1. Second Son has taken to knocking on doors, especially my bedroom door. He'll yell, "Mommy? Dello!" (That's hello.)
2. At the end of our exercise videos, the people on the TV will give each other high-fives. Second Son insists on joining in, giving high-fives to everyone in the room. If First Son or the girls ignores him, he follows them around making annoying noises until they give in.
3. Second Son and Kansas Dad have a little game they play. Second Son will point to himself and say, "Dada!" Then he laughs hysterically when Kansas Dad says "No!" Now, he's extending the game to books, pointing to animals and saying, "Dada!" while laughing.
4. A beautiful Saturday for three soccer games and lunch with friends - outside!
5. Celebrating First Son's First Communion with one of his best friends with a "quiet" lunch -- as quiet as it can get with fourteen kids, four adults, a great big dog and a yard full of poultry.
6. A super-clean bathroom, thanks to Kansas Dad. He worked really hard on cleaning the master bathroom for me before my parents and sister came to town.
7. On a quiet night when half the household was at soccer practice and the little ones were playing outside with their grandma, I listened to the second part of Denise Eide's lecture (both parts available to download for free here) while washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. I am intrigued enough to teach First Daughter cursive next year instead of print for handwriting. I think our reading book (The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading) does a better job along these lines than the book I used with First Son, but I might modify it based on what I heard. Certainly it deserves more thought. (Thanks Brandy!)
8. I took Second Daughter to the Catholic bookstore and picked up a few Easter presents for the kids. She was very good and even picked out a small book to buy with her own money.
9. We spent a lovely few hours with my parents and sister at the local botanical gardens. They have a new children's garden that was wonderful and all the tulips were blooming. The kids had a great time, dimmed not at all by the special treat of ice cream after lunch.
10. Kansas Dad and I spent a quiet evening at a nice dinner without the kids (who were home feasting on frozen pizza with the grandparents) and then spent a relaxing hour at the bookstore.
11. A surprise day off from school. We had very few lessons during the week but I had planned on some for Friday after my parents left. I was tired and swamped with laundry, though, so opted to take a rare day off. The kids were a little confused, but they didn't complain!
12. Second Son's silliness
13. The joy of a box
