When Kasper was born, we went nowhere but the doctor's office for at least 6 weeks. How things change! Emmett has already been to preschool (multiple times), the grocery store, the mall, a babywearing meeting and more. He's a very well-traveled youngster and he just passed the three-week-old mark. He's sporting the Christmas elf pants and all-important first Red Sox hat in these photos to attend a Christmas party this past weekend.
Emmett is snuggly, cuddly and loves eating and sleeping. He's a pretty standard-issue newborn, except, of course, he's exceptional because he's ours. But I know you're just here for the photos.
Kasper likes to be a hands-on big brother.
Please note, Emmett is in Mama's lap, not big brother's lap.
Seriously, I worry he'll be ticketed for excessive cuteness. Or having too many cheeks.
Everyone needs a butterball on Thanksgiving -- our nine-pounder arrived a few days early. Emmett George was born at 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18. He's 21.5 inches tall and, as you can see, pretty darn cute. Mom and baby are both doing wonderfully and should be ready to leave the hospital tomorrow.
More pictures -- here he is getting checked out -- he was about 2 minutes old, and he wasn't quite ready for the bright lights of the big city.
All bundled up:
My tired-out twosome -- it was a lot of work getting this little guy into the world:
Emmett and I meet at last. He's a keeper:
We left for the hospital at 3 a.m., with Kasper still asleep in his bed. We owe a huge thank-you to our neighbor Reene, who came over and stayed with Kasper during the day. And to Kasper's mema, too, who made the five-hour drive from North Carolina and is taking care of Kasper right now.
And what does Kasper think of his baby brother? He was pretty excited to see "Emmett George" last night:
If you think he looks cute, you should hear him say, "All aboard!" Just don't make the mistake of asking "How does a train go?" A nice retired Navy man inquired at the grocery store and was very surprised when Kasper started to explain how you need water for the boiler for a steam engine (he was looking for a simple choo-choo).
Kasper had his first day of preschool Tuesday. He loved it. I love the idea of six hours a week to myself (at least until #2 arrives). Here he is showing off his special bag and his new hat. Hey, it was 33 degrees here!
The local fire department had an open house this weekend. Kasper loved it. He gave the firetrucks and ambulances a thorough climbing over and investigating. He was disappointed that they didn't have the lights and sirens going but we explained how it would scare the younger kids. He really liked shooting the fire hose. Patrick had to supervise that one - I thought the potential for disaster was too great. All in all, a successful afternoon, Kasper is still talking about it!
(Kasper is watching as I post and he adds "ooohhh, looking at the shiny valves on the firetruck with Dada!".)
Kasper: I did it! I slid on my belly!
Dada: You have a belly? Really? Let me see it!
Kasper: [points to bellybutton] It's right here. It has a hole.
Dada: What do we call that hole?
Kasper: It's a hole. In my belly.
Dada: But what do we call it? [pointing to my bellybutton] What's this?
Kasper: That's a big belly.
Busy weekend for the Woodfords -- from the moment I got home Friday until his head hit the pillow an hour ago, Kasper has hardly stopped a moment to catch his breath. Here are some highlights:
Saturday, 9 A.M. -- The Park. This toy appeared out of nowhere, like a gift from the angels. Kasper is in love.
Saturday, 12:30 PM -- The Town Green. The Navy Band was putting on a country/bluegrass show. A beautiful day, perfect for laying a blanket down and relaxing. And where's Kasper? Well...
Saturday, 12:32 PM -- 200 yards away. Kasper found his own entertainment at a nearby fountain.
Saturday, 2:30 PM -- Fall For Fairfax festival. Park a dozen pieces of heavy equipment in a field and you have our kid entertained for hours. No surprise here -- Kasper made a beeline for the backhoe. He also had fun driving the snowplow and the Metro bus.
And finally, there was the inflatable toddler obstacle course. Quite possibly the most chaotic, cringe-inducing 45 seconds of mayhem the world has ever seen: 
Kasper went through this thing a dozen times -- you can check out the Youtube below to get the full effect:
Six years ago this weekend, we got hitched. Thanks to all of you for your support and love.
It's finally cool enough here to wear a sweatshirt!!
(Sorry for the small photo, Pat sent it to me from his phone at the park. Next up, hovercars and robots that do our dishes!)
Nothing too exciting going on around here, just trying not to melt in the swamp heat. Kasper is developing his ability to make faces when he sees the camera.
(Yeah, I have no idea what he's going for in the last one either. But it's pretty entertaining.)
No, not exactly, but we've been unforgivably lazy when it comes to posting. Things should heat up again in November when 'the baby in Mama's belly,' as we call him, is due to arrive.
What, hadn't we mentioned that yet? We're taking bids on the naming rights, so get yours in now.
Just wanted to take a quick break from our fabulous Maine vacation and share how the Woodford clan is growing. It's all over at WoodfordNorth.
(For reference, here's last year's group photo.)
For all Kasper gets out of YouTube, he wants to give a little back. Here, he shares his dancing skills, a wicked hybrid of Fraggle Rock and "Where is Matt?".
Kasper loves YouTube. Garbage trucks, excavators, trains - it has video of everything he loves. You can check out some of his favorites here.
As our dedicated readers know, Kasper also loves the caboose. We do bring him other places, we just only seem to take photos at the caboose! The little guy is his buddy Vaughan. He just turned 1, so Kasper is schooling him on all the important big guy stuff -like rocks, sandboxes and eating donuts.
After a wild few weeks of Patrick's trip to Germany, a visit from Mema and a visit TO Mema during a visit from the Left Coast Rynnes, we're back! Patrick's Father's Day started with Kasper actually sleeping in (well, until 8am) and was quickly followed by bagels with cream cheese and lox. This was followed by a trip to the park and lots of hanging out. No surprise there!
The holiday weekend brought with it the local Viva Vienna festival, and Kasper was thrilled that he's a "big kid" now and can go on some of the rides. Well, he's close -- we debated letting him go solo before deciding he's still just a little too unpredictable to be on heavy equipment by himself (I see all of you who've met Kasper nodding furiously in agreement). So Dada and Mama split the assignment:
Riding in the school bus with Dada was OK, but it couldn't match the fire truck ride with Mama:
He was also very interested in something called The Rainbow -- that's what he's watching below. I don't know ... maybe next year, when he's 3:
Happy Mother's Day! If you are looking for something sappy and sweet, may I refer to you May 2005? Because, what this year featured was delicious pancakes and bacon! Kasper and Dad were hard at work in the kitchen. Here's how it went:
Kasper checking to make sure I getting a good picture of his hard work
Voila!
Enjoying the fruits of his labors from his own plate...
...and from his Dad's plate
As we all know, everything is better with bacon
And just because he looks so adorable
Happy Mother's Day!
(and, yes, I did have to write my own Mother's Day blog post, but since the boys bought me a Pie Gourmet strawberry-rhubarb pie, I still feel like I got the best part of this deal)
