William Is Two!

William had the last of his birthday 2-year-old parties today (one for friends, one for family). We had family over to celebrate William turning two and he had a great time. His anticipation got the better of him as he started opening presents while we the adults were still eating dinner, but a little reordering of activities left him happily opening presents before blowing out candles and eating cake.

Of course, his sister was a great help (especially in terms of actually opening his presents). We've vowed to do a single party for both William and Mary Grace in the future, to alleviate that particular problem by both of them having presents to open. It will be like a mini-Christmas.

William got lots of Thomas items and lots of other other fantastic toys from all of his family and friends. Mommy made a beautiful Thomas The Tank Engine cake and a great lunch, and daddy grilled outside.

	The fantastic cake that Mommy made
	Getting ready to blow out the candles. William did a great job, probably because he had so much practice from his previous parties!
	Our beautiful children having a fun afternoon surrounded by family
	Taking survey of the upcoming excitement!
	Sweet innocent William posing pretty for the camera.

PS - For those of you first seeing William's new look, he took a bad fall coming up the steps while we were all heading inside to put Mary Grace on the potty. While the accident seemed minor, the damage was not. The poor little guy was very very brave as Mary Jo the dentist did her best to save the tooth, but finally, he had to lose it to assure his adult teeth weren't affected. Daddy and Mommy are still broken up about it, but William is perfectly fine. And it seems that EVERYONE has a childhood tooth story to tell us, which eases the pain (just a little).

Back from Arizona.

We recently returned from our annual vacation in Arizona. We were there for a little over a week and had fabulous weather and an all-around great time. Some of the highlights of the trip:

• Mary Grace's refusal to sleep in Arizona on the first night, demanding that we go home, then falling asleep in the hallway and being moved into her new sleeping space.
  
• Watching Mary Grace and Nate playing in Uncle Ricky's swimming pool
  
• Mary Grace's lack of fear of the water and William's unwillingness to go in above his knees.
  
• Seeing the kids playing in Uncle Jack's swimming pool for hours on-end.
  
• The easter-egg hunt at Uncle Jack's house preceded by the chocolate egg hunt.
  
• Our trip to the McCormick railroad park including a ride on the carousel, a ride on the train and playing for a LONG time at the big playground.
  
• Blowing big bubbles at uncle Ricky's house and little bubbles at Uncle Jack's house.
  
• Watching William run around in Uncle Ricky's fenced in backyard.
  
• Hot/cold therapy in the swimming pools at both places.
  
• Losing my credit card for several days, then finding it again at Target (thanks for the idea, Peggy!).
  
• Mary Grace's accident at the upscale sushi restaurant
  
• William's accident in the bathroom on the airplane (note to self; Daddy should bring a change of clothes on the plane next time)
  
• Uncle Jack's new nickname for William: Bam-Bam. (I had been calling him Hercules since he seems to enjoy carrying things that weigh more than he does)
  
• Spending lots of time with family
  
• Seeing Rosemary and Joanne and Bob (and Cuddles) again

We had a fantastic time, thanks in no small part to our awesome hosts. Thank-you, Uncle Ricky, Nate, Jon, Uncle Jack and Aunt Peggy.

	The kids in their easter best. It was sunny and probably 75-80 in this picture
	Jon and William watching TV at Uncle Ricky's house
	Mommy and all the kids getting ready for a miniature train ride
	Mary Grace in the swimming pool at Uncle Ricky's house
	Mary Grace and Daddy in the hot tub
	William having a great time in Uncle Ricky's lush green yard
	Notice the humidity level outside the pool
	William running around as Mary Grace lounged in the hot tub
	The waterfall at Uncle Jack and Aunt Peggy's house

The full set of photos (250 of them) is available on EasyShare gallery; email me if you want to see them!

Self portrait and another milestone!

On Saturday morning, Mommy went to work, so Daddy was tasked with filling up the morning with fun activities. We started with a little running and screaming (you have to see it to fully appreciate the complexities of this game), then some Dora, then we went to painting. I asked Mary Grace to paint a picture of herself...



Next came more running and screaming, then some train tracks and some play kitchen, then Mommy came home.

Later that evening, we all went out for an impromptu ice cream run. William got his normal Strawberry, Mary Grace got Vanilla with sprinkles and Mommy and Daddy shared a dark chocolate (yum).

As we were getting ready to leave, Mary Grace said she had to go peepee. Then I realized that we didn't have a diaper on her, so off to the bathroom we went!

And just like that, Mary Grace had her first successful peepee at a public restroom!

And finally a parting shot of the happy siblings!

Sledding in the backyard

We had a GREAT snowstorm this weekend. The snow advisory was over 24 hours long, which led to about a foot of snow (a little more in drifts). The snow came mostly on Saturday night, so when we woke up, it was a challenge to get the door open.

After a restless morning, I decided to go out and do an experiment. Our house backs up to what used to be the Erie Canal, so there's a big hill in the backyard that was once the bed of the canal. It's mostly unusable because it's pretty steep but I go up now and again as I keep my compost up there.

I decided to try to make a sled run using all the snow that fell. The biggest challenge (besides getting up a snowy hill) was the stone retaining wall at the bottom. I piled lots of snow there and tested it a few times, then went and got the kids. Here's the results, as seen from the third floor window:



And from the back deck:



We had such a great time that we invited some of the neighbors over later for a little more sledding. A few came and we did several runs, followed by hot chocolate inside. It was a great time. Wish you were here.

A little father-son time

It's a very infrequent occasion that William and I have some time to ourselves, so when Anne planned a princess tea party for Mary Grace and her neighborhood friends for this afternoon, I jumped at the chance to take William to the Strong Museum.

We're members there, so we go there a lot, but usually with both kids. And since Mary Grace is the older, she usually dictates the activities and William usually goes along with it. When he doesn't go along, it becomes a problem because there's inevitably a scene involving screaming and crying.

So today, William got to lead. I let him walk and run wherever he wanted to go and I just followed behind him with the stroller. He played with the drag-race hotwheel car thing for a while, then went to the trains, then to Wegmans, then to Sesame Street, then to the sand box. Over two hours of pure enjoyment later, we made our way back to the car.

He had a great time leading for a change, and I had a great time watching and bonding and giving him 100% of my attention, rather than the usual 50% (or less).

As we pulled in the driveway, William started to doze off. I turned the car off once we reached the backyard and I watched him fall asleep in the rear view mirror. Watching those heavy eyelids gradually win out over his efforts to stay awake was touching. I had a big smile on my face as I watched him directly now. Then his eyes half-opened to see me smiling at him and I got the best reward ever... A beautiful dreamy smile as my boy fell back asleep.

Thank you William. You make it all worthwhile.

My little girl is turning three!

It's like an episode of Star Trek (probably TNG), where time is a vortex and it goes by faster and faster every year. Admittedly, the last few years have seen a lot of action; two births, a death, and a job change.

But the most amazing thing is that my little girl is turning three tomorrow. Looking at baby photos of her makes it seem like yesterday when she was a newborn. Remembering the afternoon she was born, waking up for middle of the night feedings, holding her and singing until she fell asleep, long neighborhood walks in the stroller, taking her to the playground when she could barely walk, making her a snowman.

Remembering all of the memories from each day until today still doesn't make the time from her birth to tomorrow seem any longer. My angel has gone from an infant to a three-year old in the wink of an eye. And that brings a tear to my eye.

Happy Birthday Mary Grace, we love you so much!

Ma Ma Ma .... Moon

In an effort to get William to say the word moon tonight, I relied on a tactic that worked well with Mary Grace, but William is proving to be a bigger challenge.

I pointed to the moon in the book Goodnight Moon, and I said "Moon". "Can you say moon?". To which William replied "deeee". So I said "No, Mooooon". "Deeeeee". LOL

So at this point, I remembered that he can say his M's, and will repeat "mamama". So I said "Ma Ma Ma Moon". His response? Classic: "Ma Ma Ma Deeee".

Nice try daddy, but I'm not going to say that word!

Wiliam's new words

At bedtime last night, I was reading The Very Quiet Cricket to William and as we got to the page with the bumblebee, I pointed to it and asked William if he could say bumblebee, and he did! Well kinda. "Bumbabee", but hearing him try to say that was cause enough for a celebration. Mommy came in and he said it again for her!

He's also started saying "eat", while making the sign-language sign for eat. (thank you Baby Einstein).

Rainbow outfit

Daddy is home sick today, so while Mommy was taking a shower I helped get Mary Grace dressed. She picked out her rainbow pants then decided to wear her rainbow shirt (which believe it or not was not purchased as a set; we inherited the shirt). Anyway, she looked so cute I had to take a picture.

Of course, William wanted in on the pictures too, so here's the result of our little impromptu photo shoot.

Bed time and morning time.

We've had some changes to bedtime lately. Both kids get a big kick out of a pre-bedtime hug and kiss now. Previously, Mary Grace would force William to give her a goodnight hug and a kiss, but now William is a willing participant. It's so cute to watch them wrap their arms around each other and hug!

And for the morning time change, William is usually the first to wake up in the morning, at around 7:15 or 7:30, but he's content to lie in bed and do baby talk for a while. Mary Grace has always called out either "Mommy" or "Daddy", until we came and got her. Well, now she is able to climb out of her crib by herself and come get us! A few days ago, she climbed out and went to say good morning to William while he was in his baby talk mode.

While I believe that some day I'll regret saying this, I really look forward to my little girl waking me up in the morning by tugging on my pajamas or blankets, or climbing into bed with us during an overnight thunderstorm.

William's first sentence and Mary Grace's school tour.

William has been getting up early lately and you would swear that he tries to wake everyone in the house up because he's such a loud talker. I get up with him and we share a little time together over breakfast (if I can drag him away from his trains and cars).

This morning, we were both eating a bowl of cereal and I looked over at him and said "Hi William!" and he responded "Hi Da!".

Mary Grace's potty training is progressing nicely and she has a potty success story nearly every day. It's finally clicking, which is good. Those diapers are expensive!

Tomorrow, Mommy is taking my little girl for a pre-school tour. It's amazing to think that this time next year, going to school will be a normal thing for her.

Finally, the lack of recent photos is a result of one of our computers going down. They're all on the camera and will be uploaded soon, I promise!

January duldrums

Yes, it's the depth of winter in Rochester and although we've had some warm days, it still gets dark pretty early and it's been mostly cold enough outside to keep us mostly indoors.

Tonight, we were all coming back from Target and William was playing with his flashlight. Mary Grace alerted Anne and I that William was shining the flashlight in his eyes (as both kids have been repeatedly told not to do), then suggested that we don't let William play with it anymore by saying "Take It Away". Typing it doesn't do the matter-of-fact way she said it justice. As if it was a single word; TakeItAway!

William's beautiful smile continues to captivate everyone around him. He has the brightest little eyes when he's happy. But conversely, he's also learned to whine and fake cry just like his sister. Heaven help us.

William says Target!

On our way back from a very productive shopping experience, we were quizzing William with "can you say"s and when we asked "Can you say Target?", he did! Plain as day.

Expect more, pay less!

William's occasional words

William is nearly 20 months old and while he understands almost everything we say to him, he is still only saying a few words. So we welcome (and cherish) when we hear a new one from him.

This morning, he was eating a bowl of cereal and mommy asked him "how are you doing there William". To which he responded "Good!". First time we've ever heard him say that! Also when people say "Hi", he enthusiastically responds "Hi!". He'll get there eventually.

The other morning, Daddy left the garbage can out of the cabinets because it was full. When William got up in the morning, he discovered it and decided to take the melted remains of the previous night's ice cream out and paint with it on the floor. When Mommy came in the room she asked "William, who did this?". Looking the deflect the blame, William noticed the cat (Abby) sitting and eating, so he pointed to her and said "Aiiiiieee" (that's William-ese for Abby).

Christmas time

Santa Claus came as expected on Christmas morning and delivered lots and lots of presents for our wonderful children. Mary Grace got her Disney Kitchen and William got lots of fun toys too! Mommy and Daddy made each other very happy with their gifts and even Abby Shadow got lots of kitty cat treats.

We had a great time visiting with family and friends and the holiday season will be capped with a neighborhood kids New Years Eve party complete with a countdown to a mock-midnight at 8:00pm.

On this New Years eve, we would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year!

William's volume level

Lately, we've come to notice that William has just two volume settings. Loud and louder. It seems that when he cries, he tries to get the most sympathy by crying at the top of his lungs, and when he's excited, he screams at the top of his lungs! We've been trying to teach him to moderate his volume with "shhhhhh" and all he does is "shhhhhh" is back. Like a rude library patron; "shhh yourself!!"

I also remembered something that Mary Grace used to do when she was just learning to talk. I would ask her "what does Daddy say?", and she would respond in a low pitched "da da da da da". Then I'd ask "what does Mommy say?" and she would respond with a high pitched "da da da da da".

Alas, we've all been sick with a stomach bug for the last week, so there haven't been very many happy photos. Expect lots soon though.

Lastday, 3:00, the royal family.

Ask Mary Grace a question involving the word "yesterday" or "tomorrow" and the word she inevitably used is "lastday". Like "I went to the playground with Daddy lastday".

More interestingly, ask her a question involving a time and the answer is usually 3:00. Like "What time did you go to bed last night?" 3:00!

Finally, putting Mary Grace to bed tonight, we were chatting about the princess costume Daddy made for her and she wanted to make a prince costume for William. The she took it a step further and wanted a Queen costume for Mommy and a King custome for Daddy! So that will be our Sunday morning craft.

We all watched "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town" tonight. Mary Grace was glued to the TV, soaking up detailed information about Santa's origins. How wonderful is it to see our kids loving the TV shows we loved as kids?!

Christmas Memory Game!

Last Christmas, when Mary Grace was 20 months old we used to play a concentration game with some themed Christmas coasters that have pictures of a church, santa, snowman, etc. We put those coasters away shortly after Christmas and forgot all about them.

Tonight they came out of their box and Mary Grace shouted "Christmas Memory Game!". Anne and Mamma couldn't figure out why she said that until I came into the room and heard the story and was reminded that Mary Grace and I did indeed used to use them as a memory game last Christmas.

We were quite surprised that she remembered them from last year! What a memory!

William's every increasing vocabulary

William has been communicating more and more lately, some of the things he's said have been:

"Me down!" after wanting to get out of his high chair when we ignored him saying "down" because we didn't realize what he was saying. But when he said "me down", we all looked at him and promptly got him down. Mission accomplished, Will.

"Ouch boo boo!" after mommy's warning for William to stay away from the stove because it was hot. Mommy said he could get a boo boo and William responded "Ouch boo boo!".

Mary Grace and I did a little craft after I saw her wearing her blankey like a robe. We made her a crown and a scepter (wand). She really got a kick out of it, so I took this picture:




And here are a few more from Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

After a completely weird morning where Daddy, Mary Grace and William all slept until nearly 9:30, I went to greet Mary Grace in bed and said "Happy Thanksgiving, Mary Grace". She responded "Thanksgiving is not for me, it's for everyone!"

I can't argue with her logic. The logic of a 2 1/2 year old, no less!

Mommy's birthday; "Fire it up"

Today, mommy's birthday, Mary Grace was informing daddy that he should get a birthday cake for mommy and that I should also put a candle in it, then that I should "Fire it up, Daddy". Anne and I looked at each other and asked her to repeat herself, and indeed, she instructed me to put the candle in the cake and "Fire it up". LOL

Also, we had a little craft time this morning and Mary Grace drew the following picture, which is a family portrait.



Bottom left is Mommy, middle is Daddy, and right is Mary Grace, then we have William floating above Mommy and Abby Shadow floating above Daddy.

William has started vocalizing a little more and has said "ribbit" (what does a froggy say) and calls both fish and anything that has wheels (trains, cars) "shishey".



Here's a recent picture of the two "relaxin" on the couch.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a blast this year. Mary Grace decided that she wanted to be a butterfly and mommy found a very nice costume for her. William, living up to his "stinker" nickname was a skunk. Since daylight savings time moved a week out, we were able to get started trick or treating the close neighbors in daylight. Then we proceeded down the street for a group trick-or-treating outing with the other neighborhood kids. Everyone had a great time when we came back to the house and enjoyed eating some candy on the front porch, greeting the older kids to give out candy. Too bad it only comes once a year...
Video that I cannot get to embed

Playing in the leaves

Anne took the kids out for a traditional fall photo shoot of the kids playing in the fallen leaves. It was William's first turn and he had a great time. He went from throwing them to covering himself in them to cuddling them. Mary Grace had at least as much fun last year as she had this year, if not more...

Mary Grace in 2007	Same scene, one year earlier Same girl, even more beautiful!
William enjoying the leaves	Leaf snuggle time

Pre-Halloween playing (10/20/2007)

We took the kids to a farm market that we like to go to on Saturday mornings when Mommy is working. We usually walk around the store picking up apples, pears, grapes, and delish corn on the cob and other vegetables.

On this special day, they had set up a hay maze and a haunted house area. The kids LOVED playing in the hay maze. The bales were stacked two high, so they were like rats in a maze. Mommy was the first to successfully navigate the maze, but the kids were more interested in running around like little rats. I wonder if they would have been more motivated if they knew there would be cheese waiting at the exit?

Mimicking the parents

We knew the day would come when we would regret our occasional slip-ups in front of the kids and we would hear them back come back to haunt us. A few things that Mary Grace has said recently:

To mommy, upon walking into the kitchen and seeing her making soup... "What the heck is mommy doing?" (I take responsibility for this one)

To daddy, when she found some Disney princess stickers while daddy was looking for wedding gift wrapping paper at Wegmans... "Look daddy, it's so cute!" (TOTAL mommy phrase)

To mommy and daddy, when she found a book at the Dollar Store that she wanted to buy... "Look mommy, a book; 10 bucks!" (who knows - could be us or Caillou)

William's nicknames

Mary Grace has really latched onto William's nicknames. Tonight she called him Donald Trump trouble-maker house-wrecker.

For posterity, we started calling William "Donald Trump" because his hair had gotten so long at one point that it looked like a comb-over. "House-wrecker" was coined as soon as William started to crawl, for his ability to get into things and make a big mess. And "trouble-maker" for his frequent quiet exploration which ultimately catches our attention, unfortunately, after the fact. Unrolling rolls of toilet paper, pulling each tissue out of the box, taking down all the dish towels, scattering toys all over the house, etc.

He's our little "Donald Trump Trouble-Maker House-wrecker" and we all love him so much!

The Great Pumpkin Festival

Today, we met Chris, Lori and Sarah outside Buffalo (in Clarence, NY) for a pumpkin festival. After about an hour drive with William sleeping and Mary Grace serenading mommy and daddy with the ABC song, we arrived in a giant parking lot nearly full. Though the lot was crowded, it was very reasonable inside. We started the day with pony rides for Mary Grace and William. William enjoyed it so much that he had a minor temper tantrum when he had to get off. It was short-lived though. Next, Sarah took Mary Grace through the haunted house. It was strange seeing my baby girl walking away with my niece, but I put my trust in her and she didn't let me down. After they both emerged safely from the house, Sarah explained that Mary Grace got scared at one point and she had to be carried. What a good cousin! We visited a few small displays including a pumpkin based teepee and a quick walk through the heavenly smelling barbeque area, then decided to get lunch. After lunch, the kids went on some rides, including the cars and the carousel. Then we made our way to the pumpkin launcher (air-powered pumpkin-shooting artillery) and got in line for the tracter drawn hayride. Then, it was time to go. We expected the kids would conk out instantly, but Mary Grace's antics kept William awake the entire way home. I've never known Mary Grace to talk and sing as much as she did. Yikes. And kicking my seat too! I'd always wondered why that set my dad off as much as it did, and now I know. :)

Mary Grace wants to drive home

On Sunday we spent a very fun afternoon at Brown's Berry Patch, all the way out in WaterPort, NY (near Oak Orchard Yacht Club). The kids had a great time on the giant bouncy pillow, feeding the animals, going down the giant slide, playing in the many sandboxes, and shopping in the gift store.

After several hours, it was time to leave and Mary Grace climbed into the drivers seat of the CR-V and announced that she would be driving home. Anne and I took it in stride and went on getting ready for the ride home. At one point, MG asked me if I would be sitting in her car seat (since she would be sitting in mine), and I said sure.

Well, it came time to leave and I went to get her out of the front seat to put her into her seat in the back and she threw a tantrum, as she genuinely believed that she would be driving home.

We tried to reason with her and explained that driving takes lots of practice and studying and she was too little, but she didn't want to hear it. We finally coaxed her into her seat but I'm sure she still thinks that one day soon, she'll be driving us and we'll be sitting in the back seat. Won't that be exciting...

Look at the Geese Mary Grace..... On no.....!

Last night we were all playing in the back yard near the sandbox and we heard a flock of geese overhead. I wanted Mary Grace to see them, so I said "Look Mary Grace, geese!" and pointed up. We all stopped to look up at them and watched as a dozen or so flew majestically overhead.

Then something went wrong. We saw debris. Yes, that kind of debris.

We all turned to stone as we tried to predict where the debris would land. I watched a large chunk land about 10 feet from me and I thought we were safe, until the splatter effect kicked in and showered Mary Grace's feet with "debris". My car also took a direct hit, as did the driveway further up.

I heard someone say it's good luck to be shat upon by a bird. I'll let you all know how the luck thing pans out... But from now on, when I hear that honking noise, I'm going to run for cover!

Family update: William is imitating more and more sounds and is starting to try and say some words. He's become quite the trouble maker too. He loves to unroll rolls of toilet paper onto the floor. Mary Grace LOVES puzzles, especially her Thomas puzzle that we bought we we went to see Thomas in the spring. Every time she sees an airplane she says that it's Uncle Jack and Jon's plane.

Amusic Park!

Mary Grace has an interesting way of saying Amusement Park - It sounds like she's saying "Amusic Park". I tried to teach her to say it correctly tonight, but she's pretty certain that she's saying it correctly. Eh... Works for me.

So that's where we went tonight. It was a beautiful summer night and the planets must have been in alignment because unlike the last time we went to Seabreeze, Mary Grace was way into trying the rides tonight.

First she went on the little cars and enjoyed them so much that she also tried the airplanes and the boats. Then we ran into our neighbors Eric and Bethany and their daughter Clementine, so we started the ride circuit all over again!

Mary Grace and Clementine even tried the baby rollercoaster but halfway through the ride, Mary Grace has a change of heart and wanted out. The attendant was nice enough to stop the ride early and she scooted under the safety bar and ran off the ride saying that the ride made her sick and that it wasn't a good ride for her.

I have some photos that my mom took of me and Randy at a similar amusic park when we were quite young, so these pictures are very special to me. (but unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera so they're from my phone camera)

At the beach!

We took all the kids to the beach this past weekend. Jon had lots of fun looking for beach glass and digging big holes in the sand, then discussing the socio-political ramifications of the hole filling with water.

Mary Grace was unrelenting in her desire to go deeper. She was in the water so long that she started to turn purple. She lectured me a few times when she fell and got some water down the wrong pipe... "That's why you should hold my hand, Daddy".

William got covered from head to foot with sand and didn't really want to go in the water. He got a little scared when I took him out into the water to get the sand off, but he was a brave little man and didn't cry.

It was exhausting, but fun. I guess having the life guards at Durand Eastman beach isn't such a bad thing (I was initially against it).

Here are some pictures from the day.

Visitors from Arizona!

We've had Jack and Jon here for almost a week and today I finally took some pictures or the kids and Jon. We were heading to the beach (more pictures coming soon) and William fell asleep holding a water bottle. Then, Jon and Mary Grace were hamming it up, so I had to take a picture of them too.

Look for the beach pictures in the next day or so!

Moooooo!

Anne has been doing a great job teaching William the animal noises. Quack-quack for ducks, meow for cats, mooooo for cows, etc. William is doing some great animal impressions.

We took the kids out for a jammie-clad, post-bath ice-cream run last night, and while we were heading north on the highway, Mary Grace was watching all the clouds in the sky. She saw some purple-ish ones and yelled, Daddy! I see purple clouds! William responded with a long "Moooooooo!", thinking Mary Grace has said "purple cows".

Mary Grace, mommy and daddy all got a big laugh out of that one, then enjoyed some delicious ice cream from Brewsters. Ahhh, summer.