Topher stayed home sick on Wednesday. He had a pretty bad cough and major sniffles, but didn't really feel sick. He spent a lot of time reading, coloring, and doing worksheets. He also made this beach/forest scene out of Playdoh. In case you're curious, the toothpicks are holding up the sky.
Topher really wanted to play Minecraft, but in real life. I asked if that was the same as building with Legos. He informed me that it is not. He put together a "crafting table" that had a drawing board and a few toys and some snacks. After I was appropriately appreciative of his creativity, he agreed to play a board game with me instead. I was thankful for his compromise.
After a few cold weeks, today is gloriously warm, a perfect 75 degrees. Topher and Sophie have been playing in the backyard essentially since getting home from school. Cooper, who had been doing homework, just went outside to play football with them. As Cooper was heading outside I heard Topher's voice drift in saying, "Watch and learn, Cooper!"
I guess Cooper's about to get schooled.
Aunt Paige pulled out her fun splashpad for Emma, Topher, and Sophie to play with. I didn't think to take any pictures until we had turned it off.
Sophie and I gave a little ukulele concert for the grandparents. Topher had played so hard all day (and stayed up so late the night before) that he took a nap while we strummed. Cooper was a good sport to hold him.
After three hours in urgent care, we were on our way home. Ten minutes after we arrived Topher had fallen again and ripped all the steri-strips off and pulled open the glued cut just a little. Bryan ran to the store to buy sturdier bandages. We had to replace them again that night because they were coming off. That was a consistent theme of the trip: trying to keep this injury clean and covered.
We met friends last Friday morning and splashed around in a creek. I think playing in creeks might be the unofficial theme of our summer, we've never done it this often before. It has certainly helped us deal with the many hot days we've had.
It was a warm 62 degrees this afternoon. We walked home from the bus stop, then played in the backyard for almost an hour. At one point Topher expressed his joy about being outside by singing out "Ha-lay-yu-lah!"
Sophie got a few pictures of his happiness.
Topher enjoyed the leftovers from Sophie's birthday party, especially the sprinkles.
We woke up to a world of white and a proper snow day. Bryan picked up a fun breakfast last night after we got the call that school would be canceled. Nearly everyone slept in (Topher was up earlier than usual) and spent the morning resting and playing.
I learned today that Bryan has been watching The Great British Bakeoff with Sophie and Topher. They had a baking competition today using kitchen toys and Magna-tiles. I was instructed to keep coming to their stations and asking about their progress. I also had to call out how much time was left. Sophie told me I needed to make more jokes while doing all of this. I didn't.
Right after I declared a tie to the bakeoff, I realized I didn't feel right. I made it upstairs in time to discover I was starting a migraine. I spent the early afternoon sleeping it off while Bryan took the kids outside to shovel snow and play. I was extremely thankful that I didn't have to take them outside, though I would have preferred to not have a migraine in its place. This was Phoebe's first time shoveling snow. She's not in the pictures, but she was out there.
Some of the kids were hoping for a second snow day, or at least a two-hour delay tomorrow. Unfortunately for them, the roads all looked clear by the time the sun went down.
The weather warmed up to 48 degrees today and Topher begged to play outside or go to the park. I was engaged in making dinner by this point and most of the big kids had homework. Cooper threw his shoes on and agreed to play with Topher in the backyard for fifteen minutes. While they were outside, Bryan came downstairs and I told him about the great wish of Topher's heart. After very little sleep and a full day of work Bryan grabbed his jacket and shoes and called Topher to go with him somewhere. Topher, not knowing the destination, went with him.
And then Bryan took Topher to play at the park.
It got cold fast, but Topher loved it.
Thanks to both Cooper and Bryan for making this sweet boy's day great.
The kids all go back to school today. The only person that was ready was Topher. The rest of us could have used a few more days off. We were all so tired over the break that we had way more screen time than usual. That included this brother round of Minecraft. Topher was completely delighted to be included; his laughter could be heard all over the house.
