Tuesday, October 4, 2011

no soliciting


Am I the only parent who has to remind their 7 year old before he goes out to play, that he may NOT try to sell the neighbors anything?... because I do.

His latest business venture was selling "nature". He quickly assured me that he wasn't planning on keeping his $.50 profit, he would be donating it to the local flood victims.

kindergarten

Did we mention that this little guy started school last month?


Excited to hear all about his first day, I asked him how it went. The only reply I got was, "Mom, there's a girl in my class!"... great.

Daily after school routine:
  • carefully hang up beloved Mario backpack
  • eat a handful of goldfish
  • find Theo

the right way to make a s'more


The boys were in heaven when our friends Jason, Calvin's popsicle parade and paper airplane pal, and Charlene came for a visit. They came bearing gifts that would make any little kid's heart stop- GIANT candy (e.g. , 1/2 lb. Reeses peanut buttercups and 16 in. long twizzlers).

After grilling a delicious dinner filled with Calvin's favorite thing to eat- meat- we got to finish it off with s'mores. While the best way to make them over the grill was debatable, we all ended up in a sufficiently marshmallowy chocolate mess; evidence of the sweet time had by all.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Noah's near death experience



Picking up Noah from school the other day, I noticed he still had an unopened granola bar from his lunch. As he climbed in the back, I instructed him not to open it in the car because of the mess the crumbs would make.

Three minutes later, we arrived home. I opened his door and saw a now empty granola bar wrapper on the seat. Before I could say anything, he defended his action with the most serious face he could manage:

Mom, I was ACTUALLY starving. And I didn't want to die.


Sunday, September 11, 2011

the end of bikini season


Driving home from soccer practice a few weeks ago, Calvin was lamenting the fact that he hadn't been fishing in a while:

"
Mom, Dad promised me he'd take me fishing again and he hasn't yet."

"
He just took you last week on our trip to Missouri."

"
Well, I meant here. We haven't gone here yet and it's already the end of bikini season."

"
... the end of what?"

"
Mom, the end of bikini season- it means summer."

"
Well, ... let's just say 'summer'."

Saturday, August 27, 2011

how to deal with it

While I was reading the other night, Calvin was watching a National Geographic special on the oceans. At some point they started a segment on orca whales, and Calvin turned to me excitedly to inform me that they "had no enemies," would "jump out of the water onto ice to eat seals," and "wouldn't be afraid of humans." 


 After some thought, he said, "Dad, I know how to stop them." When I asked him what he had in mind, he stated very confidently, "land mines."


Sunday, July 31, 2011

the binky fairy


There is a binky fairy in our house. If I leave Theo unattended for even a moment, without fail, I return to find a binky in his mouth and a blanket neatly tucked around him.

Though I've never seen him in action, I'm pretty sure I know which sweet little boy to pin this on:

Determined.

(mission: sandcastle)

Malcolm is a force to be reckoned with. Maybe it's a 3rd child thing, but he is intent on not getting overlooked and invariably makes his voice and opinion heard. As we've discovered, he has his own agenda and is not easily dissuaded.

He is very driven to keep up with his older brothers and always expects to be treated as an equal (a little tricky at nap-time). He is also quite capable for a two year old. Watching him effortlessly navigate RB's phone and my ipad ("mai ipadd!!") is impressive.

As soon as we learn how to harness this focus and will, I know it will serve him well in life. 'Til then, oh boy.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

bright out here


Noah loves Bowser as much as a little boy can love a dog.

Monday, June 20, 2011

living large

Baby Theo was the proud recipient of crocheted boots and a hat from a friend here in Pennsylvania. He approved. It's officially the first hat of any kind that fits a Jones baby.

 

 

super-duper messy

When I got home from the hospital today Noah asked me to come play with him in the basement. When I asked him what he wanted to do, Calvin interjected: "Dad, it's super-duper messy." Noah rebutted, "NO, it's really messy. The side with the pole and the basketball is messy, but the side with the tv is clean. If all the toys are out, then it's super-duper messy." Uniformed classification systems are important even to 4 year-olds I guess.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Theodore Rebollo Jones

Baby Theo is home.
Calvin proudly states he "will protect him, especially from wasps."
Noah chimes in, "and from rattlesnakes."
Glad to have those covered.

 

Friday, June 3, 2011

hot off the press

Seven pounds six ounces, twenty and a half inches long. Appears to have a fierce left uppercut.







Monday, May 30, 2011

cereal monster [gecko]



this is what greets me in the morning, demanding a bowl of "cheer-we-whoa's" before he will entertain any other activities.

spring sports

rainy, green pennsylvania spring.



fiddler in the basement


A couple of quick links to see Calvin over the last three years on the violin.

When Calvin first began taking lessons in Columbus, he had a cardboard violin he named "Plurt" that helped him learn how to position. He loved lessons with Miss Alie.



His first real violin, "Optimus Prime," got him through his first recital. Even while easily being the youngest in the program, he ate up the spotlight.



Now that vintage is cool again, his trusty transformer was exchanged for a larger model -- "Mario" -- complete with a red bow, which adds greatly to Calvin's street cred.

Friday, May 20, 2011

overheard...

While wrestling each other in the basement, Noah gained a rare moment of control. Calvin's response: "Uggh. Get off Noah! You smell like poop and jelly."

Depending on the day, there may be some truth to that.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

our little trooper

This last month was a bit of crazy one. It started off on a high note- Calvin losing not only one, but two teeth in the same week. The tooth-fairy did not disappoint, apparently there's been some major inflation in the value of teeth since my days, and Calvin was ecstatic to add to the growing contents of his buckeye piggy bank.

Things took a turn for the worse after that, as RB came home from being on-call one night to find Calvin crying in bed unable to move his neck. After a CAT scan in the ER, RB's suspicions were confirmed that Calvin had an abscess formed deep in his throat from a strep infection and was on the verge of having his breathing obstructed. He was then admitted and ended up staying in the hospital for six days, having surgery to drain the retropharyngeal abscess.

It definitely was scary for a little while there, but Calvin remained happy and very brave the entire time. Oma and Uncles Louie, Sidney, and Will flew in and really were an amazing help. The hospital placed a Wii in Calvin's room and with that and lots of visitors, he managed to tough it out.

Calvin is now off all antibiotics and has the mischievous gleam back in his eyes. It is a helpless feeling to see your little boy so sick and we are very grateful for the wonderful care that was given to him in the hospital and by family and friends.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Roses are elmo, violets are cookie



Malcolm is obsessed with Elmo. He is also very fond of coloring. I tried to use this to my advantage and a while back taught him colors according to his beloved sesame street characters. He caught on very quickly that red="elmo", yellow="big bird", and blue="cookie".

Malcolm is also stubborn. Although he now understands perfectly what "red" means, he refuses to say it himself. I've gotten a few strange looks while grocery shopping as I nod and affirm his pointing to blueberries and saying "cookie". Luckily, he's not a fan of Oscar the grouch, so "green" is the only color he'll consent to saying.


Thursday, January 27, 2011

knock, knock

This little Noah makes us laugh, despite his jokes.


Noah: knock, knock
Calvin: who's there?
Noah: apple
Calvin: apple who?
Noah: knock, knock
Calvin: who's there?
Noah: orange
Calvin: orange who?
Noah: knock, knock
Calvin: who's there?
Noah: Isn't it good that I didn't say banana?

Monday, January 17, 2011

merry, still

Perhaps our lack of posts can attest to our busy but wonderful holidays.

The boys managed to:

- spend time with all of their grandparents, aunts, and uncles
- ride horses, 4wheelers, canoes, and airplanes
- get showered with more Christmas presents than we ever planned
- now have a little puppy to call their own

meet Bowser...

... Calvin's latest subject of expertise, Noah's basement-running training partner, and Malcolm's new best friend/archnemesis, depending on the moment.