Eat Your Vegetables

What goes in...


Must come out...


And whole broccoli florets to be exact!

Christmas Pajamas


Will has been so excited to wear these with baby. But these won't fit Jasper for long!

Not Safe For Long


Oh, that bold little kitty walking in dangerous proximity to baby!

Ready to Crawl


Trying to take a photo but he was sucking on his shoes. When is the last time you could suck on your shoes? Baby proportions are so funny with their big heads, short torso and appendages that allow them to do all kinds of acrobatics feats like this.




This baby is on the verge of crawling. He is up rocking on all fours. He pushes himself up to sitting. He scoots around on his bottom and belly. He rolls around. He falls and rights himself in tripod position. He is constantly on the move, blowing raspberries, reaching, grabbing, etc..


And I feel like I have never mentioned before how strong he is. He is a baby superman who doesn't know his own strength. He loves to give kisses but a kiss is great pain for me. He grabs me by the hair or ears, pulls me towards his open wet mouth and his kiss is so forceful and with such suction that it can leave a welt. When he flaps his arms at his sides I can hear him knocking the air out of himself. He kicks and flops his feet so hard on the floor that you can hear the boom from downstairs.

Second Tooth Emerges







Which explains all the night wakings, the drooling, fussiness, and chewing. And wow are these little teeth sharp! If you offer him a finger to chew on- watch out!

Mittens for Baby


I modified his pattern a bit so that these mittens would more closely replicate our favorite baby "mitten" (aka sock) so I extended the cuff a bit to see if it would keep the mitten on better. We've tried them and they stay on longer than most mittens but still don't win any awards for the best baby mittens. I'll keep trying...

Happy Thanksgiving











Pilgrim Pal


Will slept with his Pilgrim Pal on the eve of Thanksgiving. He made this today using his favorite tool: the hot glue gun.

Knitting



What supreme joy when Will came to me and asked if I could teach him how to knit! I wasn't sure at first that he was ready for this but like any Montessori student he told me that all he needs is a lesson and he can do it. So I had him sit in my lap to watch a few rows and he patiently watched it all and then asked for a turn. Now his scarf is about 1/4 of the way done. He sits in bed knitting during bedtime stories at night proudly stopping to admire each row and sometimes in the mornings I see him curled up with the cat by the fire and putting on another row or two.

Warming Up







The boys came in briefly to warm up from the snowy day...

Sledding in the Neighborhood

Snowshovelling is the favorite activity of six year old boys everywhere... for sure.


The most well spent 2.6 inches of snow ever! The whole city shut down all week and kids played out in the snow from dawn til dusk...









I made myself a snowball as perfect as could be


I thought I'd keep it as a pet and have it sleep with me


I made it some pajamas and a pillow for its head


Then, last night it ran away


But first--it wet the bed.




-Shel Silverstein



Cold Enough to Stick





Today was a blustery winter wonderland. It was pretty warm by Minnesota standards yet cold enough to freeze the snow on the ground. Will had a half day of school and spent the rest of the afternoon out with his snow shovel. I am amazed at how much entertainment a snow shovel can bring!

Snow in Seattle

Mr Big and Mr Small...
We had our first sprinkle of snow this morning. It didn't even stick but it was a reminder of what is to come this winter. They forecast a bad winter for us!

These Shoes Were Made for Walking



This is where the blog is swaying towards the grandma side of things... sorry. Mom, here are the sweet Pediped penny loafers! I'm loving them so much more than the See Kai Run shoes that Will had when he was this age. I like that they are a bit more stiff and easier for the child to put on by himself (when we get to that point in a few months).


On another note we are on day 2 of the emergence of the first tooth and I feel like he has made a giant leap in development overnight. Today I caught him up on all fours and scooting towards my knitting... Quick! Hide the Legos and tiny Playmobil parts and marbles (gasp!)!


First Tooth!


While he oscillated between hysterical crying and maniacal laughing I reached into his open mouth and found the crown and glory: a tiny little tooth. No sleep for us tonight I'm sure!

Pond Boating


Father and son bikes nestled together




Living on the Edge








I feel like this sixth month has put us on the edge of mobility. Baby can sit and is both content and contained in his current state. Sure, there are things that he'd like to get to but right now he is a sitter--not yet a crawler--and therefore the trouble hasn't begun!

Salmon Come Home


Teeter totter break...




The chum blend in VERY well with the creek stones but there were about 7 different fish in these photos. The males cluster around the females as they swim upstream, stopping here and there underneath a low branch to make little resting places for eggs. The sperm come out in a bright white cloud underwater and the female is fought over by males of varying ages. The real old and tired ones generally die along the way and later on in the season we will smell their dead carcasses along the edges of the creekbed. Watching the salmon make their journey is actually quite eventful and fun, however slow going. You can stand in one portion of the creek for an hour or more as they move up and then slide back down, then move up and then tussle or jump and then slide back down.

Bookworms




Six Months


This is Will and Jasper at six months.