foxy

It's hard to remember exactly when Abigail got super attached to Po.  But it was a long time ago, and the attachment so strong that we had to get a twin Po who became known as "school Po".  We wondered whether Nate would get attached to any particular stuffed buddy (other than his beloved sleep-time loveys: paci and mommy's old t-shirt).  And then out of all of the stuffed animals in the house, Nate clicked with this little fella.  His name is Foxy (even though he's a wolf).  And he is Abby's.  Uh oh.

As soon as Nate decided that he loved Foxy, Abigail decided Foxy was her favorite too.  Poor Po.  Poor us.  What could we do but turn to eBay and find a duplicate Foxy....who arrived in the mail yesterday, spent the night in the freezer (is this really what you're supposed to do with used stuffed animals to get rid of germies?), and is now a full-on member of our family.  It's hard to tell the Foxies apart, but they are both much loved.

One for each.

This makes Abby happy.

This makes Nate happy.

Very, very happy.

1-2-3, hug your foxy!

hurricane

Live from Hurricane Irene: indoor adventures.  

Abigail taps into hand-me-downs from Emily & Natalie.

Mommy and Abby make a giant batch of blue play-doh.

Jolly dude does his thing.

Po eats dinner.

Nate chases the mini soccer ball.  Abby "bikes to work".

As Abby would say: "The boys stick together."

We're all fine. Kids are sleeping.  A big tree branch just fell in our front yard, but otherwise things are relatively uneventful here. Big winds yet to come apparently.  For now, power is on!

family bike ride

Several fun family bike-rides lately.  The hardest part is getting the bikes, helmets, people all ready to go at the same time.  Special thanks to Achilles' papa for taking some pictures....

Oh yes, Po came too.

Ready to roll.

PS - note the now historic photo of our front door sans portico. Pics of that project to come soon...

PPS - How could we forget to mention the earthquake???  5.8 earthquake rattled our area on Tuesday.  Sarah was at a meeting downtown on the 9th floor, lots of swaying, and everyone got under the conference room table before deciding to evacuate.  A long metro ride home followed. Jamie was at his office on the 12th floor, also lots of swaying.  After evacuating the building he walked home.  Abby was trying to take a nap, and instead woke up and got pretty excited about the "air quake".  Nate was sitting on the floor playing when it happened and started crying, but as reported by our nanny: "stopped crying when I picked him up and hugged him." Then Nate took a nap. 

PPPS - Do you ever wonder what we were up to 3 years ago today?  On Aug 24, 2008, baby Abigail endorsed Obama for president!

abby+po+obama=?

See that blur? That's Abby and Po flying through the air over their "Obama pool"!

Abby takes a running leap.

A mid-air jump with Po above her head.  (Hard to capture all of this action on film.  Sorry, Po, that you got cut out of the picture.)

And they've landed.

Again!

Close-up of Po after a particularly dramatic landing.  Notice Po is borrowing Nate's Batman "I'm not afraid of the dark" onesie.  (Thanks Archer!)

po-n-playtime

Abby proudly shows off her baby - Po, who is "sitting like a big boy at the froggy table."

Other funny Abby quotes about Po as of late include: 

"Po slept for FIVE days. He had a really long nap."

"Did you be-rember when Po's family said that we could come over for dinner at their house?"

Abby shows off her tower building skills while Nate shows off his wiggles!

Hi guys!

Nate thinks it is absolutely hilarious when mommy puts a toy on her head and lets it fall off.  9 month old humor at its finest!  In other 9 month news, Nate has 4 teeth pretty fully in (2 top and 2 bottom), and 4 more just starting to poke through the gums (also 2 top, 2 bottom).  He's not crawling, occasionally does a butt scooch, can almost pull to a stand by himself, and loves to "walk" around the house with mama or papa holding his hands.  He remains our jolly dude.

present box

As some blog readers know... we shamelessly bribe Abigail into taking a nap each day. Refusing naps became her fun new behavior that coincided with Nate's birth, and we had epic multi-hour tearful battles many days. Until we started using the "present box". If Abby takes a nap, there's something in her present box. If no nap, no present. "Abby, if you don't close your eyes and go to sleep there will be: Nothing. In. Your. Present. Box." Such statements are taken seriously by the nearly-3 year old member of our household. When she wakes up the first thing she says is "I want to open my present box!"

Luckily, it need not be a full-fledged "present" every day. We're starting to think it's more about the anticipation and act of opening the present box than what is inside (e.g. even a post-it note with "Abby and Papa go on a special mission to the grocery store!" written on it is met with enthusiasm). But even if the present isn't a "thing" it can be pretty neat. Witness today's present: play with snow in the sink!!

And so we did.

Oh food coloring, we love you.

Some green snow may have been consumed.

Meanwhile, in the other corner of the kitchen Nato happily bounces and tries to eat his blanket.

Oh yes, we used blue too.

Then Po arrived and things really got crazy.

It was Po's birthday! (Note: it is Po's birthday EVERY DAY, except when Po's birthday is TOMORROW!)

Abby made "ice cream" and "cupcakes" out of snow to celebrate. And she helped Po blow out the candles. And we sang Happy Birthday. Several times.

All in all, a lovely way to occupy multiple hours of this afternoon! Thanks present box.

fall fun

On a chilly fall morning, sporting pjs and a winter hat, Abigail plays in the sandbox lid....

...and on top of the sandbox....

...and with her dump truck....

...and rides her tricycle.

Back inside, potty time continues, though not as impressively as our first weekend. We're still plugging away...

Nate channels baby-Abigail by wearing her old clothes and playing with one of her favorite baby blankets.

For comparison, here's Abigail wearing the same overalls at pretty much exactly the same age. We think Abby wins in the hair quantity but Nate has her beat in size. He's stretching out those overalls a little more than A did at 2 months.

Big girl Abby has Po smile for the camera while she prepares his favorite food: quinoa. Who knew?!

Nathaniel is a good sport and models Abby's bee hat. After much discussion, this year for Halloween Abigail has decided to be a bumble bee again. Luckily the costume still fits! Last year she absolutely did not want to wear it and many tears were shed. What scene will unfold this year? Only time will tell....

Friends come to visit! Dorigen, Rosie, Elizabeth, Nate and Sarah all catch up amongst kid chaos and baby cries. Nate enjoyed spending time with all of the ladies....

Beautiful fall weather continues, so more adventures surely to come... PS: Happy 2 month birthday to Nate today!!