Zadie is three months old!

How time flies! Our baby girl, with her grins and dimples and her curious eyes, her cooing and ooohing and her juuuuuust starting to reach out to grab at things (mostly her big brother) keeps us all feeling giddy and so lucky to have her.



Who does she look like? What will she be like? Will she love music? Books? Trucks? Will she follow Nolan around or try to lead him? Will she sleep with a lovey or a special stuffie? Can we get her to laugh easily or will she develop her own entertainment? We have so much to look forward to as her personality emerges. She is changing our world as much as we are shaping hers.

And because I couldn't pick just one picture (or outfit!) here are two bonus pics!

Nuts? & Getting into the spirit of things.

Here is the little lady, just chillin':

(get it?? with the penguin? "chillin' to mean "cold temperatures" and also "relaxing"? Aren't jokes always funnier when they are explained in both obvious and tedious detail?)






And in this one, I think the chipmunk is after whatever it is she is storing in those cheeks!

And although I have yet to secure a costume for the Peanut, at least I have gotten into a Martha Stewart moment with a pumpkin!

Yeeeeeeeeeee-hah!

This was the Peanut's second trip to Texas to visit Dadsie's brother and his family. They have five children and it was like a party for the little guy!
Here comes N, chased by cousins...can he get away??




Trapped!


Can you tell he had a blast???

Here they are "getting ready for bed":


Did I mention he loves to climb trees?


And last, but definitely not least, giving his ticket to the man to ride the carousel. This guy *loves* the carousel!

Fizzzzzzzzzzz...

I know - you probably think the excitement has already worn off for me and you are back to grumbling about my lack of contact. Fear not - I am just experiencing technical difficulties. While in St. Paul, there were issues: one being that I didn't bring a camera - d'oh! - and two, that they couldn't download pics from their camera to their computer thus enabling me to show how sweet Cousin O was with Baby Z. Also, Dadsie took 440 (not a typo - talk about paparazzi) pics in Ft. Worth and we need to clean out the junk before we download to the home computer.

So, to keep the people happy, I give you this:

This is three weeks old - back when N was still wearing diapers and Z still fit into the 0 -3 month clothes!

Flying the friendly skies.

That's right, we are going on vacation. But, for various reasons, we're splitting up: boys to Texas and girls to Minnesota. I may post from the road - aren't the internets cool? - so feel free to check in ten times a day as usual (I kid. That's just me checking for comments. Seriously - that's the most time-consuming thing about this blog for me.)

Pretty in pink...and green!

Thanks to the Oak-Town cousins for this outfit Z *just* fits into. (And, unfortunately, I can't seem to rotate this pic...sigh...)
*Update* I (obviously) fixed the photo! Yay me!

Get in line.

Okay - so we did the one with Z. But he really does like to line things up!

Here's the latest!

What a week! Minus the details, let me just say N has done a great job. He will often interrupt his own playing and say "My body is telling me I need to pee" and walk right over to a potty and take care of business. I think the fact that then he gets to climb up on a step-stool and squirt soap on his hands and splash in the water in the sink ALL BY HIMSELF is a huge motivator. Oh, California - we'll try to make up for our excessive water usage somehow! Since he is still pantsless in our house (for the next three months!!!) we will also have to apologize for our excessive use of gas and electricity. BUT, we are way reducing our landfill contribution so it's a wash, eh? Here he is, with his "stuffies" (a preschool word) - safe for posting to the world wide web. He has really been a good sport about these changes and humors us for the most part:
Mumsie and Dadsie: (Painfully excited voices) Did you put your pee in the potty??
N: Yes.
M & D: You *did*???
N: Yes.
M & D: And did you wash your hands??
N: Yes.
M & D: You *did*???
N: Yes.
M & D: Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!!!! (Fists pumping maniacally)
N: He wants some Pirate's Booty.
See what I mean?
Our baby girl is so patient - fast asleep, and awakened by the over-zealous dancing of the One Who Is Currently Holding Me. Or the quick ditching into the carseat while other pressing needs involving washcloths are attended to. What a dear. And - wait for it - still sleeping at night. Honestly - if I were doing this on lousy sleep, I probably would've given up and set us back at least a few years. Maybe it's because we have provided her with good reading material that keeps her happy.

And for the two of them, together, they are finding their way. Mostly N is gentle and mostly Z likes the attention. Here they are in a calm moment together. So sweet.

The Potty Dance!

Not a parent yet? Then you've probably never done a dance wherein you pump your fist and shout "Yes!!" when another human being has successfully put his/her pee and/or poop in the potty and then washed his/her hands. Ah, yes...we have come to the potty training stage in our lives and this weekend we will kick it off with no pants! That's right - our little fellow, aka the Peanut, will "run out" of diapers and will just have to use the potty. He may chose from our three toilets or the strewn about the house selection of portables of which there are eight. Yes, eight - we really want him to make it to the potty. So if you've been feeling down or need some confidence boosting, stop by and we will cheer like drunken football fans when you emerge from the bathroom (portables for kiddos only, please.)

12 pounds!

Z weighs 12.0 pounds now. When she was born 9 weeks ago, she weighed 7.0 (this girl really likes even numbers...no extra ounces, please.) Her weight percentile is 80th whereas at two weeks old, it was 60th - way to set a goal and work really hard to reach it! I am pleased to inform, though, that this diligence takes place mainly during the day and not hourly at night like *some* people we know...(Please, please, don't let that be the jinx that ends all this beautiful sleep.)



And N is as busy as ever - just try to keep up with him! Here he is, exploring Mt. Davidson. This is one of the lesser known treasures of SF - and right here in our neighborhood. Dad and the Peanut regularly tramp all over it while Mumsie stays home and takes care of the Ladybug whilst sipping tea. Mmmm...tea...um, I think that's enough for now. I have to go, uh, change a diaper, yeah that's right...or fold laundry. Yeah that's it - fold laundry!

Over 90 years of family heritage...

This picture was taken at Poppa's house in the living-room, the same room that holds so many wonderful memories of family and celebration. Z is one week old and Poppa was 90 in April...