I've been so busy these past few weeks that I haven't had time (until this past Friday) to format any of the photos I've taken this summer to be posted to my site.

And we've already reached the point when I need to take more photos to show you what they look like now! It's amazing how quickly these guys are growing up, both physically as well as emotionally and intellectually.

Here's a shot of the boys taken early in July (back when our futon couch covers were still nominally white, as decorated by Alex and Nolan).

In the two months since then, Nolan (he's the three-year-old -- our middle child, for those of you who are as bad at keeping names straight as I generally am) has found his voice. It turns out he can talk up a storm when Alex isn't around to do the talking for him. He has also started showing more affection for his baby brother, and is asserting himself on a regular basis. Nolan's big accomplishment was entering the realm of the potty-trained just *days* before he started pre-school.

Alexander, our six-year-old and the "big brother" of the three, has been practicing pulling out all of the toys with Nolan and then not putting any of them away. Okay, that's not really new. But, he learned to play chess this summer, and attended chess camp taught by a former Russian and American champion at a local Boys and Girls club. He's also begun training for "team gymnastics". He's surprisingly good at both the chess and the gymnastics, and he has announced that he plans to become a world champion at both. The recent Beijing Olympics certainly captured his attention.

He also attended one week of day camp at the local Museum of Flight, along with one of his best buddies in the neighborhood. Alex and Nolan both enjoy a love of airplanes and flying, and I'm so glad that they'll be able to share this love with their paternal grandfather, who is an avid pilot. (I will also note that their grandmother earned her pilot's license this summer, as well -- congratulations, mom!)

As for Andrew, who is currently a scant three-and-a-half months old, well... he's a champion eater, sleeper, and pooper. He smiles all the time, and it's always a beautiful revelation when he does. He came up with a proof for Fermat's Last Theorem a few days ago, and I didn't have the heart to tell him that Andrew Wiles beat him to the punch thirteen years ago.

After Alex and Nolan managed to thoroughly destroy the futon covers (we don't dare replace those couches with real furniture until the kids are a little older), we replaced them with black, which makes for some striking photographs. This second photo was taken one month after the snapshot above. Notice how much they've all grown. Especially their hair. Eeek!

Paulette has told me this story, and I only partially believed it until it happened to me recently, that people have asked her (and now, me) if Alex and Nolan are twins. Usually, but not always, they are sitting down when the question is posed. In case you can't tell from looking at the photos, Nolan is the one in the blue airplane shirt, while Alex is wearing red. (In the top photo, Nolan is wearing the alligator pajama top.)

It's been another month since then, and another round of haircuts (except for Andrew). I should make a point of taking another photo soon. Yee-ha.