frozen

We went to the Redskins v. 49ers game with friends and it was freezing!  

Note to self: triple layers next time.

If you look close enough you'll spot his two front teeth -- they're almost all the way in.

Why use utensils when you have two perfectly good hands?  You can imagine how this played out...

pitts and puffs

I was so proud and excited that he was feeding himself puffs.  I literally started laughing out loud when I  took off his tray and discovered that 50% of them were in his lap.

Pajamas are here.

After lunch we were playing on the floor and I looked down to find these leftovers.  The life of a mom.

The variety of facial expressions he has while eating never ceases to crack me up.  Mike gave him mashed potatoes as part of his dinner and he kept making this wretched face.  It took me three bites to realize what it was -- Mike had put black peppers on his taters.  No wonder he didn't like them.

Skip Hop bib.

Cuddle time in the pit.

Watching the fire.

Of course Cali went right in for the leftovers.  No shame.

new...

Why take the elevator when your dad is a master at the escalator? 

Taking it all in.

Mike was helping him to play around with creating a newsletter.  And of course we jumped on the opportunity to get a family selfie.

Just a boy and his mama.  Oh yea, and the Capitol. 

Similar sweater here. 

The progression of falling asleep.

When we walked out of the Newseum, this was the view we were greeted with -- no filter.

...seum

Super tired after our day at the Newseum.  Come on, who wouldn't want to sleep in a sleeping bag while being pushed around?  Sign me up!

Hanging out with Ron Burgundy.  NBD.

Tackling DC one cold day at a time.

The Kennedy exhibit was by far one of my favorite ones.

Mike, on the other hand, liked the Berlin Wall.

Those silly elders.

sleepy saturdays

Sleeps just like his mama -- mouth wide open.

Similar bib is here.

Hat (in ivory) is here.

Getting a little playtime in before we head out for lunch.

Watching the leaves fall from his window. 

Pants :: H & M

Similar shoes (without laces) here.

This was my view Saturday morning. One lazy familia -- but they're my lazy family.

friendsgiving

This month's supper club theme was Friendsgiving and although I forgot to take pictures, I did get these beauts...

 

Every chance he gets, this one is all over Cali.  In this particular moment Cali was trying to sleep through an ear, leg and collar pull.

Three different stores and he slept through 2.5 of them.  Such a champ.  My arms, on the other hand, not so much.  You know the rule -- never wake a sleeping baby.  This also applies for when Declyn's asleep in his car seat and I have to transfer him to his stroller -- not going to happen.

My aunt and uncle sent us this adorable ornament from California, as well as one of those ornaments where you take the impression of Declyn's hand.  I can't wait to try it out!

If he's not trying to put a tag in his mouth, he's all about laces -- doesn't matter if they're mine or his, he's going for them.

Different day, different position.  Poor Fen will comfortably get seated on a couch and here comes Cal to  ruin it.  At least this time she didn't sit on her.

I took this idea from my playgroup and used it for James and Brent (and a footprint for Declyn).  Can you guess who's whose (without looking at the name, of course).

lounging

Today we ran to Target and Dec is becoming a pro at sitting in the cart.  This wasn't even the worst of it -- at one point he was leaned back, holding onto the cart with both hands (one above him, one to the side) and had his one leg just casually up and over the handle bar.  I don't know where he thought he was, but he was loving it regardless. 

Last week my grandma had a mammogram done.  When she was at my house on Friday they called her to tell her they had seen something and needed her to come back in. (And by the way, seeing my grandma cry is one of the most heartbreaking things in the world.  She does it quietly as not to draw attention to herself -- it's as if she is trying to be strong so that no one else breaks down or feels sorry for her.)  

Today she went back and after another mammogram, plus an ultrasound (which they had to take because they saw something for a second time) they cleared her completely.  Direct quote - "Everything is fine, see you in a year."  Thank.The.Lord.  That's all I could think about the last four days -- I can't even begin to imagine how she felt.

Which  explains my picture -- I took this right after I did a little song and dance for Declyn, telling him that Nanny was going to be just fine.  Clearly he was stoked. 

Politely sitting in his chair after dinner.  Dinner (or any meal for that matter) is never this clean, I just happened to had finished cleaning his highchair and taking his bib off right before I took these.  He was sitting there talking to me, so I decided to seize the moment. 

champs

My parents and Smalls came over for dinner and while the bubbly was flowing we decided to introduce them to one of our favorite games - five die. In order to win you have to get 10,000 points.  My dad was at 7,950 when my mom rolled this number above.  Mike had to call his brother (who taught us the game) to see what it meant.  Turns out, she automatically gets 10,000, therefore winning the game.  Bam! She still talks about it -- and it has been three days! Good for her.

We were getting ready to meet friends for brunch and Declyn still hadn't gone down for his nap.  I was in the room trying to soothe him and he had his eyes closed, mumbling to himself (signs he was about to drift off) when in walked Mike who started talking about how he was about to get him out of his crib.  Well needless to say Declyn's eyes popped right open and a smile spread across his face -- he knew he was free.  Reluctantly I took him out of his crib and handed him to Mike (thinking I was really sticking it to the man since Mike had yet to get ready *you wake him, you care for him*).  Mike received him with open arms, asked if Declyn could get another bath, and proceeded to take him into the shower with him.  Seriously?  Talk about a plan backfiring. I swear that man can do anything, including showering while holding his son.  And of course they both were ready before me.

[To make it feel less awkward, just pretend that Mike is wearing a bathing suit...] 

And while I do love a naked baby (you know what I mean), I don't condone documenting what was happening here.  However, when I pulled back the curtain to see if in fact Mike was really doing this, Declyn had a huge grin on his face.  Mike said he kept putting his head back in the water, then pulling it forward and laughing. 

Our friend Val was visiting from California on her way to Barcelona, so we had a brunch with a little champs and mimosa.  Girl time is always a good time.  

look ma, no pants!

My mom and grandma brought James and Brent over for a little play date at my house.  I will let these pictures speak for themselves...

I don't know what it is, but lately it seems as if every picture James takes he looks more and more asian.  Nonetheless, I love him.

Jailbird and Smalls were just chilling on the swing.  Fortunately James was able to give an amazing view of what went down in his pants.  My mom is trying to potty train him, so she has him wearing pull-ups.  For some reason these ones did not absorb and protect.  Instead, him and I got a little taste of what had happened when I spotted some residue on the slide.

Every time I came near him he'd say, "Aunt Kate, take my picture."  Then he'd say, "Me see."

Oh I'm sorry, you don't take your pants off to eat lunch?  At my house we keep it nothing less then classy.

He would start off fast on the slide, hit that first bump and .... [bottom right].

He has such a love/hate (more hate then love) relationship with Cali that I found it hilarious that they were cuddling on the couch together.  The bottom picture he was in the room alone and started talking about Cali, so my grandma and I walked in and this was what we found.

curious george

He woke up from a two hour nap, I put him on the changing table, and this is what I got.  The smiles went on for so long that I was able to grab my phone and start snapping away.

Lately he has loved his toes as much as tags.

Similar (ish) top here.

Rockstar. 

Similar sweatpants found here.

Socks are here.

Fenway likes to get in on our playtime.

Three different stores, three different carts, and each time he was fascinated with putting his head down and watching those wheels turn.

Please ignore how gross his bib is -- it's non-machine washable and apparently water or some sort of fluid has gotten underneath it, causing the brown stains.  However, I love it so much (because it cleans super easily and keeps him neat) that I'm just not ready to part with it.  I have another one, but I'm saving it for when this one goes.

I digress.

Here he is trying to feed himself puff's (he did get some successfully in his mouth). Can you find all the places they are on him?