On #6-#1

#6 is getting more teeth.  I swear he must have 72 by now.  Teeth getting makes him hurl black beans from his plate to the floor with eyes like you just stabbed him in the ankles.  Luckily he is super chunky and huggable so eventually, when we've gotten far enough past the meal and the clean-up, we can forgive the teeth-cutting bean toss.

#5 has been walking around like he's got a stiff collar up to his ears.  I tried to get him to wiggle his head up and down and back and forth but there was a lot of lower body movement to make it happen.  He is determined not to take medicine.  I've asked him a million times if he hurts and he tells me, "No, I not hurt."  Then today I told him, "I'm not going to give you medicine, but do you hurt?"  And he said, "Yes."  And I said, "Where?"  And then he pointed to a part of his front torso and then I'd point to the same part on me and say, "Here?" And he'd say, "No.  Here," and point to another part.  And then I'd point to that part and say, "Oh here?" And he'd say, "No.  Here," and we chased all over the front of him that way the poor boy!

#4 ran with me up the block two times and then showed me her secret hideout.  Her secret hideout is at the top of a little hill covered in trees that looks onto the golf course.  When we got there, there were four men taking their turn putting about twenty feet from us.  #4 was determined to stay and watch them, which is fine for a four year-old, but doggone weird for a gal a little bit older than that.  I let her pick me some flowers, then made up an excuse really quickly for why we needed to get home and stop staring at old men.  Then off we went.

#3 likes to read books to #5.  Today I found the two of them at the bottom of the stairs on the floor pouring over a Star Wars book together.  Yesterday when the family was talking about what we learned from #5 being in the hospital, #3 got trembly-lipped and watery-eyed and said that he was scared when #3 was getting surgery.  It broke my heart that I didn't realize how hard it had been for him - my sweet, sweet, long-suffering boy.

#2 is in love with riding her bike and so determined to do it again and again.  And her mother continues to push her to take the next step forward in biking acheivement, after which #2 has some sort of massive accident that leaves a mark.  The mother is slowly learning and the blessed daughter gets right back on her bike.  Nobody ever, ever, ever said parenting is easy.

#1 and I tossed the football around for a bit today (at the same time that #2 was riding and falling and #4 was asking me to go to secret hideouts to spy on men wearing khaki - multitasking is my way of living).  He throws an awesome spiral.  He keeps giving me good advice, but my throws still wobble.  I'm grateful that he's not like his mom, but is way totally patient with my football's wiggle.  There is a lot of joy to be had in watching that boy catch a football.  It's true love, him and that game.