And Then There Were Four

 

 

Nolan is busy sweeping the floors.

He has moved up to Grampa's broom.

If Grampa uses it, there must be something special about it.

 

 

Aunt Mary and Uncle Ray got Nolan a hockey stick and puck for Christmas.

It's okay with Gramma if Nolan practices hockey at her house.

She hopes he'll get it out of his system.

She likes her gentlemen to have teeth.

 

 

Nolan, like Grampa, enjoys fixing things.

He is fixing his car, so it will run smoothly.

He's working his way up to Auntie Becca's car.

 

 

Now that his car is working perfectly,

he's ready to give it a test drive.

Gramma is the engine that makes it go.

So far, she's still working on all cylinders.

When Grampa is the engine, there's plenty of gas.

 

 

 

Is that baby ever coming out of Mommy?

 

 

Nolan asks Grampa to make a fire every Friday evening.

He likes to have a close seat and really enjoys watching it.

 

 

Nolan makes the world go round.

 

 

Is this where Auntie Becca is in Peru?

 

 

 

Nolan is practicing for changing his baby brother's diapers.

Daddy will be glad for someone else to take a turn.

 

 

We entertain Nolan during diaper changes.

He does the same by holding a toy cell phone for his "baby."

 

 



Nolan likes to name all the people pictured on the family tree.

We now have a new member to add to the tree.

 

 

Welcome to the world, Seth Ryan.

 

It may seem like Grampa is getting the first smile out of Seth,

but he's looking at Gramma.

 

Turn up your volume to hear Seth squeak.

 

Seth is showing Gramma how he can sing.

They said he has piano fingers, but he's been swaddled

and I haven't been able to check yet.

 

 

California Gentlemen

 

 

 

It's shorts weather in California and

zero degrees in Chicago.

 

The boys look like they belong in a fraternity

in their Goedken University shirts.

Bit then, male twins are born into a fraternity.

 

 

 

 



Three Gentlemen and One More On the Way

 

Hi Mr. Snowman.  You better look out. 

Things show up and then they just disappear.

After Halloween, Gramma's spider and witches disappeared.

If you find Santa, let me know. 

I'm still looking for him and the Christmas tree.

 

 

 

Nolan loves the compressor. 

He asks to play with it often.

He's into blowing things up.

 

 

Everyone should learn to blow their own horn.

 

 

 

 

Nolan has Grampa's remotes.

This is a sure sign Grampa is somewhere else.

 

 

Nolan misses his grocery cart when he's in the pantry.

It's like a mini grocery store.

But he doesn't have to pay.

He just uses Gramma's credit card.

 

 

 

Gramma thought Nolan would like to play with beads.

But he only wants to play with orange beads.

 

 

Grampa is being silly and putting Nolan's legs into his coat sleeves.

Nolan plays along and puts his sillies on.

 

 

Grampa was trying to fix the dryer, or determine if we needed a new one.

It was making a funny noise that sounded like the motor must be going.

He removed the back of the dryer and tipped it over,

only to discover he had also loosened the drum.

THEN he came and asked me for help. 

It's not easy to lift the drum of the dryer and put it where you want it.

The inside of the dryer keeps turning.

After I explained how to fix the problem, I was told he would do it himself.

I retreated to my piano practice, until I heard yelling from the laundry room.

Thinking he was likely bleeding or under the dryer I went to check on him.

He said he thought he had fixed the problem. 

He showed me what was causing it.

 

Can you count the mice tails?

Their coats are now extra dry.

And the dryer is working well.

 

 

We checked outside where the dryer vent is.

There was another dead mouse outside.

I guess he was the mouse that boosted the others up to the vent.

 

Besides fixing dryers, Grampa repairs Nolan's favorite book,

The Night Before Christmas.  This had been our children's book.

Some of the tabs and wheels were no longer functioning.

Nolan tried every time Grampa read it to him, to see if they would work.

Grampa repaired the book by taking it completely apart and rebuilding it. 

I don't know how much a new book would have cost,

but it probably wouldn't last as long as this one will.

Now it will last until our great grandchildren can enjoy it.

 

 

California Gentlemen

 



 

 

 

The gentlemen enjoy their time together. 

Andrew and Nathan seem to look after Nolan.

Nolan understands that they are to be looked up to.

For some reason he would try to sit on them.

With the cousins, it's a guy thing.

I may never understand.

 

 

Mousie Finds a Cookie

by Gramma

 

Mousie was out playing in the snow at Gramma's house.  He ran to the wall of the house with his pals.  Mousie can run fast.  The wall felt hot and Mousie was cold.  Mousie and his pals looked up and saw a way into the house.  They jumped and jumped to get in the vent that led into the house.  Mousie can jump so far.  They ran into a hole.  It was hot in the hole.  At the end of the hole, they saw Grampa.  He had cookies.  They could smell them.

 



 

Grampa makes the best cookies.  Mousie and his pals wanted Grampa's cookies.  They wanted to stay with Grampa and eat his cookies.  They wanted a glass of milk to go with the cookie.  Then they took a nap. 

 



Budding Musicians

 

Nolan is doubtful that he will be able to move once he gets outside.

He was wearing a shirt, a sweatshirt, snowpants and his winter coat with two zippers.

The hood from his sweatshirt was up, next came his wool hat and finally the hood of his coat.

The worst part was having to wear his mothers mittens.

 

 

His fear is growing,

but he knows he wants to be outside.

 

Grampa, you'll have to pull the sled.

I can't feel my legs.

 



 

Don't leave me up here.

I'm not sure when it will melt.

 

 

Grampa, are you sure this will work?

 

 

Do you have them plow it like this, just for me?

 

 

Nolan was thrilled to hear Ellyn and Aryn rehearsing with Gramma.

 

 

 

This is how a musician grows roots.

 

 

Gramma, stop trying to kiss me!

 

 

I'm not going to let you get me this time.

 

 

Oh, no.  You got me again.

You know, I'm going to get faster.

 

 

The California Gentlemen

 

 

 

The boys are really enjoying piano.

A couple of weeks of living with Gramma, the piano teacher,

has taught them how much fun it can be.

 

 

They especially like Gramma's practice games.

And they love the pennies they earn,

playing the practice games.

 

The best part is that Ryan Joseph has a reason to practice again.

 

 



Happy New Year - 2014!

 

We returned to the Chicago Botanical Gardens to enjoy the Polar Express.

It's amazing how much a child can grow in a year.

And as they grow, their appreciation for all things grows, too.

We'd all be better off, if our sense of wonder continued to grow.

 

 

 

We saw three deer in our yard. 

Grampa and Nolan are keeping watch in case they come back.

 

 

The boys are kicking back.

 

 

Andrew and Piggie take their time moving in the morning.

 

 

Andrew reads a book to Nathan and Nolan. 

He's a very good reader.

 

 

And captivates his audience with the most exciting parts.

 

Even if he doesn't have an audience,

he's often lost in a book.

His father was rarely without one,

even at this age.

 

We would go to restaurants and when he finished

he would open his book and start to read,

while the adults talked on and on.

 

I don't think he still does that.

But now he has an iPhone.

 

 

Happy New Year!

The boys went to bed before the New Year arrived.

Megan, expecting, went to bed when the New Year arrived in New York.

The rest stayed up until it arrived in Chicago (or the wine ran out.)

 

 

Boys never outgrow their toys.

 

 

It's not high-tech, but it's fun.

 

 

Grampa's helper is working with his tools,

while the card games carry on over his head.

 

As a child, I remember hearing, "The fifth player has to get under the table."

Now, I understand it.

 

 

A left-handed version of violin playing.