2020 Family Portraits

I'm glad that Steve's mom requested pictures of the boys for her grandchild wall, because it led to us doing a little photoshoot on the front porch.

Our little family in our matching shirts:

What we really look like:

A mom with her little dudes (Jack left, Henry right):

Steve and his boys (Jack left, Henry right):

Henry, in three pictures:

Jack, in three pictures:

4 Years, 4 Months

Sometimes, you just have to get outside and get your toes in the sand. At least, that's what Henry thinks.

Henry, loving the sand at Natural Bridges State Beach:

Jack on the sand:

Just a short walk from the beach is a grove of trees which shelters monarch butterflies. There weren't very many during our visit, but we did see a few clusters and the boys enjoyed the observation boardwalk.

Back at home, Henry builds a house for his sea otter...

... and celebrates his success with a victory break dance. 

For posterity, a typical stressed mom: 

Suave Jack doesn't know what mom could possibly be stressed about:

The boys' school teaches in English and Spanish, so the boys' pronunciation is pretty good for kids who only speak English at home. During a recent discussion of colors with Steve, Jack said, pityingly, "Maybe you should just say 'red' [instead of rojo] since you can't roll your tongue." 

We are extremely fortunate that the boys' preschool has remained open. The director of the school recently wrote to me and Steve: "We ALL love your boys so much - they truly bring joy and sunshine to [the school] for all to enjoy." 

Since they save most of their delightfulness for school... time for another outing! To the park!

Henry loves the swings:

I remember when Jack could not operate this digging toy:

Henry leaps!

Back at home, Henry is living his best life, eating fruit rolls in the bath:

Henry absolutely loves baths and asks every night, pleadingly, if it's bath night.  

Oh, yeah, it was Thanksgiving last month. In pandemic times, it was like any other long weekend at home, except that Steve made a delicious meal of stuffing, brown butter mashed potatoes, fancy mini-meatloaves and cardamom apple pie. 

The chef plating his masterpieces: 

Of course, since the boys eat like little birds, Steve and I were eating meatloaf for a week. At least it was delicious. 

The misanthrope gene is alive and well with Jack, as evidenced by this Thanksgiving school worksheet (note the only thing not circled):

Fortunately, despite his protestations, Jack does enjoy playing with friends at school and even his brother at home.

Next up: Christmas! One thing's for sure... we'll be home for it.

4 Years, 3 Months

Last Gasp of Summer

Our neighbor around the corner was cleaning out her garage. Surely, she said, your kids need a small inflatable pool. She obviously just didn't want it thrown in the trash, so I caved and she went to get help to bring it over. It is, needless to say, not small. I said it wouldn't fit in our yard... but I was (technically) wrong. So our backyard became an inflatable pool for the final warm days of the year.

Jack shows off the slide:

Henry gets ready to take his turn:

Halloween

With trick-or-treating and other festivities canceled, our main activity for the holiday was going to the pumpkin patch.

Henry enjoys the irrigation tube slide:

Jack's turn:

Henry, merrily pushing the pumpkin wheelbarrow: 

Jack's turn, with Dad and Henry following alongside:

Okay, boys, smile for the camera! (Henry left, Jack right)

Sigh.

Jack scans the scene while clutching his favorite mini-pumpkin:

I want that one, the one way on the other side of the patch!

Back at home, Henry adds decor (which he calls "nests") made of rocks and flowers to the front porch:

Fearsome Henry frightens his jack o' lantern:

Jack shows that his scary face can rival any Halloween decoration: 

We didn't dress up on Halloween this year, but the boys did select costumes to wear to their preschool harvest festival party. Princess Henry and Firefighter Jack:

At school, they told scary stories while decorating their pumpkins. 

Jack's story was "there's zombies in the air," which is indeed a terrifying thought:

Henry's story was, simply, "rainbow." Nothing can bring Henry Sunshine down:

Henry at school, thoughtfully painting his pumpkin:

Jack at school, disdainful of the process, per usual:

School Craft

The boys' teacher traced their bodies and wrote down things the boys had to say about themselves. 

Jack's: 

I like to wear my light up shoes.

I like to wear my pajamas, socks, shoes, pants & shirts with pockets.

Favorite toy: R2D2

Favorite food: Mac n Cheese

Family: Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, 2 Grandmas, Henry

Henry's:

Favorite food: carrots, broccoli, grapes, lettuce

Game: hide & sneak

Plays with stuffies (stuffed animals)

Rides a bike - goes down big hills

My family: Brother Jack, Mom, Dad, 2 rabbits, Uncle Philip, Cousin Rosie, Grandma Pool, Grandpa Pool

Henry's is amusing in that he definitely does not like broccoli or lettuce at all. Also, of his twelve aunts & uncles and fifteen cousins, he for some reason thought only of Uncle Philip and Cousin Rosie. 

Jack

Jack's primary goal in life is to be helpful, especially if he can help Dad with projects around the house. Here he helps dig the small ditch for the irrigation pipe Steve was putting in (to direct overflow from our rain barrels): 

Henry shrugs off stories from before he was born, but Jack gets very distressed at the idea that we did anything without him. He is particularly upset that we didn't let him help paint the house (which was done before he existed). 

Jack has also shown himself to have a fairly long attention span and an interest in intricate projects, like helping his dad build a fancy Lego train.

Jack with a school project:

Playful "kitty Jack":

Henry

Henry loves arts and crafts, posing here with his corn and "thumbkin patch":

Henry is also extremely goofy, and prone to boisterous laughter and frequent shrieking:

Henry has to do what he can to keep things interesting. As he put it, "grown ups are not that fun."

He'll be a great parent one day, though. We overheard him telling his baby doll, "okay, baby, if you cry again I will turn you into a frog."

Even the wildest Henry occasionally needs a break, on this day creating a nest of pillows and stuffed animals to collapse in:

Hunkering Down

Steve built PVC frames that wedge between our couch cushions for fast tent-making. So, as with so many other families, we settle in and prepare to wait out the pandemic winter.

Henry:

Jack: