Shoulder Season

It's not quite cold up here, but it certainly isn't summer anymore. Pretty soon, we'll have to think long and hard about subjecting either of the kids to the early morning Boston winter when we walk Walter in the morning. For now though, if they wake up in time, and wear an appropriate hat, the brisk morning breeze is the best way to wake up.

At least Nate enjoyed it this morning that is.

Buy me some peanuts & Cracker Jacks..

Well, she's now part of Red Sox Nation, for better or worse. Uncle Matt came to town with baseball tickets in hand, and while we didn't last the full 9 innings, I think an impression was made. She doesn't know the rules, or who to root for, but she loved dancing whenever they played music, and had herself some Cracker Jacks and a Fenway Frank.





In other news, Nate had his 5 month check up this afternoon, and for the record, weighed in at 19 lbs 7 oz, and 27 & 3/4 inches long. An inch more and he won't fit in his car seat, the one that supposed to last for a year. Officially he's in the 98h percentile for height. He's going to be taller than his dad before I'm quite ready for that.




And lastly, Mia has decided that she's a super hero now.

Evening the score

If she's going to support John McCain, the least we could do is help Nate in the other direction. (with special thanks to G&A)

This is Our Reward?

I like to think we're decent parents. Our kids eat healthy meals, they don't watch too much TV, we spend lots of time romping in the fresh air, etc. But now that Mia is back to school, in a new class, I realize she will pick up things that we just can't control. Who knows what lessons she's learning on the street these days?

That said, for all the sleepless nights, all the tender affection and attention we lavish on our kids, sometimes this is how they go and repay us...

Smelling the Roses

It's been interesting lately at the Johnson house-hold, as the roller-coaster ride seems to have gotten a tad more extreme. There are now the occasional temper tantrums, the full-on melt-downs when only Mommy can read books to her, or only Daddy can get her milk at 2:00 in the morning. I remember thinking some time ago that we aren't really parents until we say "no" to her, or set some limits. That milestone has long since come and gone, as Corrie and I struggle to avoid every other word we speak being some derivation of "STOP THAT" now.

But on the other hand, it is an unmitigated joy to play with both Mia and Nate now, particularly when they want to play together. For all of our sakes, I'll post videos of the later, and leave the former as humorous anecdotes to be shared with future boyfriends.



Corrie here...
It's been a few days of beginnings here. Mia started her new preschool classroom yesterday. It was a little more difficult than we anticipated--new teachers, new kids, new room. She knows most of the kids in the class, but the change to the new room was just a little too much for her. Today was no better, but she was completely happy when I came to pick her up so I think things are going to be okay.

In even bigger news, Nate had his first solid food today. I took some photos that I will post later, but I couldn't get video. Somewhat challenging to hold the camera and the spoon and also hold him upright. He loved every bite of food--he knew to open his mouth and to swallow the food and he even grabbed the spoon for himself. He has been begging us to eat for weeks now. At dinner he pulls the placemat close to him to move the plate in, and he watches us put every bite into our mouths. He's even started fussing a little when we eat because he can't have any. Today he had a few spoonfuls of rice cereal, but we have some fresh local peaches from our farm share that have his name all over them.