Barton Boys Update

We don’t have any birthdays for a few months and our boys seem to be growing up before our eyes, so it seems to be about time to write about them. Sammy is getting very tall – already up to my shoulder. He thrives in second grade this year and is eager to explain what he learns to his brothers. He loves playing basketball and having adventures around Shell and Ecuador, but is also always content to be in his room reading. He also loves games and we love playing more grown-up games with him. His current favorite is Ticket to Ride and he has also learned Milles Bornes and Settlers of Catan. He wants to learn Forty-Two, which is Paul’s favorite domino game. He plans to be an astronaut when he grows up and loves things about space. Nathan is in Kindergarten and is excited to start to read. He shares Paul’s excitement over model airplanes and they are building one together out of balsa wood and styrofoam. It is quite impressive. He loves games, too, and is especially good at drawing and guessing in Pictionary. Nathan is very artisitc as well as athletic. He is always moving and makes you wonder if he is paying attention, but he is! The other day he explained the entire origin of Hanukkah to us and was the only one who knew what the fighting was about. Nathan always has deep questions to ask, usually at bedtime! Josiah goes to preschool two mornings a week. Most of his classmates are from the orphange here, so he hears and seems to understand lots of Spanish. He is the first one asleep at night and an early bird in the mornings. He alternates between enthusastic preschooler and naysayer toddler. He is figuring out the world and a conversation with him is often a cycle of confusion. (We’ll do that tomorrow, Josiah. Okay Mommy, is it tomorrow?) Little Isaac so far is a charming baby toddler. Walking is now his main mode of locomotion. He loves to go outside and none of us can leave the house without him if he can help it. He loves shoes and balls and a very special bunny blanket. Both Mom and Dad are “mama” and he says a handful of other words in 2 languages. He is still our baby and we rock him to sleep when we can, knowing how quickly these days go by. He is a good sleeper and is often the last one awake in the morning. Time flies by with these precious little ones and we remind ourselves of this when the days are long.