End of September

Scott was at a school in Shenandoah for a week, and the kids got pretty sick so Lola and Grandpa came and stayed with me in the condo for a few days. They got to revisit the good ole' days of baby puke and snotty noses, fussy tantrums and scary high fevers -- all in the middle of the night, of course. It was a huge help to have them here as Z&C both want to be held when they don't feel well. Zoe just wanted grandpa...

...probably because he is tall enough such that she can lay on him like he's her own lounge chair. My dad threw his back out at the park, which was actually good for the kids as he would sit on a chair or the sofa and they'd climb all over him. They especially like sitting on his foot and getting bounced up and down...something I clearly remember doing when I was 2 or 3, with both my dad and Uncle James.

We spent a rainy afternoon at home, taking pics and learning how to climb onto the back of the sofa all on our own. Caleb likes to point to and say "ball!" for any round object in his books, and says "moooo!" and "cow" when he sees pictures of moo-cows. Other new words are "peee-za" (pizza) and, my favorite, "Zo-zee" for Zoe.

Cheeeeese! I think he has my eyes: what do you think?

Zoe really wanted the camera in this one. We have figured out how to say "up!" and "down" particularly to get out of the high chairs. And just today, Zoe looked at me and in earnest, said "poooo-pooooooo" and sure enough, she had a poo-diaper. (Yes, I'm talking about baby poop. Again. From Ayn Rand and Foucault to poop talk.)

Z is very much a skinny mini...and this outfit shows that I was the same at the same age. Lola brought it up when she came to visit. It's very trendy in true retro style -- I wore it back in 1977.

I took the kids for a run on one of the first crisp fall mornings and they got a little chilly. Here's C loving being snuggled by daddy.
My good friend Fiona (due with baby #1 in a few short weeks) babysat for Z&C last week Saturday so S and I could go on an actual date for the first time in months. It was a treat to go have a nice meal at Dino, have a yummy cocktail and share tiramisu like old times. I'm looking forward to paying back the favor to Fiona once baby girl arrives next month.

Hi Cutie!

Zoe needed snuggles, too. These two pics really show how different they look, and how much their coloring favors Mom (Caleb) and Dad (Zoe). Zoe is just like her Daddy, quick to laugh who loves action, and geting spun around in circles. Daddy will say, "one....two..........three!" and spin her around when he's holding her, but she will squeal "teeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" before he hardly gets "one..." out. Adrenaline junkie at 17.5 months!