5 Years, 1 Month

Encore birthday! The boys get to celebrate again at their former nanny's house.

The boys delight in the cupcakes Kasey made for them:

Make a wish!

The boys with Kasey:

Jack, absolutely relishing Kasey's giant backyard:

Henry, enjoying a cucumber from Kasey's garden once we got back home:

Henry!

Henry's self-portrait at preschool: 

Looks pretty accurate:

Henry requested that I do his face paint to make him look like Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony. Fortunately I had Google image search to help me attempt to execute the look:

He seemed pleased with the result.

Jack doesn't like having paint on his own face, but he was happy to assist Henry in decorating mine:

Henry, eating yogurt, a study of facial expressions:

We should have named him Ham-ry.

While helping Steve make breakfast one morning, Henry suddenly said, "I want to be a dad when I grow up and not a mom." 

"Oh? Why?" Steve asked.

"Because I like cooking and moms don't cook." 

Henry's portrait of his family:

I'm fairly certain the teacher mislabeled me and Steve, due to the hair... and the frown, which is definitely me, not Steve.

Henry: [classmate's name] said I was mean but I didn't do anything to him!

Me: Well, sometimes people say someone else is mean because they're frustrated with them. You say I'm mean when you're frustrated with me.

Henry pauses and considers, then shakes his head.

Henry: But you ARE mean!

Henry's illustration of our house:

Curled up on my heat wrap, living his best life:

Pirate Henry!

Jack!

Jack's self-portrait at preschool:

Random thoughts from Jack: 

"I don't want to be king. Because kings don't wiggle their feet at the table and I like to wiggle my feet at the table."

"I want to go to space so I can take the flags off the moon."

Delighted with himself, Jack discovers he can wear his large stuffed shark as a hat:

Jack's family portrait:

Jack's illustration of our house:

Jack, "making a list":

Definitely Mama's boy.

Gathering up his toy tools for a project:

Okay, he's Daddy's boy too.

First Day of School

Ah, the lovely forced poses and smiles of children whose mother is insisting on this annual ritual:

Another pandemic year:

From what their teachers say, they do follow through on these agreements. Maybe if I have them help me post something on the wall at our house, they'll do it at home too.

Assorted Activities

Hairdressing is always popular.

Games are also extremely popular right now, with the boys (particularly Henry) constantly agitating for Mom and Dad to play with them.

The boys (particularly Henry) love the beach. They were especially excited to find giant kelp washing up during our last trip to Seacliff State Beach. Mean Mom didn't let them bring any home, though.

Boys on the beach:

Jack, working on his construction site:

Henry loves playing in the waves and will do it literally all day.

What to do on a sick day stuck at home? Watch the floor cleaning robot, of course.

There are different ways to do Costco. I go in with a list, buy those things and leave as quickly as possible. Steve, on the other hand, goes up and down every aisle and acquires all kinds of random stuff. On this particular day he went with the boys and this is what came home:

Spoiled boys, reading with Dad, something they do every morning when they get up and every night before they go to bed:

Boys try to con Mom into getting them something. Unfortunately for them, she's not as nice as their father.

Playing at the park near our home, after it finally reopened following a long pandemic closure:

Washing their Jeep:

Wildlife sighting! Deer spotted while we visit Dad's work.

Showing off their climbing skills at a local park:

A project of their own design, involving cardboard, scissors, glue and a screwdriver:

Henry showing off his work:

For quite awhile, in a box in our attic, I've been gathering random things for the boys to build with (scraps of wood, bits of foam, broken electronics and such) and I think they're finally ready to have access to that box. It's exciting (if a bit messy) to see them becoming more capable and creative.