marshmallow world...

empathy...

empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another semi-sentient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion.


how do you teach your child empathy?! see, i know i have it but am not sure how i got it but i am pretty sure it was directly related to linda sue sisler zarnoch, who rest in peace, is watching over us...baby girl of too many brothers and sisters : ) and daughter of pappy dan and grandma ida...someone on that sisler farm had it...pretty sure it was ida...but then i realized it is modeling behavior...we were sad today our nephew dog duke, aka "the wolf," is now in doggy heaven, i have been sad for my friend who has been on a rough road the past few weeks...but we are happy the boyz spent friday night with great examples of empathy...

sons...

today i got to spend the morning with a best friend and her son...with my sons...it was a perfect morning...this quote reminds me why we struggle to get together...we love these sweet boys...

there is an enduring tenderness in the love of a mother to a son that transcends all other affections of the heart.

– washington irving

never never land

so come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in never never land -

peter pan

parallel...

they sit side by side...playing or watching tv...doing the same thing but so different...words pour out of cameron's mouth and ewie is so busy he does not have a lot of time to talk about what he is doing...ewie beats down the door to go outside and cameron beats the door to come inside...they both know the words to songs now, cameron concentrating on the lyrics with a little bit of dance and ewie finding it hard not to move to the beat but still showing he knows the song too...it is overwhelming how much and how different they learn each day...and i feel like we are knocking on the door of new adventures with no chance of returning to this little world slightly captive in their cribs, this house and even the yard...i am so excited...but it is bittersweet because i feel like i will miss this one day... we are on the edge of parallel play and about to dive completely into a pretend world... fortunately i will be able to tap into my active imagination to keep afloat : )

a thousand words...

my whole life is in this crib...and this picture says so much...most every night now, andrew makes a "ewie nest"...he has usually has cookie, teddy bear, cam's elephant and espresso the horse surrounding him, despite the huge flower comforter, which was on my bed when mom and dad moved to columbus, which he insists on being wrapped in...tonight he had daddy and brother plus everything else in there...he was pumped...cam used this opportunity to get his hands on the coveted "truck" book that is ewie's...espresso the horse seems interested in what cam has to say...i love every detail of this photo...

snow white...

she tries to keep up with happy and doc...

but since october, it has been a struggle...

i only wish ewie's sloppy wet kisses...

or cam's bag of tricks...

were the antidote to wicked queen lupus's spell...

can't catch me...

three little monkeys swinging in a tree.

teasing mr. alligator, can't catch me, can't catch me!

along comes mr. alligator, quiet as can be

and snatches that monkey right out of that tree!

big trucks...

ewie says, "big trucks," clearly and with passion...cameron leaves the train and joins him this morning to play...the best parts are that grandpa made two of these "big trucks" with cars, they play in harmony, when ewie lays on the floor to get a different perspective and you can tell cameron did not hold still for his recent hair cut...what a wonderful morning : )

happy new year...

see i used to love entertaining and i still do but this nye, i was on call...so we just had an evening with the boyz...we hope you have a very happy new year and enjoy the boyz excitement of nye!