Some November Fun

Liam all scrunched up for sleep

Robin helping Poppa rake - and here comes the leaf monster!!!

I was trying here to capture the bed of stuffed animals and pillows that Robin created for us, but my arm wasn't long enough.

Liam showing off how well he can sit now.  I don't *have* to prop anything behind him anymore, but if he's sitting for a long time he's still apt to topple and I don't want him to bonk his head.  (He no longer cries if this happens on carpet, but hard floors are another matter.)

Liam getting a ride on Dada's shoulders

Robin wanted "up" too.  Hold on Dada!

Liam joining in with the boys!

Measuring both the boys against the polar bear at the zoo

Cotton candy!!!!!

Playing on the sea lion statue

Riding in the wagon at the zoo

Liam sleeping with an arm out of the crib

Liam on the Turkey platter

We were very excited this day, because Robin announced he wanted to drive his car (the pink cushion thing) to the zoo, and he wanted to take Liam there.  He actually wanted to play with his brother!  Of course, we had to get pictures.  Liam loved the attention, and can't wait until he can move on his own and follow his big brother around.

Tummy time together--though Liam seldom gets formal tummy time anymore.  He rolls over and sleeps on his tummy, so he gets plenty of practice.

That's one big reindeer!

Robin has outgrown Teetertots, our library's toddler storytime (*sigh, *sob) and is moving into the preschool storytime.  This was from his last Teetertots session, the week of Thanksgiving.

Doing the Turkey Trot (to the tune of the Hokey Pokey.)  The little girl on the left is one of Robin's friends.

Liam's got a friend at Teetertots too

Getting a hug from Miss Hillary, the Teetertots librarian.  I'm going to miss her--the preschool storytime is run by a different librarian, and Miss Hillary doesn't even work on the preschool days.  *sniff

If I leave Robin alone in the bath, he'll play with everything.  Even the soap.

If we call Robin by a name (like a Wiggleworm or a Monkey, he immediately tells us that no, he isn't that thing.  He is Robin Kid Boy, with sometimes one more Kid tacked onto the end.  This makes me smile.  He's very literal, except when he's the one doing the pretending.

He's also starting to call us Mom and Dad sometimes (instead of Mama and Dada.)  :(  We're fighting this one, but who knows whether we'll get Mama/Mommy and Dada/Daddy to stick again.  He's too young to make this transition, isn't he??  ?????

Liam is teething right now, drooling like a faucet and going back and forth between being in horrible pain and taking it in stride.  You can see Science Fiction Mommy for a post with more details on that.

I expect Liam will probably be gaining independent movement in the near future.  I even went on a nesting/cleaning rampage, where I cleaned all the floors in our house (upstairs anyway) in three days--including edges and areas that we don't get to very often.  We're ready for him (at least until we and Robin mess it up again.)

We're busy getting ready for Christmas.  Hope you all have a great season!

Snow!!!

Here are pics from the several snowfalls we've already had this year.

Liam, bundled up (in the bunting Mom made for Robin, which he stretches ALL the way out) for his first snowfall

He doesn't quite know what to make of it all

Exploring the snow from the warmth and safety of the indoors.  (He still didn't like it much.)

Robin and I, out in the snow.

We made a snow train on this day.  We packed snow into a recycling crate to make the body.

Snow Thomas

Robin painting the snow

Liam in the bunting

The three of us

Robin putting the head on a snowman

Eating said snowman's nose

A pair of snow angels

During the next big storm, we made Quack, Peep, and Chirp from what is becoming Robin's favorite show, "Peep and the Big Wide World."  (See Science Fiction Mommy for a little more detail)

Robin building snowmen with Ama and Poppa (and stabbing them in the back, ai yai yai...)

The strong boy can carry his sled up the hill!

Helping me shovel

Helping Dada shovel  (he had to shovel early on this day, just to find the newspaper)

This is the first time Dada got the chance to see Robin sledding in our backyard

Dada trying the sled himself.  The only problem being that the snow was so cold and powdery, it didn't compress well and therefore wasn't very slick.  This is where Dean stopped moving.

I'm loving how much Robin enjoys the snow this year.  We've reached the magical age where fun trumps being cold, for a little while at least.  I'm looking forward to a season with more snowfalls--provided everyone stays safe on the roads, of course!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Here are our Thanksgiving photos!

Dean's sister hosted again this year, and we filled her condo to the brim.

Liam wore his cowboy boots

After dinner but before dessert, we took a walk to the playground. The weather was excellent, quite warm for this time of year. Robin actually got two trips to this playground, once early in the day, when the sun was still up, and then again as it was setting.

Dean channeled his Aunt Mary (who reportedly brought a half-dozen homemade pies to every holiday feast.)  Dean made five to bring this year

Other people brought four more pies, so we were in pie heaven

I hope everyone else had a marvellous Thanksgiving as well!

Our boys are cute

Babies are so cute when they're naked!  And when they're grabbing their feet!  And when they're smiling!  Ooooh, triple whammy!

Robin can still be snuggly when he's tired

Liam showing off how good he is at sitting for Poppa

I let Robin take a few pictures by himself in early November.  He even got a few good ones

(He also got a lot of the floor and close-ups of inanimate objects.)  You can see a few more of his shots at Science Fiction Mommy.

Mom made Liam a sweater.  She was very proud of herself too.  Isn't it nice?!

We met a friend at a place called Monkey Bizness, which is an indoor play area for kids.  Unlike the Children's Museum, this place doesn't charge for parents!  Score!  This is Liam in the crawlers area.

Robin climbing around

He had a lot of fun here

Hee hee, a baby on the big slide

Robin climbed this thing all by himself

Taking Liam down a slide

The three of us in a toy house

Robin doesn't seem to have realized the distinction between "friend" and "best friend," because he calls everyone his best friend.  For our part, we're enjoying this because we know we won't be his best friends forever.

Meanwhile, Liam continues to grow and learn.  He's a pro at sitting up now, reaches for everything, and wants to be part of everything that's going on.  We survived his first major cold, though I, in particular, didn't get much sleep.  But he's back to sleeping through the night again (and I'm hoping that doesn't happen again anytime soon.)