A New Hiding Spot

William's favorite game, by far, is hide-and-seek.  He'll typically pick a spot behind the curtains, in the closet, or under the dining room table.  Then he'll help us find him by saying yes or no in response to where we search for him (Mom: "Is William under the table?" William: "noooooo").  Today, he found a new spot to hide.  Gosh, this kid is in for a surprise when he plays real hide-and-go-seek with other kids.

necessity is the mother of invention

Halloween is my most stressful holiday.  It always has been.  I never wanted to dress up like a princess; I wanted to BE the princess.  Forget those $24 Target costumes (which is a ton to spend, by the way, for something a kid wears for about 3 hours), I wanted my mom to spend hours creating a masterpiece with expensive fabric and genuine accessories.  My poor mother.  As a child, Halloween often included lots of tears.  While I can often stifle a full on sob fest these days, I still project my Halloween perfectionism on the boys, wanting their costumes to be the best of the best.

I've been debating about them being this or that for weeks now, so when I found out that our neighborhood Halloween party was tonight, I had about 2 hours to pull something together and no time to go to the store.  I dug through boxes and hit up my craft closet, and what we ended up with was better than anything I had in mind.  William loved his fisherman costume, and Thomas was a hit in his too-big pumpkin,  a costume that my wonderful mother-in-law had made for William last year. 

Rain Man

Imagine my surprise when I came into the living room and found this:

The audacity of this man!  Climbing onto the railing of the balcony of a home where a two year old resides.  Doesn't he know that would warrant a 3.2.1 countdown and immediate time out?  Luckily William was asleep when I discovered him, and unable to get any idea of a new place to climb.  Next time, Mr. Gutterman, let us know when you are coming for a visit, and please refrain from sprinkling your newly dislodged leaves on my patio.  

Best Buds

There's nothing better than a game of peak-a-boo in bed on a rainy afternoon.

Even better to spend the day with a friend... perhaps a little buddy, appropriately named Buddy.





























Add a little brother to the mix...

...and three becomes a crowd.

Strawberry Boy

Sometimes you just want a little nibble... of every strawberry in the bowl.  And by you, I mean William.

6 Months Old.. a little bit late.

Thomas went in for his six month check up today.  He's a chunker at 20 lbs, 2 ounces. Six months is the magical age where babies can start eating solids.




























So Far, Thomas has devoured everything I've given him.  He's also been kind enough to give it back, in the form of his severe reflux, many times a day.  The doc today confirmed that it's just a laundry problem, but when you add sweet potatoes and peas to the mix, it gets gross in a hurry.  I know they say never to give your wife domestic things as gifts, but Michael, I would love love LOVE a washing machine!  For now, though, I'm thrilled that we're renting a place we'll be vacating relatively soon, and we can leave our carpet behind. 

Our First Camping Trip in Photos

William prepares for an adventure on our drive up.  This was the last good nap he got on the trip.

Not sure if this is blueberry or dirt around William's mouth.  Doesn't really matter in the great outdoors :)

Day trip to Julian

Thomas has never been so happy in his baby jail

Probably because our ceiling at home doesn't look anything close to his view here.

He also mastered a new skill last weekend.  Now up on hands and knees, he'll be crawling in no time.

It seems wrong to have internet access while camping, but it came in handy a couple of times.

Our 1970's JC Penny Retro Catalog Pose

Our tent neighbors shared some of their glow sticks with us.  I'll remember to bring our own in the future, as they were a bit hit with both the kids and adults.

Cleaning up the morning of departure.  William enjoyed sweeping the wilderness.

As William played, Thomas was happy to get in a final nap.

A sweet way to end our little family adventure.