Happy Leap Day

I haven't posted for awhile, so I will dump some photos from different days into this one post to bring us current. We've had a spate of nice weather here in Portland the past two weeks. Every two days they tell us the weather will turn rainy again, but so far it hasn't. It's been mild, dry, and blue skies. Very nice.
This picture shows some brotherly bonding. Josh loves to pick up Lucas now. We have to keep reminding him to ask first, so I can be sure I'm aware and watching when it comes time to put him back down. But it is great how much they enjoy each other. No matter how upset Lucas gets, Josh can always make him laugh.

This is some Mommy and sons bonding on the couch, rolling around and giving lots of kisses:


Last weekend, we settled down on our front porch to enjoy the sunshine on our new blanket (thanks again Curt and Jeni!). We decided to let Lucas try Josh's popsicle, and that was the end of that--he would not give it back! He loved it. I think it has changed his whole outlook on life. He didn't know there was more to life than strained fruits and vegetables, and he was very pleased at this discovery (even if we couldn't quite convince him to hold it by the stick).

Josh took the opportunity on the same day to try the disc swing again, but he is still too small (or thin) to properly counterweight the thing and just ends up hanging off backwards. Maybe next year.

Mohawk!

I tried to give Josh a mohawk using hair paste, but it looks more trendy/spiky than mohawky, probably due in part to his resistance efforts. He was not as into it as I thought he would be. I thought he looked cool, but he just wanted his regular hair back.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The boys loved all their valentines cards and gifts (and we loved all the candy they couldn't eat!). Thank you! I am sorry to report that nearly half of it is gone already, after just one night. Josh made a very pretty Valentine for us at school. It was a red heart doily with lots and lots of small beads in various shades of red glued to it. Not his usual taste! He usually goes for big, messy art. He told me repeatedly that he made it for "Mommy, Daddy, Lucas, and Sammy!" But all his teachers wrote on it was "To Mommy, Daddy and Lucas." They must not have understood what he was saying or who Sammy is.

Speaking of Sammy, he got quite the Valentines day surprise. I let him out into the back yard in the morning as I helped load Josh and Lucas into the car for school, and he started howling like never before, a long steady guttural noise. We quickly but apprehensively moved to the back to see what was going on, and a HUGE raccoon was cornered in the back with Sammy. It was as big as Sammy, who is 80 lbs. It didn't even look like a raccoon, except for the telltale markings. (After doing some research later, I am afraid that perhaps it was a pregnant raccoon.) We were able to call Sammy away before he got hurt, and the raccoon leapt over the fence into another neighbor's yard, and shortly thereafter we heard terrible noises coming from that yard. We are hoping it was the crows in the trees the raccoon climbed into, but we are fearful it was a cat making that noise. A harrowing morning. We live in the city, people! There is not supposed to be wildlife in our yard!

Gummy smiles

Lucas still has no teeth and a cute, gummy baby smile. Most babies get their first teeth between 4 and 7 months of age. Lucas turned 8 months old last Monday, and still nothing. He drools and chews like crazy, and has for months, which continually tricks us into thinking he is teething. Josh got his first tooth at 9 months, so we must make late teethers.

Super Tuesday -- Please Vote Obama '08

8 months old

Today, February 4, at exactly 8 months old:

Yesterday, with Daddy for Super Bowl Sunday:

Look Who's Crawling!

It's been a week of movement milestones for Lucas. Last Friday (I know, bad mommy with the late post) he crawled for the first time. That morning, he was doing the modified propeller-leg crawl: with one leg he used his knee on the floor to crawl and maintain balance, with the other leg he put his foot on the floor to propel. But by Saturday he could just crawl (regularly), and now he's all over the place. Especially if he is in sight of Sammy's bowls. What is it about dog bowls that so fascinates babies?
However, he is an ambitious soul, and was not satisfied with this pace. He continues to try very hard to learn to stand and walk. If we stand him up around a low surface (like the coffee table), he can stand there forever, and can even move around it some. If he give him our fingers, he'll walk (at an impressively brisk pace) around the room, although he is still adorably wobbly. Last night (Thursday) he pulled himself up to his feet, using the coffee table, for the first time. This morning, he "cruised" from his play cube to the table for the first time. First steps! (as a cruiser). Won't be long now before his real first steps, with no hands! I give it another month, I think he will be walking by himself in March. He is very motivated.

Copying pictures

Some people have asked how to copy pictures from this blog. Just put your mouse pointer over the photo you want, right-click on the photo, and a menu window will open. You can select options such as "Save Picture As", and then save it into your own directory.
If that fails, just ask me to email it to you!
I have also enabled the email feature on this blog. Under each post there is now a little envelope icon with an arrow. You can click on that to email the entire post to yourself (or someone else).

Cousins

Josh and Logan were two peas in a pod.


Sela took a turn playing Mommy to Lucas, who was very receptive. In fact, I think he ate better for her than he did for me.

A better (and in focus!) picture of the joy ride:

Blue Bird Gap Farm

When we were kids, we spent many a day at the Bluebird Gap Farm. I remember victoriously climbing a large and intimidating hill there, when I was finally big enough to keep up with the big kids who could master the hill, and of course when I returned as an adult it was just a smallish mound of dirt. Erosion probably played a small part, but mostly it was my young mind and sense of proportion. I also remember once getting bitten (gummed really) by a miniature horse named, fittingly, "Surprise."
My dad loves to take his grandkids there, so during our Christmas visit, he took Josh. Here they are visiting and feeding the animals.

Some Christmas Gifts

Josh's new ski bib and goggles:

Santa baby (rockin his new legwarmers):

Josh in his new Spiderman pajamas and Logan in her "Josh" shirt and Spidey hat:

Josh driving Logan and Sela's new jeep (we have some great pictures of them driving, they had such a great time. I'll have to find others that are in focus to share but will go ahead and post this one too):

The robot family (because of all the red eyes I'm not removing, which perhaps won't be so obvious in a smaller size on the blog):

Freedom

We are all feeling a little freedom today. First, from the stomach bug that has laid us low since Jan 1, circulating through the family. Finally, as of today no one has it. Keep your fingers crossed we do not repeat.
Second, John has finished his work sample for his first semester of student teaching. It is a 50+ page write-up of his student teaching experience, buttressed by another 50-100 pages of appendix of all the material he produced and used during his teaching stint. It is an impressive project, one he worked hard on, and he struggled to complete it. I am proud of him, and I'm sure he is really happy to have it behind him. Of course, he still has to do another one for this semester's student teaching, in addition to his large research project, so it will be a busy spring, but for now he can take a breath and relax.
Third, Lucas is learning how to be mobile and is granting himself some freedom. Observe below, his ability to stand for minutes at a time. He is also learning to crawl.
Well, this post is getting cut short. Lucas has awakened, gotta run.
Will post Christmas pics next, now that the computer is "free" for me to use!

The Differences Between the Sexes

Or between John and Monica, anyway

So, I was so excited for today's kick-off of the election season. Last night, I frantically rummaged through all our various piles of clothing--the Christmas gifts we opened before our trip and left in the living room, our still-unpacked luggage, the dresser, the laundry--to find Lucas's "My Mama's for Obama" shirt for today. This morning, I read the political blogs; this afternoon, I watched the CNN "pre show." When John got home, I mentioned that it was an exciting night and asked who he thought would win.
His answer?
"Kansas."*


*vs. Va. Tech, in Orange Bowl

Merry Christmas!

The first of the Christmas presents

This driving game was the first present Josh opened. He loves it! For a few weeks now he's been asking if he can drive the car when he gets bigger, so we knew he'd love the simulator. Unfortunately, like his love for hitting his golf balls into the water in Golden Tee, his favorite thing to do so far is drive his car into the wall. With a little practice, I should be able to beat his resulting lap time.

Sleep like a baby

Luke has developed a strange habit of sleeping with his face pointing directly down. He puts his little hands on either cheekbone, and puts his face right down on the mattress. Our friend Mandy babysat for us last weekend, and called when he went to sleep to check on this seeming safety issue. But, no matter how much I turn his head, he goes back to this position.

The Polar Express

We rode the "Polar Express" train out of the Mt. Hood Railrood in Hood River, Oregon on Dec. 12. Everyone was served hot chocolate and cookies, as in the book, and we had the added advantage of being seated in the cocoa car, which means we got the leftovers! We traveled out about 45 minutes to the "North Pole" (a depot decorated with lights to look like a little village) while listening to the audio book, then picked up Santa and his elves, who rode back with us to our starting point. The elves dispersed among the train cars to lead carols, as Santa made his way through one by one. It took a long time, especially for us in the second-to-last car, but to Santa's credit he sat at each and every table and spent as much time with each child as it warranted.
Here are two of Santa's elves as we departed:

Josh enjoying his cookie:

A look down the train car at Daddy, Lucas and Josh:

Santa!

Josh asked Santa for a bell (just like in the book), and was ecstatic to receive one. Here he is swinging it around wildly:

We had a really nice time.

It's not easy being Daddy

Christmas tree farm 2007

In the middle of lots of cold, or rainy, or cold and rainy days we were lucky to wake up last Saturday to a beautiful day with clear blue skies. We headed out to our favorite Christmas tree farm (Terry Bradshaw's, though presumably not the Terry Bradshaw you may have heard of) and the hunt was on. We think we found a pretty good tree:

Josh helped Daddy cut it down. Mommy and Lucas provided the useful shadows:


O Tannenbaum:

Who took this picture?