september already?

Hard to believe that August is over! Still feels like summer here . . . Abigail celebrates the season with some bubble blowing.

Abigail keeps an eye on Grandma and Nate. What are they up to?

Grandad grills up some dinner. We miss Grandma and Grandad who are back at home now!

Mommy multitasks with little munchkin and bigger munchkin and new favorite books (thanks Louis and Annabelle!)

Papa and Abby took Grandma and Grandad to the nearby gardens...

Abby's doll Betsy has her own carseat... just like baby Nathaniel!

Auntie Clare came to visit!

And Ann & Sean too...!

Nathaniel with his new pal Hootie and a soft new blanket to lie on...!

first haircut!

Abigail got her first haircut on Sunday! It started off a little rocky but a strawberry lollipop helped considerably.

So did the cute little Snoopy doll from Grandma.

The finished product - hair many inches shorter and now somewhat more manageable. (Though A's anti-hairwashing campaign continues....)

Baby Nathaniel came along too but slept through all the excitement. We suppose he'll have his first haircut before he's 2 1/2. For now, he's had his first hair wash at home. Two washes in one day in fact after he somehow managed to pee in his hair....still getting the boy diaper changes figured out.

busy times two

We're all keeping busy here....

Greeting our newest family member as he and mommy get home from the hospital.

Catching lots of zzz's. And when not snoozing, eating lots. Baby Nate had his first pediatrician visit and he is back up to birth weight, and beyond by now...

Hanging out with Papa.

Abby and Grandma wash the windows - long overdue and much appreciated!!

Washing hands for dinnertime....what will we do when Grandma and Grandad go home and we no longer have resident chefs to fix us wonderful meals??

Cuddling with Grandad.

More cozy nap spots and a little lamby friend to sleep with.

Nathaniel goes for his first walk around the block. Cute little yawn.

Abby and Akaash - big hugs! It's been so nice for Abigail to have Akaash and Madeleine to pal around with this week with all of the new transitions happening at home. There will be another big transition next week when Abigail starts preschool (!). We're so happy that Akaash will be at school too...

A&A ham it up for the camera.

home again home again

We all got home on Sunday and are getting things figured out here in our great return to the infanthood lifestyle. Thank goodness Grandma and Grandad are here keeping us well fed and helping out in many ways. More pics soon....

Here's Nathaniel getting the hang of sleeping...!

welcome nathaniel!

We are very excited to welcome our new family member! A punctual fellow, Nathaniel Robert arrived on his due date, August 20th, at 10:13am. 8 lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long, and hair very similar to big sis Abigail's at birth!

Mommy and Nathaniel rest up together, wee one a few hours old.

Papa and Nathaniel . . . the boys.

Birthday snuggles.

Grandad (aka Robert) comes to visit, and takes such good care of Abby while A's mama and papa have been busy the last few days. And Grandma arrived today!

Family of four together.

Back at home, Abigail plays with her new bathtub stickers - a present from baby Nathaniel (how thoughtful of him!).

The transition to big sisterhood may not be wrinkle free, but we think Abigail is going to do just fine in this new era. Popsicles and Po by her side.

waiting days

Days of waiting continue here . . . Abigail casually asks many mornings if the baby has come out yet. If only it were so simple! In the meantime, A keeps busy with her Arizona blocks.

Tower time.

"Hey look at this picture on the box - what are they doing with my Arizona blocks?"

happy birthday grandma!

Abigail hopes that the rest of Grandma's birthday yesterday was wonderful . . . we can't wait to celebrate in person next week (with cake! and candles! and singing!)!! Here is Abigail sporting a pretty cherry dress, captured pre-camera-smile:

Mid-camera-smile:

Camera-smile complete!

weekend

We've had a relaxing weekend hanging out at home, and going on a few excursions.... like to dinner at a local restaurant. Abigail gave the grilled cheese sandwich and side order of edamame two thumbs up.

This morning we went to Jessie's house for breakfast - yum!

Sunday morning scene: two two-year-olds, hanging out with some books and stuffed animals....

morning

Good morning grins from Abigail.

Proudly displaying her pretty hair bows (thanks Alden!)

Outside to send mommy and baby off to work . . . Aug 20th due date rapidly approaching. Abigail is seeming to be excited about big sisterhood, eager to teach the baby everything she knows how to do (which is a lot, just in case you were wondering and asked Abigail).

Mentally preparing for a long, slow, sweaty walk to metro.....woe is the late summer pregnancy. Send cool thoughts this direction....

dining

We went out to brunch with Georgia last weekend! Here's G giving A a big hug goodbye. We're all very excited that Georgia is going to be a big sister too! Abigail was also very impressed with Georgia's potty skills and new diaper-free lifestyle . . . though this does not seem to be translating into personal motivation to use the potty herself.

At brunch/lunch Abigail thoroughly enjoyed her meal, polishing off a whole kids pizza. Yum. In other dining news, we've tried two new recipes for dinner this week... Zucchini Casserole was a HUGE hit, and Peanut Sesame Noodles was a moderate hit (note - I think if we'd used regular spaghetti vs soba noodles that this would have fallen into the huge hit category....Abigail kept saying, "this isn't spaghetti..." referring to the soba noodles. The tofu chunks she loved, peppers not so much.) We are hopeful that blog readers might share their favorite recipes with us, bonus points if they are easy to make and toddler friendly! Always looking to expand our mealtime routine....

personality

No shortage of personality chez nous these days.... Abigail is loathe to be interrupted if she is in the middle of something, like reading a book or feeding doll Betsy or Po. "I just wanna finish this mommy." "Papa, I'm busy doing something." Some of the time we roll with the delayed timing, other times when we need to move things along we engage in major negotiations. Toddlers generally have such short attention spans, yet remarkable patience to continue intense negotiations when they want to keep feeding play-doh to Elmo at breakfast time.

And tonight as Abigail was going to sleep we hear over the monitor . . . "Mama, there's a hair in my mouth.... Mama, there's a hair in my mouth ... Please help me." Was the hair for real? Probably. Bedtime stalling? Maybe. But who could resist?

happy friday

Abigail's bulbous Friday hairdo.

Getting Po and Bunny's day off to a good start with "breakfast" in their "bed".

A is momentarily distracted by her feet.

It's only 7:30am - what next?!