The Wilkinson Family Blog: Matt Turns 40!

I won't dwell on it too much, but this special guy turned the big 4-0 yesterday.

As per Matt's childhood dream, this ad did appear in the Westfield, PA local newspaper. Many thanks to Aunt Martha and Matt's mom for sending the paper on to Portland!

The kids were pretty excited about Daddy's birthday. They eagerly helped open his presents and even more eagerly partook in the cupcakes and ice cream. Grady and Clara both drew nice pictures and made a picture frame for him too.

Matt and I used the teenager across the street to babysit for the kids after they were in bed and even got to go out for dinner and dessert. It was a nice day.

Another big event of the past month was a visit from my cousin Kathryn and her significant other Joe, all the way from London. They were in town for a "woodsy formal" (true quote) wedding outside of Portland, and we were happy to get to see them for the little time they were here when our schedules coincided. Our family reunion in Montana seems a long time away!

The kids LOVED Kathryn

I finally followed through on my threat this month as well and we had a big garage sale to get rid of the kids' toys that they have outgrown (no, Theo does not get to play with toys, He is fine with playing with a spatula and so that is what he will do) or that they have lost due to misbehaving, etc. All the money raised went to charities of the kids' choosing: Friends of Trees, Oregon Humane Society, Rock n Roll Camp for Girls, and Girls on the Run. All together they raised close to $200! We let the shoppers choose which charity they wanted to give to, and Friends of Trees was the distant fourth, so the kids then donated their own quarters to that charity. We were really proud of them.

We thought it would be nice if the kids could see their donations in action, so we contacted the Humane Society and they set us up for a mini check and picture presentation and a tour of the facility.

Clara drew a dog

Grady drew a picture of a man and a pet, after I gently dissuaded him from drawing a picture of them euthanizing a pet. Long story.

It was a really great experience for the kids, and incredibly generous on the Humane Society's part. We narrowly escaped adopting anyone, but I really have my heart set on one little kitty named Lyric (still available), and Clara fell for these fellows (who have since been adopted).

The kittens were cute too, and the kids thought the birds were hilarious.

Those birds!

Grady is about a month into his new school year now and he is picking up a lot of French. He has started asking me "Maman?" and then spouting off lengthy "sentences" - about 1/3 of which are actual words, but all of it sounds very french. "A guz a woo l'elephant est la et a woo bah buh mange le tigre?" It's pretty cool.

Grady is also getting interested in running. Grady and Clara both ran a kids fun run a few weeks ago and they did great! Grady finished at about a 10 min/mile pace, and Clara finished dead last but looked fabulous doing it and was all smiles throughout. (Your time takes a beating when you stop to touch all the traffic cones.)

Grady has become a really good drawer. It's now obvious what he is making, for the most part.

Getting on the plane, in the air, happy to be home. And Besa in the corner.

He is getting good at writing his letters too, and today made a list of the kids going to his birthday. (Never too early, I guess.)

Clara is doing well too. She has started taking a music class with Theo (which she loves) and gymnastics. She doesn't particularly care for gymnastics but man, she looks so cute.

She continues to be very verbal and very opinionated. Since she apparently doesn't have enough opportunity to talk in our house, she has also invented an imaginary friend (Bubba) who is a lumberjack/movie star/song-writer, and all at the ripe old age of 4.

Grady is still her best friend though. They really do love each other, despite their frequent, high-pitched arguments. It's very sweet to see.

Theo is still a joy, but he has figured out that when he fusses, he gets attention. Smart boy. His new skills include sitting up, using the high chair, and making lots of consonant sounds (ma ma ma, da da da, ba ba ba, na na na).

He is rolling everywhere, scooting backwards a bit, and getting close to getting onto all fours but not there yet.

Bonus points for finding Besa in this picture

He's also made a lot of progress on his mohawk.

(Not styled)

He has been sleeping better at night. I've had a few times where he's slept straight through, but more commonly we're getting a wake up between 2 and 4, and then up for the day between 5:30 and 6:30. It's much more manageable. His napping is atrocious, in part because of him and in part because I'm carting him around all the time. Luckily he stays in pretty good spirits even when sleep deprived.

Theo had his first swim lesson too. He loved the water, especially when he got lifted up and down. He did a lot of splashing and a little kicking too. I think he's going to be a water bug like his brother and sister. He also had his first swing, which he enjoyed.