Nate, One year old

My how the time does fly. Between the needs of two kids and Walter, trying to keep the house clean, and all the other things going on right now that I can't talk about, I haven't really found the time to get too reflective on the last year, other than the painfully obvious, 1) that was quick & 2) He seems so big now.

Nate's been a wholly different animal than his sister was, from appetite to sleep paterns. He's shown a real penchant for climbing anything with a handhold, and will fearlessly fling himself headfirst off any precipice. Our house is too small to put him in his own room, and until he sleeps better, I don't see how we can put him and Mia together. Certainly we look forward to the idea of sleeping more than a few hours at a stretch, but every now and then it's nice to just fall asleep with the boy in my arms. He'll be half gone, reach high with one tiny fist and offer a tiny gentle punch to my cheek, smile, then start snoring.

But I digress. You're here for the video and pictures. So without further ado..

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And should you not have sound, or the video breaks down...

Closing in on a year

We're getting dangerously close to Nates first birthday, so it's worth noting for the record a couple of highlights that we let slip recently.

He doesn't eat baby food anymore. In fact, given the chance he might strip the flesh from your fingers.
The last week or so, he's manage to sleep 4-5 hours at a stretch each night.
He can walk when you hold his hand, even without leaning on us, but why bother when he can crawl 5 times faster?
Given proper motivation, and the right angles, he sounds like he's saying "mama". No luck with dad yet.





(An one more of Mia for equity sake)

Three years old

Well, that was a quick year.

Her first birthday party was in New York, second party this afternoon in Boston with her local friends. With so few birthday parties under her belt for comparison, I'd like to think this one worked out alright. She got her "Madagascar Birthday cake", a magic wand that she likes to smack her brother with, and a giant box to sit in. Would that we all were so lucky.



(updated with pictures)

First, the "Madagascar" Cake



Her favorite present



Nate got to play with her new Jack-in-the-box



Mia got her New York Salon experience



followed by her first Gray's Papaya Hot Dog

10 Month Check Up

A little bit past his actual 10 month birthday, but as of today, our boy is tipping the scales at 22.5 lbs, and 30.25" tall.

Two Videos

First we give you a variation of the "under, under" game, staring Mia and her good friend Noa:



But not to be outdone, Nate battles a piece of a bagel:

Making up for missed quota

Wanted to keep posting pictures to make up for that month of having gone dark there. I was able to take the kids to the Children's Museum with some friends today. There's something about knowingly subjecting yourself to 300 screaming kids on a Saturday morning, but a good time was had.

Life is better when the whole family isn't sick.

Belated Updates

I know, it's been awhile. While there are no good excuses, we do have some poor ones, including a few trips out of town, a constant series of illness involving more puke and diarrhea than anybody wants to read about, and some weighty matters that I can't go much into here. So let us simply recap the last month in brief: Hanukkah in Boston followed by Christmas in Boston, followed by Christmas in Connecticut. Laid back New Year's Eve, in bed by 10.

More importantly, Nate can now crawl up a full flight of stairs (with a spotter of course), and Mia can read and spell more than a handful of words. Nate said his first word two days ago, "Out" while standing in his crib. Mia has developed a strong imagination, often involving sharks that chase her, but sometimes they're vegetarian, so really, it's a wash. He smiles when she squeals in his face, and she hugs him when he cries. He's been eating anything you put in front of him, while she subsists on endless glasses of milk and cinnamon toast. Two years apart, but separated by only 5 pounds.

We'll try to keep up with the pictures, but they really have no interest in standing still. So now that you're all caught up to date, the pictures that keep you coming back: