I feel this

City, City
by Marci Ridlon

I

City, city,
Wrong and bad,
Looms above me,
When I'm sad,
Throws its shadow
On my care,
Sheds its poison
In my air,
Pounds me with its
Noisy fist,
Sprays me with its
Sooty mist.
Till, with sadness
On my face,
I long to live
Another place.

II

City, city
Golden-clad,
Shines around me
When I'm glad,
Lifts me with its
Strength and height,
Fills me with its
Sound and sight,
Takes me to its
Crowded heart,
Holds me so I
Won't depart.
Till, with gladness
On my face,
I wouldn't live
Another place.

I'll love you forever Chicago.  Forever and ever. 

This post was brought on by seeing this picture of the view from Jacob's and Nico's room.  We would sit on J's bed and watch people and usually see lots of friends.  These are the people in your neighborhood...  Miss you Chicago world!

Hulk not good with words

We've noticed that Benjamin has been a little slower verbally than his peers.  (And significantly slower than Nico "full-sentences-the-minute-he-turned-two" Hutch.) Ben talks all of the time and understands us very well, but his ability to clearly communicate his thoughts with us comes and goes.  We never sent out a Christmas letter, but we (mainly Matt) did write one that we had big plans to email out last week.  The paragraph about Benjamin describes his current linguistic stage perfectly:

Our little man has grown a lot this year. He started the year at Ewok level (small, unintelligible, hairy being) and is now solidly at caveman level (slightly larger, more intelligible, less hairy humanoid). Benjamin speaks best through his expressive eyes and ready smile. He loves to imitate his older brothers as they wrestle and play football and he thoroughly enjoys being a part of their team. Benjamin is such a sweet boy who is quick to hug, kiss and say thank you at just the right moments.

I decided to ask the help of our kind friend Katie, who is a speech pathologist, to determine if we might want to have him evaluated for speech delay.  Since Katie lives in Michigan, I made her a video of him identifying flash cards that he hadn't seen for months.  The video captures him so perfectly that I had to share it.

A few notes:

1. Benjamin is adamant that he's five, not two.  I've decided to stop fighting it.
2. Katie suggested that we go ahead and have him evaluated.  Thank you Katie!
3. "That's a tree, and that's a carrot!"  I love him so much.
4. If you know where the title of this blog comes from, I'm impressed.  Go to minute 4:50. Where can I find a pair of those glasses!?

Artist in residence

Nico spends a lot of his time drawing, coloring, and painting. He is indefatigable in his pursuit of the perfect picture.  I love seeing him quietly at work and I'm amazed at the things he creates.  Most of his creations involving humans showcase angry, fighting humans.  But here's a peaceable train study.

Please enjoy his artistic process!

Snow what?

Snow awesome! 

Spontaneous polar bear jog

Snow shoveling

Snow angel-ing

Snow sledding

Snow sillies

Caves, rocks and planes

 Since Grandma Jan and Papa are in town we decided to visit Colorado Springs.  Little did we know that there are about 100 things to do in Colorado Springs. 

We visited the Cave of the Winds first.  We had thirty minutes to wait for the tour, so Benno modeled the newest in caving fashions.

The tour was very interesting and just a titch claustrophobic and spooky.  Our tour guide didn't help matters.  He continually talked about how small (and structurally unstable) the passages were and hinted heavily about ghosts.  His missing front tooth and his penchant for ending his descriptions with an enigmatic bow and a backwards shuffle towards the next room didn't help things.  Our party of very young kids was at the end of the group and, um, I definitely glanced behind me a few times into the dark and spooky path juuuust to make sure.  

After the tour.  Relieved that the tour was a success and now worried about the unending ravine on the other side of that rail.  Beautiful and deep.

Ooooooh Nico, you so smooth!

We then went to Garden of the Gods.  It's just so beautiful.  I grew up in Utah and I have spent a lot of time around red rocks and arid climates.  However, I've spent the last decade away from the West in varied climates.  I was amazed at how foreign the landscape looked. 

But these dudes are cute in any climate!

Strong men!

Here's to the grandparents who joined us on our adventure.  And here's to Jacob taking that picture on his own.  Right before this pic was taken I joked with Grandma Jan about which she would choose to save if one of her grandkids and her lovely camera were in peril at the same time.  We learned something about that scenario right after this picture was taken.  Thankfully Jacob is nimble.  Hee.  This is said by the mother who cringes when her kids fall down because she's almost entirely worried about their pants getting holes in the knees. 

We then saw this guy who told us he'd put us youtube.

And he did!  (I cringe at my hangdog posture, but hey we're on youtube!)

Aw this cute kid loves posing.

After Garden of the Gods we went to the Air Force Academy.  N was asleep and J was tired, so B and the grandparents went to take a look at the cadet chapel.  I'm looking forward to returning and seeing it for myself.  But here are a few pics they took while J and I played scrabble on my phone in the car. 

Thanks again Grandma Jan and Papa for helping us explore our new surroundings.  We love you!

Behold...the Halloweeninator!

May I introduce Phineas, Ferb and Perry as our Halloween costumes of 2012!  Jacob initially said he might want to be a rock star (read: easy) and Nico said he wanted to be the Hulk (read: easier).  That being said, one night Matt and I sat mulling about Halloween and our history of family themed costumes.  Because we do have a bit of a history with them*.  We mentioned our idea to the boys and they were hooked.  And thus my life ended.  Easy and easier became complex and fussy.  Because really, you just can't find Ferb capris at your local Target.  And a search for Phineas and Ferb costumes yields scary stuff like this.  Or ridiculous stuff like this.  Curse you Perry the Platypus!

Despite the added effort (like liquid stitching the fraying raw edges on Nico's sewn on stripes), this really was a fun costume.  The main reason I can say that is because...it was award (at the ward party) winning!!  Matt and I were Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Candace.  The boys are holding our award.    It's just a piece of paper, but man it was sort of the spoon full of sugar helping the medicine go down for this tired ma.

Front view.

Tail view!  I think his hat is more of a fedora/cowboy hat hybrid.  Mwah.

Here are the Ferb shorts hot off of the sewing machine.  I'm unnecessarily proud of the notch in the front.  Too bad he'll never wear them ever again. Oh, and please check out the avalanche of books, blankets and clothes in the background!

I'm unnecessarily proud of the aesthetic of this tail.  Thank you Jana for all of the hand holding I needed to produce it! 

And here's Nico's attempt at Isabella (he copied her from a picture).  I colored her in at his request.  Oh how I slave for these kids!!!

The boys and their pumpkins

Nico can't draw any human likeness without eyebrows.  Typically they are angry eyebrows.  Matt and I carved what they drew on their pumpkins and tried to stay true to their vision.  Here things got a bit too Michael Dukakis.

 

Halloween candy in the suburbs is epic. Heaven help us.

Despite all of the aforementioned work it was a great Halloween. The boys loved it and I am so grateful. Here's to store bought costumes next year though! Happy Halloween!

*Here is the Halloween I never blogged about. The big boys were spider men and Benny was a radioactive spider. Unfortunately I am not at the computer that has the majority of those pictures. These will have to do.