Tree Decorating

We had a great holiday season and a lovely Christmas with family and dear friends yesterday. We are also looking forward to Mimi and Papa's visit shortly!

In the meantime, I need to catch up on blogging. Here's some photos of Miles and Jack decorating the tree. I'll post some of their visit with Santa, cookie decorating with Tiffany and more over the next few days! Happy Holidays.

Jumping Jack

Like Miles was, Jack is enamored with his Bungee Baby Bouncer. He loves hanging out in it while we are cooking in the kitchen or decorating the tree in the living room. Jesse just got some good video of him bouncing around, I'll have to convince Jesse to guest blog and upload it. [Jesse -- hint, hint].

Happy Holidays everyone from Santa Jack -- we are having a busy December but really enjoying the holiday season.

A Growing Jack

Jack is getting bigger by the day. He was almost 18 pounds at his four month appointment. But if you can believe it, he is smaller then Miles at this age. I love his big cheeks and little dimples. We just started him on rice cereal, it's going to take some adjustment. He's not thrilled with the whole concept!

Miles and Mollie Playdate

This is a little out of chronological order, but the photos were cute so I had to post. Mollie continues to be one of Miles' favorite people in the world, and we love having her over out to our house. As you can see, Mollie also loves our dogs. Donna and Tom -- if you are reading this, I think you need to get Miss Mollie a dog....

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

I know it has been a while since I blogged. Things have been busy -- I went back to work right before Thanksgiving, and now Jesse is home with Jack through the end of January. It's been an easier transition having Jesse home, and Jack loves it.

We had a great Thanksgiving with Jesse's family. Martina and Derek came down from Vancouver, Jerri and Barce flew over from Montana, and Ryan was of course in town. Great food and company!

Miles' Halloween Videos

3 quick videos of Miles. The first one is with his good friend from school, Jackson. The second one is the Halloween pinata at his school. The last video is Miles, Jack and Mollie just before we went trick-or-treating.

Happy Halloween

Miles the Astronaut and Jack the Pumpkin had a great Halloween. We all went to Miles' school on Friday for his Halloween party with his friends, complete with pumpkin pinatas and pumpkin carving. On Saturday, we went trick or treating with Dora (Mollie), Donna, Tom and Laura up on Queen Anne Avenue. The Tottens joined us for a drink at Paragon when we couldn't take the madness any more. And then the Huh-mensons, Miles' friend Nate (a very authentic fireman), and Nate's mom Michelle came over for pizza, wine and beer. The kids had a great time, and the adults were exhausted. Probably how it should be.

A Treasured Diego Blanket for Miles

Mollie's Mimi (aka Mollie's grandmother, aka Donna's mom, aka Jane Goins) surprised Miles with a very special handmade Diego blanket this weekend!  I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the squares are Diego fabric (Dora the Explorer's cousin, and Miles' favorite show).  Miles was so excited and now sleeps with it every night.  He had seen the Dora blanket that Jane made Mollie and was jealous -- so Jane made him his own!  He will treasure this always, not just because it is Diego, but because his future grandmother-in-law handmade it.  Jane is so thoughtful, and we are glad we get to see her on her many trips in from Colorado!    

Jack's Back

Actually, we're all back. It's been a while since I blogged, because Miles, Jack and I spent a fabulous nine days on the east coast. While we got back about a week ago, we've been juggling some lovely fall illness (nothing serious) and I haven't caught up. We had a really nice trip -- my brother Ken came up from Baltimore, my uncle Vin drove down from Boston, and it is, of course, always lovely seeing Mimi, Papa, Nora and Steve. And we had a very fun (and too short) day with Emily, Maddy, Will and Ruth. For the first time, Miles and Will really played together and the 18 month age difference didn't seem to matter. I have lots of photos to post, but I need to collect them from various sources (Vin, thanks for sending yours!), because I didn't have my camera. Watch for more soon! But we're back and I should be posting more regularly. Hoped you missed us.

Miles' First Trip to the Dentist

Now that Miles turned three, it was time to tackle the dentist. I thought that there was no way he would sit still for this, so we did a fair amount of advance work, buying him a book on going to the dentist and having him go to the dentist's office to meet everyone and watch one of Jesse's cleanings in September (before his actual appointment). But I was worried that it would be a different story when they put the tools in his mouth. However, he did amazingly well (no tears or squirming) and much of that credit goes to Dr. Friedrich and Abby (the dental hygenist). The orange flavored toothpaste was the highlight of the cleaning, as well as getting his polaroid on the wall with all of the big kids at the end. My little man seemed so grown up! We were very proud of him.

Mellow Jack

Mellow Jack. It sounds like a cheese, but I am referring to Baby Jack, as Miles likes to call him. He's such a "go with the flow" little guy, probably because he is the second (or "last and final" as I like to call him) child. Here's a few photos of him sitting in my rocking chair watching while we set up Miles' tool bench. The rocking chair was first my Grandmother Dorothy's when she was a baby (~1921), and then my dad refinished it himself for me when I was born in 1974. And then my parents had it refinished again (and repaired the caning that I had destroyed by climbing on it as a little girl) in 2006 when Miles was born. A three generation chair!

Miles the Builder

As a birthday present from Mimi and Papa, Miles received the tool bench he has been coveting (he first saw it at his friend Brandon's house when we were there for a dinner party, and we couldn't tear him away). As you can see in the photos, he was very serious about setting it up with Dada. I often wake up in the morning to find him down in the basement in his underwear only (not sure why no clothes) hammering away. As long as he doesn't hammer Jack, we're good.

Nora and Steve Visit

We had a lovely visit from Nora and Steve at the end of September. Miles was very excited to see them and they got to meet Jack. Miles got a crazy trip to Toys R Us for his birthday to pick out a toy, and he walked up and down the aisles saying, "I do not have that, I don't have that?!" Needless to say, he walked out with more than one thing. Above is a photo of Steve (the Viking fan) making a new use out of Jack's bumbo seat, and a photo of Nora with Jack. It was great to see them!

Doctor Check Ups -- Jack Two Months, Miles Three Years

In an effort to multi-task, I took both Miles and Jack in to the pediatrician on Jack's two month birthday.  Here's a few photos of the growing boys on the morning of their appointments.

Miles had his three year check-up and did great, especially with his flu shot and vaccinations.  Although he did tell the pediatrician he only drinks chocolate milk.  I'm not sure where this is coming from, since he claims to hate -- and frequently spits out -- chocolate.  He's actually never had chocolate milk (vanilla milk steamers from Starbucks, most certainly, but chocolate, no).  He also reported to her that he hates vegetables, but likes corn, cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus.  Funny kid.

Jack weighed in at 12 lbs, 13 oz (80th percentile) and 23 inches long (70th percentile).  Jack survived three shots and was only a little cranky that evening.  He's also been sleeping through the night since that day, so I cannot complain.  Miles is also still close to the top of the charts, 80th percentile on weight and 75th for height.  Some big boys!

Derek and Martina's Wedding

We took the boys up to Vancouver a few weekends ago for Derek and Martina's wedding.  I was so happy that Jack was old enough to travel so that I could make it.  Their wedding was beautiful and a great party (I especially enjoyed the mini Sophia champagne).   Jack also got to meet his Nana Jerri, and we very much appreciated her help throughout the wedding weekend.

Here's a few photos from the weekend.  Miles looked quite grown up in his sports coat (thanks Suzanne!).  The top photo of Miles with Jesse is the rehearsal dinner evening.  The photo of Miles with me is just before the wedding.  The third photo is Jack with Jerri.  And the last photo is Miles and his best buddy Jake as they took a break to watch some dvds during the reception (photo courtesy of Jerri).  Because I did not bring my camera to the wedding, I did not get any of the beautiful bride and groom, but they looked great!  Wonderful family weekend.