The Miserable
6 years ago
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
abc's
jack's rendition of the alphabet song at 2.75 years old (as heard today):
pretty good ... but since he actually has a little buddy named "walter," also pretty hilarious.
a-b-c-d-e-f-g
h-i-j-k
l-men-dent-o-peee
q-r-s-t-u-v
w-x-y and z
now I a-b-c-deee
next time walter sing to me
pretty good ... but since he actually has a little buddy named "walter," also pretty hilarious.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
who's zooming who(m)?
jack is a helpful fellow. in fact, he is absolutely consumed with doing emergency rescues.
he rescues puppets and stuffed animals with his fire truck. he rescues mommy and daddy who seem to always be getting their various appendages trapped various places. he rescues an imaginary kitty who repeatedly gets stuck in a tree.
and when he's not doing the rescues, he likes to read about rescues and rescue personnel. a recent interest has been in a three-book set about firetrucks, police cars and ambulances.
the end of each book asks, "do you think you could be a firefighter/police officer/paramedic?" jack always answers a confident "yes!".
but, he has also repeatedly declared that he wants to drive the fire truck. of course we asked what everyone else should drive.
so ... grandma and grandpa, listen up ... when we come to visit you better have your horse riding and ambulance driving skills up to snuff.
the ambulance can't be much harder than a golf cart, so we'll figure grandpa is all set. grandma ... you may need to practice a bit ...
he rescues puppets and stuffed animals with his fire truck. he rescues mommy and daddy who seem to always be getting their various appendages trapped various places. he rescues an imaginary kitty who repeatedly gets stuck in a tree.
and when he's not doing the rescues, he likes to read about rescues and rescue personnel. a recent interest has been in a three-book set about firetrucks, police cars and ambulances.
the end of each book asks, "do you think you could be a firefighter/police officer/paramedic?" jack always answers a confident "yes!".
but, he has also repeatedly declared that he wants to drive the fire truck. of course we asked what everyone else should drive.
us: what should mommy drive?
him: the police car.
us: what should daddy drive?
him: the motorcycle.
us: well, who will ride the police horse?
him: grandma.
us: and what will grandpa do?
him: drive the ambulance.
so ... grandma and grandpa, listen up ... when we come to visit you better have your horse riding and ambulance driving skills up to snuff.
the ambulance can't be much harder than a golf cart, so we'll figure grandpa is all set. grandma ... you may need to practice a bit ...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
8 weeks annie
annie is 8 weeks old today! can't believe 56 days have gone by so fast.
she's getting so big. she's also starting to wake up from her morning nap ... so enjoy the pictures (admittedly taken yesterday at 7w6d):
she's getting so big. she's also starting to wake up from her morning nap ... so enjoy the pictures (admittedly taken yesterday at 7w6d):
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
ribbon is a dancer
jack has been taking a length of ribbon that he found around the house and using for some very expressive movement:
he calls it his "cowboy lasso trick." looks more like rhythmic gymnastics to us.
tomayto ... tomahto ... either way it's pretty funny (though apologies for how dark the moving video portion is).
he calls it his "cowboy lasso trick." looks more like rhythmic gymnastics to us.
tomayto ... tomahto ... either way it's pretty funny (though apologies for how dark the moving video portion is).
Saturday, March 21, 2009
casting backyardigans
jack has become a big fan of "the backyardigans" lately and so we've come to learn a whole new cast of characters.
today jack spelled out how he sees a live-action version shaking out. to wit:
jack: i'm austin.
mommy: so who am i?
jack: tyrone.
mommy: oh, okay. well, who is daddy?
jack: uniqua.
mommy: he is? and who is annie?
jack: tasha.
mommy: well, that leaves pablo. who is pablo?
jack: aunt megan!
oh, of course. it's all clear.
mommy would make fun of aunt megan being assigned as a portly blue penguin, or daddy being envisaged as a pink spotted creature in overalls, but she herself is an orange male moose in a striped sweater so she doesn't have a lot of latitude.
guess we'll just enjoy being considered jack's backyard friends ... the backyardigans.
today jack spelled out how he sees a live-action version shaking out. to wit:
jack: i'm austin.
mommy: so who am i?
jack: tyrone.
mommy: oh, okay. well, who is daddy?
jack: uniqua.
mommy: he is? and who is annie?
jack: tasha.
mommy: well, that leaves pablo. who is pablo?
jack: aunt megan!
oh, of course. it's all clear.
mommy would make fun of aunt megan being assigned as a portly blue penguin, or daddy being envisaged as a pink spotted creature in overalls, but she herself is an orange male moose in a striped sweater so she doesn't have a lot of latitude.
guess we'll just enjoy being considered jack's backyard friends ... the backyardigans.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
the wearing of the green
it has to be by the luck of the irish that we have two of the cutest leprechauns there ever were ...
yummy!
but somewhere along the line, not everyone was with the program ... we suspect the orange order was responsible for this:
or maybe it was just her huguenot-leaning father ...
nevertheless, we are celebrating tonight with our traditional st. patty's dinner ... and we'll even be dyeing the beverages green (well, maybe not annie's milk ...)!
sláinte!
yummy!
but somewhere along the line, not everyone was with the program ... we suspect the orange order was responsible for this:
or maybe it was just her huguenot-leaning father ...
nevertheless, we are celebrating tonight with our traditional st. patty's dinner ... and we'll even be dyeing the beverages green (well, maybe not annie's milk ...)!
sláinte!
Monday, March 9, 2009
weekend update
as we mentioned in our last post, it was a glorious weekend in the nation's capital. and, as promised, more from our weekend ...
jack began saturday morning asking for his lawnmower. he received a toy lawnmower for christmas but was told he couldn't use it until it got warmer. he was perplexed and insisted that the grass needed mowing but we put him off, telling him that grass goes dormant in the winter and doesn't really grow and therefore doesn't really need mowing.
well, the kid filed that away and declared, "it's warm, now the grass is getting *really* long!" well, who could argue with our own roger cook ... when ya gotta mow, ya gotta mow.
daddy and jack also put in some park time ... with the lawnmower in tow. apparently the park needed mowing too.
after nap, it was time to hit the road ... or at least the trail. we had a lovely time on our family outing.
daddy and jack had a great time going under one of the bridges to skip stones.
and annie took it all in stride, in her usual manner ...
in addition to skipping stones, daddy pointed out a red-headed woodpecker ... watching him was a highlight of the outing for jack. annie, meanwhile, watched the insides of her eyelids ...
sunday brought equally nice weather, so jack, annie and mommy headed out again to the trail ... this time with nana (daddy wanted to stay home and clean the cat box and diaper pails ...)
jack, again, was eager to skip stones. and by skip, we mostly mean throw rocks as far as he can into the water and wait for the resultant splash. but that's fun too ... you can tell by the smile on his face ...
along the way jack also practiced his beam routine ...
(this is his best event)
(preparing for the dismount)
and while we didn't see any more woodpeckers (though we heard them), we did see two ducks -- a male and a female. jack wondered where the babies were and we decided they were back in the nest, waiting for the mommy and daddy to bring them food. and lest you wonder where our baby was ... you guessed it ... she was along for the ride and sawing logs instead of walking on them.
after nap, we hit the park for a little more outside time. that's where we ran into jack's good buddy brayden. brayden and his sister, portia, live around the corner from us and our nannies are good friends. so, despite the fact that we've only met his parents one other time, and only seen brayden and portia a handful of times, the kids are often at each others houses. it was nice to actually get to see this phantom brayden (and his parents) for a change. now we know he's not just jack's "george glass."
in fact, it's nice to see them playing together because they actually play together. while much of jack's play is still parallel with other children, they were playing cooperatively with brayden's trucks ... helping each other scoop up dirt and pushing it off to the dump.
when an older boy laid down his bicycle, jack (without hesitation) told him, "that's where our dump is. can you move your bike?" and ya know what? the kid *did*!
but, soon we wrapped up our time at the park to welcome our friends the winthrops over for dinner.
kay taylor and jack had a great time playing together and jack sweetly fed kay taylor french fries and cupcakes as they dined side-by-side.
after dinner they watched a little bit of cars ...
... and that's when kay taylor tried to put the moves on jack!
a kiss was actually exchanged at the end of the night and it was quite sweet ... though kay taylor's father declared that 10 years from now he is not going to look as kindly on their smooching!
and with that ... we smooched the weekend goodbye ... but what a weekend!
jack began saturday morning asking for his lawnmower. he received a toy lawnmower for christmas but was told he couldn't use it until it got warmer. he was perplexed and insisted that the grass needed mowing but we put him off, telling him that grass goes dormant in the winter and doesn't really grow and therefore doesn't really need mowing.
well, the kid filed that away and declared, "it's warm, now the grass is getting *really* long!" well, who could argue with our own roger cook ... when ya gotta mow, ya gotta mow.
daddy and jack also put in some park time ... with the lawnmower in tow. apparently the park needed mowing too.
after nap, it was time to hit the road ... or at least the trail. we had a lovely time on our family outing.
daddy and jack had a great time going under one of the bridges to skip stones.
and annie took it all in stride, in her usual manner ...
in addition to skipping stones, daddy pointed out a red-headed woodpecker ... watching him was a highlight of the outing for jack. annie, meanwhile, watched the insides of her eyelids ...
sunday brought equally nice weather, so jack, annie and mommy headed out again to the trail ... this time with nana (daddy wanted to stay home and clean the cat box and diaper pails ...)
jack, again, was eager to skip stones. and by skip, we mostly mean throw rocks as far as he can into the water and wait for the resultant splash. but that's fun too ... you can tell by the smile on his face ...
along the way jack also practiced his beam routine ...
(this is his best event)
(preparing for the dismount)
and while we didn't see any more woodpeckers (though we heard them), we did see two ducks -- a male and a female. jack wondered where the babies were and we decided they were back in the nest, waiting for the mommy and daddy to bring them food. and lest you wonder where our baby was ... you guessed it ... she was along for the ride and sawing logs instead of walking on them.
after nap, we hit the park for a little more outside time. that's where we ran into jack's good buddy brayden. brayden and his sister, portia, live around the corner from us and our nannies are good friends. so, despite the fact that we've only met his parents one other time, and only seen brayden and portia a handful of times, the kids are often at each others houses. it was nice to actually get to see this phantom brayden (and his parents) for a change. now we know he's not just jack's "george glass."
in fact, it's nice to see them playing together because they actually play together. while much of jack's play is still parallel with other children, they were playing cooperatively with brayden's trucks ... helping each other scoop up dirt and pushing it off to the dump.
when an older boy laid down his bicycle, jack (without hesitation) told him, "that's where our dump is. can you move your bike?" and ya know what? the kid *did*!
but, soon we wrapped up our time at the park to welcome our friends the winthrops over for dinner.
kay taylor and jack had a great time playing together and jack sweetly fed kay taylor french fries and cupcakes as they dined side-by-side.
after dinner they watched a little bit of cars ...
... and that's when kay taylor tried to put the moves on jack!
a kiss was actually exchanged at the end of the night and it was quite sweet ... though kay taylor's father declared that 10 years from now he is not going to look as kindly on their smooching!
and with that ... we smooched the weekend goodbye ... but what a weekend!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
cokie, annie; annie, cokie
in light of the beautiful weather in the washington area (did it seriously snow just 5 days ago??), our whole family hit the nearby hike-bike trail for a "nature walk" this afternoon.
more on the hike in a future post, but one quick highlight ...
as we set off, with annie in a stroller and the rest of us on foot, jack declared himself the "leader" and set off running ahead of us. we decreed that as long as we could see him, he could run ahead.
as we approached the first bridge, jack paused to wait for us to catch up. just then, two women walking their dogs came from the opposite direction. jack piped right up and said, "this is our baby sister! she sleeps a *lot*!"
the younger said, "oh wow, a new baby!" the older said, "you must be the big brother."
and just who was making such an astute observation?
veteran newswoman cokie roberts.
natch.
more on the hike in a future post, but one quick highlight ...
as we set off, with annie in a stroller and the rest of us on foot, jack declared himself the "leader" and set off running ahead of us. we decreed that as long as we could see him, he could run ahead.
as we approached the first bridge, jack paused to wait for us to catch up. just then, two women walking their dogs came from the opposite direction. jack piped right up and said, "this is our baby sister! she sleeps a *lot*!"
the younger said, "oh wow, a new baby!" the older said, "you must be the big brother."
and just who was making such an astute observation?
veteran newswoman cokie roberts.
natch.
Friday, March 6, 2009
penny ante
despite jack's father's socialist tendencies ... jack. loves. money.
or as he calls it ... his "monies."
he will empty the bank that "grandma grape" gave him and count the "monies" inside over and over again.
he will collect pennies that we give him, store them away in various hiding places, move them around, carry them in his pocket, and use them to buy goods and services around the house (paying mechanic mommy to fix his fire truck is a favorite, and she only charges "3 monies" ... wish all mechanics were so affordable!).
he even told a lady at sears that he was going home to get his monies so that he could return to purchase a vacuum cleaner that he was particularly keen on. but that's another post ...
but the other day, jack gave up some of his "monies" ... and for a worthy cause.
his nursery school was running a fundraising drive called "pennies for patients" which benefits the leukemia and lymphoma society. we didn't get into all that ... but jack did understand that the money was to help sick kids in the hospital. and he decided that he wanted to ante up.
so on tuesday, we gathered up all his pennies which he normally hordes around the house and put them into a little drawstring coin pouch. then he carefully put the pouch into his pocket and we headed off to school.
when we arrived, jack excitedly pulled out the pouch to put into the collection bucket and unhesitatingly dumped his 7 cents worth of treasure into the pot.
or as he calls it ... his "monies."
he will empty the bank that "grandma grape" gave him and count the "monies" inside over and over again.
he will collect pennies that we give him, store them away in various hiding places, move them around, carry them in his pocket, and use them to buy goods and services around the house (paying mechanic mommy to fix his fire truck is a favorite, and she only charges "3 monies" ... wish all mechanics were so affordable!).
he even told a lady at sears that he was going home to get his monies so that he could return to purchase a vacuum cleaner that he was particularly keen on. but that's another post ...
but the other day, jack gave up some of his "monies" ... and for a worthy cause.
his nursery school was running a fundraising drive called "pennies for patients" which benefits the leukemia and lymphoma society. we didn't get into all that ... but jack did understand that the money was to help sick kids in the hospital. and he decided that he wanted to ante up.
so on tuesday, we gathered up all his pennies which he normally hordes around the house and put them into a little drawstring coin pouch. then he carefully put the pouch into his pocket and we headed off to school.
when we arrived, jack excitedly pulled out the pouch to put into the collection bucket and unhesitatingly dumped his 7 cents worth of treasure into the pot.
a penny ante but come to think of it ... doesn't seem like penny ante stuff at all.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
pediatric update
just a quick debrief on annie's latest doctor's appointment.
we headed out monday morning for her one month check-up. it also happened to be the occasion of a winter storm that left us with about 4" on the ground. but annie, the intrepid girl that she is (think dora the explorer but with a baby mullet instead of a bowl cut) braved the elements and made it to her appointment ... and on time no less!
the doctor, once again, proclaimed her fantastic. she has gained 20 ounces since her last check 2 weeks ago ... now weighing in at 9 lbs 9.5 oz and measuring 21.5" and 37cm head. on the growth chart she is 50% in all three -- "perfectly proportioned body" doctor dana proclaimed. we call it a hat trick (hockey term ).
the pediatrician also warned us that she is at the peak of her fusiness between weeks 4 and 6 ... which is the next fortnight. given that we made it through 3 months of colicky jack, we think we'll manage her hour of crankiness in the late evening.
we headed out monday morning for her one month check-up. it also happened to be the occasion of a winter storm that left us with about 4" on the ground. but annie, the intrepid girl that she is (think dora the explorer but with a baby mullet instead of a bowl cut) braved the elements and made it to her appointment ... and on time no less!
the doctor, once again, proclaimed her fantastic. she has gained 20 ounces since her last check 2 weeks ago ... now weighing in at 9 lbs 9.5 oz and measuring 21.5" and 37cm head. on the growth chart she is 50% in all three -- "perfectly proportioned body" doctor dana proclaimed. we call it a hat trick (
the pediatrician also warned us that she is at the peak of her fusiness between weeks 4 and 6 ... which is the next fortnight. given that we made it through 3 months of colicky jack, we think we'll manage her hour of crankiness in the late evening.
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