Enjoying Fall Weather

Diego caught a monarch

Charlie's Little League team - the River Dogs!

The cheerleaders at Charlie's little league game

After we put the kids to bed and go downstairs, Charlie has taken to leaving us notes by our bed.  It is probably another delay tactic, but they are very sweet. We usually write him back a note and leave it by their door.  Here is the one from last night - written on a scrap of cardboard:

Bedtime - even with all the wild and frustrating delays and demands - may actually be my favorite time with the boys.  I've gotten even more lenient and so usually lay down with them and scratch Diego's back while we talk about the day and tell stories.  I don't always get a lot of information from them after school so at night, when it is dark and the are finally calm, we share 1 thing they really enjoyed about the day and 1 thing they wished went better.  Charlie carefully abides by the 2 things.  Diego, on the other hand, says that he has 20 things to share and rattles off random events that don't seem to fit in either category.

I find that is our best time to talk.  I am also beginning to feel that giving hugs and kisses and keeping them safe doesn't feel like quite enough. It feels like things are getting more complicated and they aren't even a decade old yet! Diego seems to have classic middle-kid issues and Charlie has various school influences that I can't really control.  Thank goodness for Sofia.  It is so easy to make her genuinely happy!  And when she gets individual attention she is such a joy.  She loves to color - especially the couch.  She loves her doll - but doesn't like to have any clothes on it.  And she has the cutest prance when she is in a hurry. She still can't say much so screaming is still part of her regular communication.  When she does talk it is in almost full sentences smashed into a single word, like "iwandis" is "I want this" or "iwannago" is "I want to get out of my chair and go" and "iwanmama" is "I want to nurse cuz I can't deal any longer."

This is classic Sofia - she is pivoting to see how she can run away from me....

And there she goes....

This weekend we went out to Middleburg and the kids loved running around the wide open spaces.  The place we went to had a giant chess board and a fire pit.  We ordered s'mores and even I managed to enjoy the chilly night.