"Mommy, hold this!"

 

 If you are a parent yourself, you know there is an element of
danger in the seemingly innocent words, "Mommy, hold this!"

Things that have been handed to me against my will:
1.  Boogers/used Kleenex
2.  Ear wax
3.  Chunks of dirt
4.  Dog poop
5.  Globs of wet sand
6.  Food removed that a child has attempted to consume but decided would be better off in my hand than his/her mouth
7.  Dead bugs
8.  A post-game athletic cup
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Spork and Tater are perched on the cusp of what I consider, "the funniest years".  3-4 year olds have a better vocabulary and a very interesting world view, so most of the things they blurt out of their lil' mouths are terrifically hilarious.  Got a little sneak peek today as they were weeding the yard, then moved onto a strawberry hunt (we don't currently grow them but they remember picking them at the farm last year).  Upon finding no strawberries, they started gabbing about chips, and after a few minutes, I realized they were looking for chips growing under the leaves, like fruit.
S:  "Chips?  Chips?  You see chips?"
T:  "No chips!  You see chips over dere?"
S:  "Nah.  No chips.  Chips?!  Chips?  Where da chips?!"
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While Tater loves to put on her swim suit and go in a warm pool, she is pretty ambiguous about the sprinkler.  She keeps asking me to, "Warm up water, peas!"  Both boys adore the adrenaline rush of the icy water hitting their skin (as long as the Nugget has his trusty goggles on, of course).  But after awhile, that garden hose water gets a bit too chilly but they are not yet ready to call it quits, so the Nugget came up with a new sprinkler game to extend the play.  He turns off the water and ushers Spork into the plastic playhouse, then sets the sprinkler next to the house, cranks the water back up, and dashes to beat the water into the house with little bro.  Then they both peek out the window and comment on the rain and speculate aloud as to when it will stop.  A bit more water "wasted" than I would like, but a mama takes brotherly bonding whenever/wherever it presents itself. 
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Farm League baseball is a whole new experience for the Nugget.  Practices run 1.5 hours, which seems ludicrous for the 6yo set, but I am admittedly not an athlete.  The Nugget works hard and is eager to please, yet the gravelly sand of the diamond has an irresistible allure.  At left, I can shout proudly, "That's my boy!" while the true hard-core baseball mamas shake their heads in dismay.   Below, see a much more talented and poised athlete, "lookin' ready" as Coach would say.

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The day I thought might never come is now just a couple weeks away!  Tater's adoption finalization is set for June 19, woot!  So we're celebrating a few lasts this month - last Bloodborne Pathogens online training (yes, I spend 10 good minutes per year being taught how to wash my hands), last home study from our licenser, last home visit from our caseworker, and I won't have to get court-ordered permission for our trip to Oregon this summer!