Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Summer's Not Over Yet



There's still plenty of nice weather left to enjoy! We took advantage of the last public pool day last week, and since it was so hot yesterday, we set up the kiddie pool in our front yard. Playing nicely with every bathtub toy he owned quickly turned into a high-energy water fight, which continued today. Misha and Mom Vs. Dad. Let's just say we all got quite wet!





Fun at the park!


A day or two ago, Misha and I drew an elaborate city with roads, train tracks, houses, a lake, a park, and a school which took up considerable sidewalk space. Unfortunately the nighttime sprinkler system wipes out all our work by the next day. Or maybe I should say "fortunately," because then we can start again!








Pizza Picnic!




Sebastian loves it outside too -


especially in Grandma's lap.
And now, a brief section called Meet the Fish:

These are yo-yo loaches. You can see the reason for their name written right on their scale-less bodies - their unique pattern resembles alternating Ys and Os! They are cute and playful fish, some of our favorites.


In the center we have the beautiful blue dwarf garami, flanked by the male betta on the left and the female on the right.



Our happy betta couple. (At least I'm assuming so.)



I'm quite proud of this photo - our betta silhouetted beneath the lily pads.

We conclude our fish report with a video of the tank - you can really see how pretty the plants are.





Back to the kids! Ever since his birth, a certain expression of Sebastian's has driven me crazy reminding me of someone I couldn't place -- particularly when we'd go walking with the stroller, when Sebastian would look up at the trees with absolute wonder. Sort of like this:




And then I figured it out! It was the little lion cub, Simba's son, at the end of the Lion King when Rafiki holds him up.



Sebastian has made a new friend:




He enjoys sucking on his fists and he really pushes with those back legs! He wants to go places!




Look at those roley poley arms and legs!



A great way to multi-task:



I can totally imagine Misha coming home from school one day with something like this as his school portrait:



Our little monkey. (That's a rug burn under his nose. We're not sure how he manages to do things like that.)



Misha creates his Lincoln Log zoo while Sebastian snoozes peacefully ...




The family. (That odd-looking spot on my arm is actually a frog tattoo, a gift from Misha.)








All my cute boys!







Monday, August 17, 2009

Good Intentions

That's what brothers are for! Whenever Sebastian spits up, Misha is quick to run for a rag to help mop up the milk. And you should hear how parental he sounds when he coos to Sebastian, "Oh, that was a good burp!"


So far, Misha's only fault in brothering is his overzealousness in everything - trying hold Sebastian by himself, trying to pick him up or move him, rocking him in his swing too fast, shaking rattles and other toys right in his face, and kissing him so vigorously that it startles him out of deep sleep. (That last one happens a lot, despite our pleas of "Don't wake the baby!") It's not that he doesn't have good intentions, at least ...



What I find amazing is Misha's innate sense that he is no longer by himself - he's playing "with" his brother. Yesterday morning I found him giving Sebastian a check-up with the play doctor kit, chattering the whole time about his procedures. A few days ago, Misha set up the Sorry board for four players - Mommy, Daddy, Sebastian, and himself. When we brought up the fact that Sebastian doesn't know how to play yet, Misha said he would help Sebastian move his pieces. I facetiously suggested that "You and Sebastian can play a game first, while Daddy and I finish cleaning." To my surprise, Misha agreed and started playing, drawing a card for him, then for Sebastian. At one point, Misha announced, "Uh oh! Baby brother landed in a dangerous spot, Mommy!" - because Sebastian's piece had landed on the doorstep of another color (risking the chance that the other player could get a guy out, thus bumping Sebastian off the board and back to Start. You know how Sorry goes.) Misha also likes to be "in charge" of Sebastian at times. When Sebastian is napping, Misha likes to lay down beside him and tell me, "You can go now, Mommy."


Recently I asked Misha if he wanted to help me give Sebastian a bath. Of course, his answer was an immediate, "Oh, sure!" (his current affirmative answer to everything).



Beautiful wild flowers thrive just down the block from my parents' house. Sunflowers, Cosmos, Black-eyed Susans, Cone flowers, etc.



Misha at the park with his PBJ:
Some more classy smiles:
Misha's amazing Lego creation (he said it was a remote-control airplane)
Our plants are thriving! If you compare this photo to the one I posted on Aug. 5, you'll see a huge difference, especially in the Lilly. The Lilly is on the right with the large leaves (grown from a bulb from Wal-Mart, amazingly enough). The lucky fish to inhabit this tank are 8 neon tetras, 3 dwarf gouramis, 2 bettas, 3 yo-yo loaches, 4 zebra danios, 1 black Molly, and some algae eaters.

And this is our adorable youngest child smiling and cooing on camera:


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Smile, Baby, Smile


We can almost always get Sebastian to smile at us now - especially if we talk in goofy voices and shower him with our best grins!










Watch carefully - this is Sebastian ...




... and this is Misha when he was two or three months.