Latergrams: in which Archer is a tiny baby and we adjust to our new lives

Can you tell which Iverson boy is which? And who does Archer look like? This kind of makes my head spin!#myfoursons #iversonboys#matchinggame

Dinner tonight at Sam's new restaurant: "Old Faithful Drum." Kids' meals come with a toy, and grown-up meals come with a new phone. 😊 And don't worry, they have "drink-a-milk" for babies! #samo

Totally amused by Archer's tummy time skills. He has rolled over front to back at least ten times!#tummytime #brotherlylove

 All suited up for the nightly soccer game with Dad! They now have to tuck in their shirts to start the game, like the MLS players. And like the MLS players, they untuck them as soon as the game starts.#soccerboys #orangesockslove

Henry declared today to be the 2nd best day of the entire school year -- the day his teacher decided to shell out the 1997 encyclopedia set to the class. He got to keep the "H" volume and the Science Annual. FYI: the best day of the year is the last day of school. 😊 #justlikechristmas#encyclopediafan

Archer's first apple-picking on the first day of fall. We thank Yom Kippur and Grandma for making this possible. 🍁🍎🍏.

Grandpa Dave's special tummy hold: Archer-approved!#threeweeks #babyarcher

I've never met two people more obsessed with every little detail of newborn babies. #grandmaandgrandpa#newbornlove

The greedy face of monopoly.#woodmonopoly #catanwinner#henrysfirstwin #settlersofcatan

Dad brought me two Rubbermaids full of garden tomatoes, since I can't seem to grow them. No problem getting them through security!#precioustomatoes #cheesesandwich#bestlunchever

I predict a new 5:00 ritual. Not as fun as grandparents, but it may get us through to dinner! #onourown#witchinghour #swingtime

First General Conference was a success! He slept at all the right times...and made me cry extra during Elder Holland's talk. ❤️ #ldsconference#iamamormon #spirituallyfed

Translation: I am feeling left out right now because my mom and dad are paying more attention to the baby. "Mom can you get me a pencil please?" "No. No." #ellisrevealed #truefeelings

Kinda sorta thinking baths might be okay after all. And almost thinking about smiling. #babyarcher #mylove

First storytelling festival for Archer and for Evanston. Not as charming of a setting as the Timpanogos festival, but it was certainly a delightful evening of stories, songs, and laughs. We support this new tradition! (More festivities tomorrow too!)#evanstonstorytellingfestival #datenight#archerthethirdwheel

Today's perfect fall weather called for a second apple picking trip...this time to the place in Wisconsin that we really love. It's the real deal.#oriolespringsorchard #fallperfection

Ellis found a bum apple! 😜#lifewithboys

To be honest, the food offerings at nearby Harvest Time strongly influence our choice in "favorite apple picking spot." I really don't think anything tops these donuts! Add cheese, crackers, and apples, and it's the perfect lunch. #harvesttimeorchards#fallperfection

Two weeks to teach him how to say "hoo!" #halloweenpreview#archergriffin

Little Archie loves his dad! Dad gets the bedtime shift with him, usually around 10 to midnight. They have been enjoying lots of Steven Colbert together! #lovethemboth

Loves attention from his brothers, snuggles, and kicking.#archergriffin #twomonthsold #superfresh

Doesn't this look like a fun game to play (and clean up)?#samsfavorite #restaurant

Henry has figured out that Dad will cave on bedtime if he asks questions about probability. #equations#nerdyboys #boardgameinvention#gametheory

This was the look I got today as we got ready for preschool pickup.#notimpressed #fourthchild #sweetarcher

This boy is the most determined tooth-puller I've ever met. 6 days after losing top tooth number one, he twisted, wobbled, and yanked at the second one until it finally came out! Now he has an adorable first-grade smile just in time for Christmas.#alliwantforchristmas #twofrontteeth#ellissmile

Just another kitchen dance party night brought on by Dad's dishes music. #decemberistsandfun#heshallhavemusicwhereverhegoes#costumecreativity

Our family is 12 years old and counting! We had a fun night of celebration. Watched some baby movies of each boy, and I cried with every one. Sad to see the years go by because they have all had such precious memories!#iversonday #anniversary #myboys

These three were thrilled to pieces over Ben's "water on the head" game. I hate to see my babies grow up, but it sure is fun to have big kids old enough to play and laugh together! #iversonday#puredelight

Fourth boy. Fourth heart murmur. Fourth cardiology visit to tell us that it's an innocent murmur. ❤️#mysweetboy

At the doctor's office, we found a whole shelf full of Archie comic books that caught my eye. Has anyone read these? I get the impression that they're for a slightly older audience...#archie

My fourth and first graders! I'm so happy they have each other at school. They just recently started walking home on their own when I can't get there. #sogrownup #henryandellis#schoolpictures

Just a little mother-daughter comparison, for you people who think Ellis looks like Ben.#lookalikes

This one goes out to the people who think Ellis looks like Ben. Votes? #lookalikes #lastone

The light of my life! I love him so much that I wake up at 3:00am just to be with him. 😊 #archergriffin#threemonthsold #sleepinterrupter

Went downtown with@kelleysuelarsen to meet up with@turleysix for lunch! Kelley was good friends with Jenna in Denver before Jenna moved to Boston. And today we introduced Archer and Isabelle, who were born only one day apart!#bostonfriendsforever

#needalittlechristmas

Archer's favorite is to be straight as a board. We can't convince him to curve! So tonight he is an airplane in his winged sleep sack. ✈️#dangstraight

The Chicago Toy and Game Fair 2015

I think we have a budding board game geek in our family.  His name is Henry.  And, we couldn't be more pleased because we love board games!

So, when Henry learned that there was a Young Inventor Challenge where kids could invent their own games and enter them at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair, he was all over that.  (Bonus: it counted for a major Cub Scout requirement as well!)  And when I say, "all over that," I mean it.  I'm not sure I've seen Henry work this hard on anything in his life.  He just loves to create and dream, and he's detail-oriented enough to really think through the process well.

I won't give you all of the details, but the game he came up with is a multi-player strategy game called "Cursed Pyramids."  The basic idea is that during the building phase you build pyramids, using workers and carts and hopefully avoiding sandstorms along the way.  Then, in the next phase of the game you try to take over other player's pyramids while not getting cursed.  It's actually a super fun game, and Henry came up with the whole thing himself.  You may not be able to tell, but I was kind of a proud dad at seeing this all come together (with a lot of help from Jenn, of course!).  Here are some pictures:

Carts and blocks

Constructed pyramid

The board

The quarry.

The actual Toy and Game Fair was super fun.  Henry had to stick to his booth for the morning while the judges and other random people walked through the displays.  With over 100 entrants, there were all sorts of games and toys there.

Henry did a great job of latching on to anyone who was nearby and giving them the blow-by-blow of how Cursed Pyramids works.

He didn't win the competition, but just putting the game together was tons of fun and I think he learned a lot in the process.

Meanwhile, Sam and Ellis wandered the fair with me, trying out game after game after game.  It was a total blast!

Catan Van!

And custom-made Catan tables!

One of the coolest parts of the fair was the Star Wars booth.  There were about 10 different people in full Star Wars costumes like this clone trooper, and they had all sorts of light sabers, Jedi training tools, and even a mind-reading game.  Our Star-Wars-obsessed boys ate it up.

I loved this game of blow-up soccer, where running into the other players full-force is encouraged!  Super fun.

We ended up being at the fair the entire day and we loved it!  Well, except for Archer, because somehow his parents forgot to pack a binkie for him, which was a MAJOR oversight.  We found a store nearby that sold them, but it was the wrong brand and so he just cried and cried until he finally fell asleep.  Poor kid.  That's what happens when you're the youngest!  But the rest of us totally had a blast.  

And Henry?  Well, he's already scheming up his game for next year!

Sam's Art and Gymnastics Class

This fall, Sam needed something to do besides just pre-school and play dates.  He has insisted for a while now that he is going to be an artist when he grows up, and he is by far our most active and sporty kid, so when Jenn found an Art & Gymnastics class for 3-5-year-olds it seemed like the perfect fit.

It totally was.  Each week, Sam couldn't wait for Tuesday to roll around so he could go do art for the first hour and then gymnastics for the second hour.  When he was finished, he literally skipped out the door with Jenn, so full of excitement at what he had learned an done.  For the rest of the day he would keep practicing his "jumps" that he learned, or come up with his own art creations.  It all made him so happy.

They really have a full gymnasium that the kids got to play in, complete with rings, balance beam, and, most importantly, a foam pit!

His snowman painting.  He was super proud that it turned out to look a bit like a Jackson Pollock.

colorful snowman

Some of his other art projects, including an odd pilgrim clay concoction that is half creepy and half cute.  But mostly I love the classic Sam face with the half-smile and hat.  Even though Art and Gymnastics has been over for a while now, he still dreams of it wistfully.  We'll need to find another of those classes soon!

Fall Splendor 2015

We just have to post some pictures of the beautiful fall we were treated to this year.  With Archer around, we had to make a bit more of an effort to get out, but boy was it worth it.

The scooter brigade!

This tree is across the street from our house, and has leaves that range from bright yellow to almost crimson.  We love looking at it.  This year, it lost essentially all of its leaves in one giant gust of wind, and Jenn happened to be there to snap a picture of fall literally happening.

Jenn's jogging path

Sometimes, in order to convince the boys that we need to get out to see the leaves AGAIN, we have to bribe them with Potbelly's sandwiches and shakes.  Worth it.

The Chicago Botanic Garden

One of the many giant pumpkins they grow at the Botanic Garden.  When Ellis climbed on we hurriedly told him he had to get off, but then a worker nearby was like, "Oh no, let him climb, that's what it's for."  We couldn't agree more, actually.

Halloween 2015

Halloween just keeps getting better as our kids get older and we have more of them.  And we live in the the best neighborhood for trick-or-treating, with lots of leaves and lots of generous neighbors all close by!  Here is what it looked like:

First, of course, we had to carve pumpkins.  Jenn thought it would be a great idea to print out really tricky designs from the internet, thinking that our boys have the (a) attention span and (b) talent to do intricate jack-o-lantern carvings.  Turns out, she was wrong on both accounts.  So we did most of the carving, and I ended up getting out the drill to remove the finer portions.  It worked, pretty well. 

Grumpy Cat

Pig from Angry Birds

Ron, Harry, and Draco

Real wizard pictures move!

Mischievous Draco 

"Eat slugs, Malfoy!"

Ron Weasley, sans tooth

Harry and Hedwig

Errol the owl

Hermione and Errol

That's one good-looking Hermione, eh?

And the whole family!  Whoa, who is that crazy guy in the back?  Oh, Dumbledore, of course. (Why do I always get stuck with the insane-looking costumes??)

Our "serious" pose...except it looks like Draco saw a dementor. 

Look at how many trick-or-treaters we get!

The wizards in search of loot. 

This is the look of success after a hard night's work of asking for candy.  Ellis' face just kills me in this picture.  And that pile of candy?  It took us at least, like, three days to plow through it.