Big brothers and sisters of the world, we need your help!!

Howie is having a problem, and as a youngest sibling myself, I do not know how to help him. We're reaching out to all of you older siblings for some advice. You see, Howie cannot get any time with his favorite toys because the second he starts playing with them, Patrick runs up and takes them away. It doesn't matter if Patrick is playing with his pencil or feather himself (little point in spending money on actual toys these days), he wants whatever Howie has. This is a common problem, I know, with kids of this age. Howie takes it in stride and doesn't get overly frustrated, but I do wish I could curb this behavior a little bit, because Howie deserves some time batting his mice. I even try to box Patrick out, but he's just too nimble!

So I ask you, previously (and even currently) frustrated older siblings, how do you deal?! I just am unable to provide any sort of counsel because I myself was a nettlesome, toy-coveting child. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Tooth Fairy Time!

I took Patrick to the doctor yesterday because he has the sniffles. Rest assured, it's nothing serious. While we were there he got weighed (6.6 pounds!), and he got his teeth checked. He should be expecting a visit from the tooth fairy soon because he's lost his front baby teeth, and his grownup molars are starting to come in! They grow up so fast! Of course if that old fairy visits, she'll have to leave some Greenies for Howie too, otherwise we'll have a serious issue around these parts.

I'm trying to find some sort of window perch for my bedroom. The guys have decided since it's been sunny that they are no longer satisfied with the view from the living room. I'm not sure why because the view is basically the same, but they want what they want. There is no ledge on my bedroom window, so I often find them struggling and dangling from their front toes trying to peak out, their back legs hanging like furry pendulums a few inches above my pillows. Every once in a while I take pity on their pathetic attempts to spy on the birdies and just hold them up for awhile. I can't be doing that all the time though. I have an old bird guide we might have to flip through one of these nights so their curiosity can be rewarded with a little more knowledge about the wildlife of Eugene, OR. We might even get involved with the local audubon society.

Well anyway, just wanted to update you all on Patrick's health and let you know that things are well around here. The guys send their best, as always.

Kids these days...

Well snuggle time tonight quickly diverged. Patrick, as usual, could not resist the urge to bite Howie's neck, which not surprisingly, he does not like. The picture to the left looks like I am choking an orange, defenseless kitten, but in actuality, I'm trying to intervene in a teeth-to-neck situation. It's hard to get angry at Patrick though because I've realized he's not doing it maliciously, he's just one of those kids who's really into Twilight right now. These other pictures show him succeeding in his desire to practice his vampire skills on his older brother.
I'm fairly certain this Twilight thing is just a phase, and the neck biting will stop. About a year ago, Howie himself was quite obsessed with Harry Potter to the point that he was actually aspiring to be Dumbledore when he grew up. It was a difficult conversation to explain to him that wizards don't really exist, and that's when we started looking into more practical professions. However, I do get the sense that deep down, Howie still believes he can be a Gryffindor someday.

Well, that's it for tonight. As always, the guys send their best!

Note. You can see Howie's snaggletooth if you look closely.

What a crazy night!!

Make sure you have the sound turned on.