Family Business

We are away in sunny Florida this week so no new posting until Monday next. We will have Chrismakah and New Year's pics and video to share then.

Until next week, happy new year.

School Spirit

Busy week and more to come...

Lily had many parties at school including her Christmas party, Kwanza party and Haunakah party - they celebrate the whole gambit at her school. As you will see below, she sat on Santa's lap and visited with Mrs. Claus at her school party. We asked her what she asked Santa for and she said "I still need to think about it." On Friday, she got another chance as we just happened to be at the mall and she saw Santa and had to sit in his lap again. Jack was having no part of Santa, so Lily had a quick visit and told him that she wants a jump rope and a kite - we will see if Santa comes through!

On Saturday, we celebrated Christmas with Tracy, Stan and Casey because they will be in Roanoke for Christmas day. We had lots of fun just hanging out, opening some presents, making some cookies, and eating some cookies! On Sunday, Mom and Lily went to buy some ski gear for Lily for our upcoming ski trips in January and February and then had lunch with Tracy, Kelly, and Grandma Gail. That night brought Haunakah and the first night of lighting the candles and opening presents. Today it was back to school and Beatrice but after tomorrow, the kids will be off school/nanny until the 5th! Tonight brought more haunakah presents and a visit from Aunt Kelly. Next week we will be posting from FL, looking forward to some warm weather...

Happy Haunakah! Merry Christmas!


Jack's school picture ...


and Lil's.


With Santa.


First night of Hanukkah gift opening!


A tea party.

Flashing Lights

Jack's 1 year appointment revealed that he is 22 pound, one ounce (25th - 50th percentile), 29.5 inches 50th percentile, and his head circumference looks pretty good too - lots of room for his brain to grow! He was very happy during the appointment and was fascinated by the doctor's stethescope. He actually handled his shots pretty well, he just took a really long nap Friday afternoon to recover.

On Saturday, Lily and Marcy made some homemade Christmas tree decorations, and played with various toys, while the boys ran some afternoon errands. Friends Andy and Jen then brought over some homemade pizza for dinner - Lily loved the "macaroni" i.e. pepperoni. We then had a wild Saturday night playing Memory, Zingo, and then later Scrabble!

On Sunday, we hung around the house playing with lots of toys. Lily is realizing that while her baby brother can be annoying and destructive at times, he can also be a lot of fun. He mimcs her dancing and bouncing around, and laughs at her all the time. He mainly crawls but also walks here and there. Sunday night we went to see the Zoolights, which essentially consisted of holiday lights at the National Zoo. While it was pretty, Lily was more interested in the small mammals and reptiles. Jack also had somewhat of a meltdown - a little past his bedtime! Overall, it was a fun night though!

Enjoy the pics! We are looking forward to celebrating the first night of Hanukah on Sunday!


About to enter the ball pit.


Playing in the basement.


Playing hide and seek.


Just up from snoozing.


Hamming it up.


On a snowflake.


Riding a bear ...


with Jack.

What a Party

What a year...Jack is now officially a year old. We celebrated on Sunday with Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom, Grandma Phyllis, Grandpa Maurice, and visitors Great Aunt Donna and Great Uncle Stephen. We had delicious cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake (highly recommend) and pizza requested by the big sister!

A few days before the big day, Jack started taking a few steps at a time, and by now is becoming a little more brave. Tonight he actually took a few steps towards Lily who was laying on the ground and then purposefully fell on her which both of them thought was hysterical! He continues to chow down eating three meals during the day and several snacks, and drinks lots of milk (no more formula). He is actually off of the bottle, and prefers to drink by himself out of his sippy cup. All that food and milk appears to be helping his hairline, we are contemplating a haircut in the near future. He also has another tooth coming in.

Until next week...


Reading a book with Uncle Stephen.


Jack being very serious.


Jack and Lil riding his new bike.


Playing a little "Eye Spy" with the Grandmas.


Jack surrounded by birthday loot.


Relaxing in his new chair.


Lil showing off the card that she wrote out herself!


The dessert.


The dessert in Jack's hair.


Standing around.

Sweet Potato Pie

It is late and we are tired so just a quick update this week.  Another Thanksgiving has come and gone but we a had a very nice holiday.  Lily and Jack were a bit under the weather but had a good time celebrating Jack's first Thanksgiving.  We had visits with family near and far - in town for the festivities were Aunt Kelly, Uncle Stan, Aunt Tracy and cousin Casey.  Also visiting were Great Uncle Mike and Great Aunt Jeannie and cousins Alli and Davis.  Cousins Emilie and Stephanie were also in town.  Joining in were both sets of grandparents, Great Aunt Jenny and Great Uncle Carlton and cousin Alex and Great Yellow Grandma Katie.

We were not very good with the camera this weekend and did not get too many pictures.  We will do better this weekend as we celebrate Jack's first birthday.

Until next week, enjoy the pictures.  Maybe Marcy will have more to add to this post later ...

but that is all for now.

Jack not taking a shine to Aunt Kelly's piano lesson.


I believe that the puff in Jack's mouth was stolen from Casey's tray.


Taking a walk ... this is Jack's new demand. Walk with him or else he will make your ears hurt!


The cousins showing off their new tees from Great Uncle MIke and Aunt Jeannie.


A serious matching game going on here with Aunt Jeannie.


Ready for rain ...


Checking out the sit and spin with cousin Stephanie at the toy store.


Jack in his natural state.

Rockin' in Rhythm

Overall it was a nice week and weekend and despite the freezing cold weekend, we kept the kids busy, and it was nice to stay close to home before the Turkey Day rush!

On Friday, Lily had picture day at her school, and I happened to bring Jack and they each had individual pictures taken and a picture together - we will see how they turn out. Lily was great, Jack was a little confused and did not like the photo lady poking at him with the stick that was supposed to be tickling him. We spent the rest of the day indoors playing with many toys, as it was very chilly outside.

On Saturday, Lily went to her friend Madeliene's birthday party where they played in the indoor moonbounce, painted tea cups, and played dress up. Later that day, we visited Ikea, and Lily had her first visit to the children's drop off playground area - she was very excited and had a great time. (Great activity on a freezing cold day!) Later, Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Maurice brought dinner over - chinese chicken, Lily's favorite.

On Sunday, Lily went over to Grandma Phyllis' and Grandpa Maurice's for some play time. Later in the day, upon Lily's return, Mom, Jack and Lily headed over to Madeliene's house for some more bouncing and hanging out. Madeliene has a sister Claire who is 3 months older than Jack so they walked/crawled circles around eachother. Upon Stuart's return from the Ravens game, he joined us for pizza!

Kelly flew into town today and is in charge of Lily and Jack tomorrow for most of the day. Many more family members will be arriving during the week, we will have a full post-Turkey report next Monday.

Lily and Jack want to send out Happy Thanksgiving wishes to everyone!





Lily and Jack at the local piggly wiggly.


Jack checking out the peroggie.


Riding his car.


Lily playing a game with Grandma Phyllis.


Jack in the ball pit.


More dancing.


Lily climbing her first tree with the assistance of Grandpa Maurice.


A little Zingo with Aunt Kelly.

Speeding Up To Slow Down

A pretty quiet week here ... not much to report. A couple of visits with both sets of Grandparents. A birthday dinner for Great Grandma Katie. A little ballet. A little school. A little nanny time with Beatrice for Jack.

Let's see what we can tell you ... Jack got his first real shoes this week. He is trying to walk and sort of took a couple of steps tonight. He is eating like a champ - tofu, beans, cereal, bread, everything and he finally is getting down the feeding himself routine. He is still sleeping well and is down to three bottles per day - real milk has begun but he is on formula for another two weeks or so.

Lily is doing great. Her vocabulary is expanding by the day and she loves to read and draw. She is very busy and is very excited about Thanksgiving, Hanukah and Christmas. She is quite the little helper with Jack and loves her brother and she can always make him smile.

They a quite the duo ... a lot of fun but a lot of work. That free will thing is really overrated with children.

Until next week ... here are some pics and video. We got new, faster internet this week so we should have more videos from now on since they upload about twenty times faster.

Have a good week.


Looking pensive.


Jack showing off his new shoes.


Playing with some toys.


A family portrait.


Bathing ...


Checking out some nursery rhymes.

Things Have Changed

This week brought great news on the political front (for some), and Lily's choice of candidate won! In addition to helping Dad vote on Tuesday, her school also held a mini election - we will be saving her Obama ballot! Obama won the popular vote in the Rainbow Bear room by a margin of 6-1.

On Friday, Lily and Jack had a great time visiting with Mom's friend Ms. Tara, her daughter Kate who is 4 months old, and Mackie the dog. We had beautiful Saturday weather, so Lily spent some time outside, and Jack took a nice long afternoon nap. He goes back and forth between 1 and 2 naps a day. On Sunday, Lily went to see Madagascar 2 with friend Naomi, joined by the moms. Lily loved the popcorn, twizzlers, and - oh yeah - the movie although she was a little scared by "the fire and lava." Her favorite part of the movie was the song "I Like to Move It, Move It" although her version is "I Like to Movie Movie." Sunday afternoon Aunt Tracy, Uncle Stan and cousin Casey came over for a visit and we got in some playground time. We were later joined by Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom for dinner. (Casey may have some pictures to share with you of the weekend once they return to CO tomorrow - check the WavyWard blog to the right. We were a little slack with the camera this week.)

Have a good week!


Getting ready to go out.


Riding around in his sister's pink car.


Jack wearing Lil's fish hat with Grandma Gail.


Uncle Stan reading to Lil.

Young Americans

Early post this week due to Stuart going to the Redskins game for Monday Night Football...

Friday morning, Lily and her classmates paraded through the school and then sang some Halloween songs for the crowd. Although Lily was a little shy at first, she warmed up by the end. Jack clapped through most of the show. Friday night brought trick-or-treating. While Lily did end up with a lot of candy, it was touch and go for awhile as to whether she would end up with any. She was a bit of a scaredy cat, and was pretty much scared of anyone wearing a mask, or any house decorated in any spooky manner. In any event, she scored some sugar, and her favorite this year are starbursts.

On Saturday, we played in the backyard and then headed over to Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's to hang with Casey. Casey is scooting along, and is trying her best to keep up with Jack. Sunday was filled with play in the basement, Lily running errands with Stuart including a haircut at Cartoon Cuts (for Lily, not Stuart), a bike ride, and then some impromptu playing with neighbors Madelyne and Claire.

Lily and Jack want to send out special birthday hugs and kisses to Great Aunt Donna who is celebrating her birthday on Tuesday. And speaking of Tuesday, Lily and Jack want to remind their (American) readership to vote! We are hoping for good news Tuesday night/Wednesday morning...


A halloween family portrait.


Lily and her classmates all dressed up.


The Gremlins.


So Halloween night I heard some papers rustling upstairs after Lil when to bed and thought nothing of it. Later, when I checked in on her, she had dragged her balloon with the attached paper bag into her room. She was holding on tight when this pic was taken.


Examining the haul the next morning.


In the backyard on our 70 degree November 1 day.


Lil in her big girl booster seat.


Lil following Casey, following Jack, following Ivan.




Getting a haircut ...