Little men

On Saturday, Chris's sister Andrea got married. It was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. Her husband Matt is a great guy and they are wonderful together. They're currently honeymooning the hell out of New Orleans.

Logan and Declan got to be ring bearers in the wedding, and that meant tuxedos for little boys. Everyone's favorite thing? Possibly. We ended up buying both of them for about the price of one rental (!) so now we're owners of two adorably obsolete tuxedos.

Declan got some performance anxiety the day of the wedding and we were all pretty certain he wasn't going to go through it, but when offered a Tootsie Pop at the crucial moment when the wedding party was lining up, he decided he'd do it for Andrea (and candy).

Grandpa Higgins happened to be in town over the weekend, which helped keep the boys happy and entertained. When the reception got a bit too receptiony for 4 and 6 year olds, he sped them happily away and Chris and I stayed a bit longer to celebrate.

Pictures from Logan's birthday + party

Because Logan's birthday fell on a Thursday this year, we planned his party for the following Saturday. His birthday itself was pretty awesome. He felt special with the phone calls and boxes of presents arriving in the mail. I made the requested lasagna and smashed potatoes (I love both of those foods, but even typing them out as a pair feels wrong) and we had some cupcakes that were lovingly made by Chris.

The party was a superhero party and it was quite a success, especially since last year he told people after his birthday that his party wasn't that fun and he didn't enjoy it very much. Parents of the year, yo. This year we got a heap of kids from his class, played Pin the Shield on Superman, Balloon Sandwich, and some bastardized versions of tag and freeze tag which involved Ironman and Spiderman vs. Venom. Good times, good times.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, a good turnout of kids, and things went quite smoothly (aside from Declan not enjoying not being the center of attention and pouting, saying he quits). Games, pizza, cake & ice cream, and presents later, the kids were ready to go home and everyone was happy. Logan has flourished at school and made quite a few friends, and it was pleasant to see them all together.






Did I mention Logan has a girlfriend? Her name is Reece. She's the little blonde girl clapping behind Logan on his left in the above picture. I've tried to ask questions about her without embarrassing him, and all I can surmise is that it's a typical kindergarten crush where they have no idea why they like each other and they probably don't actually talk or pay attention to each other at school. Chris asked Logan if he thought Reece is cute, and he got this look on his face where it seemed like he wanted to say yes but couldn't quite bring himself to admit it to anyone. We let it drop.

Ghost friends

A few months ago, Declan decided he wanted to be called John. I learned this when he was being stubborn in soccer practice and his coach tried to guide him to the end of the line with the other kids. I was sitting in my chair on the sideline at the other end of the field, watching Declan's little cooperation switch turn on and off throughout practice. I saw his coach lean down and gently turn Dex in the direction he needed to go and then I watched Declan furiously turn back around, face his coach, and demand in a voice that carried over to me, "My name is JOHN!" I'm not sure exactly what happened after that because my eyes were covered by my hand in a classic Jean Luc Picard facepalm.

Since that day, I've heard requests from Declan to call him John on several occasions, most of them being when he's in a moment of mischief or stubbornness or being chastised for misbehavior. I consulted some friends of mine who said that he would grow out of it, and it was probably his way of deflecting either embarrassment from being in trouble or responsibility for his actions. When I asked Declan why he picked John as the name he wanted to be called, he responded that it was the coolest name he knows. Someone else surmised that Dex equates mischief with being cool and when I thought about that, I realized it was something I'd always known but never really put into words - a total lightbulb moment for me in parenting that kid.

As time has moved on, the requests to be called John have diminished and John himself has morphed into a ghost friend (I think I've mentioned before that the boys refer to their imaginary friends as ghost friends) that regularly visits our household. John most frequently shows up when Logan's in school. We've had quite a few moments of similar exchanges such as: "Mommy, say hi to John." "Hi, John!" "No! [exasperated] He's not here yet. I meant say hi when he gets inside!" Good times, good times.

This weekend, Declan channeled the spirit of "Arrested Development" when he wanted me to write John's name down on something. "I'll spell it for you. G-O-N."

Damn

I have a lot of other things to write about but for now, a quick conversation between Chris and Declan.

Chris: [mumbles something about the damn Kansas City Chiefs]
Declan: [mumbles something else]
Declan: You didn't hear me, but I said very quietly that "damn" is a bad word.
Chris: It's not ok to say "damn" even when you're saying it's a bad word.
Declan: But I was just saying that it's bad!
Chris: Yes, it is. I'm sorry I said it. Please don't say it again, even if it's to tell someone that it's bad. Grown ups can sometimes say things that kids can't.
Declan, happily: When I grow up, I'm going to say a LOT of "damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"

Happy Birthday, Logan!

When he got up this morning, I said, "Who turned 6 today?!" And Logan grinned from ear to ear, then told me he's actually both 5 and 6 today. Not sure how that works, but ooooooook!

He was hap-hap-happy about life today. I guess the birthday kid gets to be the special helper all day at school, which includes important duties such as Line Leader. I plan on surprising him at school with treats for the class (muddy Rice Krispies, which means that it has chocolate chips melted in).

I asked what special dinner he wants and for the fourth year in a row, he piped up with "smashed potatoes!" When I told him we needed something to go with the mashed potatoes, he decided lasagna was a good pairing for that. So, starch is on the menu.

Back at the beginning of the year when Logan got his tonsils out, he laid on the couch watching TV and kept seeing commercials for the Snuggie. Finally he got my attention by waving his hands, then carefully signed with the bits of sign language he remembers, "I want blue." A brand new blue Snuggie awaits him today. Also, since he loves my mp3 player, we decided to get him his very own and I'm in the midst of loading it with songs selected for him by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close family friends that are important to Logan. I'm super excited for this because it's giving him a big, eclectic selection of music and it'll make him feel good that everyone he loves was a part of it.

About Logan:

This kid is awesome. I feel lucky to be his mom. His sense of humor has developed quite a bit recently, and I find him making jokes that are hinting at sarcasm and a perspective that seems older than a 6 year old. He is a really kind and loving big brother to Dex, and they continue to be best buddies. Logan's imagination is very active, which makes for humorous stories and drawings he brings home from school. Grandma Sue thinks he's going to grow up to be a writer, and I wouldn't be surprised if that came true. :)

I'll post pictures tonight.