Kate flew home yesterday -- I think it may take some time for her to recover from such concentrated "boy time" -- the noise level is usually pretty high, and the activity level is much more intense than her dogs usually provide! However, I think things went very well and we all had a terrific time. We took these pictures to show off the cacti that Kate bought for the guys (the ones in the little planter) and to contrast them to the saguaros in the front yard. As you can see, the new cacti have a long way to go until they fit in with the big guys in front of the house!

On January 1st, we did our semi-annual measuring to see how the guys have grown this year. James takes the prize for growing the most at 3 1/8 inches! Elias grew 2 whole inches; Benjamin grew 3 inches; and Andy grew only 2 1/2 inches this year. I recently discovered that he has grown hair under his arms too, which totally freaks me out. I will be talking to the pediatrician about it when we go for his physical at the end of the month. Isn't it too early to get hair under his arms?? James is now 41 1/2 inches tall. Elias is 49 1/4 inches tall. Benjamin is 54 1/2 inches tall. Andy is 58 1/2 inches tall -- just a little shy of 5 feet. He seems taller than this though. He is wearing size 8 men's shoes, and Benjamin isn't far behind in a size 7 men's shoe. Stunning.