Holden wrote me a letter by himself, spelling the words phonetically. It started, "Dea Mom," and I said, "Opps! You forgot the 'r'." He responded, "What?! There's an 'r' in 'dee-ah'?!" ‪#‎massachusettsphonetics‬

Magical Moment

After the first snow storm of the season, I took the kids and dogs out to play. Holden, Mac, and Red burst out the door and went right to work frolicking with their long anticipated friend, as I rushed to catch up. But I realized that Ellery had hung back, standing on the porch in wonder. She looked around and said, "Oooohhh. I like snow."

My poor second child. I had overlooked the fact that she may not have remembered snow. So I stayed back with her and watched her take her time exploring what it felt like under her feet and between her fingers, how it covered her little chair, and how it sat on the branches of the bushes. It was one of my all time favorite moments.

I Didn't Do It

Holden likes to tag things (books, walls, chairs, trees, rocks, buckets, whatever) with an "H." If confronted, he will deny everything. I tried explaining to him that by putting the letter "H" on things, he's giving himself away. He stills denies everything, but lately I've been finding a lot of "E's" around the house...

Vendetta

I need some tips for blowing up a vacuum. Burning doesn't seem enviromentally friendly, but this thing needs to go. I vacuumed up a massive spider ("Mommy, can you believe that that spider is so big it eats wasps?!") and its insect ladened lair, only to realize that I gave it a lifetime supply of food and a vendetta. I also sucked up some small pieces of sticks and pebbles (from the dogs and kids), so I imagine that it is inside the vacuum building a little Crossfit gym, using its rage towards me to get ridiculously stronger. It may even have babies and create an army to rise up against me, waiting... patiently... for the moment when I change the bag.

The Day Finally Came

Well, the day finally came. Today is Holden's first official day of school. I barely got a kiss good-bye before he zoomed off into the room. There was no time to waste. He had been waiting practically his whole life for today.

Incognito

Having just stepped out of the shower, I was putting my face on in front of the mirror. Holden wanted to go downstairs, but I didn't want him down there unsupervised because he has a habit of getting into trouble. He said,"Okay, I'm just gonna go in my room." Then, as he walked out of the bathroom, said,"I'll shut the door." Nice try. I was on to him. To this kid, the word "no" is simply a challenge. "Shut the door" is code for "I'm sneaking down the stairs anyway." So I said,"Oh, no. Leave it. I like the cross breeze."

I went back to working in front of the mirror. I could see him through the reflection pacing back and forth in the hall, watching me. This went on for a couple of minutes.

The bathroom also opens into the master bedroom, so I walked through to my room. I could see Holden in the reflection of a mirror in the room, only he didn't know that. He thought this was his chance. He bolted for the stairs, but then I quickly turned my head towards him. He did a quick turn around, and acted cool, like he was just chillin' in the hall.

He paced around some more, watching my every move, but soon disappeared. I assumed he got bored and moved on. What a fool I was. Next thing I know, I see him moving down the stairs like this:

Never Simple

When Holden doesn't want to do something, he'll say he can't do it because he's too tired. So this morning, we had this conversation:
Me: "I'm cleaning up!"
Holden: "I'm just gonna watch cuz I'm tired."
Me: "You've been tired a lot lately. I think we need to take you to the doctor."
Holden: "WHAAAT?!"
Me: "It's not healthy to be so tired all the time. I think you need to see a doctor."
Holden: "Maybe my brain is weird."
Me: "Yeah?"
Holden: "Yeah. It needs more nutrients."
Me: "Should we tell the doctor that when we see him?"
Holden: "Food could work. I probably just need food. Then I'll get nutrients. I need vitamins, too."
Me: "So, if I give you food and vitamins, you'll help me clean?"
Holden: *long pause* then a quiet,"yeah," and he quickly changed the subject,"Hey! Do you see birds outside?"