Things have been as insane as you might imagine. Breaking down the family's status, youngest to oldest:
Cooper: Now clocking in at around 30 pounds, the 15-month-old is an eating machine, regularly pounding away several servings of whatever he's served. He has few dislikes (although, oddly, perennial crowd-pleaser cheese is one of them). Reports from daycare indicate he runs the room, despite the fact he's younger than most of his classmates.
His sweet nature belies, well, a bit of a temper. Teachers used to feign disbelief at our reports of his tantrums.
They don't do that anymore.
Hobbies include: Climbing, bath time, "Blue's Clues," pestering his brother and his pacifier.
Quotable: "Cheeeese!" (Ironic, I know -- see above -- but he only says it when the camera's pointing at him.)
Bonus fun fact: He actually goes to sleep! Willingly! No kidding at all!
Jake: Now 3, Jake actually has his own place, with a dragon ("Arnold"), two bears (one big, one small), his own car (red) and a couple bad guys.
Mommy and Daddy are allowed to visit. Cooper? Best call ahead first.
With "no naps" now a secure plank in his party platform, he still manages to remain mostly functional. Mostly.
School is fun, although, due to previously-stated political views, nap time remains a problem.
Hobbies include: A sports nut, he enjoys throwing the football (and knocking you down after you catch it), making baskets (while singing "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas) and hitting the baseball (he hit one over the backyard fence recently ... which was more impressive than when he later threw the last remaining ball over ANOTHER part of the fence).
Horseback riding (pictured) and marching along to the Ohio State marching band's music is also a consistent highlight.
Quotable: "Um, once, when I was a little boy ... I was a lion."
Bonus fun fact: Was once a lion.
Tammy: She's been teaching "part-time" at the Mustard Seed for most of the year, which is nice because she's close to the kids. It's also a problem because she's close to the kids.
Hobbies include: She's really ratcheted her scrapbooking activities to a new level ... I'm not even sure it counts as a "hobby" anymore.
She's also been known to read, although it's hard to spot in the brief moments she's not chasing toddlers or completing a project.
Matt: Continues his work at MySA.
Hobbies include: Fantasy sports, mostly, although he still tries to see the occasional movie. OLD GUY ALERT: Became confused and requested the wrong "Bourne" movie from Netflix. Managed to redeem himself, somewhat, by not watching the entire movie before discovering his error.
