Thursday, December 30, 2010

ALL DRESSED UP


(and totally unable to take a nice photo.)

SO BIG

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

ONE AND A HALF

Today, Nova is 1 and a half years old.


She's 30 inches tall, and weighs just under 20 pounds. She's a wee one, but we think she's pretty special. She loves animals more than her brother ever did, and is even getting Irene to come around to letting her give hugs. The cats nearly tolerate her, and any visiting pets get very special treatment.

One of Nova's favorite things to do right now is stare out the front window of the house. Watching the world go by keeps her very busy, along with naming any and everything she she's out there.


In addition to living animals, Nova has a special place in her heart for stuffed animals. She carries one with her frequently, and they're only deserted for her true love: baby dolls. She loves her babies, and she has a little entourage now that Christmas has come and gone. She has a crib and multiple blankets and pillows that belong just to them. She carries them around saying "snuggle, snuggle" and wants nothing more than either Dave or I to put Nova & baby doll on our lap, cover everyone with a big blanket and sing a song. It's awfully sweet.


Nova sleeps better than her brother ever did, and is honestly a joy to put to sleep at night. So long as she's got an animal to cuddle, she'll give you a kiss and lay down and go to sleep. For the first time in her 18 months, she's finally sleeping through the night, and we're about to move her out of the crib and into the big-girl bed.

I can't write the list of words that Nova knows. Every word she hears she will try to say. She is our little "monkey do", especially when it comes to copying Gus. Literally anything he does, she will try. Strangely, she is still a much better eater than he is, so it goes the other way too. Nova will try new foods that Gus has spent years rejecting, and once he sees his sister like something, than he has to try it to. This has led to both of them trying and loving broccoli, pasta, and a multitude of other things that my picky little guy would never even try.



Nova no longer looks anything like a baby, and her hair is finally growing in. All the hats and static in the house means her hair often stands straight up, leading me to call her Cindy Lou Who. She's adorable and charming, and we can't believe she's already half way to her second birthday!


Happy half birthday, little bee!

Monday, December 27, 2010

CHEESE


Over her shoulder you can see the beautiful photo that Jill gave us for Christmas.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

MERRY, MERRY


We hope you all had a merry, merry Christmas. We certainly did!

CHRISTMAS SLEDDING





Friday, December 24, 2010

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from your favorite two little monsters!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

SHHHHHH


As far as we're telling Santa.....


this year, she made the cookies herself.


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

UH OH


Don't ask me how - they got into the chocolate chips.


This sugar high is going to be awesome!

Monday, December 20, 2010

SNOW


In trying to get the kids to take a good photo for the Christmas card, I learned that they can both be bribed with hot chocolate.

LITTLE MISS TROUBLE



Thursday, December 9, 2010

HELPING CLEAN

Saturday, December 4, 2010

DUPLO GUY

Introducing Duplo Guy!

Well, that lasted about 10 minutes....


Poppa's the best, he can build anything!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

MY TWO LEFTIES


I have no idea what the chances of this are, but both Nova & Gus appear to be left handed. I argue that Nova's still figuring it out, but she primarily uses her left hand.

Friday, November 26, 2010

AHHHHH!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

HAPPY THANKSGIVING


Happy thanksgiving from two little monsters!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

SILLY GUS

Sunday, November 21, 2010

SAY CHEESE

This is the face Gus makes when you tell him to say cheese:


This is Nova's:


She's not smiling here, but she's still pretty cute:

Saturday, November 20, 2010

NOVA IS RIDICULOUS


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

IT'S TIME FOR...


Another pantsless indoor tea-party!

Monday, November 15, 2010

RECORDS

You may think that because we own a record store, that we play records for the kids all the time. We do, but not the records you'd think. More often than not we're playing music in the house, and the kids enjoy dancing and singing. Gus particularly likes anything that has a harmonica on it. Once again the other day after Nova copied exactly what Gus was doing, we played "Monkey See, Monkey Do" for them, which is on the soundtrack to "Every Which Way But Loose."


Since then, Nova has walked around saying "Monkey do, Monkey do" and dancing even when it's not playing.

Yesterday day was the first time we thought to pull out all the Sesame Street records. We've been collecting these for a long time, since before we bought the store, thinking they'd be fun for when the kids were older. Turns out they're tons of fun now, too.

Here's Gus listening (but with his head down)


While they were listening, Nova pointed to Burt on this record cover and said "silly!" Seems like she enjoyed herself too.

We'll have to play the rest of the kids' records again soon!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

SICK DAY

Maybe you can't tell from these photos, but this little guy is under the weather. We're fortunate that these monsters rarely get sick, but for some reason Gus has a terrible cold. He's mostly happy during the day, but night time is hard and there's lots of tears and coughing and difficulty sleeping. Here's hoping he feels better soon!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

CREATE

I do not consider myself a terribly creative person. I can't draw anything, attempts to make things out of cardboard and fabric are more often then not a complete failure. This, however, was a total success.


Buzz Lightyear wings!


20 minutes of cardboard cutting, Sharpie coloring, and duct taping, and boom! Gus is Buzz Lightyear!


One of my favorite things about 2 year old Gus is that he honestly doesn't care that this doesn't look real. So long as you say "I'm going to make you Buzz Lightyear wings (or a Batman costume" that's all the belief he needs. From there on, it's pure imagination.


These could be way better, I'm sure. Or here, I could go and buy him THIS. The truth is, though, this works just as well.

He hasn't taken them off yet, and he got angry when he had to take them off to nap. To infinity, and beyond!

Monday, November 8, 2010

GUS & TOY STORY

Gus loves Toy Story, and he loves talking about Toy Story. (He gets the pacing from me, just ask Dave!)

Saturday, November 6, 2010

PEEK-A


Sorry for the lack of posts recently, folks. Momma & Poppa have both been working extra - no time to update the photos!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

THE DYNAMIC DUO