We've been working with Chase for a while to teach him to read and write letters of the alphabet. He's getting pretty good at it, but the only word he can write is his name. A couple days ago I brought the mail in and set it down and he quickly grabbed it and started going through it. He grabbed one from the pile and asked, "Is this for me?" I could see that it was junk mail so I answered, "Yep, that one is for you!" Right after I said that I realized what he was holding - it was a credit card offer from Chase. He saw his name on the envelope and figured it must be for him. It seemed funny at the time, but now I'm thinking how disappointing it must be for him to think that the only mail he gets is crappy junk mail.

While digging through some pictures a while back Emilie found an old picture of her as a wee lass. She looked just like Jaxon (or Jaxon looks just like she did). Pictures of each included below for your viewing pleasure.

Time to catch up on the myriad of things going on. The biggest news of all is that Bryce tried crawling tonight. Fresh out of the tub, he crawled several shaky steps. Once he got dressed and ready for bed he wouldn't try it anymore, but he at least had several good attempts. He has been very proficient at pulling himself up on things. He loves to climb on the dishwasher door, the couch and especially the stairs. He can scale the stairs amazingly fast. This is all making our lives that much more exciting.

Chase has made some comments lately that made me laugh out loud. One comment that he has used a few times is "that's what kids do" to explain his naughty behavior. For example, he slammed a door while all the other kids were sleeping. I said, "Chase! Don't slam the door!" He casually replied, "That's what kids do. They slam doors."

A couple days ago I caught him pulling the cushions off the couch and making a mess of it. I reminded him that this was not acceptable and that he needed to put everything back. He looked at me and said, "You get mad when you see me do this. Why don't you go away so you can't see me?"

While Chase has been making funny comments, another behavior in our home has been far less funny. Mason has a problem with biting, which is spiraling out of control. In order to defend themselves, Chase and Jaxon have begun biting, too (Jaxon more so). Jaxon has a very bruised spot on his arm courtesy of Mason and Mason has a deep bite mark on his back. Chase got one from Jaxon on the chest tonight. Our attempts at curbing this behavior have been unsuccessful so far.

A few night ago Mason was very tired because he didn't take his nap. While getting ready for bed he had a breakdown and became very upset. While Emilie was putting his pajamas on him he became so enraged that he actually bit himself on the hand. We're still not sure what to do about it.

We had a phenomenal evening at M. and L. C.'s house on Sunday. After a delicious dinner and a worthy treat, we played some Beatles Rock Band. We only got through a few songs before the kids melted down and we had to head for home. The evening became awkward when M. expressed his distaste for Rush, one of the bands of all time. Since it was Sunday I quickly forgave him and trust that he will repent.

I got a flu shot last Friday without incident. I went in for a blood donation on 9/28. I was able to do a 2RBC, which I wasn't able to do for a couple donations previous.

I have all sorts of exciting plant news, but I'll save that for next time...