family photo

We have very few photos of our whole family, and this is not a really great one, but we're all in it, so I thought I would share. My old friend Lisa took it (thanks, Lisa!) this past weekend when we saw her at her sister's close to Rochester.

Note the water bottle in Sam's pocket. He told me later that whenever we stay at someone's house, he likes to find a good source of treats and put a few in his pocket for the road when we leave. He had some Hershey kisses in the other pocket. This admission does explain some things about laundry in the past few months. This is the same boy who, as he was wolfing down homemade waffles made by our generous hosts (thanks Lynley and Ryan!), asked, "Are omelets also available?"

caught in the act

I found Ozzie getting ready to put Baby Anna down for a nap. He was singing Twinkle Twinkle to her. I'm writing this to remind me how sweet he can be...since he's lately had a lot of moments of unsweetness.

Rebecca, see that spot where we painted in the dark, and I never fixed it? I don't suppose you'll have time to paint the whole room with me when you come visit?

the rental units

My parents came to town, and we had a great visit! They are not only willing to discuss Pokemon for hours, but they will also eat pretend food and sleep on a slowly deflating airbed--you can't really ask for more of house guests. They took in many Ithaca sights (book sale, Wegman's, farmers' market, waterfalls, my concerts, Sam's class poetry reading, etc) and then went to NYC for a week. Boundless energy!

Ozzie doesn't want to move back into his room ("that's grandma and grandpa's room"). I was bad about taking photos, but here are a few.

Abe's winter

I was looking through photos of the past couple of months, and I want to share some of Abe. Since it's 80 today (snowed last week--probably will again next week), here are some winter pictures.

Belated birthday shot of the five-year old knight with his cake.

The pre-k winter soccer group. I think of Abe as little, but clearly he won't be little in his kindergarten class this fall.

Abe's favorite soccer move. During the final class, every time any ball came anywhere near him, he stopped all action with his fancy footwork, leaving all the other kids a little impatient.

St. Patrick's Day viewing of Darby O'Gill and the Little People (a favorite from my childhood). Ezri is wearing green, in case you can't see.

A late winter storm. I wanted to have a photo of Abe in his full-body snowsuit. Next year I supposed it'll have to be snowpants.

Could it be

that someone has spent a little bit of time reading Lego catalogs?

Abe's birthday!!

Abe turned five on February 14. And what a party we had the weekend before! He had never had a real "friend party" before, so I had promised him he could have a big one this year. I didn't realize quite how big it would be (you know how you assume that not everyone you invite will come? turns out you can't always assume that), but it still went well. We had it at the YMCA. The kids first played downstairs in the toy/ball pit area (didn't bring my camera, sorry), then upstairs cupcakes and snacks, "pin the shield on the Lego knight," and crafts. I only remember a couple of short-lived tears, and that's not bad for twenty kids. But he's had his big party--next year we will shrink the guest list.




I can't believe my (second) baby is so big! Almost ready for school.

the terrible you-know-whats

Today is Abe's 5th birthday. But I'm not blogging about that today. Because last week was Oscar's 2nd birthday, and I need to put up photos from that first.

Oscar had a terrible day on his 2nd birthday, and the days since have not been all that great. I think the only way he could be having great days right now would be if his only activities included listening to Baby Beluga on repeat, eating graham crackers, and having a "bath with bubbles and cups." All day long. I mean, those things do happen everyday, but there are all of these other things that need to happen in between, like getting dressed, leaving the house, getting in the stroller or car, holding hands while crossing the street, listening to something besides Baby Beluga so the rest of us don't light the cd player on fire, etc.

Nevertheless, he is adorable and chatty and oh-so-literate (books books all day long--that request is more fun for the rest of us). And he's two! I remember when Sam turned two I thought he was such a big kid. Now two is all baby for me.

decorating cupcakes


Happy Birthday! The candle photos did not turn out well, since a candle (still unlit) poked him in the eye right before singing. He took a couple of minutes to recover.


enjoying Aaron's homemade honey ice cream


beautiful baby