Seven!

We celebrated Malcolm's 7th birthday with a Cars 3-themed pool party. Elizabeth very kindly made her excellent chocolate cake with M&M's on top. The kids all enjoyed a feast of pizza, chips, and other snacks, and had a great time swimming. He was very happy that Aunt Amanda could stop by on a trip from Guatemala, too.  Happy birthday, Malcolm!

Independence Day 2014

The Lawler Family celebrated Independence Day this year in fine fashion. We started off with mass as St. Thomas Aquinas in the morning, followed by a neighborhood BBQ. Michael and Malcolm's fashion was provided by Wal-mart this year. After a lazy afternoon, Kim entertained the boys with songs from her patriotic songbook (the boys especially loved "You're a Grand Old Flag). Joseph did his customary crash around 7pm, so it was up to me to take Michael and Malcolm on their first fireworks extravaganza. They toughed out the heat and the long walk to the park, and enjoyed a great view of the fireworks put on by the City of Richardson. We also got a great surprise this weekend when we discovered a blue jay family had nested in our backyard. This is the first time that has happened since we lived here. Below are photos and video.

Summer's here!

 

 

Fun vacation

Here are a few pictures from the rest of our week in Florida. The boys had a very nice time hanging out around the house and doing some cool new activities. Almost none of my bowling pictures turned out, but the event was a blast. The boys all high-fived each other and took turns saying, "Go, Canon!" and "Yay, Malcolm!" This bowling alley was a bit nicer concept than I remember from high school and college - I think they've had to reinvent the concept a bit to keep it appealing. This was less a smoke-filled-greasy-food-card-table establishment, and more a clean, brightly-lit, family-friendly environment with a much better menu. To be sure, it was also more expensive than the traditional concept (like those high-end movie theaters now with fancy food), but I was still impressed.

We also had fun swimming and playing with toys. My parents have to have one of the best grandkid-friendly houses you could think of, with so many children's books and toys saved from when we were little that there is always something cool to discover. We really enjoyed the visit and hope to go back soon!

Fun swimming

Go, Michael!

High five!

Littlest grandchild with Papi-Pere

Merry-go-round at Downtown Disney

Magnadoodle

Storytime with Lita

Summer starting

We had a fun time after work this evening - all went swimming together for the first time this season. (Michael and I also went in last weekend and he loved it.) We got the same float for Malcolm this summer as Michael has and I think he likes it, but he's obviously a lot younger so he needs help the whole time because he's not used to it yet. He was done after about ten minutes in any event, but had fun playing out on the patio.

Somebody LOVES the swimming pool

Malcolm is signing, "Ready??"

Here's the "Set...." position

I couldn't get the "go" shot because I have to defend myself when Malcolm rushes in to tackle at full speed! :)

Fun in the water

We are getting the most use out of our pool this summer than any year since we've moved in! It has been wonderful to have as we pass 31 days at 100+ degrees, with this week getting even hotter (107-109 next few days ... yikes).

Swimming fun

Here is Michael playing in the pool last night and chatting away.  Yes, at the end, he does say "yummy swimming pool."  I think "yummy" sometimes applies to anything he likes ... we do tell him not to drink the water!  I'm glad he's getting so comfortable in the water. 




In other Michael news, he is constantly chiding Malcolm not to play with anything that he (Michael) can identify: Don't touch the car!  Don't touch the book!  Don't eat the letters!  Well, that last is okay, but we keep trying to explain to him that it's all right for Malcolm to play with toys sometimes too, and they can take turns.  This is going to be a long-term teaching challenge, because right now he does not get "taking turns" or "sharing" even though he understands the words.  He just knows if his brother has something, he wants it right now.  We've had a few tantrums and removal from the situation, and then we explain the concept again and eventually he gets (over) it.

We continue to be surprised at his memory, both in general and in reference to things that seem trivial to me.  At the store with me last week, on our way to check out after making the usual selection of groceries, Michael asked repeatedly, "Find the Snoopy? Find the Snoopy?"  I realized that the last time he and I made a trip to the grocery store (about a month earlier) we had picked out a birthday card for his dad, and he identified all the Snoopy cards in the greeting card aisle.  Apparently that was pretty memorable for him!  Also last weekend, we made a second trip to a new-to-us playground.  Michael immediately ran to sit in the exact spot we'd had an apple snack the previous week and waited expectantly for me to provide the same.  He then kept pointing to a bench and saying, "Time out!" -- because the previous week a little girl's mother had put her in time out on that particular bench.  I don't know if I mentioned on here a third example that really struck me - when we made our special trip to visit my friends in Atlanta in May and checked into our hotel, Michael asked when we would get to see Grandpa and Kadence and Mayah -- because the last time we had been in a hotel, in Chicago *at Christmas,* we'd seen Grandpa and the rest of the Lawlers.  So, although we have plenty of examples of how his memory works, they still collect!

Photos from this week

I can't center the set of pictures without putting each one on a separate line ... Blogger formatting can be a pain! Oh well. We've had a lot of activity going on this week and it has been fun.

Erin and Kadence

Cousins playing

Now it's Malcolm looking like
the viejito next to Canon

Michael and Grandma

Michael having fun

My little boys

Lawlers in town

This weekend, instead of having four Blackwell sibs and a cousin  around the house, we have four Lawler sibs and a cousin here -- Erin and Kadence came down with Grandma to visit for a week.  The sibs will meet up tomorrow since we are planning to head over to Theresa's for her five-years-in-Texas anniversary party.  That should be a lot of fun.  In the meantime, Michael is very happy to have his cousin Kadence here -- they are having a great time playing.  They've also already been swimming several times with Grandma and Erin.  Kadence is funny because she thinks Michael is a baby even though he weighs the same as she does -- she has tried to pick him up!  They are playing very well together though.

I am very grateful to have the continued help.  I feel a little guilty for not spending as much time with Michael as I'd like, but I do as much as I can, especially while Malcolm is napping.  It is very much appreciated to be able to nap some during the days since Malcolm is a decent, but naturally still inconsistent, sleeper and we're up several times a night.  Hopefully after these first few weeks we'll get in to more of a routine.  Until then, thanks to the family for being around!

Cooling off

We had another impromptu pool party today when Chris and Stef brought Canon over to swim a little. Canon looked pretty great in his fisher hat and shades -- like a little viejito :) -- and Michael had fun with his dad and with Stef kicking and playing with the hose. Michael took a 3 hour nap today after this! (We had also spent a few hours at the park this morning, which was fun but very hot -- hence why the pool sounded like such a nice idea . . . )