Costumes!

The Costume Trunk was a big hit at Christmas... here are a few more pictures:

"Emeril says 'Bam!'"

















"King Aidan"


















"King Grampa" helps Aidan to put together a new puzzle

Yee-Haw!

For Christmas, Santa brought Aidan a really great 'Dress-Up trunk' full of all kinds of great costumes he and his brother can put on and wear around the house.

Aidan's favorite movie lately has been Toy Story 1 & 2, so when he spotted the Cowboy costume in his new trunk, he instantly decided to be Woody... and his horse, just like Woody's, is named Bulls-Eye!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Aidan and Bryce left out cookies and milk for Santa tonight before heading to bed...
Aidan had done this before, so he got it a little better than Bryce who seemed a bit confused that we were setting food otu on the table when it was NOT dinner time (notice he climbed up into his high chair thinking he'd be next to receive some cookies)...

"Hellooooo Santa!"

Through the wonders of the internet, we've been tracking Santa this morning, thanks to the good people at NORAD. According to their website, Santa is currently flying over Indonesia!

Aidan and Bryce are waving at the screen and Aidan's saying "Helloooo Santa!"

Sylvie, you're not a present!

This morning, Christmas Eve morning, Aidan came out of his room and, as he does every morning in the month of December, goes into the Living Room to check on our tree.
This morning, he found Sylvie, the cat, lying under the tree..
and he exclaimed "Sylvie, what are you doing under the tree? You're not a present!
[this picture is actually from Christmas 2002-- NOT a photo of the actual event-- but does prove that Sylvie has spent some time under a few Christmas Trees in her day]

"All I want for Christmas..."

Aidan and Bryce met Santa Claus at school this week... and Aidan very clearly told Santa what he wants for Christmas:


1) a train that moves by itself
and
2) a whole bunch of Wedgits

(Note to the family, we've got these requests covered-- don't take these as marching orders :) )

Potty Humor

Well, put this one in the "Wow, I wasn't expecting that today" File..

Bryce cried until his mother put him up on the potty and then, like as if he'd been doing it for ages, he went.

I know many, if not all of you, will be happy to know that I don't intend to post any photographic evidence of the event in this space.

And for those of you scoring at home, that's #2 doing a #1 in the top of his 20th month.

Jingle Bell Rock

Yesterday was the Christmas program at the little YMCA Pre-school that Aidan and Bryce go to. Aidan got a little stage fright when he got up there and saw all the collected audience... but then, as you can see from this picture, he got a little more comfortable when he saw his Mama come up to the front row to be near him...



And when I'm talking about the audience, take a look at this... notice the veritable wall of photo- and videographic equipment. Have you seen a more intimidating display? Looking at this, I can understand Aidan getting a little weepy at the sight of it!

Looking a lot like Christmas...

We decorated trees at our house and at Gramma and Grampa's this weekend..










and the boys both really got into the spirit of it!

.Mac site is updated

Go here for some new pictures from our trip to Knoxville and Asheville.
In Asheville, since so many in our group had still cameras, I mostly used the video camera.. so I'll be clipping something together from that in the next couple of weeks, I hope.
But until then, I'm hoping the family will send me all their pictures so I can compile them and post them for all to see... (Hey Brian, I'm talking to you!) :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Got back this weekend from the family trip to Asheville.. and what a great time the boys had!
Here's a quick picture we took of them outside the Biltmore House on Thanksgiving Day.

Greetings from Asheville

test post from Asheville using cousin Brian's Powerbook..

Okay, one more...

By popular demand, okay here's one more shot from the Squash Roll making extravaganza here earlier this week.

We're all heading out tomorrow for a family get together over Thanksgiving, so this blog will be quiet for the next week or so... but we'll have lots of pictures and lots of funny stories when we get back, I'm sure!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Baking with Gramma

The boys helped Gramma with a little family tradition around Holiday time.. baking squash rolls!

Up on blocks...

Having to put the iMac up on blocks for a few days while the good people at the Apple Store here in Nashville fix a couple of issues with the power supply and logic board... so I won't be posting any new pictures for a few days.

I'll Drink to that!

The boys and I ate some pizza earlier this evening.
After taking his first bite, Aidan noted that the sauce was spicy.
"spicy" has been a big thing with him lately. He says tomato sauce is spicy.
Green peppers are spicy. Grapes... well, no.. okay, he's never tried to say that grapes are spicy.

So after noticing that the pizza was spicy, Aidan looked at me and said, "Daddy, you should drink your beer. This pizza's spicy!"

Happy Halloween!

I'm adding some trick-or-treating photos to the .Mac site...

Updating the .Mac site

I'm updating the .Mac site with some pictures.. should be up and running by the time you're reading this.

Send me an email if you need the password.

El Conductor!

Aidan propped the framed photo on top of his climbing gym, took the handle from one of his toy golf clubs, climbed onto the platform of the gym.....
..and commenced to conduct his imaginary symphony while humming Dvorak (Baby Einstein's influence is going a little far, I think!)

The Dentist!

Today, the boys each had their first ever visit to the Dentist!
Aidan's teeth are in perfect shape. But the really surprising thing is how well Aidan did with letting them clean and polish his teeth! Mama says he was very chatty with the hygienist and was more than happy to open-wide and let her take care of his teeth. And he was really charmed with the Goodie Bag they gave him when he was all done.
Bryce was a little less cooperative, but still did fine. They just checked his bite and made sure his teeth all looked good.
And speaking of all his teeth, the dentist was amazed to find that Bryce already has 16! I don't think they believed it until they saw it with their own eyes!

Oh, and...

Also.. today was Picture day at school... and the report is that both boys did a great job having their picture taken together... which is another great relief, after one of our last experiences trying to get the boys to have a picture made together..

Bryce's Full Day

Those of you who haven't been tracking Bryce's gradual 'settling' into a pre-school routine may not find this news very exciting... but I did want to let the word get out that Bryce spent a full day at school today.. for the first time since his very first day (when he had no idea what was happening).


For the last several weeks, Bryce has been going to school for his twice-weekly class.. but since that first day, he was raising such a fuss that the teacher was having to call Mama and have her come pick him up after just the first two hours. This routine has shown small signs of improvement over the last month or so, as Bryce has slowly become less and less HYSTERICAL during those two hours, but...
1) he steadfastly refused to lay down during nap-time
and
2) he rarely if ever participated in activities his classmates were doing...

...until today!

Last week, and again on Monday, we got a good report-- that Bryce was doing better during the day.. and rather than coming straight over at 11:00 to pick him up, Mama had started calling over to the school to see if perhaps she could extend the time a little before coming to get him. On Monday, he did pretty well, but if memory serves Mama still wound up getting him sometime around noon.

But today, when she called the school, they said that he was doing great! And he napped! And when he woke up from his nap, did he begin screaming hysterically-- as he often does when roused from a nap at home?-- No! He played!! A 100% turnaround! Until Mama picked both boys up at the normal time, 2:00.

Our boy does have a scholastic future!
What a relief.

Boobah!

Aidan spent his pre-bath wind-down time tonight watching a tape of a very very strange little show called Boobah. Seriously. This show makes Teletubbies look like Masterpiece Theater.

Anyway, I overheard him make this remark to his Aunt Laura, who was sitting watching the show with him:

Aidan: "Mama taped this."
Laura: "She did?"
Aidan: "Yeah. She's a great taper!"

The Real Halloween Costumes

A dry run with the real Halloween Costumes...
Aidan as 'Bob the Builder'
Bryce as a Lion

I'll be a scary bag!

It is well-known that Aidan will be going trick-or- treating this year as Bob the Builder...
but this afternoon, he was experimenting with an alternative costume:

Aidan: "Hey Dad, I'm a bag!"
Yours truly: "Oooh, a bag!"
Aidan: "Yeah, I'm a scary bag! Roooooaaaarr!"

Ups

"Daddy, the balloons have lost their ups."

--Aidan, this morning, on discovering that most of the balloons from yesterday's birthday celebration were floating at 'half-mast'.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Let's go to the Pumpkin Patch!

Oh, this was a day Aidan's been waiting for since the first whispers of summer's end-- time to go to the PUMPKIN PATCH!

(we just got back, and man are we whipped!)

I took the day off and came along for the ride with Mama, Bryce, Aidan, and the rest of Aidan's pre-school class.


We spent the first part of the day at Crockett Park. Aidan had a great time running all over the park, swinging on swings, and sliding down every slide in the place.

Then we had lunch and headed over to Walden Farm. The Waldens grow 10 acres of pumpkins, but they've got all kinds of farm-related things for kids to do... So we went on a hay-ride around the farm, petted some sheep, Aidan got bit by a turkey (just a nip on the finger-- nothing for Gramma to worry about!), fed some corn to a few goats, walked through a corn-maze....
and then, finally, the main event...
Aidan and Bryce each got to pick out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch...

All in all, a FULL day, to say the least. Bryce is napping now even as I write this.. and Aidan is well on his way to an early bed-time.

In case you were wondering...

Aidan's latest alter-ego is "Leo", from the truly excellent new kids show, "Little Einsteins" on the Disney Channel.

So if you hear Aidan say "I'm Leo," now you know who he's talking about.

Infirmary Report 2

Well, now the boys are well-- Bryce had ear infections in both ears, but he's now several doses into his antibiotic and doing fine-- but Mama and I have both been through the ringer with this thing. She came down with it over the weekend, but by Monday she was feeling much better. Then I started to come down with it on Tuesday afternoon and have been battling this crud-- whatever it really is-- for the last two days...

Hence the lack of posts the last week or so...

This weekend promises to be big, though.
All four of us are going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow-- this is Aidan's annual class trip.
Here's a picture from last year's trip-- really puts me in the mood for Fall!

Then on Saturday, we're celebrating the birthday of Aidan's friend Keaton at Chuck E. Cheese. This information is still highly classified. If word gets out, then Aidan will surely spend the next couple of days and nights standing outside the car, asking if it's time to go yet.

Sunday brings Mama's birthday celebration. How old will she be? Talk about confidential information!

Quick Update

Aidan is well on the way to recovery today.. he went to school and all that remains of the crud he came down with over the weekend is a lingering cough.

Bryce, on the other hand, is just now becoming symptomatic. Just when we thought we were out of the woods. A little fever this morning and some congestion, so Mama decided to hold him out of school this morning..

The Infirmary Report

Aidan stayed home from school today. On Saturday night he struck a temperature and didn't sleep very well at all. He seemed to be feeling better yesterday, with the help of a dose of Children's Motrin. But then, last night, the fever returned.

So he's been moping around the house today-- he hates to miss school. But Mama reports that the fever hasn't returned yet today and Aidan is, at this moment, snoozing on the couch, catching up on a little of the sleep he missed over the weekend.

The Were-Rabbit!

Aidan went to his first movie in the theater today! We took him to see "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit".

We were a little worried that Aidan wouldn't like the theater. Memories of last October when we took him to see The Wiggles live in concert ran through our minds. That concert last year wasn't such a bad time-- it's just that Aidan spent the entire concert with his fingers firmly planted in his ears. When we asked him afterwards if he had a good time, he gave a noncommital "Yes," but then qualified it with "but it was very loud!"

Knowing how movie theaters are these days (teenagers for 'sound engineers,' apparently, who meditatively recite the old Kiss mantra "If it's too loud, you're too old"), we anticipated a similar outcome. When we got into the theater, the previews were running and Aidan stuck his fingers in his ears and things didn't look good.

But once the main feature came on and Aidan heard that familiar "Wallace & Gromit" theme music, he settled right into his seat.

He did a lot of asking "What just happened?".. I think the action moved a little quickly for him in spots.. but overall, I think he loved it.

His review: when the credits rolled and the lights came up, he looked at me and said "Well, that was a fun movie!"

His favorite part was where Wallace... well, we wouldn't want to give away too much of the plot.

Happy Birthday, Grampa!

We celebrated Grampa's birthday today.

Gramma, Grampa, and Aunt Patty came to our house. Then we all headed out to Buca di Beppo.

Aidan enjoyed crawling around under the table and going from his seat between Patty and Mama to squeeze in between Gramma and Grampa across the table.

Grampa and Aidan sang a German drinking song..




and Aidan learned to toast with his sippie cup.













Then we all came back to our house for carrot cake and presents.

Happy Birthday, Grampa!

"You are my sunshine..."

Aidan likes music (even if he doesn't like for his parents to sing). We've talked about this before. But what was unexpected what Aidan's penchant for improvisation...

At school today, I guess they must have been singing "You are my sunshine..."
So while he was getting ready for bed, Aidan was singing to himself:
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."

And Mama and I looked at each other with that "This is soooo cute; this just makes it all worth it; maybe it wasn't so crazy having kids afterall" look.

Then he kind of hummed the next few bars as he climbed up onto his bed.. and again Mama and I looked at each other and had to squelch a little laugh at how cute this is...

And then we heard it...

"Please don't taaaake, my cheese and grapes awaaaaay."

What was that?

He repeated it...
"Please don't taaaake, my grapes and cheese awaaaaay."

Mmmmmmm....

On a hot day, there's nothing better than a melty ice cream cone...
















... though bumps in the road can pose an unforeseen hazard.

Grilled Cheese, perchance?

It's dinner time, and Aidan is playing chase with Aunt Laura.

Daddy: "Hey Aidan, you want a grilled cheese sandwich?"
[Yes, yes, I know. nutrition nazis, please withold your comments]
Aidan: "Yes."
Daddy: "Good. Okay..."
Aidan: "Yes. But first it needs to cook. So I'll chase Laura while you cook it, okay?"

School Starts

Aidan and Bryce started school today.
Aidan, of course, is an old pro at this.

Bryce, though, for whom this is relatively new, was cool as a cucumber about it. When we dropped him off, he happily plunked himself down in front of his favorite toy (one he'd seen briefly and played with when we visited last week at the Open House) and didn't take a look back when we went to leave.

When we picked them up, the teachers reported that Bryce was a little "teary" in the latter half of the day-- but he didn't take a nap, either, so that probably had something to do with it.

Aidan continues his M-W-F schedule on Friday-- Bryce returns to school next Monday for his M-W schedule. We both hope Bryce starts taking advantage of naptime soon. :)

J'accuse!

Bryce is big on pointing at things these days.
He wants to go in the kitchen, he points toward the kitchen.
He wants you to follow him into Aidan's room, he walks down the hall, turns, looks at you, and points toward Aidan's door.
He wants a cereal bar on the second shelf of the cabinet in the kitchen, he stands under the cabinet, points in that general direction, and grunts.

Well, it's not really a grunt. It sounds more just like he's blowing air through his sinuses somehow.

Who needs sign language, right? When you've got a chest full of air and a functioning index (and expressive) index finger?

So yesterday morning, Bryce wakes up in a kind of fussy mood. I try to pat him to put his head back down.. try to snuggle him... Sometimes this works and he sleeps another 90 minutes (and as you may know, those 90 minutes are gold!).

But when it doesn't work, the attempts at getting him to sleep only agitate him more.. and he kicks his feet more violently.. throws his head back and cries and howls with such ferocity, you might be led to think I was pouring sulphuric acid on his palms...

That's along the lines of what I got from him yesterday morning at about 7:03am.
(I feel foolish complaining, really. If this were his brother, this would have been playing out at 5:45...)

Speaking of his brother, from the kitchen, I hear Aidan ask his mother "What's wrong with Mr. Duck?" (remember those names? You thought he'd forgotten them by now? Oh how wrong you are!) "I'm going to go find out!"

So here comes the thundering herd of Aidan's feet down the hallway and he vaults himself up into bed and leans across my chest. Bryce is now sitting bolt upright, watching Aidan's entrance.

Aidan asks "What's wrong, Mr. Duck?"

And Bryce looks innocently back at Aidan from behind his big red pacifier.
Then points that accusing index finger squarely at me and grunts... twice. I guess the second one was for emphasis.

Gramma better hold her breath..

Bryce spent some time yesterday practicing climbing the stairs...
And he's getting good enough at it now that I was able to take some pictures.

Even MORE good news!

Word from the coast is that everyone's houses survived!
Some damage, of course, but even Grandma's house in Long Beach-- in an area that the reporters down there indicated was totally destroyed-- is still standing.
Amazing!

Still standing

If you can believe it, Ruth and Jackie's house is still standing.
Amazingly, they were on the opposite side of one of the levees that gave way.
As Ruth's brother David put it, "they were spared."

They went to a local hotel (I think) to weather the storm, afraid that their little trailer would be turned over in the winds. But it wasn't. And it isn't flooded either.
Unbelievable when you look at where they are on the map of New Orleans...

So now, they have a bathtub full of water and canned goods.. but not much else.
No word yet on whether they'll be required to evacuate. Not sure if Metairie is under the same orders as the residents of downtown New Orleans.

Good News!

Just a moment ago, the phone rang with news that Ruth and Jackie, Amanda's cousins down in Metairie are ALIVE!
Amanda's still on the phone, so more details will be forthcoming!

Must-read

For a must-read account of how it all happened down there, take a look at this blog called Eye of the Storm.

It's amazing stuff.

Two local news reporters down on the MS coast, hunkered down with some beef jerky and beer-- they start out cracking jokes and having fun... and now they're giving some of the best reports of damage, with pictures, neighborhood by neighborhood, that we've read anywhere...

Update on our Family in Mississippi...

Since we've been getting a lot of emails from all over asking about Amanda's family, let me take a quick minute to give an update:
The family in Long Beach and Biloxi-- Grandma, Aunt Martha, cousins Melinda and Adam and family are all reported to be safe, though we're afraid that, like so many down there, they have lost everything.

Still no word, however, on her Great Cousins Ruth and Jackie in Metairie, outside New Orleans. Given their age and what happened to Metairie, we can only hope that they made it to shelter in time. But there's not much hope of getting word from that area for quite some time...

Needless to say, we've been praying for all of them up here non-stop since last weekend..

"Well, blow me down!"

If you're reading this, you have no doubt already been introduced by my sons to the wonder that is "The Wiggles."
And no mention of the Wiggles-- that Australian super-group, the adult men who dress like four members of the kiddie Starship Enterprise's bridge crew-- can go without reference to their whimsical (if not thoroughly sodden with drink) compatriot Captain Feathersword.

Bryce's latest craze is to play Captain Feathersword's 'Blow Me Down' game.
He looks at you, smiles coyly, then purses his lips and blows at you.
If you're smart, you'll pantomime being blown over by a huge gust of wind.
Then pick yourself back up, look back at Bryce, and blow back at him.. and watch, with amazement, as he sighs and flops himself down onto the floor, giggling all the way...

This scene can repeat itself time and again for hours...

"Laura, get in here!"

Yesterday, we went to pick up Aunt Laura at her house on our way to see a model train exhibit.
In case you're not a regular visitor to our house, suffice it to say, Aidan is a BIG fan of trains...

So we pull up into the driveway outside Laura's house and Aidan's all over it.
"There's Laura's house. There it is. Where's Laura?"
And we're explaining to him that it might take her a few minutes to come out.

Well, this didn't sit well with Aidan, who clearly thinks we're all living on Aidan Standard Time (AST). So, from his car seat (and I wish I'd had a camera handy to catch this), he cranes his neck and starts saying, in gradually elevated tones, "Laura! Laura! Come on out, Laura! Get in this van, Laura! Get in here!"

New video clip

Okay, yes.
After a bit of frustration, we've really got the new video of Aidan and Bryce (though, let me say again it is only 19 seconds long) posted on the .Mac website.

Enjoy!

"I'm gonna count to three..."

Aidan overheard me telling Bryce to come back in from the garage-- Bryce had scooted through the door while I went out there for something and he was reluctant to relinquish this new found freedom.

Aidan, wanting to be helpful, decided to add his authoritative voice to the conversation...

"Brycey, I'm going to count to three... one.. two.. three, get out that garage!"

[see the videographic proof (19 seconds in length, Quicktime format) on the .Mac site, available momentarily.]

Pancake Breakfast

It was buttermilk pancakes for breakfast
this morning.. and Aidan and Bryce wanted to help...













..pouring the buttermilk
















...mixing the batter...















...and watching the pancakes cook!

.Mac site updated

Head on over to our .Mac site. I finally got a chance to update it with the full raft of pictures from Aidan's birthday party last weekend.

Email me if you need the password.

Guitar God!

Aidan got a guitar for his birthday... and he took right to it!

Happy Birthday, Aidan!!

It's Aidan's 4th Birthday today!
He's quite excited about seeing his friends John, Christie, Keaton and McKenna Durand, Aunt Patty and Elly, Aunt Laura, and, of course, Gramma and Grampa!

It's wall-to-wall Bob The Builder here.. so the phrase of the day is "Can we Celebrate? Yes we can!"

Elly Likes Ice Cream

Elly stayed with us for a few days while Aunt Patty went on a business trip...
and we didn't do a very good job of keeping Elly to her diet...

And it was all Bryce's fault!