ABC's

So we have this Melissa & Doug ABC puzzle. It was a gift for Pippa when she was very small and for a long time it just sat not being used or looked at or played with. Then Pippa began getting interested in letters so she would play with it, then William got to about 16 months and REALLY got interested in letters. Now, it's basically his and everyday he pulls it out and chooses 2 letters to carry around like his life depended on it. At the end of everyday I have to go around and pick up all the scattered pieces.


Whenever he is carrying these letters around we would always tell him what they are, plus he loves to watch WordWorld and Super Why, which are both very letter-heavy. In the last few weeks though, we have been asking him what the letters are, and he gets it right most of the time! The boy barely says any understandable words, but you ask him "what letter is this 'W'" and he'll say "double-u". Sometimes he says the sound they make, like an S. He loves books, just like Pippa and I think those 2 will be reading Harry Potter to themselves in no time. Maybe they can teach New Baby how to read and save me the trouble.

A Summery Spring Day and a Haircut

Today was the loveliest weather day of the year so far, so we made the most of it and spent a lot of time in the garden, just hanging out throwing rocks in a bowl of water, eating, digging in dirt, rolling around and cutting hair. Pippa and William love being outside playing, so I think they enjoyed a change of scenery.

As you can see from the photos, their hair was getting a little unruly, so I got out the scissors and went at it. You don't really notice much difference with Pippa, but a chop at Will's hair makes him look more like a real little boy! I know Will has all those cute curls, but if it got any longer I was going to have to start blow-drying it or braiding it.

Once Daddy got home from work we all went across to the playground and played for a while as the sun began to sink. It was a fun sun-filled day!

Here are some photos for you...

William enjoying the feel of the grass

My little fruit bat

Mummy, take a photo of my stick

The before picture...

...and with a sweet new hairdo

Then it was nap time, evident by the mini-tantrum

William and Pippa both love the slides. William is a champ at climbing all the stairs and finding the longest, scariest looking slide to hurl himself down, and Pippa does the same.

Busy Bees

Since I last posted we've had Grandma Tutu and Nana visit and just been about our usual business, which really isn't much! The kids have been sledding and swimming, to the playground and to the High Desert Museum. I've been growing this baby, which is now due in less than 3 weeks! Here are some photos from the last month for you...

Pippa and William enjoying a ride together

William just wanted his snack and his nap while everyone was sledding

Nana on the snow tube

Tu-tu

Pippa throwing snowballs at Mummy

High Desert Museum

Playground Day

And finally, me at about 35 weeks pregnant with number 3, New Baby!

The Baby Bracket is Here!

Hello my friends,

After two great years of baby brackets in 2006 and 2007, we were all disappointed when the 2008 Baby Bracket was canceled last year due to lack of funding, declining ratings, and of course, no baby. But thanks to a recent bailout from Congress, the completion of the Large Hadron Collider, and of course, a baby, I am happy to announce the commencement of the 2009 Great Reese Baby Bracket. Commence, you bracket, commence!

For our new players, the game goes like this: 64 boy names have been chosen by me and Laura as our potential pool of names. Names face off in pairs, with the name we prefer going on to the next round to face off with yet another name, so on and so forth until we get to the end and have picked the name of the baby. You make your picks of what names you think will win, and the person who gets the most picks right will be crowned The Supreme Baby Bracket Winner of All Time. At least, until 2010 when the next baby comes along.

This year, rather than filling out those dreadful excel spreadsheets and me grading them by hand, everything has been automated and put on the web. The website interface is a little tricky at first, but just read the instructions and you should have no problem. If you do, let me know and I'll do whatever I can to help.

The baby bracket is here:
http://www.bracketmaker.com/tmenu.cfm?tid=307965

Click the "Predict It!" link above the bracket to get started. It will give you the instructions you need to play. Please note, if you played the Xmas Madness bracket you can use the same login and password.

The bracket closes for submissions midnight, March 8. Feel free to send this to your family and friends, as we'd love to get as many players this year as we can (especially now that I don't have to do all the scoring). Have fun, and good luck!

Nick

William is 18 months old!

Yesterday was William's 18 month well-baby check up. Besides the fact that he cried every time anybody looked at him wrong, he did great. For some reason I had made the appointment for the one time of the day he always needs a nap, so I was asking for a cranky baby!

Everything looks fine with him. He is on track with his development and he is in the 50th percentile for his weight and his height, which is 26lb, 3 oz and 32.75". And for cuteness, he's off the charts.

William waiting for the doctor.

Pippa waiting for the doctor, so she can ask him a million questions!

Cookies and Sledding

During the colder weather we don't seem to be going out quite as much as when it's a little warmer, so we have been staying home and baking more. I got a cookie cookbook and a cupcake cookbook for Christmas, so we have been trying some of those recipes. Pippa and I usually wait for William to go down for his nap, and then we get baking. However, the first picture is of William when he wasn't napping. He learned a trick from Pippa and now he is always carting the step-stool around the kitchen so he can climb on it and see what I'm doing. This time he wanted the bubbles from doing the dishes...


So, the second cookie I wanted to make from my book was a milk chocolate cookie. I had everything I needed and a Pippa on hand to help clean up. She used her tongue and face to get the paddle clean.

Ahhh, sweet reward!

After the week, Pippa and William were ready for some outdoor time with Daddy! The weekend weather was absolutely lovely, so we took them up to the sledding hill on Mt. Bachelor. William spent the first hour asleep in the car, then woke up long enough to get a couple of runs in. Pippa is a sledding fiend and just can't get enough. Here are some videos and pictures of them sledding:

Daddy and Pippa racing Wyatt Johnson

Pippa's first big solo run

Pippa, William and Daddy on Will's first run ever!



Daddy and Will sledding

I'm going to be sitting this activity out for the season. I just get to watch and run around with the camera and any non-sledding kids.

Sleepy Kids!

I don't have any new photos to post today, but I do want to brag about my children and how quickly they are growing up!

On December 31 we moved William, my little 16 month old cherub, into his real toddler bed. We didn't know what to expect because with Pippa we waited until she was 20 months old and for months she would fall asleep on the floor behind her door. It has been 6 nights so far with William and after we put him down we don't hear a peep. He falls right asleep on the bed and just doesn't get out until morning. Nick and I have lost NO sleep from moving him and he seems to LOVE the bed. He's getting so big. Our next step is moving him in with Pippa in a couple of months...

I am also beginning to really work on the toilet training with Pippa. We're still going back and forth with diapers, but she seems to be getting it finally. For 2 days in a row she has peed on the potty. Of course, the bribe of marshmallows, stickers and a chocolate really do help. I'm excited about only having to buy diapers for 1 for a while. Those things are pricy!