Taking Pictures

A good week at school for Lily with the last day of water play and pajama day. Jack had a good week hanging with Beatrice. Mom, Lily and Jack enjoyed visiting a different playground which has a (rundown ;)) pirate ship, and also stopped in to check out the creek - we purchased a double jogger for Beatrice to use for the boys so now it is a little easier to take longer walks with Lily because she can jump in and out of the stroller at her leisure!

Friday brought colds for Mom and Lily - while Lily felt better by Saturday, Mom was not feeling better until Sunday. Fortunately, Jack and Dad stayed healthy. On Saturday, we met up with Naomi and Jonah at a local park and Lily rode the carousel and train. On Sunday, the family hung in the backyard and later met up with Mom's friends, Sarah and Derek for dinner - Lily received an early birthday present of a pink watch which she will likely show off in a later post - Lily sends speacial thanks Ms. Sarah and Mr. Derek!

Until next week...


Lily snapping Jack in the wild.


Not sure why but they decided to roll around on the floor.


Enjoying some delicious baby food.


Lil with Charlie and Charlie. Although I think one Charlie is now known as Willie. We will keep you updated.

Get Up, Stand Up

The week began with a visit by Grandpa Tom and Grandma Gail who came over for dinner. Lily had a good week at school with water play and a traveling farm which included a pig, and is anticipating getting some new classmates once three of the kids leave for kindergarten at the end of this week.

The weekend was spent planning around Jack's sleeping schedule. He slept about 14 hours Thurs, Friday and Saturday nights, and we actually had to wake him up around 9:30 or so each morning to get the day going - as soon as we open the door, he pops his head up with a great big smile but we wonder how long he would sleep if we did not intervene. In addition to waking up late, he also napped like a champ all three days - we figure it has to be a growth spurt. He is desperately trying to pull himself up and pops right up with a little assistance. No real sign of crawling, although he does hold himself pretty high on his arms - again, he seems to be concentrating more on the pulling up so we will see. He has two top teeth that are popping through, and has been eating like a champ. He has tried little bits of banana, and enjoys veggie puffs as long as they are being fed to him - he does not seem to understand the concept of being able to feed himself to date but he is working on it. He eats 4 bottles per day, oatmeal in the morning, and two jars of baby food during the day.

Lily was very busy all weekend. She played with Hayley and Cole on Saturday, and went to the park on Sunday with Grandpa Maurice and Grandma Phyllis. She has been such a good big sister and is always excited when Jack (finally) wakes up in the morning. She loves helping out with Jack - she helps bathe him including washing his hair, she feeds him (and herself) veggie puffs, and makes sure he always has a toy to play with. She also is doing well feeding her fish twice a day, with a little assistance from dad - the Charlies are thriving in the tank!

Enjoy the few pics we have! Have a good week!


Lily and Grandpa Maurice ...


Lily painting some with Grandma Phyllis.


Jack, skipping crawling, moves straight to standing up on his own.

Have you fed the fish?

A busy week in the books filled with family and activity!

As noted in the previous post, Donna arrived last Sunday to hang out with the kids for the week, while Mom left to go out of town for work on Sunday. Mom's work trip, however, was cut short by the loss of Grandma Essie, thus Mom returned early to head to New Jersey with Dad to say goodbye. Fortunately, Donna was around to hold down the fort.

Donna had a great time with both Lily and Jack, although we suspect she had a good night sleep upon her return home - Lily and Jack (especially) kept her on her toes. She learned very quickly that Jack is a delight when he can see you and/or have contact with you - once you step out of the room, the whining and fussing begins and then immediately stops once you appear again! Jack made some entertaining milestones this week - he waves "bye bye" with his right hand with a smile, and is trying his hardest to pull himself up by pulling at our legs, hands, and arms - we suspect we might have lift off soon. Lily is growing like a weed and is using some big words these days - "That is fascinating Daddy." She had fun a lot of fun doing crafts with Donna and even managed to make some (long overdue) pictures for cousins Emilie and Stephanie.

On Thursday evening Mom and Dad returned home from New Jersey, and Emilie arrived into town from NYC. On Friday, Donna, Emilie, Mom and the kids made a trip to the bookstore, and played with the many toys at home. On Saturday, we were sad to see Donna go, but Emilie stuck around for another night. On Sunday, we treked to the county fair where Lily had a blast - she rode the ferris wheel, carousel, dragon spinning ride, seadoo ride, boat ride, car ride - and at any opportunity she wanted to go solo! (Jack patiently observed from his stroller - next year!) The exciting moment came when Lily played a game, and managed to throw TWO ping pong bowls into small fish bowls - the prize was TWO goldifsh. Lily named them Charlie and Charlie - she insists she wants to stay with the same name for both - the fish do not seem to mind and swim over when called. As I type, Lily and Dad are out shopping for a brand new fish tank to hold Charlie x2, hopefully we will have a pic of the final product!

Lily and Jack want to send out Happy Anniversary hugs and kisses to Great Uncle Stephen and Great Aunt Donna who celebrated their wedding anniversary yesterday!

Enjoy the pics!



With the nanny - Donna.


In the playhouse with Cousin Em.


Riding the Jalopy at the Fair.


Riding the Ferris Wheel with Marcy.


Jack enjoying the fair.


Riding the bumper boats.


Trying to win some fish.


With Charlie and Charlie.

Build That Wall

A busy week at the ranch. The week started off with a bang when we all had a visit from Donna (blog's most prolific commenter) and Stephen. The two detoured down to our neck of the woods while on vacation. Bubbie flew down the next day and Lily and Jack enjoyed some quality with their Great Aunt and Uncle and Great Grandmother. There was lots of craft time and art projects and fun new toys. Everyone had a great time during their visit.

On Friday, after our visitors left, the four of us went to the Zoo and tried to see some animals but it was really hot and the animals did not want to cooperate - except for the prarie dogs and clawed beavers. After that, we had a relatively animal free weekend until Sunday (Saturday was mostly errands and some other stuff I can't remember). Sunday was Lily's friend Brendan's 4th birthday party so Lily and Marcy were off to a local farm to party with the animals. A couple of pieces of pizza, some birthday cake and a pony ride later they were back at home to greet Aunt Donna who came back for another week of visits while Marcy is away for work. (Quite correctly, there is an overall lack of confidence in my ability to take care of two children at one time for a whole week).

On a sad front, we learned early this morning that Lily and Jack's Great Grandma Essie passed away. Essie, who had been ill for an extended time, will be dearly missed.

Here is a picture of Lily & Jack with Grandma Essie from February.



The week that was in pictures:


Posing ...


Lily and Jack with Bubbie ... too many cameras working at one time.


Thumbs up all around.


A good close up of those two teeth.


Showing off a new band aid.


A creation made from her new wedgits.


Riding a gorilla at the zoo.


Riding a pony.


One more wedgits creation.