so I reminded him of her idea and mentioned that maybe if we just put the glass on his window sill the tooth fairy wouldn't have to get close to him and therefore wouldn't have to worry about carrying his germs to the other children. He went for it.

The tooth fairy came. And left not one, but two dollars. (Late fee? Interest? Or are we now stuck giving him $2 for every tooth?)

Strangely enough, I think the whole situation convinced him the tooth fairy is, in fact, real. I mean, how else do you explain it?

The love affair continues...

Yeah, we're just so proud!

So, Drew was working on some math problems tonight and Liam wanted to get in on the action so I was helping him with his letters. This is how it went:

Me (after writing an L on his paper): Liam, what's that letter?
Liam: L!!!
Me: Right, L for Liam. (Wrote an O on the paper) What's that, Liam?
Liam: O!!!
Me: Good. Now what's this? (Wrote an M)
Liam: McDonald's!!!

Something about Halloween...

Clearly, there's something about that Halloween picture. The same thing happened last year -- I post the requisite Halloween picture and then promptly ignore my blog until sometime into the next calendar year. Last year it was the end of January -- this year we're into March (and let's be real...if not for my brother's nagging comments the mummy and the clown would still be gracing the top of this page even now!)

The sad thing is, my children have been providing enough blog material for about 10 blogging moms lately. And 5 years from now (or tomorrow) I'm going to kick myself for not having recorded this stuff somewhere.

So...for posterity, for the sake of moving past Halloween, and to make my brother happy --- a picture and a story:

For the past week or so, Liam has become very attached to a certain Twins baseball cap handed down to him from his brother. And by attached, I mean literally, physically attached...at all times.

The other morning when I went to get Liam out of bed, this is what I found:



Funnier yet, earlier that morning I heard him fussing and went in to fix his covers and tell him it wasn't time to get up yet. Though he wasn't even fully awake, his little arm popped out of the covers and groped around in the dark until it landed on his cap. Then he sat up, popped the cap on his head, shifted it back and forth until it was on just right, and laid back down to sleep.

I think he's been hanging out with his uncle Kevin too much!