HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW!!!! Four? FOUR! Can you believe that it’s been four years since “I don’t think he’s going to like that name [Abigail Madeline]” Mr. HUGE surprise?! Crazy. Four. I remember four. It wasn’t that long ago. OK, well, it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago.

Yesterday was my first day watching little Nick (2 ½ yrs. old) from up the street. The combination of three boys ripping around this house was a little madness. But Mr. Nick, out of all three boys here, was BY FAR the most well behaved. Way to go Martin Boys. Nick is quiet and mellow and sweet, and it was all Matthew and Zachary could do to keep from smothering Nick in their love and adoration. And Zach couldn’t resist entirely. I heard Nick croaking something. I looked over and saw that Zach was squeezing Nick as hard as he could in a neck-hug of total devotion. Nick was quietly squeaking “Get off me….get off me, please.” Zach adores him and Matthew thinks he’s pretty darn cool too.

And how successfully my first day with all three boys was! I got them all down for naps at 2pm and they were out for two hours! Matthew had me up at 5:20am with a bad dream and I stayed up for an early run with Andrea, so I was pretty wiped. I managed to nap for an hour and a half! I’m working hard for my money.

Nick has a 5 yr. old sister, Sydney, who is as girlie as they come. She showed up today to drop Nick off and to head off to her second day of school dressed in sparkly top and metallic silver cowboy boots. I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up and she said, “a Rock Star.” This boy-infested, truck-obsessed household is absolutely the best place for Nick to spend the next month. I asked him yesterday what he wants to be when he grows up and he said, “A Flower Girl.” Matthew looked at Nick and said, “Huh?! You can’t be a Flower Girl. You gotta be a firefighter like me.” I told Geoff, Nick’s dad the story, and then with Sydney announcing her Rock Star aspirations this morning, he just looked towards the sky and said, “A Rock Star and a boy Flower Girl…help us.” I promised him that after a month with us, Nick will want to only be things manly: bulldozer driver, fire fighter, pirate…or in the very least a Flower Boy.