Also...

Is it mean of me that, every time Maddox asks to read Frog and Toad go Swimming, I make him say "bathing suit" every time it comes up (about a hundred) only because he pronounces it "babe-ing suit"?

You can almost smell her from this picture

Chava figures out she's got a following

It's much harder to photograph the girlfriend now, because she's aware of what you're doing and wants to see herself on the camera even before you've snapped the picture.

Waaaay back when, Maddox had a Special Day

Last Wednesday was Maddox's Special Day at School. He got to bring a camera home a few days before and take pictures of his favorite things at his house. He took pictures of:
1. the pantry ("my snacks!")
2. his bookshelf
3. the tunnel
4. his new Owl book (LOVE Arnold Lobel)
5. the CD player (with the caption, "Dance Party time!")

He and Al made a book of all the pictures and Al and I accompanied him to school on Wednesday a.m. He got to wear a special necklace and the three of us got to sit in chairs while the rest of the kids sat on the floor for group time. Maddox did a great job of showing his book to all the kids and then they all got to ask questions. The the big finale - Maddox got to pick the order of kids who went to wash their hands before snack. It was all very awesome, and of course I didn't really get pictures because I was too busy sitting in my special chair, overcome with love.

I did manage to get this shot of the kids washing their hands.
















And here's Maddox having snack.










And a gratuitous picture of Maddox with a green tongue for St. Patty's day.

That baby smell

I find myself feeling sad a lot these days, worrying about Grandmum and the rest of us. So I've developed my own little therapeutic technique that involves sniffing Chava - the best two spots are behind her knees and in the fat rolls of her neck. Maddox smells like pee a lot of the time so he's not as good, although after a bath I try to get my fill of his head.

RoRo love

When the parents are away....

When I got home from work on Thursday, Chava was in a GREAT mood. She was clean and delightful smelling (a taller order than one might expect), she was having so much fun she didn't stop what she was doing to greet me, and she was full of smiles. What do we attribute this behavior to? Has she entered some new phase where it's all good? Nah. It's just that she got to spend the day with Aunt Catherine and Grumpaw and Nonna. We're hiring them full time.

I can say this because only my family reads this

My daughter is so beautiful she takes my breath away.

One of these days I'll update

We've had croup, a cold, the phlegm hacker cough, and now a daycare provider on vacation. I'm sure I'll get my mojo back shortly. But for now, here's a blast from the past (this was one year ago):














1. She's so cute!
2. She would not fit in there now.... not even one thigh.
3. She would not tolerate that confinement for a half-minute.