Haircut

The kids sometimes like to set either Lori or I up in a chair so they can pretend to style or cut our hair. This particular time, they got pretty serious about it. Once I got tired of sitting on the floor, they moved on to cutting the bear's hair.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 4, 2010 09:01 AM | Comments (0)

Carter's Turn

Carter finally got her turn to drive the mower the other day. Look at the grin on her little face! She nearly crashed into just about every obstacle in the yard, but she had a blast. She loved to head straight for Mom, who would pretend to dodge and run away.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 4, 2010 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

Jackson's Landing

Just some cute photos from a trip we took to Jackson's Landing on the weekend before last. The weather was perfect, but for some reason there was absolutely nobody there. We had the whole place to ourselves, right up until right when we were getting ready to leave. Weird.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 17, 2010 02:41 PM | Comments (0)

Sleepover Pics

Sorry it's been so slow here lately - I was having some trouble with my web host, and wasn't able to post anything. So expect a small burst of posts over the next day or two, as I get caught up. Here's one to start - some pics from a sleepover last month.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 17, 2010 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

Storyland, 2010

Here's a set of cute photos from this year's visit to Storyland. This year was even better than last year, as both the kids were tall enough for every ride, and on top of that they were older, and were better (but I won't say great) about waiting in lines. A brief note about the middle shot in the top row - the kids are karate chopping the mist in that hut. Not sure what gave them that idea, but I thought it was a hoot.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 21, 2010 07:53 AM | Comments (0)

So Cute

Here's a photo of Carter doing something that happens on occasion - she falls asleep while eating. Her eyes are closed, but she keep putting food in her mouth and chewing it, just super-slowly.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 20, 2010 06:58 AM | Comments (0)

UberBlast

While we were up north, we checked out a place called "UberBlast" with the kiddos. It's got bouncy-house inflatables, an arcade, and games of the tickets-for-crap variety. We had a pretty good time, but the kids didn't jump nearly as long as I thought they would before they got bored of it. And considering it was $8 per kid, that irked me a little. But they both were enjoying the games so much that I got over it. Sean really loved that motorcycle game, even thought he could barely reach the handlebars. You had to lean to steer, and he thought that was awesome. I included the photo of them jumping, even though it came out terrible, just because I love the position Sean is in. He was trying to do a flip - as you can guess, it was not a success. :) And I especially like the photo of Carter and I playing air hockey. She's so tiny compared to me, but I love the adoration on her face when she looks at me. Love you too, sweetie!

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 19, 2010 09:13 AM | Comments (0)

I Am Your Father!

When I first bought this mask, in Texas, Sean was only a year old and he was scared to death of it. Just last week, as I was puttering around in the attic looking for hiking gear, I found it again. Now, Sean absolutely loves it. He and Carter both have been wearing it all the time, and talking in their deep Darth Vader voices. I think Carter looks hilarious in it, as it's adult sized, and she's got such a little body.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 17, 2010 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

Mower Driver

Sean's been asking me to let him drive the mower for a long time. I always told him it just wasn't safe. It wasn't until I was mowing the lawn right before our vacation that I realized that I didn't have to engage the blade. D'oh! He had an awesome time tooling around the yard, even though he almost crashed us into just about everything in sight.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 17, 2010 09:49 PM | Comments (0)

Preschool Graduation

We went to the kids' preschool graduation yesterday. I especially love that last shot - with Carter smiling in the foreground, and Sean laughing uproariously in the background. That was taken while the clown was telling jokes. Both kids found her hilarious.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 12, 2010 09:37 AM | Comments (0)

Cottage on the Lake

Last week, Lori and the kids went up north with her mom and her mom's friend John. They stayed in a beautiful little place on a lake, and from the pictures I'd say that they had an awesome time. Seeing that one photo of the lake with the mountains in the background makes me really anxious to get up to the mountains myself. Can't wait!

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 12, 2010 09:33 AM | Comments (0)

Sleep-Over

Here are some pics from the weekend before last. We had Tracy's kids stay overnight, and it went really well. Beforehand, Olivia was our biggest worry. What if she was just inconsolable, and wouldn't settle for anyone other than her mom? It turned out to be no problem at all - she didn't give us one peep of trouble the whole weekend. All the kids did great.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 1, 2010 09:21 PM | Comments (1)

A Study in Butts

Lori took the kids out to play at the playground a couple of weeks ago, and took this picture while there. I think they had the whole place to themselves. She got a bunch of the usual pictures - smiling kids swinging and climbing - but we've got lots of those already, and something about this particular shot really appealed to me. It's just nice to see the kids "sharing a moment".

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 29, 2010 07:12 AM | Comments (0)

Day at the Park

Just some pics from out most recent trip to Maudslay State Park. The weather has been gorgeous lately, and I find it impossible to stay inside for any appreciable length of time.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 27, 2010 08:29 PM | Comments (0)

Jedi-in-Training

Sean has a toy lightsaber, and a couple of weekends ago while I was doing yardwork, he was swinging it around and pretending to sword fight. So I picked up a cardboard tube that had had landscape fabric rolled up on it, and we had a battle. He was hilarious. He would try to fight with me, then he would step back and spin his sword around in a circle, like he was doing tricks. Once he broke my sword into two pieces, I started using it to take him down - swinging one piece at his knees, and the other piece coming the other way at his shoulders. He dropped like a sack of potatoes every time, and laughed uproariously in the process.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 26, 2010 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

Sweet Revenge

I love how this set of photos tells a story. In the first one, you can see how Sean is enjoying terrorizing his little sister as she runs away. In the second shot, you can tell that's he's been reprimanded, and is carefully watching to see if he is going to get caught this time. And in the final photo, you can see how Carter has finally had enough and has decided to enact her revenge.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 17, 2010 06:45 AM | Comments (0)

Bubbles

Just a few decent photos of the kids making bubbles in the driveway. The weather has been a lot nicer lately, so it's been good to get outside.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 23, 2010 09:26 PM | Comments (0)

Silliness

Just a pair of goofy faces from Carter's last bath. I don't know that we've seen a real smile in a photo for a while now - she flips her silliness switch every time the camera comes out these days. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 1, 2010 06:44 AM | Comments (0)

Swingset

These pics have been sitting on the camera for a while, but better late than never. We finally got rid of our old steel-pipe style swingset in favor of something that is a little less of a death-trap. The kids helped put it together, as you can see, and them were quick to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Now if only it would stop raining, so we could use it again...

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 1, 2010 06:39 AM | Comments (0)

First Day of Preschool

This past Monday was Carter's first day of preschool. She's been excited to go for a while. Lori says that when she dropped her off and went to leave, Carter didn't even notice - she was having that much fun, even on her first day.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 27, 2010 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

Future X-Games Superstar

Sean has really been into doing 'tricks' on his bicycle lately. I just can't believe that Lori let him try this stuff without having her usual Mommy-freak-out. He was really into it, too. I'm half-tempted to put some pegs on that bike, and see what he uses them for.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 15, 2010 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

Snowmen

Last week the kids made snowmen in the yard. I think that this might be the first time they've ever made a proper snowman that was more than a foot tall. They had a really good time - there was plenty of sticky snow, but the air temperature was actually pretty balmy. The downside is that those snowmen melted in record time. I love the pinecone mouth on Sean's snowman - and the carrot hair on Carter's cracks me up too!

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 26, 2010 09:15 AM | Comments (0)

Snowy Night

We got dumped on with snow one night last week. When I went outside to shovel it, I invited the kids to join me. They've never played outside, at night, while it was snowing before, and they jumped at the chance. None of the pictures really came out, but here's one anyway.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 26, 2010 09:06 AM | Comments (0)

Lazy Sunny Morning

Aren't these pictures so sweet? Carter came to find Sadie. She was lying in the sunny spot in the kitchen, and Carter laid down beside her. There were lots of cute little moments between the two of them. It's so nice that the kids have finally started to take an interest in the dogs. It took five years, but it's finally happening.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 13, 2010 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

Snowshoes

The kids got snowshoes for Christmas, and we tried them out last weekend. Carter tired of them quickly - I think it was because they are so big compared to her feet, that she had trouble walking without them overlapping. But Sean loved them. When he would struggle with them a little, I would check with him to ask if he wanted me to take them off. And every time he said no, and kept going. He and I went exploring out in the woods, and did great. I should try taking him on a short hike with those snowshoes. He might love it.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 12, 2010 08:17 PM | Comments (0)

Goofiness

Just a goofy picture of Carter. Lori asked her to make a silly face, and this is what she came up with. I love her eyes - sometimes the blue of her eyes looks so pale, it's almost gray. Sometimes when she's just playing around, she'll make these eyes and just stare me down until I bust out laughing.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 12, 2010 08:14 PM | Comments (0)

Gymnastics

Last Friday night, Ryan slept over and Lori took the kids to gymnastics. I still can't get over how cool that foam block pit is. Wouldn't you love to just dive right in there?!? It's all I can do to restrain myself on the rare occasion when I get to go with Lori and the kids.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 11, 2010 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

Goofin' Off

This one is just a pic of the kids being silly. They were laying upside-down on the couch, with their heads on the floor. They they'd raise their legs over their head, and put their feet on the ground, stand up, and do it all over again.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 11, 2010 08:46 PM | Comments (0)

Snow Shots

Mom, Grandma King, and the two little'uns playing outside in the snow early last week.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 30, 2010 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

Sean's Birthday Party

Sean's birthday party was last weekend. This is the first birthday he's had with his friends, rather than ours. It was a blast. We had it at Party Playland, and they were awesome. They took care of everything, from keeping the kids entertained, to cutting and serving the cake. They even kept a list of who brought what while he opened presents, which helped a ton when it came time to put together thank you cards.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 24, 2010 08:26 PM | Comments (0)

Puppet Theater

The kids made these little scratch-art dinosaurs the other day, and then - completely on their own - came up with the idea to turn this old cardboard box into a little puppet theater. Mommy cut the window, but they did the decorating themselves. When I got home from work, they put on a little puppet show for me. I love being a dad. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 13, 2010 01:09 PM | Comments (0)

Sliding

Just a fun picture of Sean and Carter running in the kitchen and sliding on the linoleum. Lori snapped it at just the right moment.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 13, 2010 01:07 PM | Comments (0)

Christmas 2009

Christmas morning went great! Actually, Lori was the first one up, and she woke me up at quarter of five. We woke the kids at 5:30, and they literally leapt out of bed and tore down the stairs. It was just like I remembered as a a kid - they started with stockings, and excitedly showed me every single item they found inside. As soon as Carter found those sunglasses in her stocking, they went on her face and never came off - not even when we all got dressed and went to Grammmie and Grampie's house for dinner!

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 28, 2009 06:58 AM | Comments (0)

Snow

Played in the snow yesterday. Lots of fun. Over-and-out.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 21, 2009 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

Breakfast with Santa

Last weekend, the kids and I joined Grandma King and James and Kathy for a breakfast with Santa at the Ashworth in Hampton. The kids were a bit shy at first, so we ate breakfast before I tried to get them to talk to him. But once they had eaten and warmed up to the situation, they chatted his ear off. They told him what they wanted for Christmas, and Sean also told Santa all about the Sonic the Hedgehog game he plays on his Gameboy. I think Santa was probably lost about two sentences in - Sean gave him all of the details of the game, which would be pretty confusing if you'd never played it.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 20, 2009 03:33 PM | Comments (0)

Puzzles

The kids have been building a lot of puzzles lately. Carter is getting surprisingly good at it - we can sit her down with a 40 piece puzzle, walk away, and 5 minutes later she calls us over to show us that she's finished it. I think we might get her a couple of bigger puzzles for Christmas.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 12, 2009 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

Heavy Lifting

Sean and Carter have a new game that they've been playing lately. Carter tries to pick Sean up, and then they both fall over. She makes the silliest grunts and groans as she tries to lift him up, and then they both end up in a pile on the floor.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 12, 2009 08:28 AM | Comments (0)

Now That's Love

You won't catch me letting her do that to me. Both the kids - but especially Sean - love having the dogs kiss them right on the mouth. I've tried telling then not to, because it's gross - but that just makes it that much funnier to them.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 1, 2009 07:22 AM | Comments (0)

Goofiness

It's tough to get a genuine smile out of Carter lately, once you point a camera at her. All she wants to do is make silly faces. Here's one that Lori took a couple of weeks ago, when we had the family over for the toy warehouse sale up the street.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 28, 2009 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

Sleepover

Last weekend, Sean and Ryan had a sleepover at our place - for the first time, in fact. All three kids did awesome, and had a great time! We are definitely going to have to do this again sometime soon. It's moments like these when Lori and I realize why moving back to New Hampshire was worth every bit of grief we went through to do it. Being around family makes all the difference.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 16, 2009 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

Special Wall

A few weeks ago, I read on the Make Magazine blog about a certain paint that you could paint on the wall to turn the whole wall into a white board. I had been planning to paint Sean's room soon anyway, and this seemed like a great idea. He loves to draw so much. When I first told him about this paint, and that he would be able to draw on his wall with special markers, and then erase it and draw new things - he just stared at me silently in disbelief, his eyes getting wider and wider as I went on. When I finished, he just let out a breathless "...thank you...!" Well, I put up the paint about a week and half ago, and last Sunday was the first day that it was finally cured enough to try it out. Here are a couple of pics from our first day with Sean's "special wall".

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 10, 2009 08:58 PM | Comments (0)

Brownies

Lori and Carter made brownies last Wednesday, while Sean was at school. Carter got to lick the spoons while the brownies were baking. Once finished, those brownies lasted less than 48 hours in this house. That might even be a new record.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 7, 2009 08:16 AM | Comments (0)

Halloween 2009

As usual, we've got exactly one picture from Halloween. For some reason Sean refused to wear his Hulk mask, even though he had worn it no problem at the Halloween parties at the library and his school. But he still had fun. This was the first year where we didn't have to accompany the kids all the way to the door - we could stand 10 or 20 feet back, and let them go up to the door themselves. I think they loved the independence.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 6, 2009 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

Hopscotch

Lori drew a hopscotch board (do you call it a 'board'?) on the driveway Friday afternoon, and the kids spent some time enjoying it. especially love this shot of Carter - she lands her jump with authority! What conviction!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 26, 2009 07:25 AM | Comments (0)

Hugs

The kids were playing a wrestling, hugging, kissing game the other night. No real story behind this one - I just thought that it was a sweet picture. They spend so much time arguing, it's really nice to see them getting along.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 25, 2009 08:28 AM | Comments (0)

Autumn Leaves

Lori took the kids out to play in the leaves last Thursday, and she caught two especially good photos of the dynamic duo. She said that they had just as good a time as it would appear from these pictures. I wish I could have been there. It was good timing for them though - I blew all the leaves off of the lawn over the course of the weekend.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 21, 2009 09:10 PM | Comments (0)

Sticks and Leaves

When we go outside lately, Sean makes a special point of collecting some sticks and leaves. I wonder if it's because they are collecting things outside at school for their projects? I suppose I'll find out over the next week or so as the projects start coming home.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 7, 2009 05:46 PM | Comments (0)

Big Girl Bike

I think it's time to buy Carter a big-girl bike. She's been stealing rides on Sean's, and she's really getting the hang of it. She's figured out how to pedal it up and down the driveway, and can turn and stop and everything. This spring, we'll take her to pick out a cute little girly bike.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 4, 2009 06:35 PM | Comments (0)

Costumes

Just a cute photo of the kids modeling their Halloween costumes. Can't wait to Trick-or-Treat!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 4, 2009 09:48 AM | Comments (0)

Cider Hill Farm

Yesterday we all went to Cider Hill Farm - with pumpkins as the goal. We didn't actually end up getting any pumpkins, but we still had fun. The kids got to feed the chickens and goats, and they had a hay maze that Sean especially loved. We also brought home some cider donuts that are amazing.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 27, 2009 08:57 AM | Comments (0)

Little Woman

Here are some pictures Lori took while the kids were playing outside one day last week. Carter is looking more and more grown-up all the time. Doesn't she look sweet in this photos?

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 17, 2009 11:02 AM | Comments (0)

Princess

No story behind this one - just a very cute picture of Carter that Lori took when the little ones were playing in their dress-up costumes. We are definitely going to have to do this again, this year. Buying up a bunch of clearance costumes after Halloween worked out really well - they still put last year's costumes on all the time to play.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 16, 2009 05:41 AM | Comments (0)

Labor Day Cookout

We were at my folks for a cookout on Labor Day. Sometime during the festivities, someone brought out a little cake for Olivia. Here are a few shots I caught while she was digging in.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 13, 2009 10:51 AM | Comments (0)

Party Hats

While cleaning out the basement last weekend, I found a box of party favors that we had ordered for Sean's birthday party last year. They didn't arrive in time for the party, so we stashed them away on a shelf and then promptly forgot about them. But now that they've been found, the kids have been playing with them all week.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 26, 2009 07:04 PM | Comments (0)

I Need a Drink

The kids were playing in the sprinkler the other day, and decided to try and get a drink from it. The water jets out of those tubes pretty hard, so I'm surprised they actually tried this.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 25, 2009 05:39 PM | Comments (0)

Peach Picking

Here are just a couple of pics that I got when I took the kids to pick peaches a couple of weeks ago. The peaches were delicious - I made about a dozen jars of peach jam, and froze the rest for when I make peach butter a couple of weeks from now.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 21, 2009 04:37 PM | Comments (0)

New Hat

Carter's got a new hat that she is very proud of. I think that she looks so cute in it. Especially in that third photo - she looks like such a little geek! Like father, like daughter.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 21, 2009 02:33 PM | Comments (0)

Freeze Sucka!

Doesn't this photo remind you of 70's cop shows? It makes me think of Chips, or Miami Vice, or TJ Hooker - something along those lines. I think it's the swept-back arm that really cinches it for me.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 19, 2009 06:38 PM | Comments (0)

Silly Face

Just a cute photo of Carter making a silly face when Lori asked if she could take her picture. I don't know for sure, but I'd put money on the fact she is probably saying "poop" as this shot was taken. The use of the word "poop" is just about the funniest thing she's ever heard, and it's the punchline to every joke she ever tries to tell.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 14, 2009 07:03 AM | Comments (0)

Slippers

Nothing much to say here - just a cute photo of Carter that Lori snapped sometime last week. Those are Sean's slippers, but his feet have grown too big for them - which is a fact that makes him very unhappy. He'll struggle a long time trying to get those things on before he gives up. So to see Carter just slip them on no problem seems to be a bit of a thorn in his side.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 11, 2009 07:58 AM | Comments (0)

Cannonball!

After canoeing, we decided to stay at the beach and do a little swimming. Nobody was in a bathing suit though, as we had originally planned to just head straight home. I was helping Sean do cannonballs by grabbing his waist and launching him into the air. That kid is really taking to the water. He can already swim under water for short distances (3-4 feet), and he keeps his eyes open. Carter did great too - she came out much deeper than she normally would. I think having Daddy in the water with her made her especially brave.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 23, 2009 08:43 AM | Comments (0)

Canoe

We took the new canoe out this weekend, not knowing what to expect from the kids. Much to our surprise, they were great! We all had a good time. We've really only got one picture from the canoe itself, but we'll try to take more next time.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 22, 2009 07:07 AM | Comments (0)

Airborne!

Lori got some great pictures last week while the kids were playing in the pool. She was able to catch them in the air as they were jumping off the slide. The light must have been just right coming off of the water in the pool - normally every time she attempts a shot like this they just come out blurry.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 21, 2009 07:22 AM | Comments (0)

Gardening

Recently, the kids helped me transplat some young pepper and tomato seedlings into containers. These kids just love to garden. They get their little gloves and spades, and go to town. I'm sure at least one aspect of it was that it was the first sunny day we had had in weeks, and they were just enjoying the time outside. And on the other hand, what little kid doesn't like getting dirty - especially when they know they won't get in trouble? I can't wait until we actually start harvesting some tomatoes - I'll bet the kids will be so excited to eat something they've grown themselves. They already talk a lot about the flowers we planted, which have just recently started to bloom.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 12, 2009 06:19 AM | Comments (0)

Doggies

The kids have really started to take an interest in the dogs these past couple of months. For the longest time, Sean and Carter both treated the dogs as little more than mobile furniture, and usually couldn't even remember which dog was which. But lately, they love those pups. They pat them, talk to them, try to get them to play - this past weekend, Sean even helped me give them a bath.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 10, 2009 09:18 AM | Comments (0)

Preschool Graduation

A couple of weeks ago, we went to Sean's preschool graduation ceremony. We were more than a little worried about him - sometimes these sorts of things give him a lot of anxiety, and he sort of melts down. But to our surprise, he did such a good job. He sang the song, pledged his allegiance to the flag, and even enjoyed the clown they brought in. I was so proud to see my little fella sitting there with all of his friends - it feels good to know that he's developing a little life and relationships of his own, outside of the family.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 9, 2009 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

Grampy-Big-Red-Truck

Here's a cute picture of Carter with Grampy-Big-Red-Truck. He came to visit the other day, and Carter was ecstatic. When I see pictures like this, it reminds me why we moved back to New England. I could live without the power outages all winter, the snow-shoveling, the sticky summer heat (without central A/C), and all of that - but family makes it all worthwhile.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 7, 2009 02:04 PM | Comments (0)

Cuties

This is just a cute photo I found on my computer last night, and had forgotten to post when it actually happened. I think it is one that Lori took the week before our vacation.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 2, 2009 07:13 AM | Comments (0)

Storyland

We went to Storyland while we were up north. The last time we were there, Sean was still pretty small, and Carter was still in the womb. It's amazing the difference a couple of years can make. Sean tried -everything-. He was happy and enthusiastic the whole time, which was a very welcome surprise. Sean even went on the flume ride and the roller coaster. We've got a picture from the flume ride that I will scan and post soon. It's a hilarious shot - Sean is happy, Lori is happy, Carter is indifferent - but Daddy's eyes are shut tight, and his knuckles are white as he grips the rails.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 24, 2009 09:09 PM | Comments (0)

Extra Extra!

Read all about it! Twice in the last couple of months, Lori and the kids have shown up in the newspaper. Once (in the left-hand photo) while Lori and Carter were at the library for story time (Carter is the left-most child in the photo), and another time while Lori, the kids, her Dad, and her little brother were all at the beach.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 9, 2009 07:34 AM | Comments (0)

School Pics

School photo time has rolled around again at Sean's school, and this time Lori brought Carter along for some of the action as well. The woman who shoots the photos must be a natural with kids - just check out how cooperative they were! It boggles my mind.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 9, 2009 07:29 AM | Comments (0)

Happy Days

Now that the weather is getting so nice, the kids are spending a lot of time outside. Have you ever seen three happier kids?

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 2, 2009 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

A Safety-Minded Lass

We've started potty-training Carter lately, and she's been doing well. She's consistently using the potty every night before bed, and a little less consistently first thing in the morning. Hopefully this will go a lot easier with her than it did with her big brother. But as you can see, she observes her own complete set of safety rules for this endeavour.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 31, 2009 09:47 AM | Comments (0)

Zonked, the Return

Yet another picture of Carter passed out while playing, in the middle of the day. This is starting to become a pattern. She's just like her Daddy - I can nap pretty much anywhere, if I've got the time.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 28, 2009 03:17 PM | Comments (0)

Olivia

A couple of weeks ago, Lori and I babysat Ryan and Olivia so that Tracy and Mike could get out alone for a bit. While they were here, we got a couple of cute pictures of Olivia.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 27, 2009 07:02 AM | Comments (0)

Maudslay State Park

Last weekend Tracy, Ryan, and Olivia joined us for a trip to Maudslay State Park. The kids did pretty well, although Sean got unexpectedly tired near the end. The flowers weren't out yet, but it was very pretty there, all the same.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 8, 2009 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

Tiara

Here's a photo of Carter, all dolled up and ready for a night on the town. To top it off, she is making what she refers to as her "Silly Eyes". I can't believe that tiara hasn't broken yet - we all play with it, and I know that I at least have stepped on it several times. The thing must be made out of some super-strong, extra-terrestrial alloy.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 7, 2009 03:08 PM | Comments (0)

She's All Thumbs

Just a cute picture of Sean, with the guest appearance of Lori's thumb over the lens!

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 5, 2009 08:42 PM | Comments (0)

Gymnastics

Lori has often talked about wishing that we could send one or both of the kids to gymnastics, but it's always been out of budget. But she recently found out that a local gymnastics studio has an "open gym" once a week, where the kids can go for an hour, at a pretty cheap cost. The kids LOVE it. They've got a huge trampoline, uneven bars, a pommel horse, a huge pit full of foam blocks - the kids start talking about it days before they can actually go. We're going again on Monday - this will be my first time, so I can't wait to see it in person.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 23, 2009 06:11 AM | Comments (0)

Pics with Mommy

Lori has been saying for a while that she wanted to get a picture of herself with the kids. On Easter Sunday, before we headed to Mom's for dinner, we got our chance. The kids were dressed up, and in a very cooperative mood.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 22, 2009 01:07 PM | Comments (0)

Easter Sunday

On Easter Sunday, we went to my Mom's house for dinner. The ham was phenomenal. I don't know if she's just getting better and better at it every year, or if it's just the fact that Easter Sunday is the only day all year I eat any ham that wasn't sliced at the deli. Either way - kudos, Mom! On another note, doesn't Carter look adorable in her Easter dress? Normally, she dresses like a little tomboy, so it was a real treat to see her looking especially girly.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 21, 2009 07:02 AM | Comments (0)

Silly Eyes

Here's another thing Carter has been doing a lot lately. She calls it her "silly eyes" - and it never fails to crack us up. She opens her eyes as far as they can physically go, and raises her eyebrows way up. Her grin stretches ear to ear - honestly, how can you not smile when you see such a face? Unfortunately, she is well aware of the power of this technique, and has starting trying to employ it when she gets in trouble.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 20, 2009 10:58 PM | Comments (0)

Cutie

Just a cute photo of Carter we took recently, when we went to our nearest decent playground, in Amesbury. The kids have been cooped up all winter, and were almost beside themselves with excitement when it finally warmed up enough to start going again.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 19, 2009 10:55 PM | Comments (0)

Zonked, Part Duex

Another picture of Carter passed out on the couch, apparently in the middle of a play session. I love how her face is just mashed into the cushions, and her legs are sticking straight out. If she wasn't two, I'd be convinced she had narcolepsy.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 25, 2009 08:47 PM | Comments (0)

Pajamas and Snowmen

I took the kids outside to play while it was snowing a week or so ago, and got this great picture of Carter. We were out there a long time - probably a couple of hours, if I had to guess. I took them straight outside right after breakfast - they were actually still wearing their pajamas under their snowsuits. The snow was perfect - it wasn't too cold out there, and the snow had just the right amount of moisture in it for packing. Sean had been asking to build a snowman during every snowstorm for the last month or two - but the snow had been too fluffy every time. So we had a snowball fight, and then settled in to build a snowman. But this day, every time we started getting a snowman built he would destroy it. I think there is some genetically coded into children to put them into "Godzilla Mode" every time anything is stacked on top of something else. .... MUST .... DESTROY .... !

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 18, 2009 08:42 PM | Comments (0)

Little Lady

Lori took this photo last week, while giving Carter a bath. When I look at this picture, I feel like you can kind of see what she is going to look like as a full-grown woman. And she is going to be a looker, I tell you! Which Lori and I have mixed feelings about, as any parents would about their daughter. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 2, 2009 09:57 AM | Comments (0)

Cuddle Time

Both kids have been sick lately, and have been kind of lethargic. Even still, this level of cuddling is quite a rare occurrence. Sean tried to get under the blanket just for fun, and then they both settled in to watch Dora the Explorer.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 27, 2009 06:49 AM | Comments (0)

Goofball

What a goofball, eh? He just figured out how to do this recently. But I think this is one of those things that all kids do, at one point or another.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 25, 2009 03:56 PM | Comments (0)

Plateaus

Those who know Sean have probably heard us talk about his development, and how it is rarely a steadily upward slope with him. All of his developmental milestones have always occurred in fits and starts. One minute, he's actively resisting potty training - the next day, he's fully trained. One day he'll barely scribble on paper - the next week, he can draw trucks and submarines. Until just the other day, he's really shown zero interest in learning how to write his letters. And then, Lori made dots for him to trace so he could put his own name on his Valentines for school. And what do you know - a few nights later, he writes his name all by himself on his doodleboard, and comes into the kitchen, proud as can be!

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 23, 2009 12:08 PM | Comments (1)

Hugs

Nothing new here - you've all seen these costumes before, and you've all seen the hugs before. But I can't help but assume that this phase where they actually like each other is fleeting, at best. So I like to post every hug pic I get, so that years from now when all they do is argue I can come back and look at these and remember it wasn't always that way. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 16, 2009 01:22 PM | Comments (0)

The Face of Evil

I must have taken this picture at Sean's birthday party, although I don't really remember taking it. Doesn't he look evil? I'm now officially afraid to sleep at night.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 11, 2009 06:07 AM | Comments (0)

Sean's Birthday - Part Two

No real comment - just a small collection of cute pictures from Sean's birthday party at the house. It was a lot of fun.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 9, 2009 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

What a Cutie!

These are just a couple of cute photos of Carter that I took Christmas morning. Isn't she such a sweetie? She was making goofy faces at me all morning, and I managed to catch a couple of them for your viewing pleasure.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 30, 2009 06:33 PM | Comments (0)

Christmas Morning, 2008

A little belated, but here are some pictures from Christmas morning. This was definitely the best Christmas so far with the kids. They really started getting the idea this year. For a few weeks before Christmas, they were constantly talking about Santa, and how he was going to come down the chimney and eat our cookies, and then leave us presents. They were really excited that morning, and as we came downstairs they were just bouncing with excitement. We didn't get any pictures of the actual present-opening process, but here are some of them playing later that morning with some of their new toys.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 28, 2009 07:28 AM | Comments (0)

Gingerbread House

We finally got the laptop back from ASUS, and luckily they didn't have to wipe the hard drive. We had downloaded all of our Christmas pictures onto the laptop the same morning it broke, so we thought that they might be gone forever. These photos are from while we were stuck up north during the ice storm. I had picked up a gingerbread house kit to try to give them something to do. We ended up having a really great time putting it together, aided more than a little bit by them eating large quantities of the frosting as we were decorating.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 26, 2009 07:22 AM | Comments (0)

Grandma King

Grandma King has been helping us out with the kids a ton lately. Between doctor's appointments, and Sean's preschool screening, and getting the van to and from the shop - I don't what we would have done without her. I love this picture - don't they just look so happy with her?

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 22, 2009 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

Bangs

We've decided to let Carter's bangs grow out, and I've been trying to get a cute picture of her for the last few days. But lately, every time the flash goes off, she closes her eyes. Isn't she such a cutie though?

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 18, 2009 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Fun in the Snow

		Last Wednesday while it was snowing, we took the tykes outside to play. This was only Carter's second real time in the snow. Last year we took her outside once, but she was still too little to really enjoy it much. We tried to do a little sledding on the slope behind our shed. For such a little hill, it was actually a pretty good run. Sean especially enjoyed it - every time we went down, he wanted to go faster and further the next time. While we were back there, I though I spotted a good hill or two in our back woods that might be worth further investigation. I love Sean's pose in that bottom right-hand photo - he looks like some kind of Kung-Fu master.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 4, 2009 12:08 PM | Comments (0)

Carter's Christmas

Here are a pair of pics of Carter's Christmas. I love the sunglasses - she looks like a movie star in them. She's been wearing them everywhere ever since she opened them. Sometimes she also talks on her new little toy cellphone at the same time. In the second shot, she's wearing a pair of butterfly wings that light up. She can't get enough of those, either. She loves to play dress-up. Next year we will have to pick up even more surplus Halloween costumes after the holiday.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 3, 2009 11:57 AM | Comments (0)

Pigtails

Just recently, we've finally started to try and put Carter's hair up in pigtails. It's been long enough for a while, but we've had a few problems when we tried in the past. First, her hair is very fine, so it tends to slide right out of whatever we try to contain it with. And second, until just recently she would just pull out whatever we did manage to get to stay in. But now she is more interested in having pigtails than in playing with the elastics, so she isn't fussing with them as much. Isn't she adorable?

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 7, 2008 05:43 AM | Comments (0)

Sean Bowling

In an earlier post, I mentioned the daddy-daughter day that Carter and I shared. Well, on that same day Lori took Sean out bowling. She tells me that he really enjoyed it, and didn't due half bad. He was knocking pins down, but apparently it took ages for his ball to reach the end of the lane. Pictures don't do it justice - I'd love to see a video of this. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 6, 2008 02:21 PM | Comments (1)

Eli and Carter

Nothing to special to say about this one - just a cute pic of Eli and Carter together. They're dressed almost identically, which was a complete accident.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 29, 2008 09:10 AM | Comments (0)

Sean's First School Picture

Sean had his first school picture taken a month or so ago. Now, you've all seen the pictures we've taken of him. It is impossible to get that boy to sit still for more than three seconds at a time. Frankly, Lori and I weren't expecting much from these school pics. So you can imagine our surprise when we opened them up and saw the photo you see here. We are still trying to figure out what the photographer must have done to get Sean to cooperate. My money is on drugs, but Lori is convinced it must have been a bribe.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 25, 2008 07:18 AM | Comments (0)

Costumes

Lori and I had been talking about buying some extra costumes after Halloween this year, to give the kids some extra dress-up clothes. Since last Halloween, Sean and Carter have both been wearing Sean's pirate costume all the time. So this year, we grabbed a few costumes off of the clearance rack, and they've been loving them ever since. Carter still has another couple of costumes that aren't in these pictures - maybe we can get pics of those soon.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 14, 2008 09:30 AM | Comments (0)

Amesbury Town Playground

A friend recommended a new playground to Lori - the Amesbury Town Playground. As you can see, the kids loved it. I've yet to see it myself, but I'm looking forward to checking it out. Only one downside, although hopefully they've learned from the experience. Sean sat in the very center of the spinny-thing (as you can see in the photo below), and after the other kids spun it for a while, he threw up. Hee hee. Live and learn.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 8, 2008 03:24 PM | Comments (0)

Halloween 2008

We're going to have to hit my mom up for whatever pictures she took - as this is the only picture we have of Sean in his costume. And we don't have any of Carter. They sure did love Halloween though. This was Carter's first year trick-or-treating, and she got the idea right away. Coming down the stairs from the first house, she reached into her bucket, pulled out the candy bar, and said to Lori "open this please, mommy?". It wasn't until three houses later that we were able to convince her that we didn't have to open each piece immediately.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 7, 2008 03:18 PM | Comments (0)

Paige

Since we started having kids, we have taken almost no pictures of the dogs. I wonder how they feel about that. I'll bet they do a lot of grumbling when I'm not looking about getting the bum end of the stick. So here's a picture of Paige that Lori took recently. Personally, I think she looks very cute. In pictures, at least, she's not showing her age yet.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 6, 2008 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

Farm Trip

Lori and Grandma King took the kiddos to the farm one day last week. They got to feed the chickens, see lots of animals, ride in a wagon. My sources tell me that they had a great time!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 29, 2008 08:35 AM | Comments (0)

Hacker-in-Training

Sean has really taken to the computer lately. He plays games on pbskids.org. He especially loves the Curious George games. He's learned how to navigate all around the site himself, and has taught himself how to play almost all of the games. His precision with the mouse is getting quite impressive. I remember when he tried to use the computer a year or so ago, while we were living in Texas. He was trying real hard, but his fine motor skills just weren't there yet. Now he's a pro. The other thing he does is look at our blog. He likes to look through all of the pictures, and tell me all about each one. He actually remembers a lot of detail about when some of them were taken, and not just the recent ones either. It actually surprises me that he has any memory of some of the things that happened so long ago.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 29, 2008 08:31 AM | Comments (0)

Awwwww

Aren't they so cute? They hardly ever sit still long enough for us to capture a photo like this, even though in reality they do hug a lot. Getting them both to look at the camera and smile at the same time usually takes a miracle of lucky timing.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 29, 2008 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

Bike Ride

We went to Tracy's a couple of weekends ago (I know, I'm slow to post lately). While we were there, we all went for a walk around the neighborhood, and the kids rode bikes. Sean couldn't get enough of the horn on Ryan's bike, and almost crashed the bike several times as he kept squeezing the horn bulb over and over instead of watching where he was going.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 29, 2008 08:19 AM | Comments (0)

Carter's Second Birthday

We had Carter's second birthday party this past weekend. It went really well, and everyone had a great time. We didn't really get a lot of photos though - we were too busy enjoying the festivities to actually record them for posterity. But here is a sampling of the few we actually did manage to grab.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 8, 2008 08:45 AM | Comments (1)

Of Leaves and Worms

We've been playing outside more lately. With the weather cooling off so dramatically, we're starting to realize that winter is really coming, and our outdoor time is about to be curtailed for a while. Sean found a rake and tried making himself a leaf pile. Suprisingly, he was actually able to do it - even though the rake is probably twice his size. This kids also found a worm, when one of them accidentally tore up a small section of the lawn. They were both fascinated by it, and crouched and stared at it until it wriggled away. Sean has been asking me to help him find worms for at least a month now, but every time we've checked under logs and rocks lately we've had no luck. So he was thrilled to finally see one again.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 7, 2008 08:40 AM | Comments (0)

Pirate Smile

For some reason, every time we point a camera at Sean lately, he covers one eye with his hand before he smiles. He claims it is so he can look like a pirate. I have no idea where he came up with this, but I love it! Last night I downloaded the last week's or so worth of pictures off of the camera, to start going through them. There were at least a dozen pictures, from several different days, that had Sean in this pose. Hilarious!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 6, 2008 08:35 AM | Comments (1)

Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Lori bought a pin the tail on the donkey game, which I assume was intended for Carter's birthday party. But apparently they busted it out a few days early, on her actual birthday, instead. Eli and Carter both got a chance to try it out. Don't they look hilarious in their blindfolds? I can't believe that they actually kept them on. And look how proud Carter looks!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 2, 2008 08:31 AM | Comments (0)

Pasta Play

Carter and Eli tried a new activity last week - sorting dry pasta. Lori has been saving a handful of pasta from each of the boxes we've bought in the last couple of months, so the kids would have a variety of shapes and sizes to play with. Then she gives them each a muffin tin to use for sorting. Both kids seemed to really get into it, and there little faces were all screwed up in concentration in all of the pictures. I love seeing them working out something new.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 1, 2008 08:14 AM | Comments (0)

Applecrest Farm

We took the kids to a local orchard last weekend - Applecrest Farm in Hampton Falls. We were after apples and peaches, as we were about to make our first foray into canning on Sunday. The kids had a great time. They love being outdoors, no matter what the occasion. But at this farm, they got to ride a tractor from the parking lot to the orchard. Sean couldn't get enough - he was grinning ear to ear. The canning went pretty well too, stay tuned for pictures. I'll try to put some up this weekend.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 24, 2008 09:44 PM | Comments (0)

Water Painting

Lori got the kiddos to try something new today - she covered the chalkboard with chalk, gave them a couple of wet paintbrushes, and set them loose. They both enjoyed it tremendously - but don't they look so serious?

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 18, 2008 08:59 PM | Comments (0)

Drawing Bug Bites Again!

Carter is seeing her brother getting a lot of attention for drawing so much lately, and she wants a piece of that action. The past few days, she's been scribbling madly on a doodleboard, and then running to the nearest parent and yelling "look what I made!" It's very sweet. Who knows? Maybe she'll have a knack for art too.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 9, 2008 07:25 PM | Comments (0)

Fast Friends

Sean, Carter, and Ely are becoming fast friends, as you can see. Both kids ask about him when he's not here. It's so cute. It's nice for them to have a regular playmate. Sometimes I think they get sick of each other. Heh.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 9, 2008 07:01 PM | Comments (0)

Baby Olivia

Tracy had her baby today! Woohoo! Her name is Olivia - the jury is still out on a middle name. She was 8 pounds, 15 ounces. Aye carumba! That's a biggun! I'm so happy we're back in New Hampshire now - we are going to get to see her grow up, instead of experiencing it secondhand through pictures from two thousand miles away. I got a chance to hold her, and it satisfied that itch to hold a newborn again. I think Lori is safe now from us having any thoughts of having a third. This is the perfect substitute - we get all of the sweet moments, and then have someone else to hand her to if she gets fussy! Awesome!

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 8, 2008 07:10 PM | Comments (0)

First Day of School

Sean started preschool today! He's going to go two days a week for now, so that he can get some exposure to other kids and kickstart his social skills. :) Doesn't he look so cute holding his little lunchbox? He's been talking about school for the past two weeks - he's been incredibly excited. And he's already started telling me about the things he did there. I'm so happy to see that he is so happy too.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 2, 2008 08:32 PM | Comments (0)

Pick a Peck

We went apple picking today, with Grammy, Auntie Tracy and Uncle Mike, and Cousin Ryan. It's almost exactly a year since that last time we did this, which was right after we moved back to the Northeast. Last time, Carter was so small that I had to carry her on my back, and she had barely enough teeth to scrape at an apple. Today, everyone was walking and exploring - Sean was climbing ladders, Carter was picking her own apples off of the low-hanging branches, and everyone was chatting up a storm. It was hard to limit myself to posting only seven photos!

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 31, 2008 02:53 PM | Comments (0)

Ely

A friend came over to see the kids today - his name is Ely. Does he look like Carter's twin, or what? Same hair, same eyes, same nose - and the same disposition. He is about the sweetest, happiest little boy I've ever met.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 27, 2008 09:13 PM | Comments (0)

The Met

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a children's museum that Lori used to go to when she was teaching preschool. It's called The Met. Inside, they've got lots of interactive exhibits that Sean and Carter both went crazy for. They had a child-sized fire truck complete with fire coats, hats, boots, and hoses. They had a sand pit with buried "dinosaur bones" for the kids to discover. They also had a pretend resturaunt and a pretend dentist's office. They kids had an amazing time - I suspect we'll be returning sometime soon.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 26, 2008 08:26 PM | Comments (0)

Party Playland

A few weeks ago, Lori took the kids to a place called Party Playland. It's a lot like that place we used to go to in Texas called Pump It Up - it's full of inflatables. As expected, they had a blast.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 25, 2008 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

Cup Stacking

The kids saw a kid on TV doing competitive cup stacking, and they have been doing it themselves ever since. Sean is getting pretty good at it, as you can see. He does a great job, and is so intense about it. It has to all be perfect, or he starts over.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 9, 2008 09:18 AM | Comments (0)

Ahoy!

The other day, Carter found Sean's pirate costume from last Halloween, and she insisted that we put it on her. Doesn't she look so sweet? They've been watching a show called "The Wiggles" lately, and there is a character on that show called "Captain Feathersword", the friendly pirate. So both of the kids have been obsessed with pirates lately.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 9, 2008 09:05 AM | Comments (0)

Town Lake

Lori and her mom took the kids to the town beach today. As you can see, they didn't have any fun at all. Heh heh. Carter is finally starting to warm up to the water. I am starting to wonder if the only reason she was so hesitant earlier this summer was just due to the temperature of the water.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 19, 2008 09:37 AM | Comments (0)

Day Out with Thomas

We spent this morning in North Conway for the "Day Out with Thomas" event. We had high hopes, because Thomas is one of Sean's favorite things right now. But I think it was the combination of not getting enough sleep the night before (sister is sick and kept waking up coughing, which kept us all awake), and being overstimulated by all that was going on. It was more crying and throwing fits that smiles and happiness. We had one brief moment of fun - once we were actually seated on the train and it was moving, Sean was all smiles as he looked out the window and talked about everything he was seeing. But it took a lot of frustration to get us there. Maybe next year we'll have better luck, and plan a bit better for keeping things manageable for him.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 13, 2008 06:54 PM | Comments (0)

Saco River

For dinner, we headed down to the Saco River with the grill and a few towels. Sean headed straight into the water, and got a huge kick out of wearing his new Lightning McQueen lifejacket. He's been wearing it around the house ever since we bought it, and he finally got a chance to try it out today. And surprising all of us, Carter went in the river too! She's been avoiding the water like the plague all summer, and we thought we'd have to wait until next year before she'd be willing to give it a go. It took half an hour of her throwing rocks into the river to build up enough nerve to actually put her feet in it, but she eventually took the plunge. Grampy made burgers and dogs on the shore, the kids swam, daddy skipped rocks - it was a pretty awesome way to spend dinnertime.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 13, 2008 06:49 PM | Comments (0)

First Time Up North

On Friday, the kids arrived up north to join Dad and I. It was the their first time, of what will hopefully be many future visits. First order of business when they arrived was to head over to the playground, to let them burn off their pent-up energy from sitting in the van for three hours.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 13, 2008 06:45 PM | Comments (0)

Slide

Last week, Lori got an idea. She dragged the kids' slide over to their little wading pool, and Sean had an afternoon of slippery fun. Carter was still a little bit too afraid of the water to try it herself, but she did climb up on the structure a few times to sneak a peak.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 13, 2008 06:12 PM | Comments (0)

Brotherly Love

I think back to when Carter will still just a tiny one, and how Sean waffled between showing no interest in his sister, and yelling at her every time she made even the tiniest noise. But over the last year, they have really started to develop an amazing bond - you can hardly separate them. Which I'm sure has at least a little to do with Carter's hero worship of her big brother. He's almost got a shadow. Which is great when he does something right, but not so much when he's misbehaving and his partner in crime follows right along.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 27, 2008 03:39 PM | Comments (0)

Sisters

We celebrated Lori's birthday last weekend, and sometime during the shindig Lori caught this little gem. Three of my favorite ladies, all in a row. When I see a picture like this, it reminds me of why we moved back to New England. If we were just here visiting, Carter would have been so nervous and shy to be wedged between two "strangers". And I could never be satisfied with my kids thinking of my sisters as strangers, not when they are so important to me.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 27, 2008 03:34 PM | Comments (0)

Mudpies

We got a new sprinkler a week or so ago, and Lori took the kids outside today to give it a whirl. Carter is still a little timid around the sprinkler, but she's warming up. But it didn't matter much, because it eventually turned into a muddle-puddle extravaganza. Carter was content to just pour water on her brother, but Sean got himself pretty muddy. Have you ever seen a kid so happy, I ask you?

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 27, 2008 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

Growing Up

Carter has graduated to the big girl swing! She looks so cute, don't you think? She looks like such a big girl on that swing. My little girl is growing up. She'd better not start bringing boys home!

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 22, 2008 02:33 PM | Comments (0)

Great-Grandma

Lori and the kids try to visit Lori's Grandma at least a couple of times a month, and they always have a really good time. I love to see Carter snuggled in to read a book, and Sean was fascinated by the balloons great-grandma was blowing up for him.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 22, 2008 02:31 PM | Comments (0)

Winnekenni Castle

While Tracy's baby shower was going on, Dad and I took Sean to Winnekenni Castle for a short hike and a chance to wear himself out at the playground. He got to see a lake and a castle all in the same day, and on top of that he got his first experience with an ice cream truck. It was a little odd - he had never seen one before, so he didn't understand what it even was until the woman inside actually handed him the ice cream. But you can bet he won't forget what one is now, alright!

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 22, 2008 02:27 PM | Comments (0)

Fun in the Sun

With all the heat last week, the kids needed a chance to cool off. We haven't bought a sprinkler or a pool yet, so we propped the hose up on a wheelbarrow. That's innovation! They had a great time, although Carter was a little nervous about the water and mostly just played in the sandbox.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 22, 2008 02:24 PM | Comments (0)

Look at Those Mugs!

These are just some leftover pictures from the long weekend - check out those grins!

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 28, 2008 08:50 PM | Comments (0)

Putting Them to Work

This past weekend, the kids and I washed the van. Or more accurately, Sean and I washed the van, and Carter alternated between running away from the hose and raiding the cookie bag when nobody was looking. Sean had a blast, but I think he underestimated how much actual -work- is involved in washing a van. When we first filled the buckets and were ready to start, Sean grabbed a sponge, rubbed it three times on a fender, and exclaimed "all clean!"

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 28, 2008 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

Speechless

I'm not sure what to say about this one - I think it speaks for itself. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 10, 2008 06:38 AM | Comments (0)

Backyard Exploration

With the steadily warming weather, the kids have been getting a lot of time outside lately. Sean is starting to want to explore the woods around the fringes of the yard. And Carter is climbing up and going down the slide all by herself now. What a big girl!

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 10, 2008 06:35 AM | Comments (0)

Trip to the Beach

A few weekends ago, we took the kids to the beach. This was the first time either of the kids had ever seen the ocean. It was too chilly for swimming, of course, but we explored plenty. We brought home a rock that had been smoothed by the ocean and sand, and now it is on our mantle. Every night when we head up to bed, Sean says goodnight to his "special rock from the beach", as he calls it. Then, on the way up the stairs he tells me all about all of the things we saw and did at the beach. We can't wait to take them back this summer, when it's warm enough for them to experience the waves as well.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 10, 2008 06:28 AM | Comments (0)

Leftovers

Just some cute leftover pics, that didn't have any unifying theme. But I still wanted to put them up anyway - so enjoy.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 11, 2008 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

The Great Escape

Sound the alarm! Put out an APB! Carter, the notorious master criminal, has enacted her escape! After using her dastardly cuteness to lull the guards into relaxing their vigilance, she has stolen the keys to a vehicle and made a break for it. If anyone spots her, please contact the NH State Police. She is 2 feet tall, 20 pounds, rosy-cheeked, and was last seen in a pink jacket and blue jeans. Be advised, due to the potency of her crooked grin, she is to be considered armed and dangerous!

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 11, 2008 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

So Happy Together

The kids are becoming closer and closer friends as time goes by. They do everything together, and - knock on wood - they don't ever fight. The only time either of them gets upset with each other is if Sean takes a toy from Carter - but he usually feels bad and gives it back. It makes me so happy to see them together. It's the highlight of my day.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 11, 2008 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

Hamming It Up

Look at these pictures - Carter is becoming quite the little ham. Every time the camera gets anywhere near her, she cracks a huge grin and says "cheese!" She reminds me of my sister, Tracy. As a little one, she couldn't get enough of the camera either.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 11, 2008 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

Snowballs

These pictures are from a day last weekend. Sean and I played in the snow that morning while Carter took a nap. We had a blast. The snow has heavy and sticky, and made for awesome snowballs. We have determined that we can fit exactly 28 snowballs on his metal dumptruck. At some point, Lori and the dogs came out to join us in the fun. We were all have an amazing time, and then we noticed something. We were playing in the backyard, and Carter's bedroom window looks out over the yard. And her crib is right against the window. So she was standing up in her crib, watching us through the window, with this look of utter disbelief on her face. She was just taking a nice, relaxing nap, and now she thinks that every time she naps, we all basically have a party without her. I doubt if she will ever nap again, now.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 7, 2008 07:39 AM | Comments (0)

Belated Birthday Pictures

Well, "picture", at least. For some reason we didn't really take any pictures at Sean's third birthday party. I'm hoping my sister got some.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 7, 2008 07:36 AM | Comments (0)

The Little Miss

And now, to keep things fair - a few pics of Carter. Isn't she adorable?

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 27, 2008 11:18 AM | Comments (1)

Safety First

Here are a couple of random pictures of Sean. In the pic on the right, he was riding around on his new motorcycle, and decided he needed a helmet.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 27, 2008 11:16 AM | Comments (1)

Visit from Grampie Maxwell

Carter is really taking a shine to her Grampie Maxwell, as you can see in these pics. She asks about him all the time.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 27, 2008 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

Fun in the Snow

This morning was Carter's first time in the snow. Sean has been out in it several times, but Carter didn't get boots and a snowsuit until Christmas, so today was one of her first real opportunities. As we were getting her dressed, she was not real thrilled. She was hot, puffy, and annoyed. But once we got her outside she suddenly understood what all the fuss was about and started enjoying herself.

Sean and I had a snowball fight. We also built several snowmen. Each of which he would immediately knock over as soon as they were finished. A stack of ANYTHING is irresistable to a toddler. MUST..... KNOCK.... DOWN.....! They just can't control themselves.

Sean's also got a little Christmas character confusion - every time he sees a snowman, he says "A snowman! Ho ho ho!" Hopefully we get that straightened out next year.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 31, 2007 12:56 PM | Comments (0)

Christmas Morning, 2007

First Christmas in the new house! And even though it is technically Carter's second Christmas, we sort of feel like it is actually her first, as she was only a couple of months old last Christmas. Both kids had an amazing time. They got the concept of fun stuff in paper wrappings this year, and tore the presents open like a couple of wolverines. And they insisted on making me set up each toy as it was opened, so that they could play with it for 20 seconds before grabbing another package. Fun was had by all. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 30, 2007 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Leftover Pics

Just some cute pictures taken recently that don't fit under any particular post that we've made lately. Enjoy!

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 30, 2007 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

Visit from Grandma Maxwell

Grandma Maxwell, Grampie Big-Truck, and Unca Adam came to visit the kids after Christmas. It was good to see them! Linda (excuse me, I mean Grandma Maxwell, hee hee) has been working third shift, so we've been missing her lately. It was nice to get some time together.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 30, 2007 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

Milking the Cuteness

Carter got this little stuffed bunny last Easter, but it's been in storage - so she hasn't seen it in a while. While unpacking some boxes, we found it. Carter has since adopted it as her baby. In all of these pictures, she is making the same sound. It's a half "oooooooh" and a half "awwwwwww" sound. Basically, the sound we make when she does something exceptionally cute. In essence, she is trying to show us how cute she is while hugging her bunny.

Except in this last picture - where Bunny has angered Her Highness and must be disciplined!

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 29, 2007 12:35 PM | Comments (0)

Makes a Father Proud...

Apparently my one-year-old daughter is already auditioning for Girls Gone Wild. Where, oh where did I go wrong?

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 29, 2007 12:32 PM | Comments (0)

Our Kids Are... Ummm.... "Special"

While digging through our recent pictures tonight to find some to print to hang in the new house, I came across these - the two most unflattering pictures of the kids I've seen in a while. Heh.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 21, 2007 06:31 PM | Comments (0)

Kissing Cousins

Or worse yet - kissing siblings. Carter's kisses have a tendency to be a little on the ... shall we say ... 'open-mouth' side. Hopefully this sort of stuff stops by the time they are teenagers. But seriously - aren't they adorable? And we didn't even ask them to do this. Sean did this totally on his own. He really loves his little sister lately, and makes a real effort to show her. And the Santa hats are just icing on the cake. I picture this being the photo that we pull out when they are in high school and when we want to embarrass them in front of their friends.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 16, 2007 07:14 AM | Comments (0)

Putting Him to Work

We figured that he's big enough now to start helping out around the house. So I got to exercise the ultimate parental privilege - I found the job that I hate the most, and made him do it. It took him all day, but he managed to clear the whole driveway. And the good news is that he only lost two toes to frostbite.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 16, 2007 07:10 AM | Comments (0)

Rub a Dub Dub

Here's a few pictures of the kids in the tub night before last. I love two of the pictures in the bottom row, where Carter is trying to escape from the tub. In both, the look on her face is classic.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 22, 2007 12:39 PM | Comments (0)

Visit from Grampa Big-Truck

Just a few random pictures from when Lori's dad visited the other day.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 22, 2007 12:36 PM | Comments (0)

Carter's First Birthday

Here's a collection of photos from Carter's first birthday. She's starting to stand without support or help, and she's not even wobbling any more. Her first steps are just days away, I suspect. She loved the presents, and devoured the cake - this was actually the first time she had ever had cake, but she wasn't shy about it! Actually, Carter took way more interest in her first birthday than Sean did - when he turned one, he hardly even paid attention to what was going on, never mind getting involved or excited. I think Carter definitely takes after her mom's extroverted ways, and Sean is more like his introverted daddy.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 13, 2007 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

New Skills

Carter has been picking up some new skills lately. Here you can see her feeding herself with a spoon, and learning to color with crayons. And check out that first photo - what a ham!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 13, 2007 10:12 AM | Comments (0)

Apple Picking

This actually happened quite a while ago, but I am just now getting around to posting the pictures. Tracy and Ryan took us to Butternut Farms to pick some apples. The kids had a great time. The weather could not have been better, and the apples had reached that perfect stage of ripeness. Carter got her first taste of a "real" apple, instead of mashed apples from a jar.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 13, 2007 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

The Pups

Once we started having kids, we didn't seem to take many pictures of the dogs anymore. The only time we really get them in a photo is when they are with the kids, or in the background of some other shot. Sometimes I feel bad about that - they used to be the center of our attention, but now they get less. They're still just as big a part of our family though, and once the kids go to bed they get all the special treatment - they even sleep in our bed! So here is a pic of one of my favorite furry ladies - I like this one because it is one of those rare pictures of Sadie that shows any part of her body that isn't jet black.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 29, 2007 09:39 PM | Comments (0)

What a Weirdo

Lori was taking the kids for a walk around the neighborhood, and took lots of pictures in the process. Most of them were just typical pics of Sean - he likes to stop and check out just about everything between our house and the neighborhood mailbox. But amidst all the 'standard' pictures was this little gem. He has a habit of making weird faces all the time, but we never seem to catch many of them on film (well, on a memory card). Look at the larger version to see the odd face he is making - I love it.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 28, 2007 10:35 PM | Comments (0)

Awwwww......

Now tell me that isn't about the cutest thing you've ever seen. He was reading her a story. And she was just eating up the brotherly attention. I love how Sean always contorts his feet while he reads - still haven't figured that one out.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 28, 2007 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

Best Friends Forever? We'll See.

The chitlins have started to get along much better lately. Sean is still a bit jealous when sister gets the attention, but they are having more and more moments like these. Not only is Carter being tolerated, but occasionally he even seems to enjoy her company. Who would have guessed?

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 8, 2007 09:20 AM | Comments (0)

The Picture Says It All....

What a character! Whenever we tried to put anything like this on Sean, he pulled it off immediately. We tried goofy sunglasses, Santa hats, reindeer antlers - nothing stayed on his head for more than eleven seconds. So when Lori put these on Carter, she didn't expect them to stay. So when Carter not only didn't mind, but even seemed to enjoy it, Lori bolted for the camera.

Posted under Photos by Joel on July 8, 2007 09:14 AM | Comments (0)

Pig Pile on Daddy

These are the moments I live for - when both of the kids are climbing on me, and we're all laughing and having a good time. I can't wait until Carter and I can wrestle the way Sean and I do now. There should be some fun tag-team matches in our future!

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 17, 2007 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

We took the kids to the zoo last weekend. It was Carter's first time, but Sean has been once before, about a year ago. The first time we took him, he hardly even noticed what was going on. We had high hopes that this time, he would absolutely love it. Well, things didn't quite live up to our expectations, but it wasn't terrible. He was kind of cranky - I think it was just a little too hot, and on top of that he didn't like being stuck in a stroller all afternoon. But he did enjoy a few parts. The fish were a big winner, and for some reason one of the ducks there cracked him up. It was giving itself a bath, and everytime it turned over in the water and splashed around, Sean nearly burst something he was laughing so hard. Carter, on the other hand, had a blast. She was all grins and babble, all afternoon.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 17, 2007 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

We Don't Need to Stinkin' Bridges!

Today Sean managed to get his car into his kiddie pool. It practically filled the whole pool. Then he climbed in, and pretended to drive it around for a while. Maybe someday he'll grow up and a design a new series of personal amphibious vehicles which will change the world of transportation as we know it - or maybe he's just weird. Let's assume the latter. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 16, 2007 01:05 PM | Comments (0)

Friends Forever

Carter and Sadie are getting on great together. Sadie loves to hang out near the baby, and Carter loves to reach out and touch Sadie. She finds the dogs hilarious, even when all they are doing is laying around. Paige is much more nervous around the kids - not so much afraid as annoyed. When Sean comes over to Paige, she grumbles like an old man and goes somewhere else. But I suspect that once he learns to throw a frisbee, the situation will be much improved. Heh.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 16, 2007 09:58 AM | Comments (0)

Pool Time

We bought Sean a kiddie pool a couple of weeks ago, and I forgot that we had taken these pictures. As you can see, he likes it. It turned out smaller than it looked on the box, but he doesn't seem to mind. This kid loves to get wet. Doesn't matter how or why - if there is water around, he'll be dripping in no time.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 15, 2007 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Teeth!

Look at that grin! And if you hit the link and look at the larger version, you can see those shiny new teeth! She put up very little fuss while they were coming in. She chewed everything, of course - but never really seemed to be in any pain. Let's hope that's how the rest of them go, too.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 15, 2007 09:48 AM | Comments (0)

An Evening Outdoors

We set up the sprinkler for Sean tonight, and he loved it. We had tried to get him to play in it last summer, but I think it spooked him a little bit - he would get near it, but not actually in the water. This time he just marched in and laughed. I also got some great pictures of Lori and Carter, my two favorite babes.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 2, 2007 11:27 AM | Comments (0)

Swims Like a .... Log?

We all went down to the river on Memorial Day to give Sean a chance to get wet. It had been raining like crazy here, and the river was running pretty high and muddy. But that didn't slow him down one bit! As soon as we got within sight of the river, he marched right in, sat down, and started playing. At one point while walking around in the river, Sean tripped. He fell face first in the river, and immediately went into a "dead man's float". He just lay there, floating. Lori picked him up, and he didn't even cough or splutter. So he must have held his breath. I'm of the opinion that he just floated instead of trying to stand up because he must have opened his eyes underwater, and was checking everything out. But the most encouraging thing was that even though he went under, he didn't panic or get even a little scared. He actually seemed to enjoy it. So maybe he's ready to learn to swim.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 2, 2007 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

Grampy

As you can see, she hasn't quite taken to Grampy yet.

Just kidding, she LOVES him!

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 1, 2007 03:17 PM | Comments (0)

Hanging Out

Little by little, Sean is getting more interested in playing around (but not quite with) his sister. Still, one step at a time, right?

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 1, 2007 11:15 AM | Comments (0)

Tubby Time

Last night Carter got her first bath in the big-girl tub. Worried that she might not quite like it, we thought we'd put her in with Sean to distract her. It was pretty cute - she idolizes her big brother. She spent the whole time watching every move he made in rapt attention. And for his part, he hardly noticed that she was there, unless she was between him and a rubber duck and he had to climb around her.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 14, 2007 06:57 PM | Comments (0)

Our Mother's Day Outing

For mother's day we went to the park for a picnic. We brought lunch and a blanket, and sat down by the river. Sean spent the whole time waist-deep in the water, and by the time we persuaded him to come out his teeth were chattering, and his feet were blue and pruney. Carter was tireless in her determination to get a rock into her mouth. I think she thought that because we were trying so hard to stop her, they must in fact be delicious - which made her try all the harder. The weather was perfect - high 70's, clear skies, and a slight breeze. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Hopefully this is the first of a series of weekend outings to come.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 14, 2007 06:52 PM | Comments (0)

Sit Up and Take a Bow

Guess who's sitting up? It started about a week or so ago. And she's loving it, because now there are a lot of different toys she can play with.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 12, 2007 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

Little Woman

	This afternoon, while carter was getting ready to eat her lunch, I noticed that she was wearing different clothes than Lori normally dresses her in. And for some reason, she looked much more grown up in those clothes. She looks less like a little baby, and more like a little girl. In the pictures on the left, she was getting anxious for lunch and decided to try to eat her feet instead. In the pictures on the right, she's just being her adorable little self. You can see that her hair is starting to come in, and I can't wait! Pigtails and barettes - here we come!

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 6, 2007 12:27 PM | Comments (1)

The Tongue Bandit

Carter likes to play this game lately - if you stick your tongue out at her, she will stick hers out at you too. She really seams to enjoy it too, as she grins and laughs the whole time. And she's got such a cute little pointy tongue.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 5, 2007 04:37 PM | Comments (1)

My Peeps

I just love this photo of my three favorite people. Sean and Carter were both playing with the piano, and somehow Sean was not having any trouble sharing with her. Hopefully this is the beginning of a trend, where Sean will show more interest in playing with his sister.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 5, 2007 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

Pig in a Blanket

Well, let's say "piglet", at least. She's too cute to be called a pig. But regardless, this is a picture of something she's been doing lately. We lay her down on a blanket, and she grabs a corner of it and does a complete roll, rolling herself up in the blanket in the process. She looks so sweet, does she not?

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 5, 2007 04:25 PM | Comments (0)

Double Trouble

I've been talking a lot about how much Carter and Sean look alike in general - and especially how much Carter looks like Sean did at her age. Well here is a pair of pictures to really show you what I mean. The one on the left is Carter, and the one on the right is Sean. But isn't the similarity sort of cool?

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 25, 2007 07:22 PM | Comments (0)

Zwieback, You Back...

Carter tried her first piece of Zwieback Toast a few days ago. She did great with it. When we eventually had to take it away from her when it got too small, she cried as though had mortally wounded her. But a bottle quickly made things right. She's been getting a piece a day since then, and is continuing to enjoy it immensly.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 25, 2007 06:50 PM | Comments (0)

On the Move (Well, Almost)

Dang! This little firecracker is going to be crawling in no time! Look how good she is doing getting her body up off of the floor. I remember this stage with Sean - he crawled a few months after starting to do this elbows-and-knees and elbows-and-toes thing. I can't wait! And I added that last picture just because it's cute. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 22, 2007 10:32 AM | Comments (0)

Pinto Play

It's been too wet lately to go to the playground - and it's massive sandbox. So Lori tried an old idea she used to use at the daycare. Pinto beans! They're big enough to make cleaning them up a lot easier then sand, because they can't "get into everything" the way sand can. And the kids love the texture and the noise they make. This particular day, Sean had a little friend over to play.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 22, 2007 10:29 AM | Comments (0)

Just Like Pop

For those who know me well - tell me this doesn't look familiar. I've never been able to eat anything without reading at the same time. I used to read a lot growing up, and couldn't set aside whatever book I was currently engrossed in even while eating. The same is true today. And it looks like Sean is picking up the habit too. It's just so cute to see him poring over a picture book while eating his Fruit Loops.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 22, 2007 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

Easter

Here are some pictures from this past Easter morning. The Easter Bunny brought the kids some new goodies. Carter got a pair of new rattles, and Sean got a wheelbarrow with a new book, a Blue's Clues stuffed animal, a new puzzle, and a chocolate bunny. As you can see, he was pretty impressed with his new loot.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 22, 2007 10:22 AM | Comments (0)

Breaking the Law!

Speaking of outdoor fun - Lori took Sean for a walk the other day, and when they got back Sean made a beeline for the bushes and started playing in the mulch. Even though Lori didn't want to let him play in there, it was just a bit too cute and she had to snap a picture. You can even tell by the look on his face that he knows he's doing something wrong, and he is wondering why she is letting him get away with it.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 21, 2007 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

Outdoor Fun

Carter has really been enjoying Sean's old Exersaucer a lot lately. We even brought it outside, and she happily played while her big brother spent some quality time in the dirt. The weather is finally dryer here, and we've been trying to spend more time outside before it starts getting hot. Sometimes these pictures spook me though - if she wasn't wearing pink, this could almost be a picture of Sean.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 21, 2007 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

Kid Clips Video

Enjoy this collectoin of video clips. We finally got back into the habit of keeping the video camera around, and Lori has caught a lot of cute little moments on film over the last few weeks. And for some of you, this will be the first time you've seen Carter in motion, instead of just in still pictures.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 8, 2007 03:10 PM | Comments (1)

Seeing Double

Is it just me, or do Sean and Carter really look a lot alike? Check out these pics, both taken within the last few days. I have the feeling that if I dug back through Sean's pictures at her age, I could find one where he was making that exact face. He would have had even less hair, of course. Heh Heh.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 25, 2007 12:31 PM | Comments (0)

Big Brother

The chitlins have been spending a lot more time 'together'. And what I really mean is that Sean has finally noticed that Carter is more than just an eating and crying machine. He has recently discovered that she is in fact a little person, and has been interacting with her a lot more. He sits and talks to her, brings her stuff, and sometimes makes rudimentary attempts to play with her. I think he is going to love it when she gets a bit bigger and walks around. He doesn't get much exposure to other toddlers, and having a 'live-in' playmate should be a lot of fun for him. As long as she's not a tattle-tale, of course.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 22, 2007 06:53 PM | Comments (0)

The Little Miss

Check out that smile on the left. You can see already that she will be a beautiful woman some day. And that face on the right. Just this week she has started making that face and talking like crazy. She has become so much more vocal just in the last week. It's adorable.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 22, 2007 06:44 PM | Comments (1)

Mama Returns!

Lori has not been interested in being in many pictures since Carter was born. She retained so much fluid with her pregnancy that she blew up like a balloon, and didn't want anyone to see her on the website until she started to get back to her pre-pregnancy body. Well that has finally started to happen. Horray!

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 20, 2007 06:33 PM | Comments (0)

Reading Club Meeting

Today was the first meeting of the Toddler-Canine Reading Club. Unfortunately, Sadie found her book too relaxing, and fell asleep soon after the meeting was begun. Sean has really been into reading his books lately, and he requests a book every night when I tuck him in at bedtime. In the morning, we sometimes find him fast asleep still clutching the book we gave him the night before.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 20, 2007 06:29 PM | Comments (0)

Cupcakes

We had originally planned to go to the playground this past Sunday. But it threatened to rain all day, so we stayed in instead. Lori and I have been talking about getting Sean involved in more activities around the house now that he is getting bigger, so today I decided that he and I would make cupcakes together. Resounding success! Sean poured the water and oil into the bowl, helped me mix, and as you can see here, he helped with the cleanup.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 20, 2007 06:25 PM | Comments (0)

Singing in the Rain

Today Sean got his first taste of one of my favorite of life's simple pleasures - playing outdoors in the pouring rain. It was warm enough where I wasn't worried about him catching a chill. We spent a solid fifteen minutes stomping around the backyard, trying to see who could make the biggest splash. He just laughed maniacally the whole time. When we finally came in, I had to throw him right in the tub - he was covered in muddy water from head to toe.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 13, 2007 06:14 PM | Comments (1)

Grandparents Galore!

What a month for visits! The kids have had a grandparent extravaganza this month. Ok, we maybe only two grandparents. But still, that's a high density compared to normal. Luckily, Grandma got here right as everyone was starting to feel better. She had a great time, and really enjoyed the chance to bond with her grandkids.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 4, 2007 07:57 PM | Comments (0)

Sharing

So far, Sean hasn't had a problem with his sister becoming the new owner of his old toys. He usually doesn't even notice those old playthings. But the Exersaucer got his attention. He spent a lot of time in there when he was small, and he loved every minute of it. Just for old time's sake, he climbed in again. As you can see, he doesn't quite fit anymore. But now Carter seems to be enjoying it too. I especially love the picture where something on the TV seems to have caaght her attention. And the picture of the two kids back to back warms my heart.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 4, 2007 07:47 PM | Comments (1)

Big Boy Swing

Grampy, Sean and I spent the afternoon at the playground. Sean had an amazing time, because Grampy would even take him down the slide that is too high for Daddy to handle (the yellow one). And check him out in the big boy swing!

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 4, 2007 07:10 PM | Comments (0)

Grampy Returns!

It's been quite a while since Grampy and Sean saw each other, but they reconnected in no time. If everyone had been healthier, they would have been able to do even more together. But I still think Dad did an amazing job bonding despite all the obstacles put in his way.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 4, 2007 07:07 PM | Comments (1)

Prelude to a Miserable Week

This picture was taken the night before Sean started throwing up and having explosive diarrhea. All told, he spent at least a week sick as a dog, and actually ended up spending one night in the hospital for dehydration. All of this started right before Grampy arrived for a two week visit. Sean was sick the first week, and then Grampy was sick for part of the second week. At the end of the two weeks, we had all had about 3 days where everyone was healthy.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 4, 2007 06:55 PM | Comments (0)

In Loving Memory

One month ago today, the Lord family lost its patriarch. He was more than a grandfather to me, he was a close friend. I have a lot I want to say about him, but not yet - I'm just not ready.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 4, 2007 05:14 PM | Comments (0)

Something New

Carter tried something new today - oatmeal! We decided that she was ready for some solid foods, and she took to them right away. She was smacking her lips and smiling, and most of it actually ended up in her belly instead of in her lap. Check out the size of those smiles!

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 11, 2007 05:08 PM | Comments (0)

Hanging Out

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 28, 2007 01:37 PM | Comments (0)

Sean's Artic Adventure

Here a few additional pictures from the ice storm we had a couple of weeks ago. Sean and I played outside for a bit - this was Sean's first time seeing anything but sun or rain. I wish it had been snow, but ice will do. He marched all over the yard stomping on iced-over weeds to hear them crack and buckle under his feet. All of his outdoor toys fascinated him again, now that they were encased in ice an inch thick. It was all I could do to keep him from climbing into his toy car and freezing his toosh.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 28, 2007 01:32 PM | Comments (0)

Ice Storm

Texas winters are usually fairly boring - they are just the slightly chilly period between hot seasons. But this winter we got a fairly nasty ice storm. Some of the plants in our yard had up to inch-thick ice on them. I've been stuck working from home for the last two days, and am still not sure if things will melt enough for me to go in tomorrow. I took Sean outside to play on the ice this morning. From in the house, I don't think that he had even noticed that anything interesting has been going on for the last couple of days. But once I got him outside, he had a blast. He kept slipping and sliding as he walked, he checked out all of his outdoor toys, picked up big chunks of ice to look them over more carefully - I had a ton of fun just watching him. When he wasn't saying "wow!", he was giving a big, silly, exagerated "brrrrr!".

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 17, 2007 05:11 PM | Comments (1)

The Artist at Work

Sean just got a very special birthday present from the Pages. He is loving it. He spent about half an hour chanting the names of each of the colors he could see on it, and drew lots of squiggles, spirals, squares, and circles. He was so involved with his new easel that I could only get him to actually look at the camera for a single picture. The reason he is making such a funny face is because he was in the process of saying "cheese!".

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 17, 2007 04:54 PM | Comments (0)

Tummy Time!

Check out who is starting to like tummy time! She can hold her head up for minutes at a time before she needs a break. She still can't stand more that ten minutes or so of sustained time on her belly, but it's a start!

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 17, 2007 04:52 PM | Comments (1)

Christmas Hodgepodge

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 30, 2006 01:28 PM | Comments (0)

What a Difference

It's amazing how different Sadie is this time around. When Sean was two months old, she couldn't even be allowed in the same room with him. She was obsessed and would do anything she could to get near him, and when she did manage to wiggle through she would lick his face so much that we were honestly concerned about whether he could breathe. He was almost nine months old before she finally started to relax around him, and we assumed the only thing that really changed was that he was big enough to push her away if he wasn't interested in her attention.

So of course we were very worried about whether we would have to go through the whole thing all over again once Carter was born. To our welcome surprise, Sadie has been amazing this time. We can play with Carter on the floor, and Sadie doesn't bother her. Sadie can sit with us on the couch, and get close without getting in the way. But this photo really demonstrates how different things are this time. Last night, carter was taking a little snooze on Lori before her evening meal. Sadie jumped up on the couch next to them, laid down, and snuggled right in to the baby - all without waking her up. It was heartwarming.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 21, 2006 06:52 PM | Comments (0)

Behold the Chitlins!

This was the first time that Sean let us put Carter anywhere near him. He's interested in her now, but if we try to put her near him, it makes him nervous and he runs away. It's quite cute. But today, for whatever reason, he was okay with her. He still wouldn't let me put her in his lap, but he did let her rest on the couch next to him. So this is officially our very first picture of our kids together. And there was rejoicing throughout the kingdom!

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 16, 2006 07:28 PM | Comments (0)

Say Cheese!

Here are a couple of cute smiles. Unfortunately, Carter tends to wear a lot of white, and the only time Sean gives Lori the time to grab the camera is first thing in the morning - so most of our pics of Carter tend to be pretty washed out. But still, I think these two really capture her personality all the same. She smiles all the time now, which makes all the work so much more worth it. And this last pic is a little bonus. I couldn't resist throwing it in, because I think it is hilarious. Doesn't she look like Popeye? So far her forearms are regulation size, but we shall see. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 16, 2006 04:22 PM | Comments (1)

Party at Sean's Place

Sean had a couple of friends (Grant and Reagan) over for a play date today. He actually hadn't seen them in a while, but they all hung out together as if no time had passed. When I came back into the house from the garage, Reagan snagged me and coerced me into reading her a book. As soon as I started, the boys came to join the fun. Later on they all piled into the toybox for a little fun. So cute.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 6, 2006 06:57 PM | Comments (0)

Pump It Up!

We went to a birthday party today at a place called "Pump It Up". It's an indoor play arena filled with inflatable "moon-bounce" structures. Sean barely met the height requirement, and lucky for us he did. I think he may have mounted another protest if we had not allowed him to join in the fun. He spent an hour running and bouncing around, saying "Whee!" every 5 seconds for the entire time. Even though the bigger kids occasionally knocked him down, and he got beaned with a ball or two (one right in the face), none of this fazed him in the slightest. He was sweaty and exhausted by the end of the party, and gave hugs all around.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 3, 2006 06:49 PM | Comments (0)

Our Budding Artist

Sean loves to draw. I don't me that he likes to draw, I mean that he loves to draw. First thing in the morning, and first thing after a nap, he marches into the pantry, points at his drawing materials, and begs "art? art?". Later in the day, we head outside and he asks for his chalk, so that he can draw on the fence. He probably spends at least an hour or two a day drawing. The coolest part is the way he holds his crayons. Instead of holding them like a typical todler with a crayon wrapped in a meaty little fist, Sean holds his crayons the way an adult would. Take a look at the close-up Lori took of his hand, and you'll see what I mean.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 24, 2006 05:39 PM | Comments (0)

One of a Kind

Isn't she cute? She is finally starting to look like someone. I don't mean that she looks like me or Lori, or even like another family member. I just mean that she is starting to look like a little individual, instead of just like one generic baby amongst many. You can start to see her features and personality developing. It's kind of exciting!

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 17, 2006 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

Play Date

Sean had a play date today with his little friend Calysta. And as a bonus, Lori got to actually spend some time with another adult - her friend Kathryn. (I'm under the impression that I don't count as an adult. Heh heh.)

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 1, 2006 04:44 PM | Comments (2)

Roar!

We took Sean Trick-or-Treating tonight - or at least, we walked around the neighborhood in a costume. He did three full laps around the block, but only actually stopped at one house. And I had to trick him into going up to that house by luring him with a peanut butter M&M. But he still had a blast. We don't usually go out walking at night, and all the neighborhood kids were out too, so that made it extra interesting for him. Good times.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 31, 2006 07:44 PM | Comments (2)

Bedhead

It's official - Sean definitely inherited his dad's hair. Check out the impressive bed-head Sean woke up with after his nap today. Dang, I'm envious of Sean's elite bed-skills, yo!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 31, 2006 07:42 PM | Comments (3)

Blackmail!

Wow. These strike me as excellent pics to threaten to show his girlfriends when he is a teenager. What do you guys think?

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 31, 2006 07:36 PM | Comments (0)

Baby Face

What a cutie! Now that she is looking less - let us say, 'squished' - I would have to say that she looks more like me, or at least more like a Lord. Of course, she looked like Lori for the first few weeks, while she was bullet-headed and wrinkly. Heh heh.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 29, 2006 09:41 PM | Comments (0)

Mommy and Me

Lori finally feels 'back to normal' - or at least normal enough to appear in pictures. She's a few nights of solid sleep, and isn't looking so dog-tired lately. What a cute pair of ladies!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 24, 2006 08:50 PM | Comments (0)

Eyes Wide Open

Finally, a picture with her eyes open! So far, she scrunches her eyes closed every time a flash goes off. This time I managed to catch her unprepared.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 24, 2006 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

Nap Time

The first of this pair was taken last night at 2AM. I went to wake her up for a feeding, and she just looked so cute. Lori took the second one this afternoon. She went out to run a few errands, and when she came back I was asleep on the couch, and Carter was asleep on my chest. We napped that way for at least an hour. It was so nice, we did it again later that night. Sometimes when she gets upset, and she isn't wet or hungry and the binky isn't helping, I'll lay down with her on my chest and it will mellow her right out. She just needs a little cuddle-time with her pops!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 21, 2006 09:54 PM | Comments (1)

Evil Genius

Welcome to Sean's underground lair, deep in Skullcrusher Mountain. His evil plans are nearing fruition. His army of ninja henchmen is almost prepared! Beware his doomsday squad, as they ignite the atmosphere! Ah, the atmosphere! Ah!!!!!

So is just me, or does Sean look like an evil genius in this picture?

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 18, 2006 09:50 PM | Comments (0)

Sleeping Like a ..... Baby

As she's only a couple of weeks old, Carter is still sleeping most of the time. So no open-eye pictures as of yet, but these are still pretty adorable, if you ask me. And check out the wacky hat Auntie Tracy bought her in the picture with Linda!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 18, 2006 09:43 PM | Comments (1)

By Popular Request

We've been pretty busy, and haven't taken many pictures yet. By the demand for more pics has been increasing the last couple of days, so here a few to whet your appetite.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 7, 2006 01:47 PM | Comments (2)

Truckin'

Just a few cute pictures I took while Sean and I were playing trucks on the kitchen table.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 7, 2006 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

New Arrival

Carter Jean Lord, born at 4:58 PM on October 2nd, 2006. She was 6 lbs, 10 oz, and 19 inches long. More pictures to follow!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 3, 2006 07:08 PM | Comments (2)

Classic!

Sean had a haircut last week, and didn't like it very much. So in response he staged a protest, in the only way he knew how!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 3, 2006 07:05 PM | Comments (1)

Reunited

Lori is finally, at long last, able to pick Sean up again. As soon as she did, he snuggled right in and let out a sigh. It was great to see the two of them together again.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 3, 2006 07:00 PM | Comments (0)

Incoming!

Lori saw the doc yesterday. If she doesn't go into labor on her own, they will induce her on October 6th. So that leaves just over a week to go. I'm so proud of Lori for carrying the baby to term. I know it's been rough on her to be confined to a hospital bed or to the couch for the last (nearly) 2 months, but it will be worth it.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 28, 2006 06:01 AM | Comments (1)

Hide and Seek

Had this one for a while too. Booyah! Two videos posted in one day!

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 13, 2006 07:47 PM | Comments (0)

Boop!

I've had this ready for a while, and just kept forgetting to put it up. I've finally managed to find some time to make some updates to the blog, so enjoy the first post after our brief hiatus!

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 13, 2006 07:35 PM | Comments (0)

Bubbles

Took Sean outside to play with bubbles this afternoon. He had been asking for them all day.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 6, 2006 12:37 PM | Comments (0)

Chomp!

Sometimes when I get home from work and dinner is still cooking, I put Sean up on the island in the kitchen to give him a hug and kiss. He loves to sit up there and look around, and see things from an adult's-eye-view. Well the other day I put him up there, and he made a beeline for the fruit bowl. He grabbed an apple, and started chowing down! It was so cute, we snagged some pictures.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 5, 2006 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

Too Many Cupcakes?

What do you think guys - is Lori pregnant, or is just over-doing it on the cupcakes? Aye Carumba! I can't imagine what she will look like in another 3 months! The funny thing is, people still don't notice she's pregnant if they see her from behind. The baby is starting to kick a lot, and I've even felt a few myself. We've started work on the nursery, and it is turning out to be a lot of fun - at least now that the painting is done. Three months (or less) to go!

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 5, 2006 10:41 AM | Comments (0)

Leftover Trip Pics

These are just some leftover pics from our recent trip that didn't have any common theme that I could post them under. Enjoy!

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 8, 2006 08:34 PM | Comments (2)

Storyland

We spent the weekend up north, in Bartlet. Sunday morning looked ominous in the rain department, but we threw caution to the wind (what rebels!) and took the boys to Storyland in Glen, NH. It's like a miniature Disneyland, designed specifically for 1-5 year old demographic. What a blast! The boys loved it.

They had an antique German carousel, miniature roller coasters, a tiny castle, an house-sized pumpkin, ball pits - pretty much anything you can think of that a little person would love and that adults would love to do to, if no other adults were looking. Believe it or not (those who know Sean well will believe it), one of Sean's favortite parts of the whole thing was a pair of red doors (shown in the photo) that led nowhere. He opened and closed them for 10 minutes before we had to drag him away, kicking and screaming.

The center picture of the next set is unfortunately the only one I took in an area of the park called "Loopy Lab". The reason I have no others is because I was too busy having fun. "Loopy Lab" is a big room full of Nerf balls. It's also got a second floor balcony accessible by stairways in the corners. THe whole building must have one mother of a air compressor under it, as the whole floor vibrated and the noise was nearly deafening. But the whole room is full of all kinds of devices for sucking up or launching the Nerf balls. There are suction hoses that can suck up balls and launch the into the air, a ball cannon that can be filled up and then fired at the balcony, like grapshot from a civil war cannon. Bolted to the second floor balcony railing are air guns that can be used to launch balls at everyone on the first floor. It was awesome - all of the adults may have been having more fun than the kids!

Sean and Ryan both immediately took to the ball pit. What is it about ball pits that make kids instantly happy? You would think it would scare them - as soon as you put them in, they sink in waist deep. If they try to move at all, they sink deeper and deeper, like quicksand. You'd think they would panic. But for some reason, they find the sinking even funnier. Love it!

So all in all, a great trip. If anyone in New England with small kids is reading this, you should definately plan a trip out to Glen, NH for a visit to Storyland. I can't wait to take Sean back in a year or two.

Posted under Photos by Joel on June 4, 2006 08:06 PM | Comments (0)

Great Gram and Gramps

Sean went to meet Great Grammy and Grampy today. We've looked forward to this day for a long time. If anyone was wishing for a boy more than me, it was Gramps. And - Booyah! - I always deliver! It was amazing to have three generations of Lords all together, and I can't wait to to get home and get some prints made of these pictures to add to our 'family wall'. And look how big Sean looks in Gram's lap! She's lucky he didn't eat her for lunch!

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 31, 2006 06:21 PM | Comments (0)

Sean and Ry

Not much here, just a couple of additional pics of the Two Musketeers. More to come later this week - we'll be spending the weekend up north with Ryan, and we are planning to go to Storyland. It should be chock full 'o Kodak moments.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 31, 2006 06:10 PM | Comments (0)

Friendly's

Sean took his first trip to Friendly's today. Friendly's was a staple of my childhood, but I'm not sure we have them down here in the south. At least, I haven't seen one in San Antonio. We piled the boys in the wagon, and walked over there for sundaes. I got a peanut butter cup sundae. Sweet sassy molassy! I'd forgotten home much I love those!

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 30, 2006 04:00 PM | Comments (0)

Two of a Feather

While Sean and Ryan officially met yesterday, today was the first time that got any real quality time together, without lots of relatives trying to get some of their time. It went pretty well. Sean's never been great around other kids (although he is getting better), but I think he may have taken a shine to Ryan. I'm hoping to get some more pictures tomorrow, when we head over to Tracy's for a play date. I love these pictures we took tonight, with the boys sitting on the step together. I love how in one of the photos, Ryan is giving Sean a funny look, and in the other, Sean is giving Ryan the hairy eyeball. Like they don't quite trust each other yet. Too cute.

And below are the obligitory photos of Sean making goofy faces. And to top it off is a photo of all of us. Everyone is looking in different directions, and it was nearly impossible to get both kids to smile at the same time, but it turned out okay nonetheless.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 29, 2006 08:37 PM | Comments (0)

Splish Splash!

When Mommy's away, the boys will play! Lori and her brother James went to a movie and lunch today. That was Lori's Mother's Day present - a "Mom's Day Out". While she was gone, Sean and I went to the store to pick a few things and couldn't resist this kiddie pool for the backyard. Sean was lovin' it! At first, he just gave me a confused look, like "Dad, we're supposed to take baths IN the house". But once he got used to the idea, he started having a ball.

When I eventually took him out (after at least an hour), I wrapped him up in a towel and we sat on a chair near the pool. He cuddled into me and said "da da da" over and over again in a very content, very happy little voice. And every now and then he would lift up his upper body and clap softly while looking right in my eyes. I really think he was trying to find a way to say "thank you". It was great. Sean and I have really been connecting lately, especially in these last few months. I feel like a have a new little best friend.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 13, 2006 04:16 PM | Comments (0)

Making Mud Pies

Sean hasn't played outside much lately - it's been raining a lot, and the back yard is a mess. The other day we decided to throw caution to the wind (what rebels!) and let him play outside anyway. He spent his afternoon sitting in the mud, and squishing it through his fingers. This probably went on for almost half an hour, and we finally had to nearly drag him away. He stayed surprisingly clean - the damage was more or less isolated to his fingers, and not so much his clothes.

Posted under Photos by Joel on May 10, 2006 07:52 AM | Comments (0)

Happy Easter!

Sean got his first visit from the Easter Bunny! He got a huge superball, a new book, some sidewalk chalk, some chocolate, and it all came in a cute froggy basket. Right away, he knew it was for him. He carried the basket around for a while before he even took anything out of it - he was so excited. Yesterday, he got his picture taken with the Easter Bunny, and laughed and smiled the whole time. Lori was thrilled, because she was worried that he would scream - as babies are prone to do - when she stuck him on a 6-foot tall bunny's lap.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 16, 2006 09:33 AM | Comments (0)

The Cuteness Quotient

This just a random assortment of cute pictures Lori has taken recently. Isn't he sweet? I love the one where we are laying on the couch together. He was winding down before bedtime, and when I picked him up to let him sit on the couch with me, he nestled right in.

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 15, 2006 10:50 PM | Comments (0)

Curly Sue

Sean's finally getting enough hair for it to show up in photos. It's actually getting a bit shaggy in the back - but we're afraid to cut it. I think we're just going to leave it long until after our trip out to NH. It looks like he's getting his daddy's curls. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on April 14, 2006 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

And Then There Were Two!

We were going to wait to spill the beans, but I think almost everyone knows anyway. Lori couldn't keep a secret. :) So just to make it official - Lori is pregnant! She's about seven weeks along. She is starting to swell a little quicker this time. It's hard to tell in the picture, but her belly is already starting to round out. Although she has been eating a lot of cookies lately...hmm...

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 25, 2006 03:02 PM | Comments (1)

Yardwork

Lori and I tried to catch up on a bunch of yardwork this morning, and Sean got his first chance to play in leaves. I think he really enjoyed the new texture - he kept running his hands through the pile and smiling. He's been doing great with his standing and walking - he hardly ever crawls anymore, unless he gets cranky, tired, and clumsy. He's also becoming adept at crouching to play with things on the floor instead of sitting down.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 25, 2006 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

Sean's Favorite Place to Be...

The kitchen.

Notice the yoga position he's been working on - 'downward dog'. He does that constantly, all over the house. Sometimes I stand over him and do the same thing, so we can see each other through our legs. It cracks him up every time.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 25, 2006 02:50 PM | Comments (0)

Fun in the Sun

This past Sunday, we went to the playground with Grammy. Sean spent all of his time in the sandbox, exploring.

Posted under Photos by Joel on March 8, 2006 08:43 PM | Comments (0)

Gues Who's Walking?

Last weekend, Sean could walk about three steps before falling down. This weekend, he can walk about thirty. It's amazing how fast they learn something new once they set their mind to it!

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 18, 2006 08:06 PM | Comments (2)

Guy Smiley

This is just a small collection of pictures we took recently. Sean is smiling in all of them. And as most of you know, Sean is not usually one to smile for the camera. So these are quite a treat for us.

Posted under Photos by Joel on February 12, 2006 07:22 PM | Comments (0)

Play Date

Sean had a little friend over today. Her name is Elizabeth, and she is cute as a button. It's funny - he seems to have gotten over his stranger anxiety with adults, and even with older kids - but babies still freak him out. They were playing nice together, but if Elizabeth touched Sean at all, he would immediately start crying. Maybe pretty girls make him nervous, just like his daddy!

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 17, 2006 07:27 PM | Comments (1)

Sean's Birthday Party

Sean's birthday party was today. We kept it small - only a few close friends. Lori's dad was also here. We all had a great time, and Sean got some great new baby bling. We gave him a big slice of cake, and for the first time ever, Sean managed to eat something without getting a single crumb on the floor. He just wasn't willing to give any of it up.

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 8, 2006 06:37 PM | Comments (0)

Sean's Got Balls!

Sean got an early birthday present today! Thanks Grammy and Grampy! As you can see, he loves it!

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 4, 2006 06:19 PM | Comments (1)

You'll Put Your Eye Out, Kid!

These pics have been a little delayed. I know it's been over a week since Christmas, but I've got new toys to play with and didn't feel like posting. :) So without further ado, here are the Christmas pics!

These first few pics were taken Christmas morning, as Lori and I got Sean's new things opened up so he could try them out. He really seemed to enjoy all his new toys. There wasn't a single toy that he was not interested in at some point. But I've got to say, Andi's gift took the prize. Even with no batteries in it, he played with that activity table all morning!

After everything was opened up, we all wound down a bit. Sean had breakfast in the living room (for the first time ever), so he could watch his new Curious Buddies DVD. The girls were pooped from all of the excitement - although Sadie kept an ear open for possible treats.

These last few pics were taken later on in the day. What a cute little outfit Santa brought!

Posted under Photos by Joel on January 1, 2006 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

Memoirs of a Strategically Placed Ducky

Here's some recent pics of Sean getting a tubby. Somehow, he worked it out so that the ducky blocked his manhood in every shot - otherwise these photos would have made men jealous and ladies swoon.

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 24, 2005 08:15 PM | Comments (0)

Stand Tall!

I've been telling all of you that Sean has been standing up a lot lately. But with no new pictures on the website, you must wonder if I am full of it. Well here is some photographic evidence! :)

Posted under Photos by Joel on December 20, 2005 06:47 PM | Comments (0)

First Trip to the Playground

Today we took Sean to the playground for the first time. He's -seen- playgrounds before, but we've never tried to actually get him to -play- at the playground. So we took him today. It was about 75 degrees out, clear skies, and a nice, stiff breeze. Beautiful! Sean loved the swings - he started laughing and smiling as soon as he got his first push!

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 27, 2005 06:28 PM | Comments (0)

Hangin' in the Back Yard

Hey all! Here are some pictures we took this afternoon while hanging out in the backyard. This set even includes a couple of rare "family" pictures - usually I avoid getting my picture taken like the plague!

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 20, 2005 05:57 PM | Comments (0)

Grampy's Visit

Grampy came to visit us last week, and we had a blast. Sean can be a tough nut to crack, but Grampy was tenacious, and eventually broke through Sean's defenses and had him cracking up. It was a happy weekend for all of us!

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 19, 2005 09:33 AM | Comments (0)

Funny Faces

A collection of weird faces Sean has made in the last few days.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 18, 2005 09:22 PM | Comments (0)

C is for Cookie!

Sean got his first Oreo cookie today! What a mess! But he sure did love it.

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 14, 2005 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

Long Time No See!

The last time I saw Ryan, he was less than one month old. Now, he is 16 months old! He has such a cute little personality, and is motoring around the house like a champ. It was great to see him!

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 12, 2005 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

Will the Real Slim Shady...

Please stand up!

This post marks our 50th, and what better way to celebrate than with some cute photos of Sean doing something new. Check this kid out! He's just getting the hang of crawling, but he is already trying to pull himself up on things. It started with him pulling himself up onto his knees, and playing with his new toy while kneeling. Then he figured - 'what the heck, i'm halfway there' - and got onto his feet instead!

Posted under Photos by Joel on November 6, 2005 07:31 PM | Comments (0)

Happy Halloween!

Sean didn't seem to mind his Halloween costume at all. Probably because the fabric was a little slippery, and it helped him crawl across the carpet. We were worried that all of the dressed-up strangers coming to the door would scare him, but he hardly noticed them - he played in the candy bowl all night! (By the way, one of these images is especially for Mike Page. It's Sean's "Male Model" pose!)

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 31, 2005 08:52 PM | Comments (0)

Hanging with the Daddy-O

We realized that I am in very few of our pictures of Sean - I am usually the one behind the camera. So here's a few to even the score!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 21, 2005 11:23 PM | Comments (0)

We've Come So Far...

Anyone who has visited us since Sean was born should be impressed by these pictures. You all knew our fears that Sadie would never learn to relax around the baby and we would always have to keep them seperated to keep her from licking him into oblivion. Just look how far she has come! This is how she is all the time now. Who could have guessed?

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 21, 2005 09:19 PM | Comments (0)

Movin' Right Along!

Sean is -SO- close to crawling. He can get around, but not so efficiently yet. Watch this short video to see what I mean. How cute!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 14, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (1)

What a Ham!

Just a handful of cute pictures Lori took this afternoon.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 12, 2005 08:34 PM | Comments (0)

Pascetti

Sean had his first attempt at eating spaghetti the other day. It wasn't nearly as messy as we had expected. He was actually fairly successful at getting it into his mouth!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 12, 2005 07:24 PM | Comments (0)

Brrrrrrrr!

Just kidding. It isn't quite cold here yet. We took Sean to the park today to let him play in the river - mostly for the photo-op. But he was a little tired so we didn't get much. But the previous day, Lori had him try on his new winter outfit - including stylish little hat - and caught a couple of Kodak moments. Doesn't he look so evil in the last picture?

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 9, 2005 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

Beautiful Day!

We are having such a beautiful day here! It is about 70 degrees, with a steady, 10+ mph wind. We've got all the windows open - for the first time since May. It was actually cold enough outside to require pants for Lori and me, and long sleeves for Sean. In fact, it's chilly enough in the house right now (just after dark), that I am thinking of putting on a warmer shirt. I love it!

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 6, 2005 07:30 PM | Comments (0)

Sean's Workout

Here are some pics of Sean's daily workout. It always amazes me when he goes up on his hands and toes like that. It's not a quick thing, either. He can hold himself like that for a while. I'm not sure what he is trying to do, exactly - but it's cute.

Posted under Photos by Joel on October 3, 2005 08:37 PM | Comments (2)

Lazy Afternoon

Lori and Sean were just hanging out today, and took some cute pictures. You can't see it in these pictures, but Sean is getting his third tooth! I can feel the point of it coming through his gums.

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 28, 2005 09:11 PM | Comments (0)

Dad is Great....

He gives me the chocolate cake!

It's a week of firsts! Sean got his first piece of cake today. When I gave him his first taste of chocolate frosting, he gave me the funniest look. Like a future alchoholic must look after their first taste of booze. He made a big mess, but he had a great time. If he wasn't in love with me already, he sure is now!

by the way, did anyone catch the Bill Cosby reference?

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 12, 2005 07:17 PM | Comments (2)

First Ice Cream Cone!

Sean got his first ice cream cone today! John, Michelle and Christian came over for lunch, and brought an ice cream cake for dessert. On top of the cake were miniature ice cream cones, complete with ice cream inside. We gave one to Sean - it was the perfect scale for him! He loved it!

Posted under Photos by Joel on September 11, 2005 06:22 PM | Comments (0)

Trip to the Park

We went to the park to try out kite #4, but we didn't get any pictures of it before the batteries in the camera died. We did get some good pictures of Sean though.

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 30, 2005 08:57 PM | Comments (0)

Babies are Easily Amused!

We were sitting in the office tonight, just keeping the little man entertained. Lori started throwing the ball up in the air and catching it, and Sean went crazy! It was like someone told him the best joke he'd ever heard! Watch this short video to see what I mean...

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 30, 2005 08:43 PM | Comments (0)

Just a Typical Friday Night

We took these photos today, during our normal dinner-time routine. Sean is working on feeding himself by grabbing food between his thumb and index finger - this is called a 'pincer grasp'. He's just starting to do it, but he sucessfully fed himself a few pieces of puffed rice. Gotta start somewhere! He's also doing really well getting up to his hands and knees on his own. He can't exactly go anywhere yet, but it's oh-so-cute!

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 19, 2005 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

Just Hanging Out...

We took these photos today, while Sean and I were hanging out in the bathroom while Mom got ready. He was being exceptionally cute, and we wanted to share with everyone!

Posted under Photos by Joel on August 13, 2005 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

Go Fly a Kite!

I've subscribed to a something called "Make", which is basically a quarterly magazine full of do-it-yourself geek projects. From building robots, to hacking portable electronic devices, to making potato guns. The first issue had an article on something called "Kite Aerial Photography", which involves using a kite to lift a camera rig to take pictures from the air. This is right up my alley! A couple of years ago, I tried to do a similar thing with model rockets. So I bought a book about kite building, and tried to build a couple. The first one failed miserably - never got off the ground. The second flew beautifully. It's not quite stable enough to loft a camera rig, but it gives me some confidence that the next one will be much better. Sean was looking especially cute that day - less like a baby and more like a little boy!

Posted under Projects by Joel on August 5, 2005 07:45 PM | Comments (0)