Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A Mother's Day photo



Inspired by my talented cousin Rachel, I have decided to write a haiku that describes my attempts to compose a commemorative Mother's Day photo:

Flailing arms and legs
Make for fuzzy photographs
But sharper bruises.

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The Lilac Lens...a few more




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Splash Lagoon



Splash Lagoon, Erie PA. Beth and I drove out to Cherry Creek and then Grandma joined us and the kiddos for a trip to the splash park. We all loved it--even Amelia! There was a lot of (Charlie's trademark) happy dancin' going on.


A jolly jumper in the water. Amelia was in heaven. She was bouncing around until her toes were pruny. The rest of the time she just hung out with Grandma and Mom and was completely happy even though her nap schedule was haywire. She is such a good girl.



It was really nice to float around with my boy actually relaxing. Charlie loved the water and, surprisingly, kept going back to the hot tubs. The only problem with said hot tubs is that Charlie would tend to forget that the bench we were sitting/standing on was a bench. He kept walking off and, logically, plunging under the water. At least we amused a lot of our fellow hot tubbers when Charlie came up sputtering over and over! When we were back home a few days later and I was putting him to bed he whispered, "Bye bye Splash Lagoon." Apparently it made a lasting impression.



I just can't get enough of my nephew, even the way he said the name "Splash Lagoooon" made me laugh. He was up and down the waterslides all day although my favorite moment may have been when he yelled across the pool, "Where's my band-aid Mommy?"


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OK, I just had to put in this video of my nutty nephew. He kind of liked the "control" factor of taking his time going down the water slide while the line of anxious kids extended behind him. What a cutie he is!
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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Legomaniac


Charlie is waaay waay into legos right now. On most mornings, the first thing he says when I come into his room is, "Go down in the basement and build a tower?" So, often at more than one point during the day, we are downstairs with Charlie doing just that. It's really cute because as you're building, he will shake his head and say, "Don't knock it over Mommy (or Daddy)," repeatedly. If Amelia (or Chops for that matter) are nearby, he'll also give them the same reminder. He has also made it clear who his favorite building buddy is. The other night he was building with Dad and I came down so that Bob could go up and do something. Charlie quickly pulled at my hand with a cheerful, "Let's build with blocks Mommy." Of course I obliged. Then, a few moments later Dad returned. Charlie babbled something to me and I didn't quite get it at first. Then I realized he was saying, "Go upstairs Mommy." He then pulled Bob down -- "Let's build blocks Daddy." I was a little offended.


builder-in-training
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Saturday, May 17, 2008




Amelia is 8 months old (in four days) and even more than the Spring season she fills our lives with sunshine. It's been fun to see her experiencing the outdoors now that the weather's so pleasant. Like her brother did at her age, she loves to lay under the big maple out back and squeal at the fluttering leaves.



Amelia has funky little toes--as Bob would happily proclaim, they are just like her Mama's.




Also like her brother before her, Mia enjoys eating grass. I really hope that she doesn't have the oral fixation that Charlie still has or they'll both be in the corner chewing on crayons together before we know it.



I'm happy to report that Amelia has finally improved on the night wakings. Bob and I were forced to re-live the "crying it out" which once again was completely awful, but did seem to help. Now, our little gal goes to bed around 7pm and sleeps until 5:30 or 6am. Once she eats her early breakfast, she usually snoozes with us for a while. Once she's up for good, I sleepily grab something on my night stand for her to play with so that I can steal an extra bit of shut eye. I really should put some authentic infant toys there instead of letting her chew on my travel-sized alarm clock, but that indiglo kept her fascinated for a good twenty minutes...
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Grandma's little gal

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Dogs and Doggy Doors


Charlie has inherited his Grandpa's love of bungee cords. I can remember being so mortified when I was a teenager because my dad would actually pull over to the side of the road if he spotted an abandoned bungee cord. He used them for everything! Actually, that reminds me of a story about my dad's brother, my Uncle Roger. He used the infamous bungee to serve as a seatbelt for my little cousin Jayne while she was just a little toddler riding shotgun on the 4-wheeler around the farm. Guess there are really strong Bannister bungee genes. But, anyway...Charlie had a grand old time taking Jack for bungee walks around the yard while we were at Grandma's. If Jack slowed his pace, Charlie would say, "Come on Jack," and jiggle the bungee until the dog started trotting again. It almost made me want to get Charlie a dog of his own--almost.


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At Grandma and Papa's house, there are two doggy doors--one in from the outside and one out from the house (into the backroom of the house). The boys experienced a great epiphany when they realized that a tumble through the doggy doors could land them in a whole new world--kind of akin to a magic wardrobe. It was hilarious to watch. Yeah, we're definitely not getting a dog for a while.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Love to Moms!


As Emily Dickinson would say, "Much madness is divinist sense..." One of the things I love most about my mom is her 'madness.' She is always singing a funny song, dancing with my kids, and loves to make messes if they bring joy to someone. Now, having a daughter of my own, I realize just how much I love my mom because I blissfully imagine savoring those sweet escapades with my own little girl. I hope that we too can make the same type memories that are so deep a part of my nature and so often flit through my thoughts and always make me grin. Love you mom!!
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Thursday, May 08, 2008

The Royals

We make a lot of crowns at my house. Since I have two girls (that I babysit) who are waaay
waaay into princesses, it's a nice activity for them that involves only basic materials (paper, scissors and staples, stickers maybe) and no glue or paint for the kids (inevitably my son) to ingest. Although, right after I took this photo, Mia discovered the paper crown on her head and began to tear into it with her one tiny tooth. Little monster.
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A Walk (or two) in the Woods

Here's Char with his Aunt Kat -- dining at one of our favorite gourmet dining spots: Pittsford Wegmans. Charlie loves to go upstairs in the elevator to munch on some food and enjoy a refreshing bottle of Yoohoo with a straw.


We went over to Mendon Ponds for a "hike." Charlie was into finding sticks of all shapes and sizes and dragging them on down the trail. Amelia was happy in the backpack pulling out big handfuls of her mom's hair.


Kat, you look so much like Mom in this picture!


We liked Mendon Ponds so much that Bob and I took the kids back on the weekend. We walked down into the "Devil's Bathtub" (big dark swamp) which was really cool because it had a lot of stairs and wooden walkways. All along the trail there were tons of these flowers (above). Bob thinks they are Jack in the Pulpits, but the pulpit is currently empty because Jack hasn't sprouted yet. So pretty!



I thought this pic was funny because the rice cake is literally as big as her head.


The boys. Charlie loves his dad like crazy. I try not to get jealous! At night sometimes when I put Charlie to bed we'll say prayers. When I get to the God Bless ____ part, I always like to see who Charlie will bless first. Often it's his dinosaur 'Chops,' sometimes it's Uncle Jon Jon and sometimes it's something entirely random like 'Cheese.' Most of the time though, it's God Bless Daddy. It always turns into a little game because I'll say God Bless Mama? And he'll reply (with that sneaky grin)--Daddy! I've decided that, even in his childlike innocence, he knows who needs prayer the most;)

Daddy's little (chubby-cheeked) squirrel



Getting ready to jump!
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