Colorado and Random Summer Pics

Sophia 1 Year Birthday

A Glimps of What's To Come?

As Sophia has become more mobile it seems that Harrison's dislike has grown more intense. It used to be an attitude of indifference, a recognized inconvenience that took up our time but was generally no real threat. Then the crawling happened and then the walking. With each step and each grab the threat grew. Like a national security advisement, his threat levels changing colors from yellow to orange and now finally red. Each step met with a shriek, a cry, and a usually a swat. Every missed nap another long afternoon of "stay away from your sister" "STOP putting your sister in a headlock" "DO NOT put the child lock around your sister's head" and so on.

But tonight I caught a glimpse of what could be. It was truly just a moment, a flash more than anything real substantial, yet it was still there. Sophia in her high chair, Harrison eating his dinner. He was acting crazy, like usual. Shrieking and acting like a dopey three year old. Sophia, as if she saw an opening in his good-natured antics starting shrieking along with him. Then the damnedest thing happened. She started laughing and swaying in her chair, shrieking and he started doing the same. They were playing together, albeit from across the table and both safely secured in their proper chairs. But they were playing off one another. Her shaking her head and laughing, he shaking and dancing while shrieking...and as I started tell them to stop yelling I stopped. I couldn't help but laugh and smile and wonder if this was the first step in them becoming brother and sister, friends, protector and protectee, siblings...a family?

Sophia Walking

The Love List

Life gets busy, our schedules cloud what's important. But as I sat feeding you your bottle a few nights I saw what is really important, it was twinkling in your eyes and in the soft fingers that slowly reached for my cheeks. As I sat there watching you it made me think about all the things that make you special. So here is a list of the things that I love about you:

I love how you screech, making a high pitch squeal, when you get excited

I love walking in your room in the morning and turning on the lights, your eyes still closed, adjusting to the light, but a smile spread wide across your face

I love that you light up and smile each time I walk in the door from work

I love that you give me baby kisses with a wide open mouth and make a little "ahh-umm" noise

I love that you laugh at your brother when is acting goofy

I love that you reach for your mamma when you see her walk in a room

I love that you have better hockey hair than Barry Melrose

I love when you get tired and you rest your head on my shoulder and take a deep sigh

I love when I get you out of your crib and you are still tired you just wrap your arms around me and sit there for a minute or two

I love that you get excited on your changing table, kicking your feet like a fish trying to get out of its bowl

I love that you laugh right after you sneeze

I love that you have a little "Buddha" belly

I love when you spend minutes looking at your hand, rotating it, examining it ever so closely

But most importantly, I really just love you...all chubby, wonderful, you.

Catching Up

We have been MIA for many reasons but mainly because, well, two kids is a lot of work. So what have you missed?

We had a wedding in California. It was beautiful. Crossing three times zones with a two year old and a 3 month old is a nightmare at times. Having a wife who holds it all together is a blessing. Harrison would not concede that we were in California if asked, we were "AT CARLY'S WEDDING!" and that was the final answer. He misses his cousins.

Sophia now giggles. She is a powerful little child who has thighs like tree trunks, a belly like a mini Buddha, and a gummy smile that makes you laugh and melt at the same time.

We can't wait to feed her real cereal because then maybe she won't want to eat all the time. She actually licked an apple the other day and cried when Liz took it away. The girl likes her food, I think that is a good thing.

She is four months old. It is unbelievable that is has gone by this quickly, yet, as she gets older I get more excited for her to grow into a little girl. I think she will be a special one :)

We went trick or treating. H wanted to open each piece of candy after every house. He loved it. Towards the end of the night and with each house we passed he would say "juuuuust one, one more house daddy?" He then had as much fun, if not more, passing out candy to all the tweens and teens who came by later in the evening. He also enjoyed running back and forth between the neighbors house and ours to make sure he didn't miss a trick or treat-er.

We are in the midst of the two's. I won't call them terrible, because let's face it, when a little guy looks up at you at night and says "hold me daddy, hold me" it can never be too terrible.

H has a fierce streak of independence and fierce streak of neediness. They often collide. It often isn't fun.

H also has a very active imagination. We often spend a lot of time sitting on the floor of his room AKA the airplane, waiting to land, only to have to drive a mini John Deere AKA a bus to the Zoo, where he finds animals for us to feed and pet. It is exhausting and not to mention a wee bit painful when the bucket of the John Deere mini tractor wedges in your bottom. It's worth it most of the time.

I like to think of it as controlled insanity. Liz would argue the controlled part.

Magic Tricks

Grandma Lis sent H a magic wand and he quickly learned some "magic words"