First Words

When Cole was a baby and toddler, this was his favorite book. It would always be the first one he'd pick when it was reading time. I have fond memories of the way he fit perfectly in my lap, the top of his head under my chin. Little did I know, that a few short years later, it would be the first book he would read to me.
Hello again, Nicholas. We've missed you.

The sweetest book, the cutest pictures. A great start, again.
Then he read me a book about Titanic survivors.

Monster House

If you want to stay healthy, you better not come to our house anytime soon.

This house has been invaded by an invisible monster that attacked Cole for 24 hours and so far has knocked Wes down two times in 3 days.

Stay away.

Beautiful Day

For Wayne, Cole, and Heather the beginning of sap season brings an excitement big enough to rival Christmas morning. The anticipation of tapping the trees and hanging the buckets begins in February. Once the trees are finally tapped, all three kids begin and end each day with "checking the buckets" to see how much sap has collected and to get a fresh sip straight from the tree. Next door, Marvin's lines and vacuum pump gather hundreds of gallons, but these simple, old fashioned buckets are full of drop after drop of magic for the kids.

Saturday was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Perfect for a walk out to the woods to see how the sap was coming along.
This was pretty early in the day, so not much had collected. We knew it was going to be warmer later in the afternoon which would cause the sap to run faster.

It doesn't get much fresher than this.

Several times during our walk, Cole assumed his favorite posture.

Wayne and Heather would not wait for him.

Cole, clearly the middle child.

Wayne helps Heather get a taste.

Wes is building some new Dr. Seuss style contraption for boiling sap. I don't quite understand how it's going to work, but I'll show it to you soon.

Changes

Can you believe that is cuddly little guy...

somehow transformed into this? He still loves a soccer ball though.