Worm Day

Worm day...yes, you heard correctly, Worm Day. My plan for the summer is to entertain the boys with some fun projects to help pass time while William is napping. This week...worm day. I built it up big Wednesday night at bedtime. Philip woke up Thursday morning asking when would worm day start??

We began with a ride in the Gator to find the best place to search for worms.

When we found the perfect spot, we began the digging process.

I am sad to report that we dug in several spots. The boys looked so hard...but to no avail. The worms were in hiding. They did not seem to care. They were simply having a ball digging in the dirt. They filled up buckets of dirt...then dumped them out in search of hidden worms!

When they grew tired of searching, we headed into the kitchen to whip up an after lunch treat. We started by crushing up graham crackers in a bag. For two little guys who love to run around tearing things up and shouting "bang", this was a blast. Then we made chocolate pudding. The graham cracker crumbs went in first to represent sand and next the pudding to represent dirt. We topped them off with gummy worms! The boys love to help in the kitchen and seem to really enjoy this activity.

Last, an art project. We took some yarn, glue, and food coloring and made "worms" to put on construction paper. I let Daniel simply play with the "worms" on his paper. For Philip, I wrote out the word worm and he traced the letters with his yarn (with some help).

Perhaps the most fun, though, was watching Daniel eat his treat. What a mess!! All in all, a lot of fun!!

The rest of the week was uneventful. We did have a fun trip to the playground with Mary and Annie. It was packed...first day out of school for public schools. I got tickled when a little girl persistently tried to grab Daniel's hand and take him around the playground. He was not having it. At one point, she called him a baby. His response....he pointed to the stroller and said, "Baby William" and then pointed to himself and said "Tank Tank". Love it!!!

Baby WooWoo

Baby William (aka Baby WooWoo) is now a month old. At his doctor's appointment yesterday, he weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long! I was impressed with his weight gain! He's an easy baby...rarely fusses and is starting to stretch to 4 1/2 to 5 hours at night!

The boys adore him. Daniel is constantly loving on him...usually leaving green snot stuck to his head. Whenever William is in the room, Daniel says, "Hi Baby WooWoo". The other night I was home alone with all the boys while Chris was at a meeting. I put the older boys to bed early and then nursed William and put him in bed too. Thinking everyone was asleep, I went downstairs to clean the kitchen. Suddenly, I hear William cry out; followed by, "Nigh Nigh Baby WooWoo, Nigh Nigh." I think Daniel knew Mommy was done with boys for the day!

Philip is more interested in talking to William. He loves to tell him all the things he is going to teach him. If I need to vaccum or clean up while Daniel is napping and William is awake, I can leave William in his bouncy seat on the porch with Philip. He will sit and talk to him while I work! How nice!!

How the Boys Entertain Themselves

The days can be long for two little boys mainly stuck at home with a newborn brother. As Philip is known to say, "I get so 'cuked' up in this house." On Friday, after a quick errand in the car, I found some peace and quiet. William was asleep in the car seat and the boys were playing happily in the driveway. I actually pulled out my smocking and made a little progress there.

When I looked up to check on them, I had to smile. They were riding along in their John Deere Gator...one handed down by the neighbors! They looked like an old married couple...Philip driving very cautiously and Daniel, with thumb in mouth, taking in the sights. Then they stopped to investigate a tree and to see about pulling its Spanish Moss down. I took a few shots with the camera to share.

School's Out for Summer

This week was a defining one for Mom because MDO ends for the summer. Having never sent Philip to school in the summer (even though it is open), I've decided to keep Philip and Daniel home for the summer. All of their friends at school are going, but we are determined to have a little fun at home!

So, we started the summer off right this week. The boys end of the year party was on Monday. Philip and I made 5 dozen cupcakes on Sunday for the big bash. The party was one of my first outings with all three boys. Thankfully, William slept in the stroller through the whole thing. Daniel was a little fussy, but overall a good time was had by all.

Tuesday was spent with a trip to Old McDonald's (as Philip calls it) with GranGran. With Happy Meals in hand, we headed to the playground for a picnic and some fun. It was great to get on the equipment and play with both boys...something that couldn't be done when William was still in the womb!

On Wednesday, no one wanted to go to school. Daniel cried his eyes out and Philip clung to me with a death grip. Why the sudden change of heart??? We generally love school! Oh well, Ms. Kelley assured me that it didn't last long! I picked the boys up and treated them to ice cream at Old Dutch. We decided it would be a new start of summer tradition!

Needless to say, the Shout was put to work after this trip!! Thursday brought a fun playdate to the Eastern Shore Centre to play in the fountains. We met up with Harper, Mary, Annie, Anne, and Katherine for play and a picnic lunch. As usual, Mom is concerned that were no boys to play with, but Philip assured me that those girls were "his best friends". Daniel was not interested in the water and William was fussy, so very little time for adult conversation but it did beat being stuck inside all day!