4 Years, 2 Months

The boys are definitely pushing their boundaries, which doesn't always go great when Mom and Dad have pandemic stress and lots to do. But we're all still surviving. The other day Jack stated, "Daddy just needs a break from us." And Henry said, "Mom never smiles." I would feel bad, but the only things I actually feel are tired and the desire to go back to bed...

Indoor Havoc 

With occasionally smoky days mixed with a pandemic, we end up spending a lot of time inside. 

In a moment of quiet, Jack (left) and Henry (right) pose for a picture: 

Fashion Henry:

Jack and his current favorite shirt, which Grandma and Grandpa Pool brought him back from a cruise:

Jack in his other favorite garb, completely wrapped in his beloved penguin blanket:

Grasping at straws for a new activity... let's dye cotton balls with food coloring!

When a gigantic box arrived, the boys were very excited. They were somewhat less excited when it was determined that the box was filled with shelving for Steve's office. However, all was not lost.

The boys enjoy cutting apart paper packing material:

Hard at work assembling shelves:

Jack tries to keep working on Dad's bookshelf while dealing with the existential disappointment that what he's building is not a "kitty coop." 

We are doing our best to support our favorite local restaurants so they will hopefully survive all this.

So, for the good of the economy, we stuff our faces with waffles from our favorite chicken-and-waffle place (Kickin' Chicken!).

Henry:

Jack:

Thanks to a successful plan formulated by his great pediatrician to resolve Jack's medical issues, Jack has made the transition out of diapers, but on one still-diapered afternoon, the boys came up with their own art activity: draw on the diaper with markers!

When Daddy leaves tools around the house...

... you get Thor Henry!

Yes, seal, I like your plan...

Jack is a schemer.

Dad: "What are you doing, Jack?"

Jack: "Introducing my new car to the other cars."

Admittedly, Steve and I prioritize our sanity over scholastic endeavors at home, but their school is great and the boys occasionally do things like practicing their letters at home.

Jack carefully tracing some P's:

Henry hard at work:

Outdoor Havoc

Weather and smoke permitting, we venture out when we can.

Our typically early spring-blooming trees were very, very confused (possibly due to changes in sunlight from the wildfire smoke?):

Just a reminder that life is not normal:

Gotta put those kids to work...

... go wash the cars! (Henry in pink, Jack in grey)

When we're not forcing them into servitude, the spa is still a favorite place to play.

Smiley Henry:

Grinning Jack who's way too tall:

I know, it shocks me too!

Got wingspan too:

Look, Mom, I can do... whatever this is! Henry shows off in the water:

Jack works on his floating:

All right, back to work!

Trimming vines from their playhouse:

One of Henry's favorite outdoor pastimes is to make "nests" out of rocks and flowers.

This time Henry wanted to make signs for his nest, issuing his rules for use of said nest:

Jack wanted to add a sign too:

Okay then. 

On we barrel into the holiday season... whatever that is going to look like...