We’ve been responsible for more than ourselves lately. Mom ordered us caterpillars for our butterfly habitat and a tadpole (another one) for our grow-a-frog kit. We loved the caterpillars. 10 tiny ones came in two separate cups in the mail. We watched them double in size every day. It was amazing. They spun silk webs. And the ate and molted. Ate and molted. And ate and molted. Then they attached themselves to the underside of the top and hardened. Before we knew it, they were cocoons.

Meanwhile, our tadpole grew legs with teeny toes. Our new taddy is see through. So, we can watch his heart beat. Its amazing. When he grows into a frog, he’ll stay in the water. He’s not a normal bullfrog (which didn’t fare so well in our aquarium). We are watching every day for his legs to get bigger and for his arms to start to grow too. Once they do, he’ll absorb his tail and start looking more and more like a frog.

Isaac wasn’t lost in all this animal love. We all worked as a team to brush him in the garage. Tessa and Emmett had brushes, Riley had the vacuum to suck up all the hair, and Mommy supervised. Isaac was a very, very good sport. Even when Riley sucked up his ear with the vacuum hose, he just whined as if asking “Is this all truly necessary?” We gave him the okay to jump up after about 10 minutes, at which point he ran into the house and upstairs to hide in a back bedroom. Maybe he wasn’t having as much fun as we were?

Before we knew it, our butterflies emerged from their chrysalis. All of them. They were sneaky about it. We never actually saw them emerging. One second they were all packed into their cocoon, and the next they were stretching their wings and holding on tight to the mesh wall of their habitat. And when we took them outside to let them go free, they didn’t want to leave it. (The uncharacteristically low temperatures might have had something to do with that. But if we didn’t set them free, they’d lay eggs in the house and Mom didn’t want that.) So we held them on the tips of our fingers adding our own heat to that of the weak sunlight, waiting for their wings to warm. When they decided they were ready, they flapped up and away, and we wished them well.

With love,
The Pigs

Hi All!

Checking in again…

Halloween here was fantastic. Riley went as the Transformer Bumblebee, Tessa as Elsa from Frozen, Emmett as Merida from Brave, and Baby as Puss-in-Boots. Pop-pop arrived that afternoon, so he came trick-or-treating with us too. The weather was amazing. No rain and in the 50s. Perfect for making a loop through the neighborhood, which was PACKED with kids.

We started across the street where we saw our friends (who were dressed as Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes). Emmett’s main goal was to see and speak to as many Elsa’s as he could. We’d recently been at Disney on Ice (where a great time was had by all, except for the scary Disney villain Halloween number), and his focus there was a similar one. On Halloween, he got his wish, as well as branching out a bit with the Disney Princesses. He saw Ariel, Snow White, and Maleficient.

Riley was mainly focused on the candy, and–as such–he was a speedy Transformer trying to hit as many houses as he could. We would have done well tying a bowling ball to his leg, or making him carry Baby. As it was, he had to be asked several times to slow down and wait for his brother and sister.

Tessa mostly wanted to hold Pop-pop’s hand while making the rounds and she fell behind.

Asher took it all in with both looks of wonder and puzzlement.

The candy haul was marvelous. We each got to pick 5 to keep for ourselves. The rest went into a bag that we aren’t even sure still exists. Sometimes candy appears after dinner, or for a special treat. But not often. And never from the same location. So…

We loved having Pop-pop visit again. In addition to Halloween trick-or-treating, Pop-pop joined us as we went hiking in search of Bigfoot, played with all our toys, and had a lights-out dance party. This was something we did nightly at our old house. Its harder to do here, with the size and all, and we ended up breaking a beer bottle–at which point our party was moved upstairs to the loft where no glass exists. (We should say the lights-out dance party is both about music and our bouncy, light-up balls, the latter of which hit and shattered the bottle.)

We’ve started swimming at a new pool (jury’s out on that one) and rock climbing classes at the Y (which we love almost as much as playing in the human Habitrail located in the next room over). We’ve got a few trips planned: one to a hotel for Thanksgiving (we LOVE hotels, and this one is on the Hood Canal and has a tree lighting the first night we’ll be there) and a tentative trip home to Colorado for a short time just before Christmas. We’ve high hopes for both.

For now, most of our school-at-home consists of a lot of dramatic play. Like hours of pretending we are pirates or princesses. We’ve totally taken our Arts and Crafts to the next level too. Painting and coloring and drawing. Playing with kinetic sand, play dough, Shrinky Dinks, and yarn. And we are spending a lot of time outside. We’ve discovered a few new waterfall parks, and we like to pretend there is a dragon that lives in the bottom of the river there. So we are very sneaky…

Check back next month. So far, s’all good.

Love,
The Pigs

Hi all!

Just a quick note to say that we are doing fantastic. Tessa and Riley did wonderful at the dentist, everyone had some school field trips that were great, and we’ve been busy as a family going places and playing. Riley had a ton of fun at his birthday party, Grandma Cheryl was here for that, and we are all still busy playing with his presents. We are so excited for Halloween on Friday, and we are going to Disney on Ice later today. Fantastic!

Something new that we all voted on is we’ve chosen to do school at home with Mommy again this year. We are a tight knit crew, and we’d rather all be together than be apart. We are like the Super Friends. Strong individually. Unstoppable as a team. Individually we were all making good headway in school and activities. But we know that we are capable of so much more! So we are going to go at it together. Even Baby is excited.

Check back soon for updates on Disney on Ice, Halloween, Pop-pop’s visit, and all our new at-home school activities (we’re most looking forward to Shrinky Dinks, knitting, and making our own chalk board with chalk board paint), not to mention all the time we now have for at-home school field trips! Yay!

Hope you guys are all as happy as we are!
The Pigs

PS Asher is a little parrot. He repeats everything. If you say ‘Asher,’ he’ll say ‘A-sur.’ If you say, ‘night, night,” he’ll say ‘ni-ni.” He even pecks and bites like a baby birdie. Ow!

Craziness has entered the Pig household, and Asher’s caught the bug. He’s not sleeping, he’s refusing his bottle, and his attitude has suffered. But no one is immune. Let’s run down a list of the worst cases of Attitude-itis, shall wel?

Asher screams when not allowed to suck on cell phones (and most other times he doens’t get his way), and he bats away spoonfuls of food when its not to his liking, saying “Uh,oh.” But he’s yet to demonstrate good behavior on less sleep or an aptitude with sippy cups. (He is taking a few steps, now. And we are hoping he’ll be walking by Halloween.)

Emmett taken to yelling “Poopy pants” when he doesn’t getting his way, which, incidentally, is a bit better than Tessa who growls. None of us are sure where either learned their technique. And Riley is demanding, instead of asking nicely, often repeating himself until gets what he wants. (“More milk,” he’ll yell while sitting on the couch watching TV. “Get it, now. Please.”)

Riley and Tessa have also been fighting over the brushes. That’s right. Hair brushes. Riley’s growing his hair out and they both love to brush their hair. They especially like how soft the boar’s bristle brush makes their hair. Riley’s taken to sleeping with it, so that he can brush his hair whenever it gets messy. On the way to school one morning, Riley even told Mom that he didn’t want the wind to mess up his soft hair.

And, it was bound to happen. Tessa’s forthrightness has passed clear into Mean Girl territory. She’s been telling people, “I don’t like you.” Or she’ll say, “Sometimes I like you, but you’re not my friend.” Only slightly better is, “Mama, sometimes I like you and sometimes I like Daddy.” We are working on teaching her that with great power, comes great responsibility. Stay tuned.

Overall, these past few weeks have been good, with a few bumps. We are all looking forward to Halloween. The kids are entering a Pumpkin Decorating contest at their school. Each has their costume already. And all can’t wait til Pop-pop comes back into town to help then trick-or-treat. We may even put up some scary decorations outside.

Check back early next month, when we can report on Riley’s birthday, Halloween, Grandma Cheryl and Pop-pop’s visits, and a few trips to the dentist.

Later,
The Pigs

Mama, I think that chicken might beak me.
–Riley, at the corn maze where there were chickens

I’m your kid, and Asher’s your kid, and Riley’s your kid, and Emmett’s your kid–and Mommy’s your adult.
–Tessa, to Daddy

Yup, there it is. Kindergarten.
–Emmett, when turning down the street to his new school

Tessa, did you have a good day at school?
Yes, but I maybe didn’t listen too well.
–Tessa

School started, and Emmett is officially a kindergartener! He’s learning so much, but his favorite thing is the playground. And getting to ride the bus down the street for PE. He’s adjusting to the schedule and to the responsibilities. But he’s getting it. He even got the High-Five award for extraordinary listening just one week into the school year. He loves his uniform, too. It’s not much. Just a t-shirt or polo with the school insignia. But it makes him feel official. Yay!

Riley and Tessa are doing great too. Riley read his favorite Berenstain Bear book to his class, and he was the only one who could weave a potholder. The teacher marveled at his patience. And Tessa is–well–Tessa. Completely unapologetic in her unwavering self-esteem and knowledge that she possess all of the answers all of the time. We could all learn a thing or two from her.

We found a park that we go to regularly. It took a bit, but we finally found a place that’s big, not too crowded, and has a nature trail. We love to climb the tree there, bash the bushes with sticks, or slide down the super-tall slide. Baby Asher likes to crawl in the grass. Mom and Dad like that its big enough to keep him out of the wood chips. And Riley likes to ride his bike on the trails there. He’s really good at it.

We are all recovering from colds. Tessa, Mommy, and Asher were harder hit then the other boys. Asher even needed some respiratory treatments. But he’s doing great now. Good thing we’ve got the perfect care-giver in Daddy. Medical know-how and a loving touch. What a combination.

We are looking forward to school field trips (to the cider mill and local farm), Riley’s birthday, and Halloween. Grandma Cheryl is even visiting for Riley’s birthday. We love to play with her. (And she always brings special cookies and toys! You can’t beat that.)

With love,
The Pigs

I’ve had enough of this nonsense.
–Tessa after sliding, somewhat unsuccessfully, on a slide and into a pool

Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, cubby little shubby all stuffed with fluff.
–Riley, singing Winnie’s theme song

Dada.
–Asher

Hi.
–Asher

I’d like a big bowl of “No” for breakfast.
–Tessa, responding to Erik asking if she wanted eggs for breakfast

Brothers don’t marry sisters. So I’m going to marry Mommy when I grow up.
–Riley

And I’ll marry Daddy.
–Tessa

No.
–Emmett, responding to Sarah asking if he was going to marry Mommy too

Oh, there’s no need to apologize.
–Tessa

Yes, I’m fantastic.
–Emmett, when told how great it was that he could read an entire thank you note out loud

But Mommy, this isn’t real. I can’t turn into a car with this.
–Riley, when opening his new transformers Halloween costume

Hi Everyone!

The doldrums of summer have arrived. It is hot, a bit humid, and the days are lazy ones. We tried to hold off on getting AC in our new house, but a 5 days stretch of 90+ degree weather has us all sweating and uncomfortable. Mom and Dad threw in the towel. Our AC will be installed this week. Until then, we are trying our hardest to hold in the cool of the evening and make it last throughout the day.

We spent July fourth in the neighborhood doing a bunch of stuff we’ve never done before. We rode in a bike parade! We decorated our bikes with streamers, balloons, and stars and we rode through the neighborhood. We loved showing off our bike riding skills. And afterwards, we went to a neighbor’s house for a BBQ, and played until we lit fireworks.

The next day Mom and Dad took us to Seattle for the night. We stopped at the aviation museum on the way there (Emmett loved the moon landing exhibit) and spent time in the Pacific Center museum on the way home. We even went to the Space Needle. But Emmett’s favorite was meeting Spiderman on the street. For most of the drive back, he asked why Spiderman couldn’t come home with us.

Little Asher did a great job hanging in the backpack, strapped to Dad’s back. So, though you don’t see much of him in the pictures, he was there the entire time. Only Isaac stayed home with a babysitter!

Asher turns one at the end of the month! We can’t believe it’s been an entire year… We are looking forward to celebrating with a visit by Pop-pop and Ms. Ann. Keep checking for pictures!

Stay cool,
The Pigs

Hi all!

Our Photostream has disappeared! Until we figure out a fix, go to https://www.flickr.com/photos/33925826@N02/ to access it.

Cross your fingers we fix it soon,
The Pigs

I can use my tongue. A tongue is a cleaner.
–Tessa, when asked to wash her hands

Mama
–Asher

I’m pretending to be the Mommy, and I’m going to make the rules. The first rule is: When you step in water, you will get wet. The second rule is: There are boots for snow and boots for rain. The third rule is: Umbrellas will keep us dry.
–Tessa

Wow, Tessa. That was a big yawn. Are you getting tired?
No, Daddy. That was a wake up yawn.
–Tessa

Mama, I just rode my bike around the park one hundred times without training wheels. I did a great job.
–Riley

Mama, your feet are purple. They look nervous.
–Tessa

We started summer camp last week. Its at the same place we will all go to school in the fall. And we were very excited for it. In addition to 3 full days each week, we are enrolled in soccer, gymnastics, ballet, and swimming. Riley told Mommy that he loved his new class. When she asked him who his new friends were, he said, “All of them, Mommy.” Emmett and Tessa are making new friends, too.

Both at school and at home, everyone has spent a lot of time Lego building lately. Emmett made Cinderella’s castle; Riley built trucks, cars, and boats; and Tessa made a farm with chickens and bunnies. We call ourselves Master Builders, just like in the Lego Movie–which we loved.

We especially liked the song from the Lego Movie, Everything is Awesome. And you can often hear Emmett singing it to himself. Its one of our new favorite songs. Another of our new favorites is How You Like Me Now. It is actually Asher’s favorite.

He, like Emmett before him, has become a dancing machine. Mommy uploaded a bit of video of him dancing. Check it out. When he really gets into it, he wiggles his hips and shoulders and shakes his head. He LOVES it. He’s also pulling himself up to standing now. We figure just a few more months before he’s furniture surfing and then walking…

Our big trip this last month was chartering a sail boat for Father’s Day. We sailed out to an island accessible only by boat and we hiked around. We saw seals, crabs, jellyfish, an eagle, and racoons. It was a great, and tiring, day. Everyone took turns steering the boat. Even Asher thought it was great fun.

We are looking forward to a little time off for the fourth of July. And Pop-pop and Ms. Ann promised to come visit soon. We can’t wait!

Enjoy the Sun!
The Pigs