life with the sillies and a crawler

Here is Alison with the case of the sillies. I was trying to get her to sing for us, oh well.

So then I got Andrew laughing when I tickled him and by the time I pulled the camera out - he was all laughed out, but he still looks cute.

And then, yes, oh yes, he's on the move. I better start paying attention to where he's going!

like sister, like brother

It cracks me up when I see Andrew doing the same things that Alison used to do. Okay, well only some things I find truly funny (getting into things and eating paper - not funny), like the penchant for sleeping with blankets on their heads.

Alison at 2 months

Bike Rides!

Thank you Megan Y. for the generous hand-me-down bike trailer! We got Alison a helmet and she and daddy take evening rides together after dinner. She LOVES it.
And they look pretty cute getting on their way....

Together Time

Sometimes I'll put Andrew in Alison's bed while we read before naps. Alison is always asking to hold and snuggle him. He never looks quite as happy about it as she does. Oh yes, and she's mastering the art of winking.

He does look happy about learning to sit up.

And being naked.

A New Guessing Game

Alison and I started playing a game a few months ago where I put her toys in a pillowcase and she has to feel them and guess what they are. She's gotten pretty good at it. I got the idea off of one of the many new blogs I've discovered. . .

Anyway, lately we've been playing a new kind of "guessing" game. It goes a little something like this (and usually after she's been rummaging through my purse).

Alison: (very inquisitively, like she's just discovered something brand new) Mommy, what is THIS? (holds up a lollipop, or a pen, or fruit snacks - you get the idea)

Me: I'm not sure, what do you think that is?

AK: a sucker! can I pweeeze have one?

She's a sneaky little one!

I'm going to start calling her Maude when she wears these.

Andrew Candy

Andrew decided he needed to try out the Bumbo seat at Heather's shower. He looked so cute in it and seemed to like the vantage point of looking out instead of up from the floor. So I got on Freecycle to see if anyone had one they weren't using anymore and some generous person offered us this!
Now if we could get him to stop slurping on his bib and hand while we are feeding him sitting up in this, things will be pretty good!

Cutie-patootie

I have trimmed his hair since this next pic. Everyone, okay, a couple of people, had suggested that I cut his hair. WHAT?!!? CUT HIS HAIR!!!? He actually had hair when he was born and I wasn't ready to say good bye to it yet. Well, I have finally cut it, but here we have:

Hitler Hair

If Hitler had been the 4th stooge.

Blue Lips

Nothing says Happy Birthday like blue smiles from yummy cupcakes!!




See some more cutes pics of these little hilarities HERE.

It was a dark and stormy night. . .

We had a horrific storm come down our street back in Jun. We've actually had quite a few tornadoes and crazy thunderstorms this summer. And most of them seem to happen on Sunday nights. This night started out no differently.

Nick was at work and I had just put the kids down when there was a huge lightning strike and thunder following almost instantaneously. That jarred me a bit. Randy (my father-in-law) came in just then to use our computer. So at least I wasn't alone. The wind was really strong and it was dark. The trees were blowing so far over I was surprised they were still standing. Since we don't have TV we started looking on the internet for tornado warnings. As I was sitting on the couch something changed outside and I looked out the window and there was a WHITE-OUT. No kidding. It was crazy. I couldn't even see my driveway or his car parked in it. My first thought was, "I've got to go get the kids out of bed and lay on top of them so that when our house is blown of it's shoddy foundation we don't all end up in munchkin land!!"

When it passed/calmed down/stopped and I could see out the window this was what I saw across the street: (these pics were actually taken all the next morning - too dark that night).I'm not really sure if you can tell, but the tree on the left used to be as big as the one on the right. 2/3 of it was strewn across the lawn. Here is another shot.Neighbors started spilling out of their homes to collect trash cans and recycling bins and debris that had been blown down the street. We didn't see any funnel clouds - but with the winds as strong as they were it was something like that.

Nick was on his way home from work and was unable to get into our street because trees had fallen blocking the only street access. Luckily he was able to go around and come through the park several houses down.

Here are more branches down.
And this one, you have to see that that big mound of dirt is actually the root base of a VERY large tree. The roots are taller than the 6-7" fence!This about 1/3 of my neighbors Bradford Pear. so sad - I love that tree in the spring!
And here are the tree cleaner-uppers taking care of part of a tree that had fallen onto the neighboring house.
It was definitely the most exciting thing that has happened here on Dewey Drive. Randy emailed the local weather guy and asked if it was a tornado. His response was basically - the radar doesn't show that it was, but the winds and damage do, so if you want to tell people it was a tornado, I won't dispute it.

Someone said they thought it was a Microburst. After reading about them and seeing the trees down around our street (some facing in opposite directions) I am inclined to believe that's what it was. Either that or aliens. Scully, Mulder? are you there?

summer fun

We are back at the pool this summer. Alison is loving it as much as ever. Andrew enjoys his poolside naps. He doesn't like the cold water so much. Every time I get his feet wet it is answered with a very annoyed cry - something along the lines of "Moooom, what are YOU doing!??!".
She's standing on top of a spigot that sprays water up in the air. I wish I had the shot right after this when she took her foot off and got sprayed in the face! It was pretty funny.
Alison is a flip-flop thief. If your's are missing, she has probably managed to take them. She is fearless and merciless. She sees an unworn pair (no matter where we are - or for that matter whose they are) and they will be on her feet in seconds. Here she is sporting mine.
She loves to "help" with the garden. This mainly involves spraying water, dumping water, playing with water, oh yeah, and eating the tomatoes.

A couple to tide you over

Whoever 'you' is. I guess if you are reading this - then I'm talking to you!
These were taken by my friend Charlotte Geary - Photographer extraordinaire. Click HERE and HERE to go to the rest of the photos from the fun baby shower we went to. My favorites are the baby Zoolander shots.

And just check out her photoblog (on my left sidebar under links) if you want to see some amazing wedding photos and scenic shots of the Denver area and environs....

Andrew's first laugh

I've been trying everything to get Andrew to laugh lately. He gives me the cursory toothless grin most of the time. So I was just feeding him and he's all over the place, not staying focused on the task at hand, and then this.

Me: Andrew! (clap my hands to get his attention)
Andrew: baby giggles (smiles)
Me: Are you kidding me? (thinking to myself, his first laugh is AT ME!!!)
Andrew: more baby giggles
Me: Oh boy, I'm in for it.

So now instead of eating this whole time he's watching me type. Can you say, "we've reached the curious stage"?

I have a ton of pictures to post, but can't get around to it as he sleeps in the office and he's sleeping A LOT.