Our Kids

My Little Girl is Five!

2010-08-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here is Annie on her B-Day riding her new big-girl bike. I can't believe she is five -- how time flies. The other day we were discussing the fact that Ma B's dog Buddy is now in doggy heaven where he gets to run around and play all day and eat yummy treats. Annie asked me, "Mommy, will I get to eat lots of sugar without getting sick when I go to Heaven?" So yes, she's still a sugar fiend (to wit: last night we got home from eating pizza and when she was getting out of the car she asked if she could have desert, Ma B had made banana cream pie. I said yes. From the garage, she yelled, "I can smell that pie right now - mmmmm.").
The last photo feature's Annie's cop belt. Yes, I said cop belt. For months she has been infatuated with being a cop. We have dozens of plastic gold and silver cop badges and now she has a whole cop get-up complete with radio, handcuffs, and a night stick which we call a speed radar, thanks to Nanny Nicole. She carries around a little ticket pad and clips a pen and a badge on her shirt and makes sure everyone is following the law! I told her I had to sign her up for her own ACLU card. She of course asked what the ACLU was. I told her they are the cops that police the cops. Several weeks went by and she asked me, "Mommy, where's my cop card?" When I told her I had no idea what she was talking about, her frustration built. She kept saying "that card, for the cops." She finally said, "remember you going to get me that card." It finally registered. So now she carries around my ACLU membership card with her too.

Annie's Pool Party

2010-08-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

Summer in Boise with the Wadsworth's

2010-08-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great time hanging out with the Wadsworth's in Boise a couple of weekends ago. Look how cute these cuties are -- Ellie, Bea, Harry and Annie.

I'm a Big Boy now!

2010-06-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Some pics from Harry's 3rd B-day. He reminds us daily that, now that he is a "big boy" . . . which is how he justified eating a HUGE piece of frosting covered cake!

Way Too Long

2010-05-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

I could list a bunch of reasons and excuses for not blogging over the last year, but I won't. Instead, here are a few photos taken by our nanny Nicole over the last year. Enjoy!

Daddy's Boy

2009-01-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

Harry is definitely a daddy's boy right now, which, given that he also constantly wants "up" (to be held) is not such a bad deal for me. He also, unlike his sister, is not shy of the camera so we're posting some of his best (and worst). He continues to add new words to his vocabulary, many times thanks to Annie who is always teaching him: "can you say, 'Um' and then say 'brella.' Good Harry - you said umbrella!" In typical (I guess) sibling fashion they are usually either having loads of fun together or are hitting and pushing each other; actually, its usually Harry hitting and then Annie yelling, "Mommy, Harry is hitting me." To which I say, "well tell him not to do that because its not nice." Annie: "I told him and and told me no." Mommy: "Well, tell him he is not the boss of you." Annie: "I told him and he said no." Mommy: "well just ignore him then." Then Annie steps as close as she can to Harry without actually touching him, i.e., just asking to be hit again, which of course, he usually does and then we start over again. Fun stuff. But really, they usually get along well and watching them laugh together is one of the best things I can think of.

Holiday Fun In Utah

2009-01-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Say "Cheese" Harry!

Annie and Jackie on Christmas Eve:

Again, jumping on furniture with Cousin Baylee (don't tell Nana):

Bedtime Stories on Christmas Eve:

Time to Dance to Jingle Bells:

(even Ma B has rhythm)

Look! Matching PJs:

Christmas Morning with some new toys!

Giving some hugs

Christmas dinner with Omi and Opi:

Howie and mini-Howie:

Playing together in their overalls

Pre-Christmas Fun

2009-01-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

Jumping in the "Fort" together -- I remember when my furniture was for sitting on.

Getting ready to ski!!!

Bond, James Bond.

Can you say Elton John!

Annie taking a "rest" after organizing her guys

Annie the snow man

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.

2008-12-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

We've had snow on the ground for almost a week now, which is impressive for Boise. We bundled up both kids to go out and play on Sunday. Annie had fun sledding and eating the snow. Harry on the other hand started crying the moment we started putting his snow bibs on, refused to wear gloves, and was generally unhappy about the entire process until Grady relented and took him back in the house. After about a half-hour, Annie started asking me, "what's something hot we could drink mommy?" I knew she was fishing for "hot cocoa cocoa" as the answer, but she seemed compliant with warm soy milk. Harry whose a non-stop chatter box, repeating almost every word we say, has also started saying "no." Prior to this he just shook his head to indicate no, but now the way he pronounces his "no" is indescribable. It sounds like a cat in heat with a Fran Dresher like accent ("Nooooooo")-- if he weren't so cute it would drive me crazy. Bonnie built a "frosty" with Annie this week and also took the kids to sit on Santa's lap. Harry screamed the instant he sat upon Santa's lap and Bonnie didn't have the heart to listen to him while they took a photo so we just have one photo with Annie and Santa. Annie told Santa she wanted a car's car and that Harry wanted the moon. Santa might struggle with both those requests.

Having Fun with Deucey

2008-12-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

Before the snow started flying down around here we hung out with the Dangs on a nice sunny December Saturday. Here's some photos of the kids playing. Both Annie and Harry adore Deuce, who is smack in the middle of them age wise, and have fondly nick-named him, "Duecey."

Bye, Bye Mullet

2008-11-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

We decided it was finally time to cut off Harry's mullet, although it was quite hilarious so we took both kids in for a chop. Annie sat still while she sucked (or chomped) on her sucker. Harry did NOT sit still, cried and the poor stylist chopeed her hand. But, she was able to get rid of the mullet to which Annie declared, "Bye, Bye Mullet." He looks a lot more grown up with his little boy hair cut.

Four years ago . . .

2008-11-05T08:31:00.001-08:00

It was a little over four years ago I hopped on a plane to Colorado full of hope and excitement and ready to spend 3 days campaigning for John Kerry in the neighborhoods of Denver. I knocked on a lot of doors, handed out fliers, made phone calls, and helped register people to vote. The whole time I was sick to my stomach -- I thought from the nerves of trying to get Kerry into the white house. Turns out, my queezy stomach was morning sickness. On election night four years ago Grady and I sat on the couch in our basement in shock -- we were pregnant and Bush was about to get re-elected. We considered moving to Canada but with a new baby on the way, we felt compelled to stay put, close to family. Both Grady and I tried not to get our hopes up this time after being terribly disappointed in 2000 and 2004. But in 2008 I am happy to announce that my faith in this country and its people has been renewed. We are so proud and grateful that the first president elected after our kids were born is Barak Obama. He is smart, he is inspiring, he is committed to getting our country back on track, and, perhaps most significant for me, he is black. Seeing the type of discrimination that is still very real and very much alive today through the eyes of my clients made me skeptical that our country could do this - that we could elect a black man. The fact that younger voters exceeded expectations of voter turn out and overwhelmingly supported Obama gives me great hope that our country will continue to move in the right direction, away from prejudice. By the time Annie and Harry are able to vote, I hope it seems a uneventful fact that that a long time ago, in 2008, the country made history by electing a person of color. That, as grown ups, my kids won't think twice about putting a black man (and hopefully a woman at some point soon) into the highest executive office in our country will be a true sign of progress.

Harrison

2008-11-02T14:47:00.001-08:00

Harry is now talking non-stop saying new words every day - he calls Annie "NNNNA" and Bonnie "Baba" but the rest of his words are pretty right on and include: Banana, Ball, Apple, Ice, Water, Elmo, Hi/Bye Bye, Night-night, and Moon. He also does a very good (and loud) MOOOOOO! every time he sees (or thinks of) a cow. He is showing some attitude these days - getting quite upset when he doesn't get his way and he's getting pretty fast on those feet.
Annie is doing an excellent job being a big sister - she loves to remind Harry that he's too little to have candy, maple syrup, or chocolate chips. Luckily, he doesn't seem to mind too much. She also makes sure he doesn't play with any "dangerous" toys, i.e., those that she wants to play with. The other day she took away the snake he was playing with, he screamed, she handed him a tupperware bowl and said, "here Harry, you can pretend this is a snake." He was actually happy that she gave something to him. Annie still has lots of "privacy" in her room which sometimes is unbearable for Harry who stands at her bedroom pounding on the door. Annie is so excited that Harry is talking now - every time he says a new word she yells, "he can talk now!" I'm sure soon she'll be yelling, "be quiet Harry!"

Little Stinker and the Monkey

2008-11-02T13:15:00.002-08:00

We had a great Halloween and Harry managed to stay "candy-free." Annie didn't fare so well - she's had plenty of sugar this week-end and has had a good time trying all sorts of new candy -- Jr. Mints and Smarties to name a few. We did some Trick-or-Treating in the neighborhood before we headed to our friend's Halloween party where both kids had a blast playing with Zach's toys, watching movies, jumping in the bouncy house, and generally running around making havoc with dozens of other sugared up pre-schoolers.

The Pumpkin Express

2008-11-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

Oma and Opa were in town a few weeks ago and we took a ride on the "Pumpkin Express" - a train that goes from Horseshoe Bend to a pumpkin patch. It was a gorgeous blue-skied day - perfect for picking pumpkins. Some friends were with us on the train too, including Engineer Deuce. We carved up our pumpkins with Opi's help and previewed our Halloween costumes. Harry now also says "MMM-Ma " (Oma) and UMMPA (Opa). Very cute!

Jen and Brian

2008-11-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Jen and Brian finally made it out to Boise - we had fun taking them around to all of our favorite spots - Saturday Market, Flying M Coffee, Camelback park and Parilla, and downtown for a night out (well, at least for me - Grady stayed home with the kids). Before they got to our house, Annie kept asking me if Brian was "sooo tall" that his head would hit the ceiling - I think she was remembering last time Brian came over to our house in SLC where his head really did hit the ceiling. We can't wait for them to come out to visit us again.

Fall Fun with Nana and Poppy

2008-11-02T13:02:00.000-08:00

Nana and Poppy came back to Boise for my 30-something Birthday. I ended up sick, but the kids had a great week-end. Harry can say, "Mama" "Dada" "Nana" and "Pop-pop" - it melts all our hearts! He can also replicate various animal sounds and loves to dance to music. We often hear him saying, "E-I-E-I-OOOOOO" from his crib. Speaking of cribs, Harry's diaper (or its less than pleasant contents, anyway) ended up all over his crib and bedding during nap time while Nana and Poppy were here -- what a mess!

Those are blackberries on his face, not chocolate (so I'm told)!

It's Fiesta Time

2008-11-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

Although its now been over a month ago, we had a great time when Aunt Kellie came out for a visit with Alex and Bella! We did lots of singing, dancing, jumping, eating, reading, and laughing!

Seriously - could these girls be any cuter?

Playing dress up with the hats

Story time.

"Toushu??!!"

Harry did pretty good keeping up with the big girls this time.

Daddy getting his grove on.

Fiesta Time! with homemade party hats

Put Your Hat On

2008-11-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

Harry and Annie entertain each other playing dress up. Harry loves to wear Annie's hats and shoes - I topped off his outfit with one of her purses. It reminds me of my cousin Allie who used to have fun painting her little brother, Kyle's fingernails (we knew that he secretly liked it) I can't wait until the day that Harry says, "Mom! I can't believe you did that to me - and then you posted it on the blog!"

Labor Day Week-end

2008-09-02T15:11:00.000-07:00

We kicked off Fall with a nice visit from Oma and Opa; although we had some hot weather on Friday/Saturday, it cooled down quickly on Sunday and Monday. We biked downtown to the market on Saturday where both kids got soaked running through the fountain. We continued the water theme and had a picinic dinner at Sandy point beach in the afternoon. The water was a bit cold, but it was nice to get out of the heat. Sunday we took a walk on the green belt and while the kids were napping, Opa took Grady and I down the river on our canoe. There are three drops on the river which everyone, but Grady were nervous about in the canoe. We made the first one and the second, but didn't have such luck on the third. When we go to the top of the drop and look down, straight down, we knew we were in trouble. Even though we survived the drop a wave poured into the boat and quickly filled it up with water. Both Opa and Grady bailed out; I managed to stay in -although it didn't make much difference, I still got soaked. We saved all the gear and climbed back in. Had it been a typical summer day it would have actually felt refreshing, but it was much cooler than normal. Despite our spill it was great fun (we won't be taking the kids for a few more years)!
PHOTOS TO COME.

A Marble Blew Down

2008-09-02T14:29:00.001-07:00

Nana and Poppy came to visit us in Boise on a week-end with plenty of fun things going on in town. First, they took us to the Western Idaho fair (well, actually, first they took Annie for a haircut and an ice cream cone). Annie had an absolute blast at the fair and surprisingly did not have a melt down (I say that given all the excitement she packed in and the dinner she skipped in favor of doughnuts, tortatos and french fries - which usually creates a good atmosphere for melt downs). Both the kids fed a bunch of hungry goats, saw cows being milked and baby chickens being hatch (I figured that would leave a imprint that might make vegans of them someday), and pet bunnies. Annie had her first pony ride (some very sad looking mini-ponies tied to those rings that make them walk in circles) and literally was bouncing in her seat like a legit cowgirl. Annie also rode on various fair rides, some all by herself - she seemed to like the fast twirling ones I thought she'd hate, but after she got on, she couldn't stop laughing. Harry, who although he could have probably met the height requirements, was still too little (young) to ride and was a good sport watching his big sister have so much fun. We had been advised by our friends, the Dangs, to make sure to buy a "Tortato" at the fair -- they take an entire potato, put it through a drill of somesort and deep fry it. It comes out in one giant chain of potato chip like goodness which you can dunk in hot sauce -- delicious!
Besides the fair, we all biked down to the "Tour de Fat" celebration and rode in a HUGE bike parade with our bikes decorated -- it was quite the scene as most people decorated themselves instead of their bikes; the kids were pretty good to spend such a long time in their bike trailor and had fun running around with buddy Deuce after the parade.
We also had a BBQ with the Dangs where Annie and Deuce played "pirates" for a good hour or more -- its pretty dang cute to hear little kids say things like, "Arg me matey!"
Nana and Poppy told Annie that they would blow her a kiss from the airplane when they flew over the house -- so, when Annie found a marble in our backyard yesterday, she said: I think it blew down from Nana and Poppy (because they have a chinese checker set complete with a bazillon marbles that Annie loves to play with at their house).

Visit from Ma B

2008-08-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

We all had so much fun with Grandma Birch (Ma B) who recently came to visit us in Boise for several days. I'm sure Ma B is still recovering from all the activity that comes with two toddlers that are full of energy. A sampling of our activities included: a trip to the pet store; swimming at the pool; a trip to the book store; playing in the park; running through the sprinklers; making zucchini cupcakes; eating a lot of Potato Pie (Grady ate almost an entire pie in one sitting); reading books in bed with Ma B; and lots more. We convinced Ma B that she should move into Annie and Harry's playhouse in the back yard (pictured below) - its the perfect size!

Terrible Twos?

2008-07-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Not at our house. Its the terrible threes! Annie literally, over-night, and within a few days of turning three has been exhibiting some very strong behaviors like screaming "I WON'T take a nap!" or "I WON'T get dressed!" She can make quite a dramatic demonstration of her unwillingness to cooperate. But, she had a great time (and was reasonably behaved) for her b-day swim party at Ma B's house and her real b-day celebration in Lake Powell complete with cup cakes and fireworks. We were quite nervous about taking a 3 year old and a Harry (his age doesn't really matter) to Lake Powell for a week, but we had a blast (all the help from others helped!) Annie LOVED the water and would swim with her life jacket on for hours at a time. She had a great time trying to out swim Pat a/k/a "Monster" and would not leave Allie alone (she told Allie, "I love you so much!" and "you are pretty" so Allie couldn't say No to Annie's multiple requests to play, read, or swim). Harry stuck closer to shore but had some fun playing in the sand and learning to throw rocks in the water. Harry ate so much fruit I thought he was going to turn a different color - you could not stop him: grapes, kiwi, watermelon, berries, oranges, bananas, limes, cherries - it was crazy and made for lots of diaper changes. He also sounds like a little German - when you ask him questions, he shakes his head up and down and says "Ya, ya ya!" We can't wait for next year's trip!

Swim Lessons

2008-07-17T11:57:00.001-07:00

Both kids recently finished their YMCA swim lessons. Harry loved the pool (and drinking gobs of water) - he was pretty good too: learning to kick and float on his back and tummy. Annie was less excited about the lessons part, but liked playing with the pool toys and loved being able to swim in the kiddy pool with the dragon slide after the lessons were over. Annie met a new little friend in swim lessons too -- Zach, who we hope to take lessons with again soon.

Oma & Opa's Cabin

2008-07-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

We spent a week-end recently up in Island Park, Idaho at the cabin where we canoed the river, rode the bikes, saw wildlife, and ate good food with good company. The highlights of the trip were: catching a frog -- Annie was so excited -- but maybe more excited to eat her strawberry ice cream clown that Oma made for her, and learning to play Opa's harmonica (which he let Annie keep). Now that she's a harmonica playing fool, Annie will also proudly tell you that the other person to play harmonica is "Bob Dylan."

OCD or Brilliant?

2008-06-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

Like most parents we think our kids are genius! But Grady walked into the room the other day to find that Annie had put all of her blocks in a strange arrangement -- they were all lined up, grouped together by size and shape -- there was not really a discernible color pattern, but when Grady found a black block Annie had missed, she carefully placed it in the line and had to rearrange a couple to get it just right. We're hoping its a sign of brilliance as opposed to obsessive behavior! Harry's latest genius is saying "mama" and sometimes "dada" and he's actually doing some more signs - he signed thank you appropriately the other day. He waves hello and goodbye, and loves to do the hand signs when we sing my family's traditional flemmish song (the title of which I won't tempt to spell without help from Ma B).

Cake!

2008-06-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

This entry is a little out of order, but I had to put some of these photos up. Annie helped Ma B make Harry's organic, wholewheat, no sugar, carrot cake for his birthday. She tasted every single ingredient before it went into the bowl (except the raw eggs) and thought they were all delicious (even the baking powder and wheat germ - yuck!). Harry thought it was pretty delicious after it was all baked up. Annie has already "ordered" her own birthday cake from Ma B - vanilla cake with green frosting (I think it will likely have sugar in it). When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner and suggested Belgian salad (a favorite of mommy's) Annie said, "maybe it will have some frosting in it." Coincidentally, she also apparently refers to the ice cream parlor as the "sugar shop!"There is a grandparent behind that one to blame; I'm sure of it.

Daddy's Day!

2008-06-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

This is how we spent our Father's Day - keeping cool in the kiddie pool and down by the river. That was after Annie helped Daddy eat his blueberry, rice pancakes and sausage in bed in the morning, and after Daddy got to "sleep in" until 8:45, and before Harry devoured broccoli doused in butter and cheese at Daddy's favorite restaurant - Old Spaghetti Factory!

First Annual FOO Trip

2008-06-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

We met up with some Friends of Ours (FOO) in Zion's National Park for a couple days of camping with all of our kids (ages 8 months to 3 years). The kids did surprisingly well (given Harry came down with a cold the first day and the tent was literally blowing on top of Annie in the middle of the first night). Jon, Meghan and Riley (aka "monster") came from Albuquerque and Alison, Corey and Dillon (aka "peanut") came from L.A. We all hiked to the top of Emerald Pools with the babes in backpacks, and Annie made it nearly to the top all by herself (Grady had to give her a shoulder ride up the last part). We were very proud of Annie for hiking all that way and rewarded her by letting her run naked in the pool -- she loved it! I had to carry Harry part way down in the pack -- all I can say is we won't be doing too much hiking until Harry can carry himself! We are already looking forward to next year's FOO trip!

Harry is ONE

2008-06-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

Harry had quite the celebration(s) in Utah for completing his first year. I'm not sure what he thought about it all -- Annie, on the other hand, was unstoppable - she "helped" Harry open all of his presents, "helped" him play with all his new toys, and "helped" him eat his birthday cake. I'm sure she would have "helped" him wear his new clothes too if I'd let her (she'd probably fit in some of them). We took the kids swimming on Harry's B-Day: he spent the first 10 minutes crying, the next 10 minutes grimacing, the next 10 minutes smiling, and then the rest of the time he was literally dunking his face into the water! He practically started swimming on his own he was so anxious to play in the water.

Blowing Bubbles and Slurping Noodles . . .

2008-05-21T14:02:00.000-07:00

are Harry two newest accomplishments. The other night in the tub he just stuck his face right down in the water and started blowing bubbles -- he must have learned from watching Annie, but it surprised Annie and I and we all started laughing. Harry started clapping for himself (also a fairly new accomplishment thanks to Bonnie). Then, we decided to try giving him spaghetti noodles. He was grabbing it in fist fulls and shoving into his mouth, and sure enough he began slurping his noodles - what a cute mess! Annie is so excited for Harry's Birthday, mostly because she knows there will be cake (without sugar of course) and a party. We decided to turn his car seat around since he's well over the 20 pound minimum - he loves riding forward like his big sister and I love watching all of his expressions from the rear view mirror!

"I have a Harry."

2008-05-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

Annie and Harry hung out with Oma and Opa last week-end while Grady worked on his presentation for the Math Geek convention ("Workshop on Petascale Computing: Its Impact on Geophysical Modeling and Simulation" -- I almost fell asleep just typing the name), and I flew off to L.A. to visit my long-time girlfriend Alison and her 8 month old son, Dillon. I know the kids had a good time because every time I called to say hello, Annie could barely stop long enough to say hi. Usually she was yelling about having one of Oma's "cherries" (the bright red, sugar infused ones) or playing store with Opa.
Harry has been teething for a couple of weeks now -- he's got 4 coming in on top. I think 1 or 2 have finally broken through. He's walking on his own now (on purpose) and getting ready to turn ONE - how did that happen???!!
A little boy asked Annie at the playground the other day if she had any brothers or sisters. She replied, "I have a Harry." It was adorable. We also had a conversation about homeless people (stemming from her questions about Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" song). When I told her that some kids don't have any clothes she said, "they just have pajamas?" I told her sometimes they don't even have p.j.s. She said, "they just have naked time?" She got upset when I laughed because she was so serious. We decided we would take some toys, clothes and food to the homeless shelter. That made her feel better. Of course she wanted to take them toast with berry jam. I told her maybe we could take a jar of jam instead.

To Market, To Market To Buy A Fat Pig!

2008-04-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Nana and Poppy. Grady and I even got a night away which meant sleeping in the next morning -- it was great! We met downtown at the market on Saturday morning and caught Annie hungrily shoving a warm homemade powdered sugar doughnut in her mouth and Nana and Poppy standing by with more! I think she got away with eating at least 3! When we were leaving the market Annie told me, "there's no pigs mama." Poppy had to explain that he told her the nursery rhyme about buying a fat pig at market. We forget Kids are so literal sometimes. Harry starting pointing for Nana and now he wont' stop. You carry him around and he just points at everything. Its pretty cute. We had a great day at the zoo and both kids had a lot of fun climbing and playing at Camel's Back Park. Harry crawled/climbed up all the playground equipment by himself. He also discovered our stairs at home and climbed all the way from the bottom to the top as quick as he can go! He loves doing this and when you take him away he cries. Actually, he's been getting pretty good at throwing little fits when you take away something he wants. Annie and Nana set up a "store" upstairs with jewelry and haircare products. Annie played in her store for hours - and making everyone come up to buy something including Uncle Dan and Erika (same name, same spelling, different person). We also had fun rocking out to Steven Stills in the car - Nana riding in the back, back with Jelly! "Think I'll go back home!" We can't wait for their next visit!

Harry's growing up!

2008-04-14T13:14:00.001-07:00

Annie likes to tell us, "Harry's growing up." Indeed he is. He took 3 and 4 steps yesterday so we're officially calling it: He's walking! Unbelievable. They really do grow up too fast. Here is Harry showing off his mohawk! Isn't he cute.

Banned from the YMCA

2008-04-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

We took the kids swimming at the YMCA pool downtown today. They have a great little kids pool that doesn't get deeper than 1.5 feet and the water is nice and warm. There's even a little kiddie slide. Both kids had a blast. It was Harry's first time in a pool. He was not at all afraid. He loved splashing all around and hanging on to the side and bouncing up and down. He leaned forward a couple of times and got a face (and mouth) full of water. Annie loved it too. She was swimming around screaming and laughing for about 30 minutes before she settled down. Both kids went on a big twisty water slide with Grady and had quite a splash at the bottom. Annie must not have minded because she did it twice. Then, just before we were getting ready to leave Annie said she wanted to ride the big slide one more time, but not before she left behind a nice little brown floater. We didn't quite know what to do. All the signs said: all children must wear a swim diaper unless fully potty trained. She's been potty trained for months so I didn't even think about putting one on her. After apologizing profusely to the pool people (who sadly had to fish it out with a net), they had to close the pool to make sure it was sanitized. Thank goodness most of the kids had already headed home for nap time. Grady took Annie straight to the bathroom and then to the shower. While I was drying Harry off, one of the life guards said, "Man, that was a big thing to come out of such a little guy!" I told him his big sister was the culprit. We may not go back there for awhile!!!

Snow in Seattle!

2008-04-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

That's right; we actually got snow while we were on our trip to Seattle. So, the weather wasn't the best (even for Seattle), but we made up for it having a LOT of fun. We flew in on Thursday and Kellie, Alex and Isabella picked us up. Annie went with Alex and Isabella to their swimming lessons and they all had some fun riding around in a big rubber boat. Then, they had a nice warm bath and Annie's first slumber party. The next day we went to the Children's museum. The three girls were so fun to watch with each other. They tired each other out running, jumping (including off furniture), and eating lots of snacks (Harry liked that part too). We also made it to the Science Center and the Aquarium. I think the Science Center was a family favorite. They had a very cool toddler play area for Harry to actually get out of the stroller and play. Annie played forever in the big tree house, held sea creatures, and pet a live cockroach. Grady was holding everybody up trying to read all the science exhibits. Harry got to sneak in the bath with the girls one night - not much cuter than 4 little ones in a tub together. Annie loved Pisco the cat, who did not love Annie chasing him around the house quite as much. Harry made himself at home crawling and climbing all over the house. Annie had to get used to sleeping with her buddies. One night she told us: "tell those guys (Alex and Isabella) no talking." Alex and Bella, who have always slept together do quite a bit of talking, tossing, turning and trading blankets, toys and binkis before they finally crash out sideways and out of the covers. Annie, who barely moves, likes the covers over her head and silence. Kellie also graciously hosted our cousins: Mary Beth, Jason and their daughter Maddie (who was great entertaining the kids). We all had to catch up on our sleep once we got back home, but we can't wait for Alex and Bella to come to Boise soon.

Easter

2008-03-26T15:49:00.000-07:00

Beyond the kids and I getting colds we had a great time in SLC for Easter. Annie learned to sing, "Here comes Peter Cottontail" and she had a blast first coloring and then finding Easter eggs. Of course, she ate way too much sugar (particularly while she was making cookies - Poppy finally said, "that's enough sugar!"). She also ate a "giant jelly bean" made of jello by Ma B. Her eyes got as big as baseballs when she saw it and I told her it was a giant jelly bean (she's been getting a jelly bean as potty bribery). She yelled out: "Poppy! Look! I giant one!" Instead of sugar, Harry got dry toast which he LOVES to eat. We had beautiful weather - blue skies and lots of sunshine -- so we hung out on the deck a lot. The kids looked adorable in their Easter outfits, as you can see. Annie also learned a new potty song thanks to Nana which ends with "such is life." She asked us what that meant and I said it means, "tough beans!" She told Grady when they were playing doctor and he said he didn't want to have a shot, "its just part of life daddy." We cracked up.

"Sometimes I have to be firm"

2008-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

This will make sense for those of you who read the "Oliva" children's books. Olivia is a mischievous little pig with a little brother named Ian. In one of the stories she puts on a mask to scare her little brother away because "sometimes Ian just just won't leave her alone, so Olivia has to be firm." Last Friday, Daddy did a great job duplicating the mask so Annie could scare Harry away. Of course, Harry wasn't scared at all and continued to plow through Annie's toys.

St. Patty's Pipers

2008-03-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

Annie is pretty excited about holidays (probably because it usually means new toys, clothes and/or sugar of some sort) and they just seem to keep coming! I told her she had to pick out something green to wear for St. Patrick's Day (the day we celebrate daddy's peeps). She picked a green shirt AND green pants so she looked like a little green bean! She also carefully picked out a bright green sweatshirt for her brother. We hooked up with the Dangs (Annie's buddy Deuce's family) at a neighborhood pub for a beer. Its tradition at this pub for a full-on Irish pipe band to come blowing, and drumming and dancing throughout the pub - Annie and Deuce thought it was fabulous! It was the perfect way to celebrate the holiday.

Annie & Deuce

2008-03-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

We've been fortunate to meet some great people in Boise including Annie's best buddy, Deuce! We've been getting together with Deuce and his mom Katy since last fall and the two of them are really starting to have fun together. Here they are playing in Annie's couch "fort." They also love to sing and dance together at the city library's music time. We trade off making messes and sharing snacks at each other's houses - I think they both like eating each other's snacks best. Harry sits back and takes it all in - of course, he's almost as tall as Deuce who turned 2 on Mardi Gras (which was a really fun birthday party!) I'm sure the 3 of them will make quite a team some day.

Busy!

2008-03-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe its been a month since our last entry. We have been really busy. Ma B came out for a nice visit just in time to see Harry start to crawl. Not only does he crawl everywhere, but he pulls himself up on anything taller than his head and cruises around wherever he can find stuff to grab onto. After a month of telling him "No, No" when it comes to electrical cords, Jelly's dog food, and various other dangerous or disgusting things he tries to put in his mouth he might be catching on (at least he doesn't just give that little mischievous grin and go for it; he usually contemplates whether he's going to be naughty or not for a few seconds - just long enough to move him somewhere else). Omi and Opi were also out for a visit and had a fun, yet exhausting, time keeping up with both kids while Grady and I took advantage of having babysitters. I found some office space to rent and have been taking on some Idaho clients which meant we had to start looking for a nanny. Our new nanny, Bonnie, started last week and both kids seem to adore her. She'll have some big shoes to fill given we were so fortunate to have Nanny Jackie and Nanny Allie in Utah, but we are really excited that we found someone so qualified and so quickly. Annie is pretty much a non-stop chatter box and makes us laugh out loud daily with the stuff she comes up with. And, man is she a bossy-cow (wonder who she got that from?) Example: at dinner time she tells you what to take a bite of next: eat your salad mommy; eat your beans daddy! We're getting ready for our trip to SLC and then off to Seattle to visit our friends Kellie, Rob, Alex and Belly!

Ms. Annabel

2008-02-17T09:47:00.001-08:00

Here's a few recent photos of Annie: One where she's playing guitar on the pizza spatula. One showing off her new rain galoshes (and her sunglasses). And one sporting a chocolate grin after eating one of Ma B's chocolate covered pretzels she sent for Valentine's day.

Biking in Boise

2008-02-17T09:40:00.001-08:00

Almost all the snow has melted here so we got out the bikes yesterday and took a ride down to the river. It was Harry's first time in the bike trailer. As you can see, he wasn't too happy about wearing a helmet, but otherwise he had a good time. Annie sang "Hush Little Baby" to him on the way back home and he fell fast asleep. We're heading out again today to bike downtown for some coffee and yogurt with fresh blueberries at our favorite spot - "the Flying M." We've got lots of extra bikes for all you to come out and ride with us!

Mr. Man

2008-02-12T13:27:00.001-08:00

That's Annie's pet name for Harry. We sometimes call him "mister" and sometimes "little man," so this must be her combination - either way we think its pretty funny. They have been having some good times together. He gets so excited to see her and loves playing peek-a-boo with her. Annie has fun teaching Harry things like how to shake his head side to side really fast. They sit across from one another shaking their heads and laughing. Of course we think its hilarious. Its funny how different the kids are - Annie had probably a dozen signs by now, but was virtually immobile. Harry is all over the place, but really only knows the milk sign. Now that we're all getting plenty of sleep its easy to say that we're thrilled to have had another child - its so interesting to see their differences and I can't think of anything more precious than watching the two of them laugh and play together.

Nana and Poppy were in town last week-end which was great. We took the kids to a fun play-ground after lunch on Sunday where Harry had his first swing ride and went down the slide a couple of times. He wasn't so sure about the slide, but he LOVED the swing. He'd hold his breath on the way back and then giggle on the way up. Of course none of us had a camera to capture the moment. Nana and Poppy also took Annie for a fruit sorbet which was in a candy store. Annie got one foot in the door and froze as she was faced with an entire row of suckers -- all colors and all sizes. Poppy had to practically push her the rest of the way in so he, Harry and Nana could get through the door. Needless to say she left the store with a strawberry sorbet AND a sucker. They told her that she could only have her sucker after dinner and if Mommy said so. She immediately wanted to call me (Grady and I were skiing Bogus Basin) and then announced that it was dinner time. I'm certainly not regretting waiting until she was 2 + years old before giving her candy - she's had plenty of sugar since then!

Oh, Obama!

2008-02-12T12:32:00.000-08:00

Annie canvassed for Kerry in utero and went to her first political protest at 6 weeks old (anti-Iraq war rally), so Harry had some catching up to do. We got up early on a couple of Saturdays ago to go listen to Barack Obama speak at BSU. We loaded up the kids in their PJs and headed out only to get a flat tire. We hurried back home, put the carseats in the subie and were on our way. We had to stand a some VERY long and very cold lines, but Annie and I made it in and found some seats. Grady and Harry were behind us because they parked the car and just as they got to the front of the line they closed the doors. Grady begged for them to let him in saying, "my son is freezing." They said sorry. Harry turned on the tears just in time. They begrudgingly let Grady and a screaming Harry in the doors. I'm still a Hilary supporter, but I have to say that Barack is pretty amazing and I'm glad we went to see him. Annie has gotten quite good at pronouncing his name and thanks to her dad, tells everyone that she's voting for Barack Obama. Harry still isn't quite crawling (thank goodness) but he's getting faster at inch worming around and he loves to stand up which requires parental assistance so I spend a lot, a lot, of time on the floor holding up a 20+ pound baby in standing position. He has pulled himself up (from sitting position) a couple of times. He's been imitating us a lot more - clicking tongues, chewing, bouncing and making more sounds also - da-da-da and ta-ta-ta, sometimes even ma-ma-ma.

Downward Dog

2008-01-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well we finally sold our SLC house and bought our Boise house. It came with mixed feelings: we won't miss paying mortgage and rent every month and we love the house in Boise, but it really finalized our move which is both exciting and sad. Harry is very determined to crawl which is terrifying. The other night he rolled/scooted half way down the hallway, and he is a yoga master- check out his downward facing dog!!! He also loves to stand-up and play. His bottom two teeth have FINALLY broken through. He's been blowing raspberries with his tongue and enjoying eating anything you give him including whole beans, rice cakes, and chunks of bananas. Annie is keeping us on our toes too. She's really into singing right now - its very cute and we're amazed at how many songs she knows. The kids are still starting to play together more - they had a blast in their first bubble bath together.

"Please Leave!"

2008-01-12T12:17:00.001-08:00

This title has two meanings:
One, its one of Annie's favorite phrases. Actually, she usually just says, "go away!" But since we're working hard on teaching her manners we try to get her to say, "Please leave," instead. She actually has been telling us this for a long time, its just before she had the vocabulary she'd just say, "bye! bye! bye, bye!" I guess we should be feeling fortunate that she likes to spend so much time alone (especially because she's usually being really good - just reading books or playing with her toys.)
Two, I'm sure its what my parents are thinking in their heads since we've overtaken their house for the last 4 weeks. They'd of course love the kids to stay on permanently, but its time Grady and I got a move on. So its back to Boise next week. We've had a great time in Utah (thanks to all the baby sitters we've taken advantage of). We've been able to have several kid-free dinners with friends at actual restaurants that serve their meals on real plates, and you don't even order at the counter. Its been great, but we're ready to get home too. Annie occasionally says, "I miss Boise mommy, I miss my toys." It'll be like Christmas all over to see her old toys again.
Hope lots of you reading this come out an visit us soon in 2008!

Harry in 2008

2008-01-12T12:03:00.000-08:00

Harry has a lot of new things to report in the new year: He's been getting up on his knees and rocking back and forth. He's even pushed himself backwards a few times. He's very determined to get moving so he can get what he wants (everything) and put it into his mouth. He signed "milk" for the first time on 1/10. We're still working on eat and more (two words he probably shouldn't learn since he obviously gets plenty to eat). He started making his "m" sounds, and when he gets grumpy it sounds like he's saying ma ma. Even though I know its not on purpose it still melts my heart. Harry has also been using a sippy cup for the past few days (just for one feeding) and he can hold his only bottle for the rest of his feedings. Yesterday we gave him "purely Os" (organic cheerios) and he loves them! He doesn't have the dexterity to pinch them up by himself yet so we do that part for him and he opens his mouth wide like a baby bird and leans forward to put it in his mouth. Very cute. He's such a good eater - beats, pinto beans and broccoli recently joined his repertoire.

Cooking with Nana

2007-12-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-30T08:34:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-17T13:41:00.001-08:00

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!

2007-12-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-03T13:52:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-03T13:42:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-03T13:18:00.001-08:00

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!

2007-11-26T12:35:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-20T09:07:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-15T12:43:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

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!"

2007-11-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-11-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

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"

2007-11-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-10-31T12:43:00.001-07:00

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

2007-10-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

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).

Boo- at-the-Zoo

2007-10-29T13:31:00.001-07:00

We had a great time with Oma and Opa and the kids at Boise's Boo-at-the-Zoo! Annie loved wearing her costume - she was Earnie the kitty (that's her cousin - Uncle Andy's cat). And Harry has got just the right sized cheeks to pull off the pumpkin outfit. We had fun checking out all the little costumes, Annie loved all the blow up decorations and people in character costumes (winnie the pooh and tigger), but most of all she LOVED eating her first sucker. She repeatedly told me: "I Like suckers mommy! mmmm!"

The Cook

2007-10-26T15:05:00.001-07:00

Annie helped us make pizza pie crust on Sunday and we discovered (gloriously) that flour can entertain a 2 year old for more than 30 minutes . I remember going to visit our friends Sarah and Dave when their first daughter Ellie was about 2 and being amazed at how short her attention span was - she went from playdough to blocks to Dora DVDs to running around in her diaper all in less than 10 minutes. We now know that's typical 2 year old behavior so I was thrilled to make this discovery - I've vacuumed up flour off the kitchen floor nearly every day this week, but its been worth the 20 + minutes of entertainment its provided Annie!!

Prost!

2007-10-26T14:58:00.001-07:00

We were in Salt Lake recently and caught the last day of Snowbird's Oktoberfest. Harry modeled his hand-me-down lederhosen (as you can see he was pretty happy about it - especially because mommy put him in red tights). Its amazing to think that Annie wore that same outfit just a year ago (which became inspiration for an amazing painting by Aunt Kathi). Prost!!!

Chocolate and Mush

2007-10-26T14:22:00.002-07:00

We managed to keep sweets from Annie until her second birthday when she had home-made ice cream, but it has been down-hill fast since then. This week she had her first taste of chocolate (organic dark-chocolate chips). As you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed it!
Instead of chocolate, Harry's been getting organic brown rice cereal which can't be all that bad since nearly every time we give it to him Annie demands that she get "baby mush" too!

How Time Flies

2007-10-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

I meant to start this blog about 2.5 months ago, but somehow settling into Boise and taking care of 2 little ones took more time than I expected. We wanted to start a blog because, well, all the cool kids are doing it, and also so that we can keep all our family and friends posted on the fun adventures we're having out here in Boise.

Annie is really talking up a storm these days - its great. For awhile her favorite sayings were: "Annie do it!!!" and then, "I did it!!!" Very cute ways of asserting her independence. Now, its "NO!" and she runs away. Not such a cute way of asserting independence (at least not when its happening to you - when it happens to someone else, like say, Grady, its a little funny).

Harry is 5 months old tomorrow. He weighs nearly 20 pounds and is probably close to 30 inches! He is BIG. He had a 1.5 week rough period where he stopped napping until we discovered that he was likely starving to death so we started feeding him more (not that he needs to get any bigger) and he's been much better. He is a very happy baby - making cute noises, high pitched squeals (yes dad, even boys know how to make that sound), gurgles, and one of the best full belly laughs you'll ever hear! He can roll over both ways and is starting to sit up all on his own for a few seconds.

Well, I think that should be sufficient for my first blog posting - fun stuff! I hope to post pictures and messages at least 1-3 times a week so remember to check out the blog on a regular basis.