We have been blessed with kids who, left to their own devices, would sleep until at least 8:30 or 9 every morning and a church that meets in the evening, so Sunday is a day we usually get to sleep in. This morning was an exception, though. Ian was up by 5:30, Clara by 6:30, and Simon by 7. Clara tried to make it up to her daddy with a little pre-lunch nap for both of them.

Simon is a kid of many passions: his first love was airplanes, followed by trains, then specifically Thomas the Tank Engine and company, then Bob the Builder especially and construction more generally; sprinkled in there have been bursts of interest in the guitar. Ian, on the other hand, has yet to really get into any one thing. He likes things that go—trucks and tractors and trains and such—and he pays careful attention to animals, but there’s hasn’t really been anything that stands out as his current kick in the same way.

We have, however, noticed that the child loves books. Loves. Books. He usually “reads” to himself for a half hour or so before falling asleep for naps or for the night, and when we go to fetch him from his crib, more often than not, he is already awake and quietly looking through his books. He’s even been known to page through a book in the dark.

Last night Jason let him keep his light on, and when we went to bed a while later, we found him like this:

Better yet, though, this morning, this is how Jason found our little scholar:

In the hustle and bustle of getting dressed this morning, I saw him already trailing after Jason with two books under his arm and begging, “Ree boo? Ree boo?” I don’t think Jason probably had time to read to him before all five of us got out the door before 9 am, but, man, that’s a hard request to turn down. I suppose it goes without saying, but I hope he is always so excited about reading.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.

A series of portraits of the kids.

We decided this year to celebrate the boys’ birthdays (Ian turned 2 on 12/28 and Simon will be 4 on 1/30) with a joint party for both of them. Because of scheduling conflicts, we had to celebrate with the Carlson side this week and wait to celebrate with the Moreheads next week. I plan on making the same (awesome) cake, so I’m going to hold off posting pics until we’ve had parts 1 and 2 of the birthday bash. But I couldn’t resist sharing just one.

When Ian heard his name in the Happy Birthday song, he was genuinely surprised and delighted and started laughing. It was such a sweet, innocent moment—one of my favorites in a very good day.

Tummy time isn’t so bad when you have big brothers to keep you company.