The boy is 15 months old

Had a well-baby check up yesterday, and he is declared fine and fit. He measures up to be 26# (~70%), 32" (~65%), and 49 cm HC (~90%). This surprises me because he seems much bigger than that, but, you know, oddities of growth charts and measurements, and there he stands.

As a day in the life -
This morning i put him in his backpack, and we walked up the hill with the dogs to get coffee. He so adores being outside that this has been a good activity for us to do while the girl is at school. He eats squash bread and gets crumbs in my hair while we walk home.
Once home i say 'Hey bud, lets go downstairs', so he runs to the door and starts rattling it. When we get to basement i start loading laundry, and he runs to the drum set and starts drumming. By the time i'm done with the laundry i find him in the room with a microphone in his mouth and a drum stick in each hand. He seems happy so i sit down in front of my computer to check the weather report for making plans tomorrow, forcing me to remind him not to play with the computer, so he goes to visit his favorite buddy - the vacuum cleaner. Then i run back to the freezer to pull out something for dinner tonight. When i return to get him from the other room he jumps as i enter, giving me the world's guiltiest look as i catch him playing with my computer. (I think he may have installed a new browser or something - i haven't had a chance to look at it yet.)
Shortly after that we need to get in the car to go retrieve the girl from school. He fights this type of confinement with all of his might, until i utter the magic words 'we are going to go get your sister, and your bun'. (On Tuesdays they make bread at school, and Mr. gets his own bun. He ADORES his bun. Almost as much as he ADORES his sister.)

And that's life. He is running, and climbing. His most reliable words are 'quack quack quack'. And 'Dada'. He is probably less verbal, but more physical, than the girl was at his age. And i live for the quiet moments when he agrees to snuggle for a bit.

Growing like weeds

Just a coupla random snaps of my blurry kids.




The boy is becoming more capable by the day. He adores being outside, and adores any time he can play in water. He delights in climbing into any non-baby place he can find, he's started bringing us books to read to him, and his new buddy appears to be a full-sized broom. He's growing into quite a little boy, getting taller and stronger before our very eyes.




I just finished making this scarf for the girl. I thought it looked pretty sharp with her ballet togs. She's been a busy kid lately, with school, ballet, swimming, and many play dates. Still, somehow she's been able to grow her feet by two sizes. I expect the rest of her to follow.

Play time

girl and boy and dad

Sorry the dog gets short shift.

the boy

Well, he has been movin' and shakin' on his own. He delights in figuring things out (like how to get electronic equipment to blink and beep), and seems to mostly be a happy little boy right now.


He's quite a climber, and can mount and bounce a toy horse by himself. (He quite seemed to like that.)


We went to a museum the other day, and while the girl perused the fossils, the boy mostly ran in circles around the exhibits. He quite liked this ramp. And, yes, blurry is about how we usually see him, too. Mere mortal eyes can't keep up with his speed.


When he's not running, he likes to play Josh's drums, but i don't have a picture of that.

Ballerina

This spring Madeleine started taking ballet classes. (Well, actually, creative dance classes - ballet appears to start at age 4 or 5 around here.) While i have not been too eager to enroll her in ballet classes, she has been asking for a long time. And she is thrilled!!
After asking me all fall for ballet shoes to go with the tutus she got for her birthday, she wore her dance clothes around the house as many hours of the day as i'd let her. (And i like this school - pink tights, black leotard, no sequins.)


The first day of class was so sweet - she and a bunch of other little girls, all dressed up, and so eager to start class. Madeleine 'practicing' one of her favorite ballet poses. Gosh, they were cute.


And the class was a hit. They do a lot of musical listening, instructor listening, and some stretching and free-form movement. She says she and her friend Molly 'have a BLAST' at dance class.



I'm so glad it has lived up to her almost impossibly high expectations. Her only gripe is that they don't do enough 'real ballet'. And she grins from ear to ear from the moment i let her put on her clothes.

And just about anything is worth it to me to see my little girl smiling like that.



(And sorry for the blurry cell phone pictures. I think i'm going to start bring a real camera with me.)

Christmas visit to Phoenix

At the airport for the trip down:

Cousins playing games:


Madeleine loved the trampoline:

I loved these pictures of the boy eating a cucumber roll:

The kids had lots of fun:

Christmas visit to Spokane