Michael's first year at SYC

Today was Michael's last day of school. He's had a great year in the 2's class at SYC. His teachers, Molly (who also taught Luke) and Susan gave us a folder full of artwork, pictures and notes. We also got a CD with over 90 pictures of Michael on it! It's amazing. I LOVE it! So here's Michael's year in pictures.

The Twins Come to Visit

Greg, Ange and the twins came this weekend! Greg and Ange are doing an amazing job with Kayla and Kyan, who are eleven weeks old. Yes, that means we had three babies under three months around the house, so we really didn't get as many pictures as we intended. There was a lot of baby gear, a lot of crying, a lot of spitting up and a lot of fun!

Three peas in a pod. This pea pod is theirs, but I'm borrowing one from a friend as well, I think we're going to love it this summer. The babies really seemed to enjoy it.

Happy babies! Yes, Kyan is twice as big as his sister.

Cousins! Yes, that's a pacifier in Justin's mouth, but that's another post.

SYC picnic

It was the family picnic at the boys' preschool last Wednesday. Fun, but as you can see from Michael, it was REALLY cold!

Don't Stop Believin'

The boys appear to have inherited their mother's fondness for singing in the car. Sorry for the shaky camera at the end, we hit some bumps on the road.

Mother's Day Church Concert

This is Luke's concert in its entirety--all 1 minute and 56 seconds of it. Short and sweet.

Poppy, Nan and George Lucas

Poppy made this Star Wars video. Too funny! Luke as Luke was predictably cute, but who knew Michael would make such a great Lando! Nan makes a pretty hot Princess Leia.

http://starwars.jibjab.com/view/AuRlWqTIClj2UcOvcoRR

Changeling

Apparently, Justin looks chubby in the 4-week pics I took the other day. Here are some more pictures just to show you that he is only slightly chunky up top and actually has little string bean legs. He is a funny baby though. Maybe it's the blonde hair, but he looks completely different depending on what he's wearing. I've always liked the bolder, darker colors better on my boys, but not Justin. I prefer him in the lighter pastels.

The Nap Came Back

Michael has been mostly napless for several months now, but he's had a rough time of it lately with his double ear infection followed by Fifths Disease. He's so worn out that every day at almost exactly 3pm, he falls asleep wherever he is. Today it was on the floor surrounded by monster trucks.

My two 4s

4 weeks and 4 years. I am so impressed with Luke and his love for Justin. He always wants to be near him and to check on him and to cuddle him. Today he asked me to take a picture of them together. I think Justin is pretty enamoured with his biggest brother, too. If only Luke were that excited about Michael and if only Michael were that excited about Justin.

Justin at 4 weeks

Chillin

Big brother

Friends!

We've been getting lots of visitors because of my moms' group and their awesome Casserole Patrol. I haven't had to worry about dinner at all this week and we are stocked up for the weekend, too. Yesterday, my friend Cheryl came by. Her daughter Daniela couldn't get enough of holding Justin and she did such a good job! Her brother Joseph was pretty interested, too, at least until he caught sight of our three toy lawn mowers!

Monster Trucks!!!

Luke, Michael, Daddy and Poppy went to the monster truck rally on Saturday. They even visited the pit where they got to touch the trucks. Surprisingly, Luke decided he wanted to wait in line and meet the drivers. Here he is with the driver of Tailgator, his favorite monster truck.

Doh-Ray-Mi

Here's Michael feeling happier, being silly with his daddy.

Middle Child

Poor Michael has had a rough time the past few days. We thought he was having some adjustment issues with Justin's arrival. Today he had his three year check-up. He weighs 30lbs and is 36 inches tall--both 30th percentile. He also has ear infections in both ears! And he's cutting his two-year molars. No wonder he's been grumpy. He fell asleep on the way home.

sleeping with sharks

I love the blankets my friend Allanya made for Justin. Somehow, she knew just what would fit in at our house. He has one with sea creatures, one with dogs, one with dinosaurs and this one with sharks, which is Luke's favorite.

Fun with Poppy's iPhone

Happy Birthday Michael!

Michael is three years old today! In his honor is the first "bloggie" post! Matt bought me a new mini digital video camera for my "having a baby" present. I think I've almost got it figured out.

Justin meets Poppy and Nan

Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt

We went to an Easter Egg Hunt at my friend Allanya's this afternoon. It was Justin's debut to the moms' group. The weather was warm and windy and the kids had a blast.

All the kids lined up and ready to go.

Comparing eggs with Caleb.

My three sons.

Coming Home

Justin and I came home on Wednesday afternoon. He's had some jaundice and some nursing issues, but is doing well overall. He's already been on more outings in his first 72 hours home than I think Luke was in his first three months! He's a good traveler and an easygoing little guy so far.

Justin is Here!!!

My water broke on Monday afternoon and after a challenging labor, Justin Gregory Ponesse arrived at 8:06pm on March 29th, 2010. He was 36 weeks and 5 days, technically two days premature. However, Justin weighed in at 7lbs 12 oz. That makes him heavier than Luke's 7 lbs 11 oz and Michael's 7lbs 10oz! He was 19.5 inches long. He has a full head of BLONDE hair! We've had lots of wonderful visitors, but we can't wait to get home later today. Extra special love and thanks to Ali who came to take care of Luke and Michael. Here are some pics, the collage is care of Alyssa.

Zoo

Beautiful weather for the zoo yesterday. Too bad my stamina is non-existent these days, so we made it a pretty short trip. The boys saw their beloved snakes, manatees and bats, though.

A Nursery

We finally got the nursery done. Justin's getting the same Classic Pooh decor as the other boys did, but at least he got a fresh coat of paint, a spruced up changing table and a new guardian angel care of Poppy and Nan.

How to read a story. . .

Yes, this looks like the three-headed monster I posted a while back. Perhaps a bit cuddlier--nothing like snuggling while daddy reads about Komodo Dragons.

Justin wears pink . . .

. . . for the first and probably last time!

Alyssa turned my belly into an Easter Egg today. It was totally awesome. And we had a great playdate at Ali's. I think we were there almost 6 hours. It's amazing how well all the kids do together now that they're getting older.

Daddy goes to school

Matt's on spring break this week and so he visited Luke's class today for "parent sharing." Matt talked about his violin and then he played songs for everyone. Luke helped out by showing his violin and playing along with Matt. The kids sang and danced to the music. Matt was so great with the kids and all of the teachers kept asking me if he was a music teacher. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it.

Congratulations, Matt!

I can't believe we've been in Ohio for almost six years! This morning, we finally got the news we've been waiting for. Matt's been granted tenure and has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. Yaaaay! I guess that means we get to stay in Columbus. Woo hoo!

PJ Day

Today was Luke's pajama party at school. It's actually my least favorite day of the year because, on top of the usual stuff, we have to lug the sleeping bag, pillow and stuffed animals to school, too. But Luke loves it. Here he is with his friend, Sahar, showing off his Spiderman jammies.

Downtime

We've been telling Michael that when he turns three next month, it's time to give up the bottle. Until then he is, literally, milking his bottle and monkey time for all it's worth.

Saint Joseph's Soup

Matt went to an academic conference that was held at a Benedictine monastery in Missouri over the weekend. He came home with this cookbook written by a monk for me. Tonight we made St. Joseph's Soup. It was really good, although the recipe called for tomatoes which I'm pretty sure St. Joseph never ate since they are a New World food. I don't know why we don't make more soup. It's so easy and the kids really like it, so now we've decided to make a new soup each week. Upcoming recipes include St. Scholastica's Soup, St. Anthony's Soup and St. Lobia's Beer and Mushroom Soup.

A Hypothesis

Our prehistoric sea reptile phase is still going strong, but has merged with a new shark obsession. I must admit I'm having as much fun as Luke checking out books and videos from the library. He's learning a lot. Last night he said: "Mommy, I have a hypofemis. My hypofemis is that I think that Great White Shark's teeth are sharp enough to pierce armor."

Although his pronunciation needs some work, that's pretty good use of the word "hypothesis" if I do say so myself.