Rocks rock, Princesses fly, and siblings fight.

William has taken a big interest in rocks. He usually makes a beeline for the crushed stone pile when we go to Cobbs Hill Reservoir and today, Memorial Day, he quickly found and played with the crushed rocks making up the driveway at Miller's plants in Lyons.

Mary Grace has become much more drawn to pretend games, usually with her Disney Princess figurines. In one I overheard today, Prince Charming asks each princess to dance, then somehow asks Cinderella's fairy godmother to dance. The fairy godmother is pretty psyched to be dancing with the handsome prince, so she taps her wand on each of the princesses, enabling them to fly.

Interpersonally, William is starting to show a little aggression towards his sister when she takes things from him. This usually leads Mary Grace to over cry in hopes that he'll be punished. Sometimes though, she hits him back, and it's him that over-cries, hoping that she'll be punished. To be fair, sometimes they're best friends, playing well, horsing around and being kids. And they both look forward to a hug and a kiss from each other before bedtime, which we find completely adorable.

Mary Grace's first online purchase

Mary Grace has become really attached to playing video games on the kitchen computer during William's nap. And we've found that it's a great time to catch up on some house work or get ready for dinner, since she's occupied.

A few days ago while Daddy was at work, an email arrived from Amazon.com confirming a purchase of 12 boxes of organic cereal. I assumed that Mommy had placed the order and didn't give it a second thought.

At dinner, I mentioned the purchase to Mommy and was surprised to learn that Mommy didn't place the order. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together was as easy as watching what Mary Grace did with the computer when the game didn't work correctly. She repeatedly clicked randomly around the screen. She apparently stumbled upon the Amazon One-Click purchase button on a browser that was left open.

The story has a happy ending though. I emailed Amazon and they readily volunteered to refund the full price of the purchase ($52) and keep the product. WOW, we were both shocked and will be doing lots more business with Amazon.

The cereal isn't half bad either! I'm sure we'll still have some when our Arizona visitors come this summer.

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!