weekend update

ahoy! it's our return to the blog ... and to our old stand-by, the "weekend update."

we are done (for now) with mommy's globe-trotting (and daddy's correspondingly hanging on by a thread) and we're back -- better than ever and with new news. well, actually, we're probably a shadow of our former selves. that was just hype. but the new news is, in fact, true.

while we've been away annie continues to grow and change in her own zen-like way.

this weekend we did a trial run to church for her baptism next week. she was a little scared at the first chords from the organ, but then relaxed and settled in. she stayed awake for the entire service, but did seem to be drifting off during the sermon. just like her daddy ...

jack spent the first half of the service in the nursery and came back to the sanctuary just in time for communion. he was very good, whispering and sitting still.

of course it will all be different on "game day" ... but at least we have a hope of decorum next week!

while the kids were all dressed up, we took a few pictures:

you'll see from the photos that annie is sitting up in her bumbo seat quite well and enjoys the vantage point that being upright affords. she is also working on sitting up by herself ... she can come to a seated position when pulling on someone's fingers or even unassisted when on a slight incline (as when her head is on a lap and her bottom is on the couch). in the case of the latter she soon tips over to the side, so we'll work on that!

she has also been working on rolling over, as seen in this video:

and, sunday afternoon at jen & rj's crab feast, she actually made it all the way over for the first time. of course her arm got stuck under her and she couldn't figure out how to roll back so she had a face full of blanket, but she's learning.

she's doing a great job sleeping -- both saturday and sunday nights had only one wakeup for a brief feeding, at 5 a.m. and 4 a.m., respectively. she goes down easily around 7:30 p.m. and is up to start the day around 8:30 a.m.

jack also had a great weekend -- being a fun and cooperative boy. saturday he enjoyed a trip to the barbershop for a haircut ahead of the baptism (see the above photos) and also liked a trip to the shoe store for some new summer shoes.

daddy is "enjoying" a day home with both kids while mommy is at work. not exactly a holiday, but at this point he's an old pro at the single dad thing.

so, that's the weekend update. we'll try not to be such blog strangers ...

sea world

the few times that jack has previously been down to visit the “grands” in florida, we have not ventured too far from home … a visit to the park was about as far-flung as we got. and with reason … on the previous visits jack was just a little guy …

but this visit we had a big boy on our hands and, as such, we decided it was time to take him for a special “big boy” outing (his 2 month old sister, notwithstanding).

it was time …

for sea world!

jack has been seeing ads for sea world before his oft-watched on-demand episodes of fireman sam so he was fully prepared for seeing orcas, dolphins and penguins.

what he was not fully prepared for was seeing them at a venue as large as sea world. he has never been anywhere so big, and was slightly overwhelmed when we first arrived.

when the shell-shock started to wear off, jack had a great time. he proclaimed shamu the orca his favorite thing, but also enjoyed a sea lion and sea otter show (he still talks about how “that crazy sea otter stole the map” during the pirate-themed adventure), the polar bear whose name he will eagerly tell you is “johnny,” and the many species of penguins.

he even enjoyed some of the rides. we were leery at first … despite his otherwise daredevil nature, jack sometimes gets scared with rides but once he’d hopped on the first one and couldn’t get enough.

in the end … he did get enough. he fell asleep in the stroller we brought for annie (which she had abandoned in favor of being carried in a sling) as we rolled him to see the dolphins. he struggled through the fog of sleep to open his eyes and see them and, having touched that base, promptly laid back down to his nap.

it was time to go, but we look forward to returning to sea world again!

grandpa's pool

one of the big highlights for jack of our stay in florida was “grandpa’s pool.” jack had a blast jumping in from the side over and over (and over) again.

and while he did spend some of his time drinking grandpa’s pool … he actually did pretty well in the water, managing to kick his legs … the very beginnings of some real swimming.

easter in may

so easter has come and gone … there’s only the stub of a chocolate bunny foot to remember it by.

well, that and a few pix of easter fun in florida …

enjoy these … ‘cause that bunny ain’t gonna last much longer!

simpler times redux

weeks ago … before crashing trees and holey roofs, and working, traveling mommies … it was a simpler time and we were enjoying a trip to sunny florida to visit grandma and grandpa.

we were also lucky enough to catch up with cousins brady & parker, aunt amy and uncle bill.

a week of sun, fun, relaxation and plenty of snuggles … guess *that’s* why they call it the “sunshine state.”

when can we go back??