THREE YEARS OLD!

Woo-hoo! Can you believe it? Sometimes I look at him and I remember no other stage than the one he's in right at this moment. Then I see a picture like this and feel like it's been eons since that little fellow existed. I guess that's the thing about cliches; they are sappy, but true. Time does fly. You're right - I should cherish these moments. He'll be a big boy before I know it.




We had a party at our house for mostly kids from his school and his cousins (Brannigans in the house!) Again, we tried to celebrate at the Golden Gate Park Carousel and Playground (remember his first birthday there? Oh yeah, right - no you don't because one week before the party, they demolished that 50-year-old playground for remodeling. Don't get me wrong - it's great fun now, but I'd already sent out the invitations and everything...ANYWAY) There were roughly 14 kids running around with attending parents, a Grammie and a couple of babies too - talk about mayhem! We had clear skies leading up to the birthday (despite the threat of storms - the raining and the wind!!) it rained and gusted 30 mph winds on the day of and then, oh nice, sunny day following the birthday. Bitter? Me? Okay, a little. But in the end, it was really fun and the kiddos played upstairs until everyone arrived then Dadsie took 'em all down to the garage to ride trikes, play with chalks and the trains, and climb the slide structure. Then up they cake for (homemade, natch!) birthday cake. Some gift opening with just family (watch that paper fly!) Really fun, fun, fun.

The next morning, on his actual birthday, we opened presents in bed and if the internets would let me post a 3 minute movie, I'd have all you people in tears. He got a little bag of different sized horses (thanks Grandmom and Grandad!) which was awesome because, well, here's the thing about Nolan: he likes animals. (That is an understatement.) He opens the first one and it's kinda little and he says, "Little baby horsie [ in a high pitched baby voice] hey - this is a horse!" Then he gallops it around, back to the bag for the next item. He peaks in, sees what it is, then uses the baby horse "The little baby horse sees it, 'It's my mommy' " He nuzzles their noses together [I KNOW!!!] and says "I found mommy horse. What else is in there? [rummaging...] Oh! It's the daddy horse! [ gathering up the baby, the mommy and the daddy horses...] They huuuuuug the baby horse!"

I don't even know what to say about that.

Happy Birthday, little guy. We love you so much.

Baby's first snow!

By the time we got her all bundled up, she was pretty annoyed so the beauty of snow was slightly dampened (read: GET ME OUT OF THIS GET-UP!) She much preferred hanging out in the house with her cousin Otto, Auntie Emily and Uncle Tim. I constantly referred to their two whippets as wild animals (which Otto reminded me were just dogs) but for a baby who doesn't have pets at home, what else could those furry, jumping, barking, licking, four-legged things be?

Zadie also sat in her first highchair! She loves to play the "I throw it down and somebody picks it up...again" game. Luckily [or should it be "Lucky"?] for her, Otto was a willing participant. And, yes, those are roller blades on Otto's feet, worn with his footed jammies. He zooms around on those things ALL DAY, inside the house. In weather like that, you gotta find something for a four-year-old bundle of energy to do!

A wonderful trip - would've been better with Nolan and Dadsie, but they had a blast at home: a three hour trek up and around Mt. Davidson; exploring treacherous rocks; braving the San Francisco Zoo (I kid!); and lots of playing the "Food Book" game. (For those who haven't had the pleasure, it's holding stuffies, animal magnets, tiny superheroes or any combination of those and pretending to eat all the fruits and vegetables in the picture book of, well, fruits and vegetables. Lots of chomping, nom-nom-nom-ing, and all-around eating sounds. It's great fun...especially the 7th time in the day...) Anyway, our whole family is really looking forward to this summer when we all head out to St. Paul!

Givin' the people what they want.

Woe Is Us.

The sick factor is high in our humble abode. Noses red and sore from wiping, throats chafed from coughing and eyes heavy with bags from interrupted sleep. "I don't need a nap," he says. "Fine, " I say. We continue to play. Two hours later while I nurse the baby to sleep, I sense an eerie silence. Just curled up on the couch, finished storybook by his side.

Don't need a nap, indeed.

Zadie is six months old!

Not that it detracts too much from her presence and beauty, but Zadie has been under the weather lately and her red-rimmed, slightly glassy eyes are evident. Our poor little baby has been suffering through this terrible cold that has us wiping her nose every five minutes. And you know what? She does not *like* her nose wiped. Nolan never cared. Even when I used to bulb (yes, you read that right - unfortunately it can be a verb) Nolan, he would lie still and even pull his upper lip away from his nose to help me angle that thing in there. Not so Zadie. Not that I blame her. Eeesh.

That second tooth is almost through. She's sitting up and playing with toys on the ground in front of her. She splashes heartily in the tub.

She weighs 15 lbs, 12 oz and is 2 feet, 2 inches; both put her in the 50th percentile. Her doc says she's healthy (except for this possible respiratory thing she's got) and developing nicely and all around quite lovely. Yep.