Daily Heart Attack

Mission accomplished!

Green Thumb

When we first moved into our house in April, our little backyard patio/garden looked like this:

Stephen and Bub put a lot of love and work into it over the course of a few weekends, and the finished product is just gorgeous!
They made an herb garden to line the stairs - fresh basil, oregano, mint and cliantro. Yum!

And those lights Stephen so painstakingly strung look so pretty at night.

Mr. Independent Pants

Climbing under Daddy's fish tank to play with the "electricords" as Bubby calls them. Oh my.

He loves water and had a blast at Sea World.

Our dear Mr. Preshy Pants has finally started walking, and in true Preshy Pants tradition, he did it in his own way, on his own time. He flatly refused to "walk to Mommy" or "walk to Daddy" but when no one was looking, he would take his own, tentative steps out into the middle of the floor (and usually end up doing a face plant.) He has no fear.

He is now walking pretty well, although he still falls an awful lot and has bruises all over and a chipped front tooth to show for it. He also loves to climb. Did I mention he has no fear? I caught him the other day three rungs up to Bub's "high bed". He can climb a ladder, stairs, and apparently he can also climb chairs and tables. We have our "breakfast room" gated off to provide a safe play area for him while I cook. The other day it was awful quiet in there, and when I looked he was sitting, quite proud of himself, in the middle of the kiddie table that is in there. He had pulled out a chair, and climbed on the chair to get to the table. I got him off, turned around and literally 30 seconds later, he was back up on the table. This time I removed the chairs completely and went back to cooking. A few minutes later I hear a yelp from him and turn to see him balanced precariously on his toy box, trying to climb over the safety fence!

He really marches to his own drum. At 10 months he could screw caps on and off. However, he would not clap or wave. All my other babies could clap "please" by 10 months. Not our Mr. Preshy. I was starting to stress about this, as he passed the one year mark and still no clapping. Then the other morning (early, around sunrise) I heard him stir, looked down, and there he was, laying in bed, still waking up and groggy with sleep, clapping. Go figure. Now he claps on command and thinks its hilarious. He still doesn't wave, but I'm thinking he'll do that when he feels like it.

"Hurray! A steering wheel." One of his favorite things.

He also can't say anything. Not Mama, Dada, or any other word. However, he points and he grunts with the proper inflection. He will grunt demandingly or will make his grunt sound like a question, depending on what he wants. I am thinking he is going to be a real "man's man." You know, grunt and point. Why talk if you don't have to? He does say Brrrum Brrrum and is totally fascinated with anything to do with cars.

He has given me no end of gray hairs as he looks for his next adventure, but he's so lovable, I can't be upset. He has such a happy smile and greets life each day with such enthusiasm. I get a little worried sometimes, as I think bungee jumping, rock climbing or some other freaky sport may be in his future, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now I'll stick close as he waves his 4 ft. stick around and tries to run with it, while saying "Brrrmm brrmmm".

Mr Preshy

After a lazy first 6 months of life (barely even rolling, let alone sitting up or anything else remotely strenuous), Mr. Preshy, now 9 months old, has decided that now it's time to get a move on and in the last 2 months has mastered crawling, standing (can almost stand unaided), squatting, and is determined to walk sooner rather than later. Sitting still, going to sleep, these are things that are no longer part of his daily routine and he fights them with all his might. He is ACTIVE!

His new favorite activities include: eating shoes, climbing stairs, drinking from the toilet bowl (he rushes for the toilet every time we turn our back for a second), opening cupboard doors and drawers, climbing into shelves and getting stuck, oh, and falling down and bonking his head at least once a day! He also LOVES bathing with his big brother and literally squeals with unadulterated joy when he realizes it's bath time. Of course, he spends the time in the bath trying to stand, falling, trying to drink the water, trying to once again stand, falling.... I have to say this for him though, he doesn't seem bothered at all by getting water in his eyes.

He is fascinated with everything his big brother does and does his very best to copy. I don't think I've ever seen a baby so intent on doing what the "big kids" are doing. Me thinks he is going to be a handful of a toddler. Many fun updates await.

How Like Death Moving Is...

This last month I have felt like someone who has been informed that they are dying, and who subsequently develops a new outlook on the beauties of the world around them....

Okay, a little dramatic, I know, but as we have looked for a smaller, cheaper house, I have looked with new eyes on our present house and it has made me very thankful that we have been able to live in such a wonderful place for the last 2 years.

So to celebrate the blessings we've had (and since none of you are gonna get to see it, seeing as you haven't come to visit us in at least 2 years... hint hint) here are some pics:Dining room - note our plate collection.

Side view of the yard.

Half of the living room.

The other half of the living room.

The bar - a great place to throw a party!

Our bedroom.

The Brain and the Brawn

THE BRAIN

Ethan holds up a drawing, which he explains to me is a Ferris Wheel powered by a large battery. Where does he get his ideas?

Ethan to Gogee on the phone: Gogee, do you realize that I am making my own binoclears?

This morning Ethan was painting. I looked at his picture, which was a mix of pasted seeds and colors and asked him what it was a picture of. He answered, "It's not a picture of anything. It's just art."

THE BRAWN

We have decided Mr. Preshy is the "brawn" because he is a little more laid back than any of my other kids (and Moms of hyper babies like to think that they are just hyper because they are so intelligent), more chunky, and very tough. He hardly cries when he gets hurt. Here he is showing off his muscles for us. Notice the second and third pictures especially - drop and give me ten!

The 20 Peso Park

This last Sunday we all agreed we needed to get out of the house, so we packed up on a whim and went to the "20 Peso Park". This is the same park we took Suz, Jeff and Adrianne to when Noah was a baby. It was a fun day. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Exhausted but he absolutely refused to sleep.
Two of my three Cancers!
Beautiful girls.