Cooking with Nana

Ma B gave Annie her very own baking set with a whisk and rolling pin so Nana and Annie made some muffins today!

Harry and his Friends

Harry finally met his buddy Dillon who was born on September 5th to Alison and Corey in L.A. Dillon is such a happy little guy, he even smiles in his sleep! They had fun checking each other out.



















Harry also played with girlfriend Maddison who has finally started to grow lots of dark hair and is adorable!




I can't wait until they can all run around together - they'll be trouble for sure.

Sledding Day

Poppy made the sledding luge in the back yard again this year so we all ventured out in our snow clothes for some fun. Annie loved riding on the sled - "one more time!" She stayed out until her hands and cheeks were frozen and then came in for her first cup of hot cocoa . . . "mmmm, sugar!"

Merry Christmas!

We all had a fun, crazy and somewhat exhausting Holiday. The best example of exhaustion was Annie on Christmas morning. Once she saw the toys Santa left under the tree, she started to cry and say she was tired, which almost made mommy start to cry. It took about 10 minutes before she calmed down and started playing with her toys. Harry just sat by and took it all in. She was especially excited about the Thomas the train track from Nana and Poppy, the doll house from Santa, and her cash register from Omi and Opi. Opi taught her how to say, "attention shoppers, blue light special on isle ten!" Hilarious. Harry of course was most excite about all the wrapping and tissue paper, which he obstinately tried to put in his mouth over and over again. He did have fun playing with his giant stuffed dog from cousins Josh and Doug.

Having Fun in Utah

We've been having fun in Utah getting ready for Christmas. As you can see, there's a lot more snow here! Annie got to open some early gifts which included this snowsuit complete with boots. Harry's been in the spirit with jingle bells on his head. We had a big party at Ma B's on Saturday for Poppy's B-day and early Christmas. Annie had so much fun hanging out with her older cousins, Ashlie and Fish. She also entertained everyone by running around saying, "Yeah, Boy!" (rapper style) - something her dad taught her, unfortunately. And Harry had everyone in stitches showing off his new teeth (photo coming soon!). We'll be heading to Uncle John's tonight for another family party with more cousins, Aunts and Uncles which should be lots of fun.

Ma B

We've all been enjoying our visit with "B." Annie always has a willing participant to listen to her read her stories, play in her kitchen or color with her. Harry is relishing the extra attention too. Of course, B came loaded with lots of entertaining things - new books, craft projects and banana bread (Annie's favorite.) Yesterday morning Annie was watching B get dressed and when B put her stockings on, Annie said, "What's that?" Grandma said "my stockings!" Annie said, "They look like bandaids." We all thought that was pretty funny. Annie also tells B "go ask mommy" when B can't interpret Annie-talk (like her favorite cartoon character "Uniqua") so B has been getting her exercise. We resumed our cooking lessons and learned how to make B's famous potato pie and fat nannies last night. Annie thought it was pretty funny to call her desert a "fat nanny." We're getting excited for our plane ride to SLC this week - it'll be Harry's first. We are looking forwarded to seeing all our family and friends in Utah and we'll be thinking of those that aren't near too (like Seattle, Colorado, New Mexico, England, and India). Happy Holidays!

Saturday in the Snow!

So it DOES snow in Boise. Just not very much and it doesn't stick around very long, but we woke up this morning to a blanket of snow. There was enough to build a pretty good snowman. Annie had a blast with her snowman kit, sticking everything on and then making me take it off again so she could redo it again and again and again. Then we took a nice walk in the park with the whole family and had a snowball fight (Harry was exempt). Speaking of Harry, he had his doctor's appointment on Thursday - he's 20 pounds/28 inches which means he's back on the charts (90%/95%). However, his doctor did say that his cheeks are still "off the charts." We are all getting excited for Ma B to come and visit us next week and then to fly to SLC for the holiday. Annie told us tonight that she was "cited" and "can't wait." I asked "what for?" She said "Santa!" This was after a midday melt-down because I had to explain that Santa won't be bringing her a surprise for a couple of more weeks: "No Mommy. Now. Go to Nana and Poppy's house Now. Santa come now!" So we took a trip to Macy's to see Santa, who of course left 30 minutes before we got there, which meant a trip to the mall (mine and Grady's nightmare). Since the parking lot looked packed we parked far away only to find not one, not two, but three front row spots available after toting two kids all the way across the lot (of course we forgot the stroller). After literally walking from one end of the mall to the other to find Santa, his sign said, "back in 1 hour." We told Annie we'd have to wait until next weekend to see Santa and bought her pretzel as consolation. Although its fun to have Annie so "cited" for Santa this year, ignorance can also be bliss! In a few years both kids will be going nuts -- we can't wait!

Six Months Old

The last 6 months just flew by! We can't believe that Harry is already half a year old: He's sitting up and playing with toys - everything right into the mouth. He just started blowing little raspberries. He's very ticklish under his arms and on his back. He eats everything we give him, except avocados. He always tries to grab coffee mugs from your hands. He still pees in the bathtub every time and if your not fast enough, when you are changing his diaper (size 4 now!) too. We are still waiting for those darn teeth to pop out. His eyes stayed blue, but his hair seems darker. He doesn't like to read books like Annie did, but he LOVES his exersaucer. He is a very loved little boy, even if he still wakes up in the middle of the night to get his binki back!

I miss Santa Mommy

We got our Holiday decorations out this week-end. Annie had a great time taking down everything I put out and playing with it. Just as with Halloween, she's catching on to the up-coming holiday fast! She's already fascinated with Santa. I've explained that if she is a good girl, Santa will bring her some presents and then I ask what she wants: "fruit bars, and water, and some toys." Easy enough! Last night, after tucking her in bed, she said, "I love you mommy." My heart melt. Then, "and love Santa Clause too. And Daddy. And Baba (her name for Jelly). And Harry." This morning she told me Santa was coming to town! And she has mentioned several times that she misses Nana and Poppy or Omi and Opi and of course, "Santa too."

My Dumb Brother

I hardly ever read the paper anymore (no time), but a couple of Sundays ago I picked up the comics and read one that made me laugh out loud. A little girl asks her little sister if she would like her to read a book and then starts listing all the books they could read: "Snow White and the Seven Dumb Brothers," Good Night Dumb Brother," "Dumb Brother, Dumb Brother What do You See," "The Very Hungry Dumb Brother" and so on, and the last frame shows the little brother yelling, "Mom! They're ganging up on me again!"


Being an only child I've always been fascinated with the interactions between siblings. As you can see, Annie and Harry have started interacting more: Annie is very good to help me take care of Harry. On Friday she helped me give him a bath (dumped water on his head) and then lotion him up (put clumps of lotion up his nose). It was all good intentioned. Anyway, here are some photos of Annie feeding him mushy peas, giving him a kiss, and "playing" with him by balancing toys on his head. I can't wait to see what happens when Harry can crawl - should be some fun adventures in store!

Too much Fun!

We had such a great time in SLC with our family and friends over the holiday that we forgot to take pictures! We did manage to snap a few photos of Harry, who decided to grab his bowl of sweet potatoes away from Ma B since she apparently wasn't getting it in his mouth fast enough! As you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed it. He also started to make a new sound - smacking his lips together like little kissing sounds. And he is very busy all of the sudden. I'm afraid he'll start crawling soon.We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Ma B's and since we were all indulging, we let Annie have a piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. Of course, she ate the cream first, then the pumpkin filling and left the crust until Anutie Hil decided she needed just a little more cream. When a whole spoonful fell onto her plate Annie let out a very excited "ohhhh!" and ate every last morsel off her plate. Then she ran around in her birthday-suit while we sang, "happy birthday" to daddy. Annie was especially excited to see her Uncle Andy (he even read her a bedtime story) and "uncle" Kim (I told her Auntie Kim was coming to visit, but when Kim showed up, Annie ran around yelling "Uncle Kim, Uncle Kim!").

Harry and Maddie

We were in SLC for the week of Thanksgiving visiting with family and friends so Harry had a play-date with his girlfriend Maddie. They had fun checking each other out and pulling and pushing each other. Even though Maddie is 1.5 weeks older than Harry, he is of course bigger (but not by too too much, Maddie likes to eat too). Aren't they cute!!!!

Harry's cup of Joe

Harry has always been intrigued with our coffee cups so I let him hold this one yesterday and he put it right up to his mouth. He has been a little fussy lately (not napping as well) so I'm hoping its just teething and that they pop through soon and he goes back to normal. Otherwise, he's doing great. He's started to grab at the little white tags on all of his toys (something Annie used to do too). His hair looks like it might be getting darker (its been really light so far), but I think his eyes will probably stay blue. He LOVED his yams - it made for fun colored diapers. We're thinking peas next or maybe pears and of course an entire Turkey drumstick on Thanksgiving (not really, but he'd probably love it - that kid can eat.) In fact, he is already in a new car seat since he out grew the infant one. So he rides in style like Annie, only facing backward still. As Nana and Poppy pointed out, he is very strong. When he grabs on to something he has a death grip - a good quality for a future NFL player. Of course he is just as sensitive as he is strong - like when Poppy kissed him with his scratchy beard - he had a bit of a meltdown or when jelly shakes unexpectedly next tom him - he gets really upset. So he'll be the strong, sensitive type, just like his daddy :).

No more Diapers!

Okay, well only 1/2 the amount - Harry still wears them, but Annie is done (except at night -- we do enough laundry I don't want to wash sheets every day too, at least not yet). This is a photo of Annie proudly showing off her new underwear that Nanny and Poppy gave to her during their last visit. We had a great time with them. We rented a mini-van (Grady is ready to buy one right away - I'm pusihng for a VW pop-top) and headed up to the McCall area. It was cold and rainy and actually snowed a little, but it was beautiful. We stayed the night in a little rustic cabin. The sleeping situation was a bit tight so no one slept all that well, but that aside it was great. Both the kids did great on the drive and were showered with lots of attention, which of course Annie thrives on. She still really likes to tell you what she "likes" which is everything: even the yellow squash we made her take a bite of. As she was literally gagging it down she was telling us, "I like, gag, squash, gag." We did not make her eat anymore. At night, after stories, when you tuck her in and tell her good night she says, "sleep tight." Its very cute. She also "misses" a lot of people. "I miss poppy" "I miss Omi" "I miss B," but of course she also "misses" mommy while I'm standing next to her. I think she's starting to figure out time -- like when we put away all the Halloween decorations until "next year." And soon it will be "Christmas time" when she gets some new toys (just what she needs). And now she keeps saying "next time" or "next day." And, she still surprises me every now and then by throwing out things that I didn't know she knew - like last night we were coloring and she grabbed a crayon and said "this one peach mommy," and indeed it was - a peach colored crayon. Kids are incredible!

"Get a kick out of you!"

Annie is still doing pretty good with the potty training so we took her to buy big-girl underwear. She wanted the Thomas the Train ones which were of course boy underwear. I should have just bought them anyway, but we picked out curious George instead. Grady found a frog in our backyard over the week-end that seemed to be injured so we've been taking care of it in a cardboard box. Its still alive, but I'm not sure it will make it. If it does, we'll have a new pet! Harry is getting better and better at attempting to sit up on his own. He also likes to try and feed himself - every time he sees the spoon coming he grabs for it - it makes for very messy meal times. He's had some avocado (not his favorite), banana (he thinks its okay) and oatmeal cereal. We'll be trying yams next. Annie's vocabulary is still growing so fast. Yesterday there was frost on the grass in the morning so we went out to touch it. After I got done explaining about frost she said, "on my cookies too!" (frosting is her favorite part of cookies). The other night, I mentioned that Nana and Poppy (who will be coming for a visit tomorrow) are going to "get a kick out of you." She said, "Yeah, and Annie Cry." I had to explain over and over that Nana and Poppy weren't going to actually kick her, but that they would just think she was really funny.

Our Little Pumpkin

Harry made a very cute pumpkin for Halloween and received lots of compliments on his costume which was handmade by Ma B. A couple of people even asked if he wanted some candy - I guess since he looks a lot older than 5.5 months old? He's been having some fun these days in his exersaucer (or the ADD toy as some call it). Annie of course likes to show him how everything works! One thing is for sure, our kids are cute!!!

Potty Time

After many months of attempting nearly everything we could think of, including bribery with cookies and putting her potty in her tent as demonstrated in these photos, Annie has now decided that she is "older" and can use the potty. Ma B sent her an Elmo's potty video recently and even that didn't work - she'd tell us that she would use the potty when she got "older." Apparently, now that she's old enough to eat suckers and chew gum, she is also old enough to use the potty - Amen! Anyway, we were so excited that we called daddy, nana, poppy, oma, opa and Ma B so lots of people got messages about "poo poo in the potty." Its true what they say - kids will use the potty when they are good and ready and not one day earlier!

"Tick-O-Teat"

After filling our bellies with homemade chili (a Birch tradition) we headed out into the neighborhood. Annie got the hang of it quickly: we'd ring the door bell, she'd say "tick-o-teat" and open her bag, we made sure she always said "tank you," and then she'd yell "next house!" She also stopped to pick up a couple of different rocks and a leaf to add to her treat bag along the way. It was pretty cute. When we got back she dumped everything out and sorted through it. I told her that she could pick one piece of candy at the end of the night to eat. Of course, one turned into three pretty fast: she picked a gummy bear and two tootsie pops - she loves suckers. After brushing her teeth really good and running around in circles screaming loudly until the sugar rush wore off she crashed.

Spoiled!

The kids (including mommy and daddy) have been spoiled this Halloween. Oma and Opa did their fair share last week-end (see previous posts); Grandma Birch ("Ma B") sent homemade pumpkin cookies, a trick-or-treat bag filled with gum (Annie's new favorite thing), among other sundries via fedex yesterday (this is the FOURTH Halloween package from Ma B - earlier packages included Halloween lawn decorations, Halloween window lights, and a huge tin of popcorn and other treats); and then today, Nana and Poppy sent a Halloween cookie bouquet just in time for lunch - Annie couldn't have been more excited! While Annie happily munched away on her spider cookie ("I like spiders mommy!") , Harry sat drooling near by.

Sunny Sunday

We had a beautiful Sunny fall day in Boise with Oma and Opa. As you can see we all had some fun. Annie jumped in the leaves that daddy raked up; Harry played with his pumpkin in the shade with Oma; and Opa took a nap! (actually, Opa helped carve all the pumpkins).