christmas

here are a few pictures from this morning's festivities!

the great move

We have officially moved in, and are making leeway with the boxes. We got here just ahead of the storm that apparently swept the eastcoast, which was fortunate. The landscape is at some reststop in the Appalacian mountains, which were just stunning. I am really looking forward to camping and hiking this summer with the boys. Eliot and James are really enjoying having more space. Hide and seek has reached a whole new level (you can see E counting here). Overall, the adjustment is smoother than I anticipated!

okay, I was dishonest

I don't think you will mind though! Here are a few of the boys in their natural habitat, being thoroughly uncivilized. They are faster than I can focus, so excuse the blurriness.

pre-move glut

the boys both have pretty high fevers, so we had a quiet day. Thus, they were still enough for me to get a few pictures. This is likely all I will be able to get up before our move, so get your fill!

late november pictures

sorry I haven't been uploading more. We move in a week, and life has been quite busy. Here is Eliot in his new knits (dashing dachs dragonfish on stallion for inquiring minds),and James blowing the last dandelion of the season. We had some snow last night, and we introduced James to the fun that is snowball fighting. No pictures though, because I am lame like that.

halloween

eliot is almost 15 mos

crazy.

not happy with these

but figured I would share them anyway as I haven't posted any in a while. They are a technical mess, but the subjects are cute. Hopefully it evens it out.

The Story of the Bullfrog

EDIT: Here's my attempt at a transcript, for anyone who might have trouble following the action:

One day, there was a little boy named James. And he was at the arboretum. With his daddy. And they were walking around, and James and daddy decided to go and get the sticks. And they decided to walk around and then they were going to find some frogs. And this time, James and daddy saw a BULLFROG, saying “ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit. What are you doing in my puddle?” And James and daddy fell in the puddle. And they looked for a bullfrog. But they didn’t found one. Until they [indecipherable] and then ran down and climbed down there until they were down. And then a BIG bullfrog came out of the BIG puddle, and said, and stayed in the puddle and said, “ribbit, ribbit, ribbit!” But the bullfrog jumped away. And the bullfrog jumped away. And the bullfrog was very, very sneaky. So it jumped, jumped, and jumped, jumped, right into a puddle. And he jumped over a rock. Until they bumped into a rock, and they bumped into a rock, and then they fell. And then the bullfrog... ? And James and daddy tried to get the bullfrog, but he jumped away. And then they were walking around, and they decided to go off the path again [to get the bullfrog?]. And then they got a stick, and then they were trying to look for some frogs, and then the bullfrog came out of the puddle, and then jumped into the kitchen. And jumped-jumped-jumped-jumped. [Indecipherable.] And they caught the frog!

preparing for a life in the circus

Lets just say that Eliot has a very strong desire to climb. I found him like this (and of course grabbed the camera, isn't that what all people do when they happen upon their children doing extremely frightening and dangerous feats?)


set him on the ground, turned my back and found him 5 feet off the ground scaling the OUTSIDE of the stair banister.


I put him across the room, and he climbed up the chair. He has been fighting me all day, letting me know how cruel I am not allowing him to stay at the elevation he so desperately wants to reach. I think we are off to let him scale some playground equipment.

James' birthday party

I will be thw first to admit that I am lame. We got a cake (vegan chocolate), had over his friend Seth (and parents), and went to play at the arboretum. The highlights of the trip were 1. catching a toad 2. somersaults in the grass 3. throwing stones down a grate and 4. throwing grass at each other yelling "ACH-OO!". What can I say, children are strange. Here are a few pictures of James, Seth, and one of my dad.

3 year and 1 year appt

stats:

eliot:
height: 27"
weight: 18.9 lbs

james: 37"
weight: 29.5 lbs

they say lucifer was as beautiful as the morning star

appearances can be deceiving, can they not ;). Here is James fully engrossed in a few minutes of his favorite new movie ('my friend totoro'). The blue on his belly is paint. Its been very hot here, and we have been roasting without air conditioning, thus the minimal attire.

he speaks too!

when we were in hyannis I commented to joe that I thought eliot was saying hello when he waved to people (making a sound like heeeeeyyyyyoooouuu). I realized 2 days ago that he is also saying 'look' (yoooooooouuuuukk) when pointing to things. I think this confirms it! So first word was mama a few months ago (boy knows what is good for him lol). second demonstrated his social niceties. third shows his curiosity in the environment. Its only a matter of time before he starts saying 'tree' (he is quite the arborist)

Eliot's first birthday

It is so hard to believe that Eliot has spent an entire year on this planet. He is such a delightful kid, full of mischief and curiosity, and completely fearless. He was not a huge fan of his birthday cake (organic blueberry cake, made with oat flour), though was captivated by the flame on the candle. He kept trying to grab it. Good thing Joe is quick lol. He was also completely in love with the bows on top of his gifts. He spent a lot of time curling and twiddling them, to the chagrin of James who was desperate to know what was inside lol. Overall, we had a great day :) Happy birthday Eliot Jude! We are beyond thrilled you are part of our family!