May photo dump

May was a CRAZY month. John was gone for over three weeks of it (including three very long weekends) and we are going through the end of the school year rush. Thankfully the weather was perfect and we were able to squeeze in some fun things during all the craziness!

Our town recently stocked one of the ponds and are now allowing kids to fish! James has been asking to fish for awhile now so this was a lot of fun for him. He is practicing so when we go visit Uncle Dwight this summer he will be a pro and can fish in his pond!

James love to play games of any kind (he got his competitiveness from both John and myself) and whenever we find a new game it is like Christmas morning to him! We found Battleship at our garage sale and it was a huge hit with both James and John!

James is also now really getting into a few book series, one of them being Captain Underpants. He loves to draw and make up his own stories so he has started to write his own Captain Underpants story - I cant wait until its finished! Hes done a few short stories already but this one will be a longer one and hes really putting some thought into it.

Oh Matthias. Matthias is now a full fledged toddler. Meltdowns and all. He loves water, and as my mom pointed out - he is a Pisces so he comes by his love for water honestly. Which is usually great because we love the pool and the beach and the sprinkler - BUT anytime anyone else takes a shower or a bath (especially his brother like in this picture) and he doesn't, he gets insanely upset. Most of the time we just let him shower as well but sometimes there just isn't time for him and that's when his toddler attitude really likes to shine.

But then he gets fed and all is better!

James snuggles.

Boxes make the best toys.

Dash and Duke are best buds. No pup will replace Bronx, especially for Duke - but Dash has really helped fill the hole that Bronx left.

This kid! His new thing is to stick out his tongue and act like a dog - which makes his brother and sister crack up and do it too, which makes him do it even more. Its an endless cycle in our house right now. And most of my pictures of Matthias in the last two weeks are of him sticking out his tongue.

Mother's day this year was quiet - John was out of town and I was sick, so we all stayed home in our pajamas and watched movies and snuggled and ate ice cream. And it was a really nice day with these three.

With John traveling and our family so far away, we Skype and FaceTime a lot. So much that Matthias knows to come running when he hears the ringing of a video call vs a regular call. He will actually sit longer and talk than the other two kids will. But that might because he knows he usually will get a snack while we sit and chat.

James has really thick straight hair and Madeleine has really long curly hair - the baby's hair cannot seem to make up its mind on what it is. He has already had several haircuts and it just keeps growing and changing everyday.

Madeleine graduated from preschool and is now officially a kindergartener. I still don't know it happened - I swear she was a baby a week ago. She has grown into an independent smart and opinionated girl seemingly overnight.