A lap full of kids

We visited the Pittsburgh Van Soests a few weekends ago and spent some time at the park. Here's Uncle/Papa Bill with a lap full of kids. Emerson is the clear winner of the Best-Face award.

W is for Wharton

Estelle showed her growing intellect with a brief presentation on letter manipulation before breakfast the other day. When presented with an "M" to keep her occupied, she immediately turned it around to make a "W" and pointed - a clear indicator that she's chosen the Wharton School for Business over the University of Michigan Law Program. Whichever you want, Baby Girl. Your daddy is behind you.

Here, she gets into the finer points of magnetism. The professor's verbal skills are challenging, but I'm certain she has a clear grasp of the concept. You'll notice the box of Aunt Jemima's Pancake Mix in the back, which fueled the discussion (Only for those of us watching. Estelle is on a strict diet of flavored puffs and formula.)

Estelle is cruising - and tanking. (But mostly cruising)

Move everything up another shelf, Little Girl is on the move. In an effort to show her brother that she's no slouch, Estelle kicked it into high gear on the crawling/standing/cruising front. At a tender 8 months, she's walking herself around the play table and pulling un-tended binkis from Finnegan's hand (or mouth). Cause & Effect are still a bit of a mystery when she gets excited and reaches from a standing position, but bravery and a little practice are giving her a swift education.

Movement isn't the only change on the horizon. Estelle wants the world to know she's got something to say. Beginning with da-da (although I can't confirm intent just yet), she's got about 5 different vocalizations at her command and adding daily. Finnegan seems to be on the inside track on meaning, though we've seen him scratch his head a time or two on dialect. Mostly, the two of them talk in giggles and laughter which makes Mom and Dad proud.

Here she is giving me the Big Grin upon completion of another successful climb. I'm tempted to put a lacrosse stick in her hand to test my tom-boy theory, but I can't find anything that matches her ruffles and honestly, I'm afraid of what she might do to Finnegan when he's not looking. Not long, Baby Girl, not long.

Papa Bill

Finn meets Dinosaurs

I stumbled onto these tonight while doing some email spring cleaning and wanted to post them. This was, I think, our first real event out together without Rachelle. Seems to me that she had to work, and I found a link to the exhibit and thought Finn might be old enough to enjoy it - Estelle was either not in the picture yet or just a plus sign on a stick at the time. In any event, it was just us boys.

I had forgotten about this particular trip until I found the pictures - further proof that it is necessary to take at least one picture of your kids each day. Finn was very quiet as we entered the museum and seemed to be listening as I told him about the dinosaurs - what their names were, that they lived a long, long time ago, etc. At some point during this lesson in history it occurred to me to ask Finn what he thought dinosaurs might have said. "Roar!" he says, and starts laughing. I asked him to smile with the dinosaurs for a picture. This is what we captured that day - via iPhone. Seriously, he's the cutest kid ever. I worry for the girls later in life!

Update

We have been horrible bloggers - that is a term, right? At any rate, for those who have visited without new news to read, we apologize. Here's a quick glimpse on what's been going on.

Finnegan amazed me a few weekends ago while I was washing my motorcycle. Suddenly, the Muffin Man walks out from the house, reaches into the bucket and says, "Daddy, I want to wash your motorcycle too." At which point he picks a spot on the gas tank and, to my complete surprise, does exactly that. Even better, the kid's got talent for the task. I popped off his shoes to keep him out of Mommy Trouble and we were ready to roll. Finnegan stayed with me until the job was done and, fortunately, Rachelle was quick to get the camera so now we have official documentation. This was a real moment for me as a dad. Even looking at the pictures, I can't believe he did it. Amazing.




Baby Girl has been full of surprises herself. While she hasn't decided to sit up on her own yet, she can crawl with the best of them, and paratrooper style, no less, forearms flat on the ground. She's definitely starting to develop some new opinions, including a GREAT face she makes when tasting any food for the first time. (I'm still trying to get that one on camera. Believe me, it's worth the wait.) Here she is modeling her beautiful smile, which she is happy to share most of the time provided she's not wet, hungry or tired. Enjoy.

More soon, we promise.

The Harpers

Recipe for Melted Daddy Heart

Last night we watched Julie and Julia - a movie about a writer who spent a year cooking every recipe in Julia's book on Mastering French Cooking. Clearly the movie had an impact. So here is my recipe for Melted Daddy Heart. The best part is the lack of clean up required - well, most days. "Bon Appetit."

Cook time: 9 months, give or take. Prep time: about 5 months.




Step One: Have beautiful baby girl.
Step Two: Come across her while sleeping.
Step Three: Wait patiently.
Step Four: Enjoy

Best served with Hot Chocolate.

Mending

I was officially tasked with my first mommy mending project this week. Finn's lovey, Quinn, had a terrible case of a missing nose. Every day this week, Finn would ask, "Mommy, where is Quinn's nose?" So I finally sat down and sewed it back on (much better than it was sewn on in the first place I might add!)



As soon as the task was lovingly completed, I handed Finn his lovey. I waited for the smile to come across his face, for him to shout, "Thank you, Mommy!" or even just to give the once-again-whole Quinn a big hug...



Instead, he looked at Quinn, a little puzzled, and immediately tried to tear off his nose. Thankfully, he was not a threat to my master-sewing skills.