Land of the Rising & Hot Hot Suns

Patrick is in Japan (well, depending on when you see this, he might be in Guam). He's having a fine time, although he is eating shockingly little Japanese food. I'm sure he'll have lots to report next week.

The boys and I road-tripped south with Mema and are basking in the 100+ degree weather here in North Carolina. And by basking, I mean hiding out in the house with the air conditioning on. Kasper is getting quicker and Emmett is getting cuter (and more enormous, 18lbs 14oz at his check-up last week). Mema is trying to teach Emmett to crawl and pull himself up to standing - I'm working furiously to thwart her. Kasper is keeping her very busy, filling the bird feeders, cooking, recycling, watering the garden - everything takes just that much longer with a helpful Kasper.

Hope everyone out there is staying cool!

Woo-hoo, .5!

Emmett hit the six month mark Sunday. He is full of smiles, growls and opinions. He knows how he likes to be held (where he can see Kasper), what he wants to eat (whatever Mama is holding) and how he wants to eat (milk from the source only, no exceptions). We love him and were so glad to share him with Maine contingent. It made a sad trip much brighter.

Kasper had to bring his $5 rummage sale rocker outside for a test run. He is now an official lawn sale junkie. He woke up this rainy Sunday and announced, "Wanna go to a garage sale. Wanna find toys!"

No teeth, no problem

Emmett decided that he's done with missing out on the good stuff Sunday night. He's tired of sitting on the sidelines at dinner. So, he reached right over and stole the cornbread out of my hand! He really enjoyed it. He tried for Patrick's chili, but we drew the line there.

Oh, for me? Thanks!

Not bad for the first outing, just a bit messy.

This sums up Emmett's feelings on expanding his diet. I shudder as I think of our grocery bills.

Nothing like a rainy Monday

Kasper loves puddles. And it's been a long time since we've showed off the boys '"live on video". So, we've got not one but two exciting videos for your viewing pleasure! First one is Kasper and his wheel loader exploring a puddle. Second one is me marveling how a sweet squishy baby like Emmett transforms into a puddle splashing preschooler like Kasper. The days are long, the years are short.

(The second video is a little bouncy in the start. It settles down pretty quickly.)





And don't get used to this posting twice a day thing. It's unlikely to happen again anytime soon.

Funny face gene kicks in

If you're craving pudgy baby sweetness, you've come to the right place. I was going to write some snappy little captions, but they all boiled down to, "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" (go watch the video, we'll wait right here)

Stay tuned - bonus video of the kiddos coming once I get both hands free!

Happy Mondays

This is an old one, but we've got a house rule that posts need pictures, and it's one of my favorites off my phone.

We're having a quiet boys' night at home. Kasper has discovered Curious George and needs one of his stories (some of which are longer than a Michener novel) every night before he goes to sleep. Curious George has too much fun at the hospital -- I'm worried Kasper's going to start eating puzzle pieces like candy so he can go ride on the record player and crash the go-cart, too. (C'mon, you remember.)

Emmett and I have been struggling through our nights alone because he can't seem to figure out how to drink from a bottle. He just sticks the nipple in the corner of his mouth and chews it like a cigar -- kinda like this. But we've found another way to get him o sleep: music from his own radio station. He likes the mellow stuff -- Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, James Taylor. Leave a note if there's someone else we should add to the playlist.

Cuteness personified

We went to Maine. It was fun whirlwind weekend trip. Uncle Adam was surprised. Casa Rathbun enjoyed our unique brand of craziness. Kasper loved the snow. Unfortunately, we got The Plague and so did half of the people we visited. Ah, the joys of traveling with kids.

Becky took awesome photos. I'll let them speak for themselves. There are more at WoodfordNorth. (did I say more - I meant LOTS more. Aunt Becky loves us. And we love her back.)