Misc. Pics

London getting some air:
Just think happy thoughts and you can fly!
Uh-oh, someone's not thinking happy thoughts:
Flying tiger says, "Rahhh!"

London Air Flight 425 coming in for a landing. Roger that.
When Paul starts up the vacuum, Kirby hides behind his legs.

Just like Kirby-the-cat, it's an internal battle between curiosity and fear.
I'm not shy about putting the kids to work as soon as possible.

Kirby inspects the flatware for water spots.
Quite possibly the two most handsome men on the planet.
Ahh, the lazy days of winter in Arizona.

Sunny day = sunny smiles.
Who needs a hammock when you're only 33 lbs?

Christmas in pictures.

Someone insisted on getting dressed before coming down Christmas morning:
London pointing out to Kirby all of his presents before getting to hers:
Kirby says, "Let me at 'em!"
Kirby relishing in the plunder:
London gets her first "Big Girl" perfume from Mema:
Kirby tries out his ride-on fire truck:

Kirby tries out his ride-on fire truck in a different position:
London finally receives her Snow White video (thanks again, Mema!):
London swaps clothes with her My Size Barbie doll:
The Aftermath:
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!!!

Introducing...

Kirby Micheal as Tchaikovsky. Bring up applause - cut to the Maestro

And now...

London performs a short aria.

Pragmatist or gluttony?

London points off in the distance as The Boy eats dirt out of the planter.

As it happens, The Boy has another positive characteristic not shared by his sister - he's not a picky eater. Even without molars The Boy has downed pieces of hot dog, various crackers, green beans, peas, cheeses and the old baby standby - Cheerios. He's easy to feed, too, except that (like most meatasaurus') in his enthusiasm for the meal he sometimes doesn't let go of the spoon. We certainly hope this trend of eating what is offered continues.

Faster than a...

...speeding bullet. The Boy just learned to walk and already he's climbing the stairs! His progress has been amazing. Next week he has an audition with the touring company of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance.

Holy Crap!

Yes. That is what you think it is. Sometimes we let The Boy run around naked because he needs a little drying time without the diaper on and, let's face it, we'd all like to run around naked now and again. I just can't figure out how to do it without getting arrested.

I noticed the malodorous nugget that was punishing our olfactory senses too late. The Boy was re-tracing his steps and marched right through it. At first, we both laughed. I think, however, that the reality of being an adult hit Amanda first.

"Well," inquired Amanda, "Do you want to clean Kirby or clean the floor?"

Ah, crap. She's right. We have to clean that up! The prospect of neither would have been as inviting to me as sitting through a time share presentation.

"I'll take the floor," I muttered.

London has been watching Dr. Phil...

Earlier today Amanda took The Boy upstairs for a nap. I walked in to find that only London was downstairs so I decided to ask her where Mommy went.

Me: Hi, Baby Girl. Where did Mommy go?

London: She took Kirby upstairs.

Me: Oh. Must be time for a nap.

London: Yeah. I don't know what his issue is.

The kid is going to be a pistol when she reaches her teen years. Oy!

I took some more video of The Boy walking around. He still crawls more than he walks. In this video he alternates between happy and sad. He whines a bit because he sees Amanda coming down the stairs and we think he is dealing with a little bit of separation anxiety. He seems to cling to Amanda lately. He'll get over it.

London and Kirby were playing in the cabinets earlier today so I snapped a few shots.

What did he say?

Well, we kinda think The Boy said his first word yesterday. Much to my delight, that word was "Daddy." It is hard to know if this small utterance should be rightly referred to as his first word because it takes you by surprise when a baby who has, to this point, produced nothing but babble, suddenly says something. After he said it, Amanda and I looked at each other with expressions that clearly indicated our surprise. We think it was his first word because he said it again today, although not quite as clearly. I have been saying "Daddy" and pointing to myself in front of Kirby for the last several weeks. We are now working with him on the preamble to The Declaration of Independence.

In other speech news, our precocious little three year old has some interesting speech habits as well. This morning she announced to me that she "might have to get a new Daddy" because I was a bit dirty and told her I needed a shower. Later I asked her what she wanted to wear today. London wrinkled her nose, put her thumb and middle finger to her chin with her index finger touching her cheek as if to emulate Rodin's "The Thinker" and replied, "Let me think about that for a little bit."

I took The Boy outside yesterday and let him crawl around a bit. Much like his sister he was not fond of having his feet touch the grass. He did, however, take great delight in putting rocks in his mouth (see above photos - note the rock in his right hand).

London may be acquiring a new nickname - Mother London. She loves to tell Kirby "No!" We have to remind her that she is not his mother but she is three and at this age not a lot sinks in.

From Martha Stewart to Picasso

It's always exciting to see your children progress no matter what they are doing. London has started to draw actual figures now instead of just the usual squiggles and loops.

To the right we have a Mommy (those are eyelashes, by the way) under the blue sky and bright sun. The blue sky has been peppered with a few purple storm clouds (it has been storming the last 2 days).

Seriously, how cute is that?