Peek-A-Boo!

She's Big, She's Bossy, and She's All Ours!

No, not that one (although there are some obvious similarities)...THIS ONE!:


We haven't named her just yet, but we took her out for an inaugural paddle around the lake today. To my great relief Liam seemed to understand the "don't rock the boat" concept and Sarah....well, she was angry at the world. What really had her going was:

1) her life jacket
2) the sun in her eyes
3) it was naptime

She stopped her screaming and squirming long enough to catch her breath on my knee. And then she was at it again.

By the time we got back to shore she had come to terms with 1 and 2 and enjoyed a long 3 snuggled up with the diaper bag.


Lesson learned.
Meanwhile, back on the boat....


This little guy had a great day playing with paddles, splashing in the water and shouting "Ca-noooooooooe!" A true voyageur.

A Sure Thing

Babies in swings are cute. Always. But I think she takes it up a notch!

Is There a Nicer Word for "Snot"?

If there is, do let me know. Because Matt and I have been living in a petri-dish with two sick kiddos the last few days. And because we don't particularly like the idea of Liam running around chanting "SNOT!" like he does with the word "poop" we are in search of a less giggle-worthy word. It's the elephant in the room. It's the caked-on blob on my neck. It's the curious sheen on the knee of my jeans. It's everywhere. Cold Season has arrived.


In other news, we unintentionally spent a good portion of the kids' incubation period at my Mom and Dad's little cabin in the woods. Sounds rustic? Not really! I would trade my kitchen for theirs in an instant. But it is a cabin nonetheless, and with that comes 3' ceiling, loft-style sleeping accommodations for the kids....which wouldn't be a problem if they weren't - ahem - snotting and barfing all night long. And if Matt and I were hobbits, I suppose. But they were, and we aren't, so it gave our little holiday a certain je ne sais quoi. Throw in some heavy rainfall and by day 3 there was some serious cabin fever to go along with the real fevers. By yesterday both the rain and the fevers had broken, so we ventured outdoors and headed for the hills.


Hard to tell here, but Liam was standing on top of a very large flat rock. Very safe and I was easily close enough to catch him if he were to take a running leap, but not wanting that to happen Matt and I said "Stand verrrrry still".....and he mustered up all his concentration to do just that!

One tough mama....


Nice view, but I'm pretty sure Liam is wiping his nose on Matt's jacket here....

Part II: Outtakes

Growing up, we would often go on summer roadtrips outside of our usual radio frequency. We would pick up a talk radio station that my Dad loved, but never failed to elicit groans from the rest of us. And then we would be shushed. (Sorry Dad, you know it's true!) The fact that I am now married to a news/talk radio junkie does not escape me.
Anyways.
There was one program that would take a random topic - say an unsolved murder mystery, or how bubble gum was invented - and uncover some information that inevitably made you say "hmmm. I didn't know that....." and it would always end with the wise host saying "and now you know the rest of the story."
That's my long way of saying that the pictures you saw yesterday of happy kids at a happy picnic were maybe not the most accurate picture. What you didn't see:

• Matt spent 2.5 hours driving around town to find an infant life jacket for Sarah so we could take the kids for their first canoe ride. (He finally found one.)

• The kids were extremely under-napped and over-tired but Liam was REALLY excited about the boat.

• We arrived at the canoe rental shop about 30 minutes after they stop renting canoes for the day....at 4:30. (Hello?!)

• Matt tried to bribe the All Powerful Renter of Canoes.

• No deal.

• We found ourselves another body of water and another canoe shop.

• They were closing.

Did I mention Liam REALLY wanted to go in a boat? (So did Matt, for that matter!)
We decided to enjoy our picnic anyways, the but the over-tired, under-napped business kicked in pretty quickly.

• Liam's pants were on fire and he couldn't sit still for a second.

• Sarah was tackled.

• Every third thing we said was "Time Out!"

• A trip to the water park was promised for good behavior, but alas.....we went home with a dry boy. Except for the tears.

"And now you know the rest of the story."

Part I: Another Day, Another Picnic

Our picnic gear has served us well this summer. Liam is often the inspiration for packing up a meal and heading outdoors. At some point before dinner he will spontaneously shout "Picnic!" (which sounds more like "Pit! Nit!") and we're usually happy to oblige and take our crumbs elsewhere!
Enjoy the photos, but know that these happy, smiley baby shots are only part of the story. Stay tuned tomorrow for Part II: Outtakes.







Hokey as it sounds, I think the next picture captures the essence of Sarah! She's always making this cheeky little face....

Damsel in Distress

Sarah's been making tracks from the kitchen to the living room and back again. In fact, she does her laps so diligently that she was getting carpet burn and we had to buy her some baby knee pads! Somewhere along the way she discovered that she can pull herself up to stand. This is a nifty little skill....unfortunately she hasn't figured out the second part, ie. getting back down! We're hoping she puts these steps together soon as the 2am stuck-standing-in-the-crib distress call is going to get old very quickly! I do wonder how long she was white-knuckling those crib bars before she called for help....?