Big tough kid

Doc loves Legos. He doesn't know how to put them together yet, but he likes to take them apart. His favorites are the people and the windows.

We stopped at the Thomas Moser store in Freeport, ME last week on our way to the airport. This rocker was spectacular but probably cost $500 (a full size dining chair was at least $1,000). Greg would not normally go into a store with things that expensive, but furniture (especially wood) he has a special appreciation for.

A few to share

Doctor Rabbit by Jan Wahl illustrated by Peter Parnall

Grover Sleeps Over by Elizabeth Winthrop illustrated by Maggie Swanson

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

In life people tend to stick to what they know. Growing up I knew books. My family makes fun of me for it. I used to read a lot. Now we've got a book shelf that's become too small to accommodate the reading material that the three of us have accumulated (even after several thinning out sessions). Last weekend Grandma and Jampa emptied the walk in closet in the north chamber and I was able to rediscover several old books that I haven't seen for years. One of these was Grover Sleeps Over, which for some reason left quite an impression on me. The illustrations really stuck in my memory. Somewhere between Grover trying to pack his begonia in a flowerpot and Betty Lou sharing her Blueberry Chew cereal I fell into a Sesame trance. (Doc and I watch Play with Me Sesame every morning during breakfast.)

Doctor Rabbit is a book I have no recollection of but am now a little smitten with. I've developed a real fondness for Peter Parnall. Line drawings using minimal color are one of my favorite styles so seeing kid's books illustrated like this is absolutely captivating (I really like books). I've also always really liked rabbits for some reason.

The Snowy Day is one that Doc and I picked out at Barnes and Noble one day. We've been slowly using the giftcard he got for Christmas by picking out one book and sharing a rice krispy treat in the cafe each time we go. This book is an award winner but I hadn't ever given it any notice until I saw it as a board book. The story is really sweet and entertaining and the illustrations are wonderful. Doc had one corner of the binding sucked off before we had even paid for it.

These days Doc is not really into sitting still for story time, but I'm sure he'll be there again soon. He's always so sweet and attentive but right now he just wants to chew everything.

P.S. After what seems like the whole month of a runny nose, sleepless nights, and a fever, there is a sliver of tooth number two showing through his gums now.

First Christmas

Baby in a basket

Matching hats

Changing ways

A couple of weeks ago Doc decided that he didn't want to be rocked to sleep anymore. He would be so exhausted by the end of the day that he would just cry whether he was being held or not. I couldn't even nurse him to sleep. So I started laying him down to fall asleep on his own. We've made great progress although he still wakes up a few times in the night (much better than every two hours). We're working on keeping a schedule. He's down to two naps a day and we have a new nighttime routine. Bedtime preparation takes about an hour. This is kind of a long time, but it is one of my favorite parts of the day. We change into fresh jammies and diaper then lay on the bed and read stories for half an hour. Doc rolls over and over and plays with his penguin Astrid or a Candela. Every few rolls he stops and watches me, waiting for me to look over. He smiles and goes back to playing. Then I feed him one more time before we stand in front of the window and watch the cars go by while I sing American Pie (I only know four of the six verses). When he is sufficiently relaxed I walk to his crib and sway humming Pangur Ban from Secret of Kells until he lays his head 0n my shoulder. Tonight he fell asleep like this. If he has trouble falling asleep, the extreme bum massage usually does the trick.

These are photos of Astrid in Antarctica and New Zealand before she came to live with us.

Posing with Jampa

Posing with Baby Belle's penguin

Lounging at the hotel in New Zealand

Our favorite Autumn gray sky

On mornings when Doc wakes before the sun comes up we go downstairs for morning coffee and lay in front of the fire (propane stove) on our bearskin rug (old rose comforter). I sing him whatever song has been stuck in my head for the past four days and he chews on Carter cow's feet. Then we go back to bed.

The photo shoot

Before the wedding