December 16, 2012

DPP 12/16: Calvin and Hobbes

Catching up on recent pictures. But here's the one for today.

Three cousins were entranced.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)

DPP 12/16: Calvin and Hobbes

Catching up on recent pictures. But here's the one for today.

Three cousins were entranced.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:04 PM | Comments (0)

December 6, 2012

DPP Day 6: Air hockey with Grandma

...in our 1970s style, fake wood paneled, brilliant red carpeted basement.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:05 PM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2011

DPP: December 4th

Last year lives on in our family annals as the Year of Elanor's Christmas Eyeballs. (Here's the story, for those of you who aren't familiar with it).

This year, I made sure that we had plenty of eyeballs on hand. And Elanor, continuing her eyeball kick, created a mutant gingerbread monstrosity.

I think we will call him Blinky.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2011

And now it is time for Princess Songs with Elanor and Silly Songs with Ian...

Backdrop: Elanor has a genre of songs that she makes up called "the princess songs." Imagine lines like this sung in a raspy, toddler contralto, "Belle lived in a CASTLE and she liked BOOOOOOKS!"

Elanor: Mama, I want to sing you a princess song. Which one do you want to hear?

Me: How about...Ariel?

Elanor: No. There's a bad shark in that one.

Me: Okay--what about Sleeping Beauty?

Elanor: No--there's a bad shark in Sleeping Beauty.

Me: In Sleeping Beauty?

Elanor: Yeah, in my Sleeping Beauty.

Me: What about Cinderella?

Elanor: There's a bad shark in Cinderella. Ohh, how about I sing you a new princess song. I'm going to sing you one about Rapunzel.

Me: Okay! Sing me the Rapunzel song.

Elanor: I can't sing you one about Rapunzel because I haven't "heared" it. No one has ever "heared" it. I could sing you the Silly Princess Alien song, but I don't want to. Ian, sing the Silly Princess Alien song.

Ian (to "Clementine"): String of nonsense syllables followed by "Oh my darling, Clement-alien."

Everyone: *giggles*

Elanor: Now sing the Silly Unicorn song.

Ian (to "Clementine"): Unicorn-in, unicorn-in, unicorn-in, unicooooorn....

Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:15 PM | Comments (1)

May 30, 2011

Marshmallow monologue

I like camping. 'Cuz we get marshmallows. And we get to eat them. But we don't just eat them. First we have to cook them.

We put them on a stick. And we turn them. And turn them. And turn them. And then they get brown!

But then they catch on fire. And we have to blow them out. Yeah. Because you can't eat fire. It's yucky! (My hair caught on fire once. I was holding a candle. And it burned my hair and my ear and it hurt. Yeah.)

Then we get to eat them!!!

--Elanor

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:44 PM | Comments (1)

February 17, 2011

Song request

Elanor: Sing the cherry song!
Tim and Jo: ??? What cherry song?
Elanor: You know, the cherry song!
Tim: Uhhh, no we don't. Why don't you sing it for us?
Elanor: YOU-KNOW-IT!! Cherry, cherry, quiet on a cherry.
Jo: You mean, "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary"?
Elanor: Yeah! The cherry song!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 7:47 PM | Comments (1)

January 8, 2011

Pap's Princess

Posted by Tim and Jo at 5:24 PM | Comments (1)

December 24, 2010

Pumpkin Postscript

The proud Princess of Pumpkin Preservation preens.

Perfect!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:52 AM | Comments (0)

December 23, 2010

12/23 DPP: Eyeballs!

So, a few weeks ago, Elanor started telling a strange narrative, one that took us awhile to figure out. The story goes something like this:

"Christmas is coming. But not yet. First, it has to snow. Then Santa* is going to come down and bring us presents. And my present is going to be under the tree. And it's going to be wrapped. And I'm going to pick it up and open it, and it's going to be EYEBALLS!"

The first couple of times she told it, I nearly fell over laughing, but I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. It was a stranger request even than the items on their birthday list. Finally we figured it out--it was because of the Picasso Pumpkins! Remember these? Eventually--despite their extra ones--they both lost most of their eyeballs. And Elanor has been worried about them. So, I stopped by Michael's the other day, and picked up a pack of eyeballs.

Tonight, we let the kids open some of their presents. Elanor tore open the paper, shrieked, did a happy dance, and held them aloft in delight before running to her pumpkins to glue them on.

*We've told them that Santa is a pretend game we play for fun, like the babies that live in their pockets. Yes, my children have babies that live in their pockets. If you're handed one of their babies, you should hug it, feed it, and kiss it, but for the love of Pete, don't eat it!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:34 PM | Comments (4)

December 19, 2010

12/19 DPP: Our Little Gingerbread Girl

Make that, our silly little gingerbread girl.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:41 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2010

Brought to you by the letter "P"

Princesses

Pumpkins

or Picasso's?

Ponies

(love Ian's perky, princely demeanor, didn't even want to hold my hand)

Pensive

Paint

Puppy

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:41 PM | Comments (1)

October 15, 2010

Mysteries of life

So, one of the best things about this stage--and the one that makes me feel like I'm in a constant state of surrealness--is our kids' budding imaginations.

They make up scenarios and games all day long. Their toys do the oddest things. And here are just a few little moments to give you a glimspe into our lives.

And you can wonder, along with us, "what does it all mean?!?"

The Game

We have no idea what this is. But it gets played on a daily basis. Tim and I are always grabbing the other one to come watch it, sneaking into the living room to watch it without disrupting it.

1. Ian takes their small couch and sets it up on a large couch, setting it up longways, almost like a podium, and stands behind it.
2. Elanor sits on her potty chair.
3. Ian shouts something--Tim thought it started with "Ladies and gentlemen!" last time.
4. Elanor whirls around the room, Ian pushes the couch off of the couch, and they nearly fall over in fits of giggles.

The sheepianist

Kermit in roller-skates

I love the nearly Napoleonic look of triumph on her face.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:39 AM | Comments (2)

April 6, 2010

Like daddy, like daughter

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:08 AM | Comments (5)

March 29, 2010

Elanor the Nihilist

Tim: We love our little Elanor, but when she gets crabby she ocassionally turns in GOTH GIRL. At these times she loves to dwell in negativity and answer "no" to everything we say.

It usually starts off quite innocently:

Daddy: Do you want some juice?
Elanor: No juice.
Daddy: Do you want some water?
Elanor: No water.
Daddy: Do you want some milk?
Elanor: No milk.

Now Mommy tries. Elanor stands firm in her ontological obliteration:

Mommy: We're going somewhere fun!
Elanor: No fun.
Mommy: We're getting some ice cream!
Elanor: No ice cream.
Mommy: We're getting you a toy!
Elanor: No toy.

Daddy then turns it into a game and eggs her on:

Daddy: Do you want some gobbledygook?
Elanor: No gobble-gook.
Daddy: Do you want some no?
Elanor: No no.
Daddy :Do you want some yes?
Elanor: No yes.

(Daddy laughs...)

Then I steer the conversation into metaphysical realms, for more fun:

Daddy: Do you believe in life?
Elanor: No life.
Daddy: Do you believe in existence?
Elanor: No existence.
Daddy: Do you believe in being?
Elanor: No being.
Daddy: Do you believe in nonbeing?
Elanor: No nonbeing.
Daddy: Ah ha! Got you! Your argument has a logical fallacy!

I usually stop there and mentally conjure up the sight of the universe consigned to oblivion by a two year old, thinking what a great cartoon or Monty Python-type sketch it might make....

Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:53 PM | Comments (3)

March 1, 2010

Little four eyes

Well, we finally got the new addition to our family--Elanor's glasses.

We suspected that she would need something for awhile, and took her to the opthamolagist a few weeks ago. He was incredibly gentle, and gave both kids ring pops as rewards for their good behavior. Which were soon nicknamed "candy ra-ra's [pacifiers]," and were requested multiple times a day for over a week. It totally blew their minds--not only did they have all the soothing powers of their favorite pacifiers, it gave them a shot of psychadelic, sugary sweetness on top.

The short story is, she's very far-sighted. But it's probably a kind that will resolve itself in a few years.

We were a little sad--I guess it's always hard to deal your children as they face the imperfections of this world--but Elanor's been adjusting really well. She's asked to take them off in a sad little voice many times tonight, but she's left them on when we've asked her to. We can already tell that she's focusing better on things, and her eyes aren't crossing like they had been, so hopefully, just being able to see things more clearly will help encourage her during this transition.

We've been trying to be really positive about it, talking about loved ones' glasses (daddy, grandma, grandpa--they all have glasses, and so will you!). And talked it up that they'd be her special purple glasses. She already calls them her "burble g'asses," so I think we're on the right track.

And I guess we were a little worried she wouldn't look quite like herself.

Here's her brainy pose...

..and here she just looks totally herself.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:27 PM | Comments (10)

January 25, 2010

"Watch dumb"

Joanna: Tonight the kids got to have daddy night while I went out and worked on a conference paper.

As a treat, Tim told them that they could watch a movie, and asked what they wanted to watch. The usual answers are

(a) "Tu-tu"=choo-choo=Thomas the Tank Engine (from Ian)

and

(b) "Bus" either without a qualifier or "Bus-moo" (two separate episodes of The Wheels on the Bus Goes Round and Round, the second--obviously--has a cow deeply involved in the intricate wheels-haha-of its plot) (Elanor's choice) (I'm trying to refrain from too much editorialization on this show as I think that the only thing that redeems this pap is the British accent, but Tim and the kids both love it, so I keep my cake-hole shut)

These two choices are usually fiercely and repetitively debated.

Tonight, these two choices were followed by a third suggestion.

(c) "Bob"=Bob the Tomato=Veggie Tales

And yet a fourth one--an oracular utterance by Elanor,

(d) "Watch dumb."

Of course, there are several items in their cinematic repertoire that we feel could fit this description (*cough* The Wheels on the Bus *cough*), but what was she referring to?

We inquired further, and the request was repeated. "Watch dumb."

Finally, she expanded on her request, "Watch dumb. Watch sheep. Watch camel. Watch donkey."

It was finally clear. She wanted to watch "The Little Dummer Boy."

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:07 PM | Comments (3)

January 12, 2010

Linguistic ambiguity resolved

For Elanor, the word "poo" has had three distinctive meanings.

1. A tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff.
2. A diaper.
3. That which occasionally occupied the former.

As you could probably guess, occasional difficulties resulted from such an ambiguous signifier.

Fortunately, she has resolved the issue through the use of qualifiers. Now we have:

1. "Pooh, Winnie da Pooh" (sort of like "Bond, James Bond").
2. "Poo" without a qualifier denotes a diaper.
3. "Elno's a 'tinky poo" designates an occupied diaper.

Welcome to Elno's World!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:32 AM | Comments (3)

November 16, 2009

Haiku for Elanor

My brave, bright daughter
Jumping lightly off the couch
Saying "Elno 'tong!"*

*"strong"

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:26 PM | Comments (1)

August 24, 2009

Yodelanor

Judge me by my size do you? Hmmm? Hmmm?

And well you should not.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2009

Mind the sweet

Posted by Tim and Jo at 2:41 PM | Comments (1)

July 21, 2009

A tale of woe

"Baby, baby!" Elanor cried in distress.

I ran over to find poor Baby in quite a predicament.

Extreme close-up.

But what brought Baby to such a loooooooowly state?

Maybe we'll never know....

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:50 PM | Comments (6)

July 12, 2009

Holding hands

Someone loves her brother...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 5:11 PM | Comments (2)

June 4, 2009

Ladybug Elanor

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:27 PM | Comments (0)

May 5, 2009

Little ponderer

Posted by Tim and Jo at 7:48 PM | Comments (1)

April 3, 2009

Elanor's Fish Face

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:06 PM | Comments (2)

March 12, 2009

Elanor & the dogs

A friend from church gave us two huge & furry puppies for the kids. Elanor adores them.

Here she is with both in her lap--double-trouble, twice as nice, and all those twin cliches we hear on a daily basis.

She's pointing out its "eye" and "no" (for her, they're both in the singular).

And this one gets me every time--I love the utter contentness of her eyes and smile.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2009

Caption, anyone?

This picture is cracking me up, but I can't think of a good title for it. Any ideas?

Posted by Tim and Jo at 6:47 PM | Comments (3)

February 8, 2009

My ragtime gal...

Hello my baby, hello my honey...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:45 PM | Comments (3)

January 16, 2009

She stands! she walks!

Tim: Slowly but surely, Elanor is getting more stable on her feet. Her preferred mode of transportation is still crawling but at certain times throughout the day she gets motivated and explores what bipedality has to offer her. Tonight she was practicing standing up and her battle with the forces of gravity was quite dramatic. When she was successful at her attempts, a hilariously cute expression on her face would appear that seemed to say "look at me! I can do it!"

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:04 PM | Comments (2)

December 19, 2008

It's official: we have two toddlers!

Elanor has now joined the ranks of bipedal locomotors.

Yayyyyyyy, Elanor!!!!!

Pics to follow.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:34 PM | Comments (2)

December 15, 2008

A Stroll Down Memory Lane (with Mary Jane)

Tim: Elanor, she of the small feet, has outgrown her fabulous and fabled Mary Jane socks. Her Bigfoot Brother seems to outgrow his socks very quickly but we have gotten a lot of mileage out of Elanor's Mary Janes. So before they disappear, I would fain make it plain how much we adored Mary Jane (apologies for that refrain, which was a bit lame).

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:35 PM | Comments (1)

December 11, 2008

December Photo Project #6: Fun with a Friend

The kids loved visiting their "Aunt" Rachel, and can't wait until they have a new playmate!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2008

Elanor is verbal!

So, they've been saying mama and dad for awhile, very adorable.

But now Elanor seems to be really getting words.

Yesterday, I read to her a book about colors, "yellow duck. yellow banana. yellow hat. yellow...," well, you get the idea.

She then picked up the book and said, "Yayo." A couple of times. It was the orange page. But still!

And she says, "yay!" quite deliberately. The other day, a show we were watching had people saying "yay!" and she said "yay!" and clapped along with it. Tonight, Tim was playing with her and her Raggedy Ann doll. She now claps the doll's hands while saying "yayyy!"

Yayyyy, Elanor!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2008

What we found in the pumpkin patch...

ETA: This evening, neighbors on both sides of our house showered the kids with Tootsie-Roll Pops. You already know they love 'em. So I added some sticky goodness to the slide show. Elanor got all sugared up, she was almost bouncing off the couch after sucking on hers.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:24 PM | Comments (2)

October 16, 2008

More!

This was the first time Elanor--and eventually Ian (as you'll see in the video) used sign language. It was about a month ago. They asked for "more" Cheerios. Elanor kept asking until both her little fists were filled up with Cheerios--and she still kept asking.

It was amazing to see them control their environment through language. I could see that they got the idea of language, communication, and expressing their wants and needs. All in a little hand gesture. Now they use "more" all the time.

They can also sign "please." In fact, Ian and I had our first argument the other day. He wanted to play with the shiny DVDs. Mommy said "no," he signed "please," and we went back and forth for awhile before I redirected him.

I need to get up the gumption to teach them some more signs, because it really has reduced stress at feedings, and given them the ability to let us know what they want.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:44 PM | Comments (4)

October 14, 2008

Elanor tickles the ivories

Elanor's "magic finger" is quite cute these days. Ian specializes, of course, in tone clusters on the piano, whereas Elanor gently depresses one key at a time, while looking at one or the other of us for approval.

She's developed some really cute little idiosyncracies lately. She plays peek-a-boo with us by covering the side of her head with her hand. Even though she's looking right at us the whole time, she seems convinced that we can't see her.

She also gives kisses. Loud, resonant, wet kisses.

*MMMMMMMMMWWWWAHH!!!!!!!!!*

There. You've been Elanor-kissed. Hope it brightens your day!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:09 PM | Comments (0)

October 8, 2008

V-blog: The difference between girls and boys

or "The one-finger 'gentle touch' vs. the full body tackle"

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:50 PM | Comments (1)

September 24, 2008

History of a conflict

A stuffy nose.
Snot-sucker of terror utilized.
Rage.

The Sticky Cheerio of Reconciliation proffered.
Accepted.
Tranquility.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:18 PM | Comments (3)

September 15, 2008

There and back again

Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:46 PM | Comments (3)

September 5, 2008

Open wide!

Our darling daughter has delusions of dentistry.

Hold on. Let me check that back right molar. Hmmmm........

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)

August 20, 2008

And now the moment we've all been waiting for...

Elanor crawls.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:31 AM | Comments (3)

August 16, 2008

A first

Elanor popped out her first tooth last night.

That explains a lot of night-time crankies lately.

I don't think this is going to be the funnest first for her. Or us.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2008

A connoisseur

Elanor (musingly): Hmm..."Music Fun With Tigger." It appears to be a little more weighty than "Shapes With Roo." And certainly less cloying than "Feelings with Kanga."

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

August 9, 2008

potty humor

Thanks to a far spreading accident, Elanor added a whole new dimension to her Winnie the Pooh book.

Ummm, yeah, that was fun to clean up.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:17 PM | Comments (0)

July 29, 2008

Tonight...

...Elanor learned to clap.

One moment she couldn't clap, the next moment she could. And she's continued it sporadically all night long.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:23 PM | Comments (1)

July 11, 2008

Elanor grasps the concept of book

For awhile, she's been trying to turn pages as we've read to her. I set her down with Brown Bear, Brown Bear and left her alone.

She sat turning the pages for several minutes.

It's so amazing to see these ideas appear for the first times. She has grasped the whole idea of book. Not just the single object that sits in her hands, but that there are other objects symbolized by the same idea (Book), and the concept that you do the same things with these other objects, whether mommy or daddy holds them or she holds them.

If I were a philosopher, I'd know the words to explain this. Or if I could pull back all of the fuzz from my brain that's accumulated from late nights, early mornings, and plenty of spit-up. But it's still fun to sit back and watch it happen.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:07 PM | Comments (1)

July 9, 2008

Raising Daughters

Sometimes, looking ahead across the long years of how difficult a girl's childhood and adolescence can be, it terrifies me to have a daughter. I know boys have troubles, too, but girls still just seem so complicated.

Here is a lovely post that really encouraged me.

Thankfully many of these challenges are still a long way off.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:21 AM | Comments (2)

July 8, 2008

Mouth Strumming

This has been a source of endless amusement lately--for us and them. Enjoy!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:00 PM | Comments (1)

July 5, 2008

More 4th Fun!

Elanor wore a festive bow (her first).

Ian found his favorite perch--an uncle's head!

Their cousin gave them dolls. Actually, these three look like little dolls all in a row.

Ian loved his boy dolly.

Maybe later I'll post some outtakes!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 8:24 PM | Comments (1)

July 4, 2008

Ian n Elanor sez

Posted by Tim and Jo at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)

June 27, 2008

Babies laugh

In case the sound of laughter might brighten up someone's day...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)

The Pacifier Swap

Remember this?

The pacifier games get more elaborate as time goes on. Sometimes we can't even keep track of whose is whose.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2008

Cousins!

Recently, our kids got to meet their cousin Andrew and their dear aunt.

Ian loved snuggles with his Aunty.

The kids had lots of play time with their cousin. They played together on the floor. In the pool. On grandpa's lap. And so on.

This one pacifier got passed around to all three kids.

Spit-cousins instead of blood-brothers?

Posted by Tim and Jo at 7:03 PM | Comments (1)

Saturday in the park

Yesterday, we took the kids to a little local park.

Among our recent realizations as parents is that many of our activities are going to revolve around our kids' activities from now on. I know, pretty obvious. But going to the park and watching the geese hasn't been on our top to-do-list in the recent past. But now, it's one of the fun perks of parenting. Anyways.

While we were at the park, we took the inevitable two-in-one-swing pictures. A twin forum Joanna is on had a whole series of these pictures awhile ago, and we're just now catching up. Enjoy!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 6:55 PM | Comments (0)

7 months

The kiddos have made some huge developmental jumps lately.

Elanor loves sitting up. She can sit up for 15 minutes at a time at this point. If she falls backwards, she's fine. But if she topples forward, she gets stuck and cries for help. She's also started rolling all the way over, though she still does what we've named her "yo-yo-roll," in which she rolls three-quarters of the way over, grabs whatever toy she wanted, and unrolls herself back to the original position.

Not only does he still roll all over the place, Ian crawls. He crawls mostly with one hand, so he looks like a man dying of thirst in the desert inching his way towards the oasis.

Ian likes exploring the broad landscape of our living room. Elanor likes grabbing one toy and studying its minutest detail. Ian is never still. Elanor doesn't mind sitting and chatting, or playing quietly.

Ian got to sit in the big boy seat of the shopping cart for the first time this past week, grinning almost the whole time. He looked like a midshipman manning his mast, keeping a lookout for specials of the week as we cruised down the aisles.

They both talk up a storm. Once we figure out our new computer, we'll post a video of their favorite oral past-time: humming while we strum their mouths. Elanor will even strum her own mouth, using her entire arm to do it. Their other favorite thing to say is "dadadadadadada...," which causes Tim no small amount of satisfaction. Joanna, on the other hand, secretly squishes together their lips to teach them how to say "mamamamamama..."

We've also realized that we've stepped into a whole new world of parenting with two fully mobile babies, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 6:50 PM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2008

So sleepy!

We're going to update on the Pittsburgh trip and the kids' milestones.

As soon as we can get them back into a routine that doesn't involve us staying up until the wee hours of the night. And the kids deciding that naptimes are no longer necessary. And the kids feeling like they need attention from at least half a dozen people at a time, all.the.time. Which isn't going to stop anytime soon because we're about to leave on our family camping trip, which will mean more spoiling by adoring aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

*sigh* Our nice little routine has been temporarily suspended. Which is totally worth it to spend time with friends and family, but still...

After fighting her morning nap until nearly the afternoon, Elanor finally caved in. No pacifier. No swaddling. No music.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:50 AM | Comments (1)

April 26, 2008

E & B

Yep, it's one of those pesky bees again.

This is what happens when A Little Someone decides to rock-around-the-clock the night before...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:44 PM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2008

rasslin'

I heard an angry cry from Elanor and rushed into the living room to find this.

It's WWF baby style! Ian the Enforcer is hulking up with his no holds barred approach. Will Elanor the Baby Faced Diva pull a two-and-a-half count or is she busted open? Is this flat back bump the end of her wrestling career, or will she come back with a flair flip? Stay tuned next time...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2008

Look ma, no feet!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 2:35 PM | Comments (1)

April 7, 2008

New skill

Elanor now knows how to unfasten her diaper.

Pretty cute trick.

Except when I went to refasten it, I found she had deposited a present in there.

A few more moments and the Pretty Cute Trick would have become a Massive Diaper Disaster.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:26 AM | Comments (0)

April 2, 2008

Overalls: Not Just for Rednecks Anymore

or "How I Convinced Tim that Overalls Are Cool"

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:28 PM | Comments (1)

March 22, 2008

Elanor laughs!

Our first video-blog, thanks to Grace!

Posted by Tim and Jo at 5:57 PM | Comments (1)

March 5, 2008

The Elanor Dance

Posted by Tim and Jo at 4:29 PM | Comments (1)

February 20, 2008

Ian & Elanor Celebrate

Ian: Why do they have us dressed up in our adorably coordinating duds?
Elanor: I think it's for our third month anniversary.

Ian: I'll toast to that [with non-alcoholic milk]!
Elanor: And I'll second the motion!!

Later on...

Elanor: Woohoo!!

Elanor: Yeah, baby!!
Ian: Are you sure there wasn't anything in that "milk" they gave you?

Ian: Put that arm down. This is embarassing both of us.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:09 PM | Comments (2)

February 11, 2008

Poll: Who does Elanor look like?

Posted by Tim and Jo at 3:04 PM | Comments (2)

Accessorizing

Uh-oh, she's starting early!

And she knows exactly which finger her daddy is wrapped around...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)

February 6, 2008

Mirror, mirror on the couch

Joanna: The babies are at a really fun stage. They're smiling, and cooing like they're trying to have talk-time with us. They've just discovered themselves in the mirror, too. It's hilarious--Elanor tries to talk with herself, and after awhile, she starts to whine to herself in the mirror, like she's telling that girl all her worries. Many times, she'll reach out to touch the girl in the mirror, knock it over, and start to cry like she lost her best friend.

Actually, this afternoon the two of them seemed to be working on their first fight. I gave Elanor the mirror during the morning play time, and gave it to Ian for the afternoon play time. Elanor whined most of the way through the play time, until I arranged the mirror so they both could see it. Then I wrapped her up for nap time, letting Ian have the mirror to himself. As soon as I picked him up, he screamed his mad scream, one that he reserves for special occasions. They both were fussy until finally I tied the mirror to the swing so they both could look at it. They stared into it quietly until they finally drifted off.

Tim: We took the twins to their doctor a couple days ago for their first round of shots. They were all jolly and gay until the time came for the nasty needles. They were crabby and sleepy during the afternoon but by evening they were back to being themselves. They both have become a lot more responsive in the past week. Ian will smile, laugh and coo back us when we talk to him. Elanor isn't quite as loquacious as him but she smiles and crinkles up her nose, which is really cute.

Posted by Tim and Jo at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

January 24, 2008

Elanor's first smiles

We love her hippy-trippy psychadelic mushroom outfit...

Posted by Tim and Jo at 9:57 PM | Comments (0)