A very Baltimore visit

Afternoon quiet time. Little wooden planes - for Alexander- being painted by his older brothers.
Cyrus trying to take his own picture of "bebe".

Ooops! What happened to Alexander's head?
Time to wash down the playscape. But first, time with Cy.

I could kick myself for not having taken more pictures. But it was a busy, busy time. I can tell you that the family is doing well. The boys LOVE their little brother! One afternoon a neighbor came to visit and Cyrus, seeing her approach from the driveway, ran out to her, folded his arms and announced, "I have a new baby brother!" Cyrus is old enough to know to be gentle with "bebe". Patrick? Not so much. He leans in for kisses, puts his arm around Alexander's neck and throws in his whole body weight. But they can't get enough of him. If he cries too much, Cathi is scolded by them! And Cyrus' favorite thing to do is to sing to the baby. He does it in a very soft voice, all the while stroking Alexander's hands.

The boys are a riot to be with. They fight together and play together - often playing leads into fighting. They role play like crazy. Currently the favorite game is "Castle". One is the King and the other the Son King ( they didn't like it that I said a Son King was called a Prince. Oh well). Cyrus is the one who picks the roles and is most often the Son King as he constantly needs rescuing from the King. You know, waterfalls, rivers, cliffs - he's always in peril and the King is required to come to his rescue....which Patrick does with great aplomb. Oh the drama! And when Cyrus is the King, well, he just orders Patrick around. But Patrick does very well sticking up for himself. And if Cyrus becomes too bosy, it's a quick folding of the arms from Patrick and, "I don't want to play this game anymore!" as he marches away.

Cyrus and Patrick mostly communicate in English but now and then, for no apparent reason, they will speak Spanish or a combination of both languages. Listening to them talk to each other was so entertaining - wait til you hear them when they come to visit. And OH are they excited about that!

But they are boys! And I can tell you that boys are v-e-r-y different from girls. The noise they make? The playtime running, yelling and screaming - when the mood hits them - is crazy! Patrick's yells are ear shattering. They also play on their own. Just like that you'll find one at one end of the house playing with cars while another is somewhere else playing Spiderman. Ahhh...peace!

And both Cy and Cathi also doing well - as well as can be expected - seeing as how little Alexander does NOT like to sleep at night. Now that he's back to work, Cy is sleeping down in the study/guest room but he takes over on the weekends, letting Cathi get as much rest as she can while he spends time with the boys. And Alexander, for the most part, is a good baby. He cries when he's hungry, needs to burp or have a diaper change, or is over-tired. Typical baby stuff. But he sleeps well during the day and when awake just loves to lie on the couch and "hang out". Of course, an adult has to be with him or the boys would suffocate him!

My present for Alexander is going to be a playpen. I FINALLY talked Cy and Cathi into the wisdom of using one - and as soon as possible, as in putting Alexander in the infant chair in the playpen - because they keep the baby safe; are invaluable when you have 2 boys running around or need to go downstairs to do laundry or just need to place the baby somewhere for whatever reason. Mary and Chad? You're next!

It was such a good visit; I was glad to have been there to help and to spend time with all the family. And always, always, it's so very good to re-connect with the young one's.

There is news, btw: Cy is seriously considering changing jobs and working for a company in Houston. It would require that he do tours of 3 wks on and 3 wks at home ( or I think he can choose 4 on and off if he wants); there is room for advancement; the salary is higher; and the BEST is that he can live wherever he wants to because they pay for his transportation.

Cy and Cathi need to move; this is the big thing that has changed these past months. The area they are living is quickly being overtaken by low-life from Baltimore; the owner of the liquor store down the road from them was murdered this past summer. Every night police helicopters fly around, huge lights shining below. Gangs are becoming prevalent. And all of this just in the past year.

So, yes, it's time for a move. How soon would this all come about? Cy is confident he'll get the job so now it's a matter of making the decision, getting the house ready to sell and setting up an interview. He didn't mention Ct. - he didn't mention any place in particular - we didn't get that far into the conversation. But this is going to be major for them - no matter where they go - so let's all pray that God speaks and they listen. :)