Fun in the Snow

Mia's got to live up this snow while she can. Who knows if she'll ever see this much snow again!

Buried & more coming

The storm started around noon on Friday and brought 6-8 inches by bedtime; respectable, but not bad. This morning, we woke up to about 16 inches and another 6-8 are predicted. Oh dear...

Mia's Update

Mia hasn't been up for photographs much, but here are some recent cute ones. She loves school and playing with her brother. Her favorite game is Dora Memory, though she not so good about letting you take your own turn and is pretty good at remembering where all the cards are.

She has become obsessed with robes. She got one for Christmas, but insists on also wearing one that Nina and Taid got CJ.

She also really enjoys watching the snow fall. She's a big fan of winter. We're not sure how to break it to her that this is a very, very unusual winter for here and she's not likely to see this much snow again until she goes to college and chooses someplace in the north.

CJ's Update

Yes, it has been a very long time since we've posted new pictures, but life has gotten a little crazy. Here are some recent pictures of our crazy little man, CJ. He's really fast at crawling, wants to stand all the time, and cruises or uses chairs and the like to push himself along standing.

Daddy was able to get a few shots of him actually sitting still.



Then, Jabber came to visit while Nina and Taid went on a trip. CJ and Jabber are very close and Jabber is very well behaved with him. CJ can even grab toys out of the dog's mouth and he doesn't even flinch!

He did protest with some whining when CJ tried to invade Jabber's personal space in his crate.

Buying New Baby Cards in Bulk

This week, we welcomed two new friends into the world. This week's set seem to go together so well, they could have been twins!

First, Charlotte Ann was born on February 2nd to our River friends Mary and Dave. Charlotte is joining an ever-growing list of children of Mommy's friends from Thousand Island Park. We hope to be able to see them this summer and have a nice little reunion!

Next, Claire Evelyn was born on February 4th to our friends Susan and Matt. Susan and Mommy went to college together and have followed each other to various cities around the country. They still live in San Francisco so we're hoping they eventually wise up and move to DC! (Though, we're not holding our breaths, sadly.) We can't wait until we get to meet Claire!!

CJ 6 Month Update

The Stats:

Height: 26"
Weight: 16lbs 9 oz

We couldn't do shots because CJ had a fever from a virus he was getting over. Even with being sick, he was in a great mood and showed off his crawling for the doctor. She was quite impressed and was one of only two babies she's seen crawl before 6 months!

Random Conversations Heard Today

Rob had to work today so it is just Mommy, Mia, and CJ home alone. We have a wind advisory so it is bitter cold outside, which isn't very inviting for the walk I had hoped we'd do. Instead, here are some snippets of some conversations Mia and I have had today.

Me to Mia as we're leaving her bedroom: Mia, I'm sad you didn't take a nap today.
...About 10 minutes later downstairs...
Mia: Mom, you are sad? I make you happy. I'll play instruments and make music. Music makes you happy.
Mia proceeds to play various instruments she got for Christmas (recorder, harmonica, castanets, etc).
Mia: Mom, are you happy now? I made you happy by playing music.


Mia: Mom. Baby brother is my horse.
(Mia is behind her brother holding the hood of his sweatshirt as reigns.)
Me: Mia, don't pull on the hood. It could hurt your brother.
Mia: No Mom, he's my horse.
Gall-Up horse. Gall-Up! (Waving the hood up and down and thankfully, not strangling CJ.)
Come on horse.
Gitty-down.

Crawling

It's been hard to remember to video tape and then upload the videos of CJ crawling so we finally have some. We don't have it on video, but he's also now pulling himself to standing on low objects like the stairs.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Walk in Old Town

Given the relatively warm temperatures, we decided to head to Old Town for a walk along the waterfront.

CJ spent his time sleeping in the stroller.

Mia, on the other hand, spent her time running around, watching the ducks, and enjoying the time outside.

Happy 5 Months

Christopher is now 5 months old. He happily sits and is very close to crawling. He smiles, talks all the time, and gives big belly laughs. His favorite activity though is playing with his sister. The picture below is of the two of them playing peek-a-boo with Mia just about to cover his eyes.

Halloween

We had a fantastic Halloween this year.

Mia enjoyed painting her pumpkin while Dad carved his.

And, Grandpa happen to be in town for some business meetings so he was able to the holiday with us. Mia was a mouse, which prompted Grampa's cheese head, and CJ was a leopard*. The day was quite warm (70 degrees) so trick or treating was a lot of fun, though no pictures were taken.

*All costumes courtesy of Grandma and her wonderful sewing machine.

Trying So Hard

CJ wants to crawl so badly. He will spend all of his time on his tummy working hard. We're just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place.

Mini Dartmouth Reunion

We had a fantastic weekend with friends at Dan and Brian's family farm. There were 5 families with at least one person from each family having been on the Dartmouth Ultimate Frisbee team. This time, we had 5 kids in attendance with another on the way in the spring!

Pumpkin Picking

Since the kids had Columbus Day off, we headed to the farm with Mia's friend Noah and his mom to pick some pumpkins. It was a cold day and even colder by the time we got out of the car at the base of the Shenandoah Mountains an hour west. Thankfully, Mia's coat had a hood, but Noah refused all of his mom's attempts at getting him warmed up.







The farm has lots of animals including goats you can feed. Mia was not into feeding the goats, but she was happy to watch Noah do it.

CJ did come with us, but was firmly encased in the Ergo to keep warm so there are no pictures. Sorry.

Full Set of Proofs

If you're interested in seeing our full set of proofs from Rashmi, here's where to go:

Pictures are located at http://www.rashmipappu.com/photocart.

When you go to the website click the Access Gallery link and enter in the access code below:

Access code: maraw

After you do that you will be able to view these pictures.

4 Months

How time flies when you're having fun. CJ is now 4 months old and is growing like a weed. He's already in 6-9 mo clothes. We're very thankful for Mia's friends Noah and Greydon (and their parents) for keeping CJ fashionable this fall and Mom and Dad out of bankruptcy from buying clothes that he outgrows a week later.

Here are his 4 month stats:
Height - 24.5 inches
Weight - 15 lbs
Head Circumference - 16 1/4 inches

At today's pediatrician appointment, CJ sat up and rolled over for the doctor. She was quite impressed. Everything looked good after a few not so nice shots, we were out the door.

Since this week has lots of cold, rainy weather, I thought I'd show you CJ's pimped out ride for his 4 month photo shoot.
It keeps him snugly and warm and his toys close at hand.

Fall Yard Work

This beautiful Sunday, Daddy decided it was time to trim the fig tree. It had gotten so big that we couldn't even walk between it and the fence. Mia used this time to show us her tricycle skills that she has refined at preschool.

Then, we had to decide what to do with the branches. Instead of just moving them to a pile to be taken away for mulch, Daddy decided to build Mia a pseudo-Sukkot. Mia attends preschool at the local synagogue and has been learning about all the recent Jewish holidays including Sukkot. She particularly enjoys snack in the Sukkot at the synagogue and several times has asked for a Sukkot at home. Since we are not Jewish, we weren't really up for building our own (though we'll be in trouble when she finds out that her friend Adleigh gets one and she doesn't), but we did a make-shift version using the fig branches and her play tower. Mia declared it not to be a real Sukkot, but she was happy to spend some time in it all the same, especially if Baby Brother joined her.

An Average Saturday

We've fallen into a pretty regular routine now that Mommy is back to work, CJ's in day care, and Mia's in preschool.

CJ's doing well in day care, but still not eating much. It must be just too exciting with all the other kids around. So, instead of eating all day, he eats from the minute he gets home until early the next morning.

He's also practicing his sitting skills. We've had some good progress in the last week, but it is still pretty short lived.

"Look Daddy! I'm doing it. I'm upright!"

"Oh no, not again.....
At least this time I'm on a comfy bed."

CJ loves tummy time. (Yes, bizarre, we know.) Using the boppy really lets him get some height and see the world.

Until his sister comes to "show her love." Mia's getting better about understanding the phrase "Don't squish your brother," but there is still a ways to go. They do just adore each other.


And, being the two year old that she is, a morning would not be complete without a good spin.
You may notice the potty seat in the background. We've been taking potty training at a pretty slow pace. Mia's currently at the stage that she's wearing big girl panties when we're at home and pull-ups at school or when we go out (unless we're feeling particularly daring). Her teacher recommended going to school in panties as soon as we have an accident-free weekend. We're not there yet, but today was our best day yet. Only two accidents and five stickers on the sticker chart! Mia has asked for Zoe and Abby dolls (from Sesame Street) when she has a whole week of no accidents. Wish us luck!

Picture Taking and Posting

We are definitely getting worse and worse at taking and posting pictures. We've been to the local art fair, had our annual block party (huge success with the moon bounce), and Mia's started swimming classes, but we've not taking pictures let alone posted any.

So, we'll rely on the professional again to give you another photo. Rashmi posted a quick picture of CJ to her website. Enjoy!