uP uP...UP!!

Well, as much as we tried to keep her little bitty, Allie has decided she is a big girl. She's been full-blown crawling for a month now and started pulling herself up about 2 weeks ago. I am not encouraging any of this unruly behavior (ha!), because I want her to stay little! But, she sure is cute standing there playin'. And on the 4th picture...she's only holding on with one hand! She is going to walk before we know it. Feisty little one.

P.S. Yes, she is finally growing some pretty hair. It is much darker than Zachary's...more like Todd's color. Yay - I was SO hoping she'd get Todd's great hair!!

Kids like parents who have skills

Recent conversation:

Zachary - "Mommy, can you draw me a dolphin?"
Mommy - "Sure."

Zachary hands mommy a paper & pen. Mommy draws.

Mommy - "Here ya go. Here's a dolphin for ya."

Zachary looks at picture.

Zachary - "No mommy, not an airplane. A dolphin."

"Punkin Time"

Hard to believe it's already late October. Whoa!! We took the kids to get a pumpkin so that we could make a "Punkin Face" (Zacharese for Jack O' Lantern). Neither of them were in very good moods, but it was still a good experience.

Allie enjoyed the little pumpkins:

Zachary was intrigued by the different colors & shapes of the gourds:

He was also intrigued by the cutting of the triangle eyes, nose & mouth. He got super excited when the cut pieces popped out!

He talked to the "Punkin Face" a few times. LOVE this!! And he fed the "Punkin Face" some dirt & leaves...because surely, he was hungry, right?!

Cultivating Self Expression

Some days (particularly those when we stay at home!), we'll let Zachary dress himself. This was one of those days. He's really into wearing "mittens." And in Zacharese, "mittens" refers to gloves & socks that you put on your hands. So fun!!

Sweet baby girl

I can't think of the right words to describe the sweetness of a little girl. But baby Allie is so yummy! We took turns taking pictures of us with Allie. Todd did a great job with the pictures he took of her & I. I love her pretty little face.

Pat-a-cake

SO CUTE! Allie does pat-a-cake now. I love love love watching her clap her little hands!!

(Yes, I realized after-the-fact, that her nose is crusty. Oops. Still cute though!)

Times have changed

Saturday/October 18, 2008/9:43 am:

Todd & Rebecca have been awake for almost 3 hours. At breakfast, kid #1 ate 2 large pancakes, 1/2 cup of blueberries and 16 oz. of water-juice, and has whined for more ever since. Kid #2 has refused to eat or drink anything all morning and has already had a meltdown and is now back in bed. There has already been 1 trip to the pharmacy and 1 trip to the garbage dump. A World-Record 6 poopie diapers have beee changed already this morning. The house wreaks of stink and there's a slight hint of Vicks Vapor in the air, as the longest head-cold EVER is still lingering and dripping down the face of kid #2.

Saturday/October 16, 2004/9:43 am:

Todd & Rebecca are still asleep. There won't be any breakfast, as they will continue to sleep peacefully & uninterrupted for another 2 hours. There won't be any trips to anywhere, as is the pattern of Saturday mornings for the first 6 years of their marriage. The house is clean, warm & quiet and there's a slight hint of "Sand & Sea" Yankee candle in the air, leftover from the dinner & movie date from the night before.

Tub for Two

Since Allie is sturdily sitting up now, she has been able to join Zach in the bath. This is so fun! These pictures show some of the cuteness between them.

Sniffles & Sneezes & Coughs, Oh my!

We have ALL had the weather-changing head-cold JUNK for over a week now. UGH!

All things boy

A few of Zachary's favorite things:

Golf
(he swings left-handed...can you believe it?!)

T-ball (also swings left-handed)

Railroad track & train

You can see that he is saying "choo-choo" in the picture below. Notice the tiny little giraffe taking a ride on one of the train cars? So imaginative!

And his favorite thing of all - PUZZLES! He loves to do puzzles...and he is quite good at them. He'll spend 20 minutes on a puzzle and finish it all by himself.

This puzzle has dinosaurs, or "dy-wo-sawrns" in Zacharese. He really likes dinosaurs too. He can identify Triceratops, T-rex, Stegosaurus and Pterodactyl (because those are the only ones Todd & I know!).

Just relaxin'

I've been taking the camera with me when I go get Allie from her naps, hoping to catch a photo of her standing in her bed (so cute!) holding on to the railing. A few days ago, I went in there and she was just like this (first picture). And as I walked closer to her bed, she smiled behind the thumb-sucking (second picture). I love it! This is CLASSIC Allie. Just hangin' & relaxin'... all wrapped up in her 'luxurious' little blanket! She is so darn cute!

2Teeth

Allie has FINALLY cut those two front teeth. That took SO long. The front bottom left tooth came out first, and the other one is showing now too. So cute to see that lone little tooth when she smiles! She handled it alright...she woke up crying a few nights and had some "other" yucky unmentionable symptoms/issues (!!).

No more paci!

Well, Zachary's officially weaned from his pacifier. It was almost accidental...and actually a little sad (good-bye to another "baby" thing). Around his second birthday, we made sure he only had the pacifier at sleep times & for long road trips. He handled that very well.
Last week, right before bed time, the only pacifier that we could find in the entire house was broken. He had chewed a little hole in it. I let him have it for a minute (knowing he wouldn't like the hole), and he spit it out. He said, "Mommy, it's broken." I agreed and told him we had to throw it away. He didn't protest and didn't ask for another one. So, I put him to bed and he handled it fine. Five days & four nights later...he's pacifier-free! And this weekend, he's been sick and STILL hasn't asked for one. So, we are super glad it was that easy. I must admit, though, I do feel a little twinge of sadness as we exit another stage of baby-hood.

Zachary, blankie & paci (September 2006)

Zach & the Rac'

Ever since he was very small, Zachary has had a special love for Panda Bears & Raccoons. We are not sure why...notice that they both have black circles around their eyes. (Imagine where my psychology-driven mind goes with that!) Anyway, Grammy has some connections on the black market (!) and she managed to get the most life-like raccoon we've ever seen. Todd's still not convinced that the raccoon didn't come from a Taxidermist. While we know he's not real, there are still moments when we see him, stop for a half a second, and remind ourselves...

(Rigor mortis!):