"I like eggs"

"I like eggs," Mattias commented as he cradled an egg in his hands. "They are very crackable."

Mattias and I have been having fun 're-connecting' one-on-one with each other this week (it feels rare to have that time with three boys in the house), while Timo is at school and Hawk is having his midday nap. Mattias really enjoys participating in the kitchen, and without the bustle of other people around, we've been able to do a few more things together. Tuesday we made blueberry muffins and yesterday was cornbread. Today he cracked the eggs for egg-in-a-hole, and practiced flipping with the spatula.

(please excuse the mess on the counter; I was simultaneously cleaning up our snack from the morning walk, getting out lunch food, and prepping for dinner)

He loves his rusks!

"I'm a teenager"

"I'm a teenager", he says. "I'm going to do a workout." ..."No, umm, this is my phone. I'm calling Daddy."

Well ,wherever he picked this up, and whatever he thinks he is doing - ! It's nice though that he has just recently started listening to music on the headphones, because it is a helpful way for him to get quiet space to himself and learn some independence (and coping skills for when he gets stressed). Just following in the Welty footsteps...

Note: name tag courtesy of VBS

Saturday morning

At Timo's initiative and Mattias's willing participation, the boys set up a cars vs dinosaurs battle scene after breakfast. Hawkins was very happy to observe. Timo has been narrating stories for many months (basically for the last 2 years already) but in recent months has started telling them to us more often throughout the day. This weekend he told us several chapters of a story featuring four characters: Card, Jacob, Sally and Nina, who found themselves transported to Jurassic Island, where they met Tom, a camo-wearing helicopter pilot, and had to battle dinosaurs while traveling around the island on various vehicles.

Timo was setting the stage before the battle began

Mr Cozy

Mattias has long liked to pile stuffed animals into his crib with himself and sleep under and around them, and now recently he has taken to using his duvet cover as a sleeping bag. He crams his animals inside and then climbs in with them.  Cozy!

(And I have photographic evidence of this because I still have to wake him up from his afternoon nap almost every day, or he would keep sleeping!)

Cosmic Kids

Yoga on Youtube for kids! Really cool! And in fact the boys (particularly Timo) are very attentive and follow the teacher's instructions well. She tells a story and does poses throughout her narrative for the kids to follow along. I'm very glad that we've 'discovered' this diversion now that the colder weather is arriving.

Boys!

Big grins! Brothers!

Mattias is 3!

And now Mattias is 3! What a wonderful age, and a momentous birthday in our household!

Mattias is funny and expressive; persistent & careful - which also means stubborn; hard-working; and gentle & sweet with baby Hawkins. He loves matchbox cars, trucks, trains, Legos, construction, books, his stuffed bears, almost all food, and marching bands. He often has cars in his pockets, and books or stuffed animals or blankets that he drags out to the car to bring along wherever we are going. He is very happy playing by himself and will focus for a long time on whatever he is doing (usually with cars or something to dig); he has a long attention span. Now he's starting to follow hard after Timo - they already share so many interests - and will spend long periods of time reading books; he is also playing with the Legos, not just the larger Duplos. At the same time, he is courageous and athletic; he's rides his balance bicycle fast and well. He still alternates between left-handed and right-handed, so we're curious to see how that continues to develop.

Saturday Oct 28th was his birthday, and it was very chilly and pouring rain all day. After a birthday breakfast of pancake, cards and a couple of presents, we were all quite content to spend the morning reading books, including a couple of awesome new ones from their birthdays. Later on Jim took the older boys to the hardware store to look at pumpkins and sit on the riding lawnmower (good birthday outing for a 3 year old). In the afternoon we had naps and I made chocolate cake, which we took over at suppertime to the Woodys'.

This weekend Greg and Abi and their 5 kids, and Salem with 2 of her daughters, were back home at their parents', so of course they were with us for supper and cake. It was fun to have the cousins' cousins around to celebrate together. Timo was giddy to have older boys to wrestle with and chase around the house. And Mattias got his wish for "cats at his birthday party" because Gayle just got two new black kittens!!!! (forgot to get a photo of them) I was sorely tempted to get a kitten for us!

Mattias covered his eyes and smiled very shyly while we were singing

little Hawk was quite content in Gayle's arms, and almost anyone who holds him!

Abi, me, and Salem - we were missing you, Hannah!

a few more presents, including Star Wars Legos! Getting the collection started!!

Can I hold him?

...actually Hawkins was smiling for most of the time that Mattias was holding him, but I couldn't capture it on my phone and in focus!

Brothers and Legos (of course)

Just for fun, all the brothers next to each other!

At a recent check-up (for WIC), Timo was 36 lbs, Mattias was 31 lbs, and Hawk - at 3 weeks old - was just under 7 lbs.  This photo was taken a few days before Hawk started his feet casting (and he's now on the third week of that process). This was also pre-haircuts, as you can see.

Such gentle kissing from the older ones!

Timo and Mattias have spent MANY, many hours with Lego Duplos in recent weeks. Naturally they get along great and create vast airports/cities/parking lots/electricity centers/water treatment facilities etc and then in the next moment they are yelling at each other and crashing everything down...

We have a photo of newborn Mattias in this outfit so I wanted to get one with Hawk, too - but he is so much smaller at 3 weeks!! Even though it may look it, his feet only came down to the leg/pant and didn't even come to the footholes! He's not much bigger than Gemma's doll.

 

And here is one of the main uses so far for baby Hawk's crib - Mattias's big parking lot (and a quiet, uninterrupted place for him to play by himself)! - since Hawk has been sleeping in a mini-crib in our bedroom so far.

And don't forget - the FIRST TIME EVER!!

At the ocean, that is! (I forgot to post these photos last week after we got back from Durham.)

Jaja and I were able to take the boys to the beach for a day, for their first time ever (yes, it was even Timo's first time at age 4) to see the sand and ocean. Even though it was early March, the day we were there was sunny and clear and about 70 degrees. And, thankfully, Wrightsville Beach (outside of Wilmington) is only a 2 1/2 hour drive from Durham, so even though we only stayed for one night it was "worth it".

Seeing the excitement and sheer joyful energy on the boys' faces was amazing. I tried to capture a few photos with my phone, but mostly we just enjoyed ourselves and didn't try to overthink it. Timo spent almost the entire afternoon running up and down, squealing and yelling, "This is so fun!" Once he got his swimsuit on, he was jumping in the waves (even though it was too cold for me!) almost up to his waist. And yes, I had to chase down the sand to get him to come inside at dinnertime.

Mattias took his time a little more to get into the water, but it didn't take long before he was running after Timo and squealing with delight and digging his feet into the sand. I never saw him look fearful about the waves and the open space, even when he slipped and went face first into the edge of the water.

Swimsuits on now!

Mattias would run away from the waves and yell, "Hang on!"

Washing off before heading into the hotel

We had hoped to spend the next morning down on the sand, but the weather turned very chilly and very windy so instead we played in the hotel swimming pool and then went to a really cool local playground before we drove back home in the early afternoon. It was fun to play at the park since it is the same place where we Hawkins kids spent countless hours playing basketball over the years during our family trips to Wrightsville.

We were sorry to miss having Jim with us on this trip ... but we are resolved to go again together as a family. I definitely realized how fun and 'do-able' it would be now to take the boys to the beach for a family vacation. They loved it and were very content, and would be to play in the water and dig in the sand and look for shells and ride their bikes the whole day. And of course we were all completely exhausted and ready for bed by the end of the day!

crossing the channel and heading home...

Spring Break in Durham

While Jim travelled to the UK for ten days to visit partner campuses (on behalf of Western Carolina), we three stayed in Durham for a nice visit. It's been a mostly quiet week, with some warmish days but mostly chilly and some rain. We've stayed close to home - but of course made time for daily bike rides and a few treats, like riding the Duke campus bus and getting gougeres from a favorite bakery downtown.

Sorry, all, these photos were with my camera and don't feature Grandpa or JaJa or even myself! I will try to remedy that before we leave in two days!

Bike ride and bus ride on campus, plus a snack while waiting to meet Grandpa

"It's so beautiful!" Says Timo as they race into Duke Gardens

Playing hide and go seek with Grandpa in the new branch sculpture

Near-daily bike rides in the woods along Ellerbee Creek

And don't forget time to build roads!!

Absolutely Loving their bikes

I am happy to share that our lives have changed dramatically for the better - now that Mattias is riding a balance bike!! It started about two weeks ago (shortly after seeing photos of cousin Abram on his new balance bike) when he asked to get it out, and suddenly was able to sit and control the handlebars. Previously we had gotten the bike out and he would take a few steps with it, and then get frustrated or disinterested. But this time, within a day or two he had got the hang of it, and now he is totally in love with his bike. He has gotten very fast and agile, too. He loves going over bumps and racing with Timo up and down the driveway.

Every day he asks to ride it, and together he and Timo race and 'encourage' each other. The only challenge is getting them to come inside for supper when it is starting to get dark! I foresee a wonderful spring and summer ahead of us!!

this was on the 2nd day that he tried it

going in a loop around the house

Less than a week after he had learned, I took the boys to campus (and we even ran into Jim!). It's the perfect place to ride and practice because of all the safe, open areas and sidewalks. Plus, a bonus: students often smile and say, "So cute!" when they see them (and I get a tea from Starbucks in the dining hall, the only location around for 20 miles).

boys on their bikes, with Jim watching, in front of the student union

Yes - more pics! Here are scenes from their 'race track'. It starts at the door in the garage and goes down the driveway, downhill; all the while they scream and make faces and try to crash in the leaves at the end for extra fun.

Timo is off! (See Mattias waiting his turn?)

Mattias is off! With a happy yell.

When the sun is shining, the hill/driveway is a lovely place to play.

Our independent explorer

Nothing stops them - even when there was snow earlier in the day and the boys are in snow pants, and I am stomping up and down the driveway to keep warm!