Summertime Updates

Philip "Dad" Martin

Well I don't call him Dad, that would be weird.  I call him all sorts of other pookie names that you guys don't want to know about ;)  Phil is in his busy three weeks of summer, directing camp at our kid's school.  The kids come home from camp everyday exclaiming it's greatness, and Phil comes home every day like:

But he's so good at it.  Way better human than I, no doubt.  

After camp finishes, we will be travelling down to Maryland to visit his family and friends, and he is looking forward to the rest and relaxation that will bring.  Once the school year starts up, he will be teaching an extra class in not theology, but health.  Hahahahaha, he will be a health teacher.  Remember how awkward and unlikeable your health teacher was when you were 15 and hormonally charged?  Yeah, that should be fun for him.  The good news is that since he is the Theology Department Chair, and is personally the most moral guy I know, the kids will be learning health with a big side of Catholic chastity and love.

J-P

Oh my first born is getting so tall and grown up.  The other day he informed me that he was sorry, but he is definitely not staying little anymore, he is turning into a man.  Ugh.  I think he might become the only teenager I like though, so that's a blessing.  So far, so good.

His soccer team just won 2nd place in their tournament this weekend, and he's serving daily Mass, funeral Masses and even a wedding this summer.  He got $20 for the wedding, double the funeral pay!  I tell him to save up his money for a car, but he just spends it on amazon.com like his momma.  He is dying to get through his summer math packet so that he can get his hands on his summer reading book.  Love my big reader so much!

Andrew

Andrew is always on the go - running a race or playing soccer or throwing a ball or shooting hoops.  He can't sit still, this one.  He is definitely loving camp so he can play with all his friends and told me this week that he feels "really mature" (though perhaps stating that lowers the maturity factor?) because his age group gets to help set up camp activities for the younger kids.  He made the winning penalty kick in his soccer game yesterday that led their team into finals, which they lost (but hey, 1st is the worst, 2nd is the best...I never said I was feeling "really mature"). 

 He is always watching out for his younger brothers, which is just the sweetest.  He is dying to get through his summer reading books so that he can just focus on having fun.  Love my big sports nut.

Eamon

Eamon is pretty much wonderful lately.  He is a pleasure to have around, such a great helper, and loves to be anywhere that older boys are.  He's the one who will be stealing Andrew and JP's friends when they are older...he just loves to hang with the big guys.  

He is the first to say "Yes, Mom" when I ask the kids to do something, and says grace before meals, and decades of the rosary before bed without being reminded.  He's such a good doobie, and serves Mass at any chance!  His soccer practices haven't started yet but he goes to the big kid's practices and just plays all around the fields.  He is excited to move up to 3rd grade, so that he can join his school's track team and even more excited that his cousin Tommy will be transferring to his school next year!  Love my holy roller!

Maggie

Maggie's little inverted crop cut suits her so well, we love it.  She spends her time reading, drawing pictures and love notes, and making cards for friends and family.  She also loves to talk.  A lot.  Camp is wonderful for her so she gets to play with other little girls who also love to talk a lot.  She has continued Irish Step lessons through the summer, and still jigs her way around the house.  It's so cute!



  Sometimes her and I escape to go grocery shopping, run errands, get our nails done, or whatever I can classify as "girl-time".

  

The lady next to us at the salon asked how old Maggie was. "Eleven?  Ten?" and Maggie was super stoked to reply that she is only 7 but she looks older because she is so tall.  Truth.  She melts down on the regular when she's tired or feeling lonely without a sister (does that ever go away???).  She wants to find a guy when she's "at Steubenville, that is Catholic and nice and holy, and I don't care if he's handsome as long as he loves me.  He'll never be as handsome as Daddy anyways." Truth again ;)  So if any of you moms have holy, nice, ugly boys planning on going to FUS in about 10 years, let's play matchmaker.  Love my little romantic!

Alexander

Oh this boy.  He's turning four later this month, and that is my favoritest age ever, and I really hope it mellows him out like it did with the other kids.  Please, Lord, please.  

On July 4th, we were hanging around the house, waiting to head to a party later that day.  Declan had crawled up the stairs (with an older kid supervising) and taken one of our kid's favorite wooden games off the shelf.  Then he turned around and dropped it down the stairs, where unsuspecting Alexander was standing.  Boom, smack, right into his face.  Blood everywhere.  Much crying and panic ensued.  I got the cut cleaned up, and the bleeding stopped, but I knew it needed stitches because it was wide open.  Phil took him to Urgent Care where there were 9 people waiting ahead of him at 9:15 in the morning, and didn't come home until noon with a bandaged and stitched up little mustached man:

He could not remember what his stitches were called, and kept referring to them as "thingies, tweezers, hairs, and pinchers" but now he looks like this:

All better.  He is a major source of laughter, stress, and delight.  Love my little crazy man!

Declan

 My baby is 15 months old already!  I used to feel so great when a baby turned 15 months old, like phew, now I can get pregnant and they will be 2 years apart.  But Declan is still VERY much the baby, no urges at all for the next one.

 He is climbing everything, and has mastered going downstairs (which is the best once they learn to go upstairs).  He is busy busy busy, just as a boy should be.  He like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and doesn't talk at all.  Unless you count "Mo!" for more food and "Shhh" for what he says at Mass when I shush him.  We're going to make sure his ears are okay at the next physical, after having four kids that needed ear tubes, I wouldn't be surprised if his speech delay has something to do with that.  When I  drop him off to his wonderful babysitter during these camp weeks, he starts to get sad :(  When I pick him up, he looks all around the car like "Where's my five buddies?"  Camp weeks are not kind to Declan.  He especially misses his roomie, Xander who loves him so much he even shares his ice cream while repeating "sharing is caring" to remind himself to be generous.  

Declan has learned that age old baby tactic of flailing on the ground and crying if we tell him no, so that's been fun.  But otherwise, he still is such a happy baby boy, sweet and adorable. Love my little monkey!

And that's all she wrote because, wow, that was a lot.  Thanks for reading that novella :)