That's gonna leave a mark

The other night at bedtime Nico's boisterous, thrill-seeking ways got the best of him.

Behold.













The black eye is from jumping on the bed and falling eye first onto Jacob's hip.

The gash/knot combo on his forehead is from running in the hallway, tripping, and landing headfirst on the edge of the door.

And who knows how he got the smaller bruise on his cheek.

Hard to believe that in one hour he could be so transformed. Good thing he doesn't seem to care or to be in pain. And good thing his eyes are blue. They match his shiner perfectly!

(Oh, and this pose is in response to my asking him to make a "thinking face".)

No Words

OK, maybe one.

Perfection.

(To explain, this is Nico catching water in his mouth from Grandpa's new fancy dance patio mister.)

A Home Run for Team Hutch

Tonight we had a lazy summer evening. We got dinner at Arctic Circle (blessed fry sauce!) and then broke out the sidewalk chalk. Dad drew the boys a real fifties kid hopscotch board and even gave them a demo. Did you know that the name for the thing you throw in hopscotch is a "tah"? Dad brought some chairs out so the grown ups and Benjamin could relax while the big boys played.

All that alone made for a delightful evening.

Then Mom and Dad's neighbors Vern and Vanita Law came by to chat. Vern Law was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was on the 1960 World Series Team (pitching and winning two full games in that Series) and won the Cy Young award that same year. Very impressive credentials. Matt and I visited his home a few years ago to see his memorabilia and Matt was allowed to hold his World Series Ring. When he touched it there was a palpable pulse of excitement in the room. Like an emotional sonic boom.

The Laws have lived across the street from my parents for years, but none of his accomplishments resonated at all with me until I married Matt. Now I truly love baseball and I appreciate the significance of his career. I felt star struck around him myself.

The boys have a book about Roberto Clemente who was a teammate of Vern Law's. I brought Jacob over and introduced him and told him that Brother Law played with Roberto Clemente. Jacob's face lit up with genuine excitement. It was a special moment for me to see him meet such a great man and appreciate who he was.

Brother Law was gracious enough to pose for pictures with the boys.

And he even signed their baseballs.

A very cool night indeed.

In my mind he still has brown hair

Dirty face in April 2009

Less dirty face in June 2010

That little mop top boy was a cutie. He's who I picture when I think of Nico. Where did he go? I just can't believe the transformation. It breaks my heart and makes me happy at the same time. Ah the bittersweetness of parenthood.

I've got to do some blogging

My backlog is astounding. Lots of things I need to remember and that I'd love to share. But, it's late. And I can't settle into a long post. So for now I'll share a bright spot in my day. It's my darling Ben smiling. He is such a sincere smiler. He a-goos and coos so sweetly and loves a friendly face. He's a total delight.

And when he flashes his smile at me at 2:00 in the morning it doesn't feel that bad to be awake. Not at all.

Would you like a good laugh?

Will this do?

Of course it will! I love it so much!!!

This picture was taken by Grandma Jan in Chicago a few weeks after Benjamin was born. I had no idea it existed until quite recently. I think "slide cams" will be sweeping the nation soon.

When I showed this to my dad he said, "That's cute. Who's the girl?" I guess that Nico was definitely due for a haircut.

Losing His Marbles

Jacob has found a new favorite pass time. Grandpa Gam has a jar full of marbles from when he was a boy and has graciously allowed Jacob to play with them. Every. Single. Day.

He only gets to play with them when Nico is down for his nap (or solitary confinement when he won't nap). The minute I start getting Nicholas ready for nap Jacob is on me to find out when he can play with marbles. And if I can play with him. In urgent, pleading whispers. Can I? Can I? Please? Please? Please?

Below he had organized them in order of how much he liked them.

By the way, playing real marbles is majorly fun. Just get a piece of yarn to make a circle on the ground and start calling your shots. It's like playing pool on the floor!


















Allow me to say despite the title of this post, I am loving 5 year old Jacob. Darling, earnest, and responsible. Loving it.

Binoculars and Breakfast

And balloons.

Oh how I love the Provo Freedom Festival. It's so peaceful and a bit surreal to wake up to the sounds of balloons filling up with air. And then to come outside and see them scattered across the blue sky. Perfection!

This year I missed most of that. I was asleep after a long (or short depending on your definition) night with Benjamin. But, my Dad was awake with my big boys and treated them to a morning of granola bars and balloon viewing. Trust my Dad to get them such a comfy set up. And he took these darling pictures. Thank you Dad.

Thank you also for not taking them up on the roof for the balloon viewing like we did when I was a little girl. That being said, I have such lovely memories of eating egg mcmuffins on the roof while watching the balloons. We'll give that a few more years.

And now, for Nico's favorite balloon.

Nothing like a giant piggy bank in the sky. Very subtle.

I'm Back, Baby

We are in Utah at my parents' house for the summer and are just about settled enough to actually post again. By "we" I mean the boys and me. Matt is in Omaha working away at his internship. We miss him so much and are so proud of him. Getting here was an adventure and living here is one too. Cousins, swim lessons, pretend preschool, scraped knees, real preschool, and lots of interpersonal drama (cousins don't always get along...) have kept us running. That's all on top of simply caring for and loving our baby Ben.

Thanks to Aunt Rachel and Uncle Stephen for requesting more blogs. We felt loved and also spurred on to greater blogging heights...or at least just weekly posts.

For now, a picture and the promise of more to follow.

The stripes brigade!













(And yes, I buzzed Jacob's hair. On accident. With a thirty year old set of clippers.)

Jeepers Creepers

I wonder.

Will these little peepers be brown?













Or blue?