I love strong(willed) men, among other things.

Madigan awoke (way too) bright and early on Father's Day, because he was so completely out-of-his-mind excited to make breakfast for his daddy. He made pumpkin muffins, eggs and coffee and outside of some guidance on specific proportions/ingredients he did it solo! I was so proud of him and he was so proud of himself. And Daddy was an enthusiastic recipient of the goodness.

We had a little "Battle of the Will(s)" - as in Declan WILLiam. Little toot was throwing a tantrum when I put him in his high chair to poison feed him. He took a handful of his strawberries, looked up at me hatefully and smacked them into my cheek with a thorough slap. I wiped my cheek, put on a movie for Madigan, placed Lochlan on the floor with a plethora of toys to entertain him and glanced over to see Declan watching curiously while continuing to squeal in anger. I removed him from his entrapment (high chair) and migrated, along with a tray of strawberries, to the sofa. Once he was placed securely in my lap the battle ensued. I held him close enough to keep his arms and legs from reaching their intended target (any part of me) and gently kept reminding him that as soon as he was willing to calm down and try one bite of the strawberries he had been so ugly about, I would happily put him down and be on my merry way. Two hours later (seriously) he sighed and reached for a strawberry. He enjoyed it so much that he ate every strawberry on that tray! He was a winner, in his own way - he seemed to see it that way too and was all smiles and happiness following our altercation.

My blue-eyed boy... aside from being the happiest guy in town, he is also rather intuitive (dang it!). This morning, after going to bed too late last night (my fault) and waking up several times throughout the night (thank you baby teeth), I was less than gracious when he awoke at 6:00am. I think it was both the look on my face and my relative silence (we usually oooh and ahhh over him rather rambunctiously when we get to see his face each day); he burst into tears and was almost inconsolable. I quickly adjusted my attitude, showered him with kisses and made sure he could see my smile in the dimly lit room. I assured him that every minute with him is a minute I cherish and his happiness came storming back. He ate some breakfast and then cheerfully went back to sleep. When I went to get him later on, he reached for my face and plastered me with slobbery open-mouthed baby kisses. I have a lot to learn from this little person. 

And the latest from Tiger tales:
Upon finding Madigan's battery operated truck submerged in the kitchen sink, I was given this explanation: "Mommy, my truck is now clean and fluffy." Interesting perspective.
"Mommy, we need to call the fire department because I'm going to watch a movie." Not sure what the Tiger's planning on watching, but this should be interesting.
"I'm so hungry. Paugie, nothing could be worse." Conversation I overheard in the living room this afternoon. My poor starving Tiger.

We did a little science experiment today to try to help the Tiger understand that some things dissolve in water and some things don't.  We discovered that cinnamon and pepper do not disappear but that sugar, honey and salt all disappear when mixed in water well. He couldn't believe that the sugar was "gone" but the water still tasted great!

Cooking Master

A lil' bit proud of his handiwork.

You're never REALLY too big, right?

There it is: A Pauge Face

Blue Eyes

He looks like his Grandpa Murie.

Did somebody say happy?

Yep!

Those lil' brothers

They love each other!

a lot!

Science experiment #1

Science experiment #2

Science experiment participants