Lazy Morning; Yard Work

The day started out slow. We all sat in the living room, drinking coffee and enjoying the morning sunshine streaming in through the windows. Even Skippy--well, especially Skippy--enjoyed the sun.

























































Later in the day, Mike made a run to a daylily farm near our house where we can get composted leaf mulch. He pitchforked a full pickup-truckload full and brought it home and then shoveled it into my herb garden. Whew!






























Here he is with Roo, resting after all that work.

Mr. Personality

Roo thinks it's SOOO FUNNY to rock his head side to side real fast and laugh. He does this all the time now, especially during diaper changes or when you're holding him. (Hm, I guess when he's got your undivided eye-contact.)

Predictably, we laugh.

And he does it again.

And again.

And again.

Oh my, he is just so adorable! (teeth-clenching)

Gramma B Is Comin' to Town (to the tune of "Santa Claus is Comin'...")

Gramma B is spending the weekend here at our house while Mike is getting in some good guy-time with a friend of ours from high school.

We are having a nice visit together. We're cooking, doing some gardening and a little sewing, she's spending lots of time with Merrit and Ollie, and she and I watched a movie last night after the kids were asleep.

It's been a very low-key weekend, but here are some of the pictures. She was the photographer for the weekend, so I didn't get any of her with the kids, but she got some nice ones of me with Roo.

















"Mommy" and Baby Roo...I love my sling! It is the absolute best!


















Here's big brother, Merrit, in his PJs and wearing the mask he got as a birthday favor at our friend Judah's birthday party, which was earlier today. In cognito! (Too cute not to share!)














Don't you think he's starting to look more and more like a little boy--and less like an infant?














Help, Baby Roo is eating my face!














Buying herbs for the new herb garden...














At the garden center. What a beautiful day!

Nursing Necklace

Merrit made me this necklace out of penne pasta. I have seen chunky-beaded necklaces for sale, specifically marketed as "nursing necklaces," the idea being that it gives the baby something to fiddle with while they nurse. I thought the noodle necklace might be a hit with Ollie, and I was right. Now, I keep it on my bedside table where I most-often nurse the little guy.

Sunshine, Fresh Air, and Exercise(saucer)

Today, while Merrit was in preschool, I worked on the retaining walls for the new herb bed. Ollie was happy and content to watch me from the deck. He LOVES his exersaucer.

We Got Us a Family Here!

Birds chirping outside the window. Mom and Dad having a second cup of coffee. Merrit contentedly playing the PSP (PlayStation Portable for the non-techie grandparents out there). Baby Roo happy and alert.

It's called Family Time. To quote Raising Arizona: "What are you kiddin' me!? We got us a family here!"














A dad and his boys.













So happy together.


















"La Leche Magnifico," my Mexican wrestling name (given to me by my lovely--and funny--hubby, Mike!!)

Gardening with the Boys

Merrit, Ollie, and I spent some time outside today working on our new herb garden. We're just getting started on this project, so Merrit helped me flatten out landscape fabric and move some small pavers. Notice his "Backyardigans" gardening gloves, a gift from Grandpa Jack and Ange-Ange. Ollie just watched, practiced his rolling-over skills, and sunbathed!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Roo's in the Tub!

Too big now for both the bathroom sink AND the kitchen sink, Roo is already bathing in the bathtub! I can't believe how FAST he's growing!!

Pre-Wedding Photoshoot Gone Awry

So we're off to a wedding earlier today and both boys looked so nice I HAD to sit them down for a quick photoshoot.

Sidenote: Congratulations to newlyweds Jer and Kara Harwood!

Well, I took a couple of pretty good pictures when suddenly Ollie decided that he'd had enough. From there, it went downhill very quickly.


















9:03 a.m.


















9:04 a.m.


















9:05 a.m.


















9:06 a.m.

Bedtime Boys

I snapped these pictures of my boys right before bedtime tonight. What a joy for brothers to have each other!!

"A brother is a friend given by Nature."
- Jean Baptiste Legouve

Johnny Jump-Up

If Roo likes his Johnny Jump-Up even half as much as Merrit liked his, we're all in for a lot of fun!

He's just starting to really get the hang of it, springing those little knees up and down. Too darn cute, I tell ya!

My Daddy's Baseball Cap

Roo, the Night Owl; Bubbles with Merrit & Gramma B

I don't know when we'll start getting Roo on the 8:00pm bedtime but, for now, he pretty much stays up with us. He revs up his engines around 9:00 or 9:30 and keeps the party goin' til about 10:30, when he finally konks out and I put him in his crib.

Here he is, sharing a bed with big brother Merrit on a recent trip to see Gramma B. As you can tell, Merrit is sawing toothpicks while Roo is wide awake, kicking his legs and making noise. Good thing big brother sleeps like a log. (My mom used to tell me when I was little that I could sleep with a freight train going through the bedroom, so I guess Merrit gets it from me!)

We also had fun on the back deck at Gramma B's house, blowing bubbles.

Another Late Night for Baby Roo

Here we are enjoying a little fire in the firepit on our back deck. Baby Roo, true to form, is up-and-at-em after 10pm!













Perfect for roasting marshmellows.


















Look closely...it's dark out there...


















Daddy stokes the fire.