Seven. We're Seven.

Jamisen was asked at summer camp who were the oldest people he knew. He said his Mommy and Daddy. He then was asked how old we are. We are apparently seven years old.

(Yes, I know this doesn't match the pictures. I'm sorry. There's not much I can do about that when the photos are so dang cute!) Jamisen loves his little tadpole, Sippy Sippy II, and I must say, this Sippy Sippy is much happier since he gets really great non-distilled water. He frolics and plays and is generally a delight to be around. Very polite, that little tadpole, very polite.

I asked Jamisen tonight the Four Questions:

What is your favorite color? Red and purple
What do you want to be when you grow up? Daddy
What do you dream about? Zebras and birds.
What is the meaning of life? (first answer) Salad (second answer) Family and quality.

The last time, for the meaning of life question, he said "I will tell you." Now we've progressed onto veggies as the meaning of life. I think that kid is onto something!

We had a great weekend last weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Faiola. Grandpa came up on the train and of course, the train was delayed by over and hour. Jamisen insisted (INSISTED!) on waiting at the train station with me while Chris took Lily home. And of course, then when the train came, an hour later, he stayed in my arms and did not go running to greet Grandpa. We chalked it up to being tired since it was 10 p.m. by that point.

We did get to spend time on the lake (thanks great weather). Clearly Jamisen and his Daddy loved the boat time.

And yes, my husband is a hottie (or quiche as the little tweens are calling it currently).

Chris and I took a little trip to California last week for  a friend's birthday party.

We stayed in a charming town, right by where my folks honeymooned. Ah, #smallworld. It was nice to get away and we are especially thankful to Grandma Faiola who stayed with the kiddos for four whole days while we enjoyed time with friends and danced the night away. =)

Lily remains the most charming child of all time. She, among the ENTIRE family (well, fine Grandpa Faiola escaped it too) did not come down with strep throat. And this strep throat is so powerful that it got one of my employees sick that only sat across a table from me! Clearly, she is not only blessed with a charming disposition but an immune system that doesn't stop.

She has learned to pick blueberries in the garden and is a cheery companion for harvest time.

Jamisen continues to challenge our boundaries in new and exciting ways daily. He generally spends most of his evenings in some shape of time out with brief good behavior breaks in between. To his credit, he is loving and kind much of the time but for some reason, his little sister is bringing out his devil horns. We have started changing our messaging; talking about him as a protector for his sister and our family as a tribe/pack/unit.

Lily does not yet turn heel and run when she sees Jamisen though we fear that day is coming. On the plus side, Jamisen loves to hug his sister (and really, hug, not just strangle-hug), is fiercely protective of her from his friends and asks where she is when she's gone to sleep. There is hope yet!

Parenting these two is a joyous roller coaster and we're thrilled to be on it, together.