Zac and Marcus

New scraps

2010-03-04T19:32:00.002-07:00

Christmases Past....

2009-12-21T21:49:00.001-07:00

A visit with Santa

2009-12-06T22:03:00.001-07:00

The best Santa anywhere...
and the boys both enjoyed telling him the things
they wanted.

Marcus update

2009-11-23T21:01:00.002-07:00

Boy oh boy, is this kid talking. And talking. And talking. And really, a big amount of it is intelligible. His vocabulary includes words like: car (his obsession), truck, apple, light, open, (o)kay, mess, five cents (the fee for gratuitous potty talk in our house--big brother says this a lot), and moon (he loves the moon). It is a joy to see his vocabulary growing so exponentially.

Cute boy

2009-11-23T20:54:00.001-07:00

A few more scraps...

2009-11-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

Halloween scrap

2009-11-07T15:16:00.001-07:00

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T16:18:00.002-07:00

New scraps

2009-10-28T20:51:00.003-06:00

Five Years Old!!!

2009-07-28T09:41:00.001-06:00

July 2009

Sweetness

2009-07-19T21:21:00.001-06:00

July 2009

Laundry

2009-07-19T21:18:00.000-06:00

July 2009

A year ago today

2009-07-14T21:53:00.000-06:00

Marcus
And now he's 16 months old...
where did the time go?

Baby loves raspberries!

2009-07-14T21:51:00.000-06:00

Marcus
July 2009

Ain't he cute?

2009-07-14T21:49:00.000-06:00

Marcus
July 2009

A Year Ago at the Splash Park

2009-07-12T13:14:00.002-06:00

What a difference a year makes!
July 10, 2008

Fun at the Splash Park

2009-07-12T13:04:00.001-06:00

July 2009

Marcus Scraps

2009-07-11T23:10:00.000-06:00

New sandbox

2009-07-11T23:05:00.001-06:00

Thanks Daddy!
July 2009

Can you hear me now?

2009-07-11T21:00:00.001-06:00

Marcus was running around the yard with the phone to his
ear, jabbering away and laughing...it was the most
hilarious thing I've seen in a long time.
July 2009

That baby likes him some spaghetti!

2009-07-11T20:53:00.002-06:00

July 2009

A few more scraps

2009-07-09T16:11:00.000-06:00

Scraps....

2009-07-02T12:41:00.001-06:00

SAHM

2009-06-15T12:36:00.002-06:00

Sort of. Grams is on vacation for a month, so I've got both boys for most of the day, starting today. So far, so good. Zac went to school for a few hours this morning, and M and I ran a couple errands....then picked up Z, had lunch, and now watching some Baby Einstein in preparation for DUAL NAPS here in about 25 minutes. I think I can do this for a month, but I honestly don't know how full time stay at home moms do it. Parenthood is surely the hardest job on the planet...and one that doesn't pay very well....but does have great bennies at times. :)

Some more scraps...big surprise.... :)

2009-06-14T22:18:00.002-06:00

last one tonite...

2009-06-09T22:53:00.001-06:00

A few more...

2009-06-09T22:33:00.000-06:00

I can't stop!

2009-06-08T23:01:00.000-06:00

Zac’s new word lately is ridikleous, as in “It’s
ridikleous to have a swimming pool on your head.”
It’s so lovely to hear him say it that it warranted
it’s own layout.
Ridikleous.

I love it.

Bill & Andrea's Wedding

2009-06-07T22:31:00.001-06:00

Scrap

2009-06-04T21:50:00.000-06:00

Zac, your new thing is to be as silly as possible any time I want

to take a picture of you - like these on the last day of your

first year of Montessori school. It wouldn’t be so bad if

I could even get a smile out of you, but mostly I get your

tongue sticking out and very little cooperation.

Scraps

2009-06-04T16:17:00.001-06:00

Cute Zoot

2009-05-30T21:37:00.000-06:00

Another scrap

2009-05-25T02:43:00.001-06:00

Marcus,

Your hair is something rarely seen in nature - something that cannot be controlled by the will of man, nor the elements of nature. It is, quite simply, dandelion hair.
I’ve given up on trying to control it (not that I ever really tried - I knew it was futile from the start), and am really beginning to embrace it just as it is.
A glorious, fluffy, glowing (in the right light) puff of hair on the back of your head.
It’s you. And I love it.

And besides, it hides your Hurricane Katrina cowlick.

In memory

2009-05-24T13:47:00.001-06:00

Memorial Day

2009-05-24T13:34:00.002-06:00

Just taking some time today to think of loved ones who are no longer here....Grandpa Wirth, Grandpa Haberman, James & Earlene Scott....and thinking how blessed I was to have known them.

Even now, I still miss all of them.

Another scrap

2009-05-24T12:53:00.001-06:00

Weekend

2009-05-23T13:09:00.003-06:00

M busy studying a bucket

First water balloon experience

Bustin' out the old bike trailer...

Dandelion hair

Another scrap

2009-05-20T21:15:00.001-06:00

Cuteness....a year ago

2009-05-17T20:23:00.000-06:00

2008

Outdoor boys

2009-05-16T20:11:00.000-06:00

Oh do they LOVE the outdoors!

2009-05-16T20:10:00.001-06:00

Those boys of mine...I can tell we are going to need LOTS of sunscreen this summer! Thank heaven the weather is finally cooperating....

New scraps

2009-05-16T20:08:00.000-06:00

Walker

2009-05-03T18:38:00.001-06:00

Yup. A week ago, the micronugget started taking steps on his own...deliberately. He still prefers crawling because he's so much better at it, but the walking has begun. Running coming soon. :)

New Scraps

2009-05-03T12:24:00.003-06:00

Then and Now

2009-03-15T08:11:00.000-06:00

3.14.08

3.14.09

My how you've grown!

Happy Birthday baby...

2009-03-14T21:35:00.003-06:00

I can't believe you're already a year old...
I love you, son.

Birthday Eve

2009-03-13T19:56:00.003-06:00

Funny how things change between children...when it was the nite before Zac's first birthday, I found myself feeling really nostalgic and a little teary thinking about his birth...with Marcus' birthday tomorrow, I don't really feel any of that. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled he's here and the last year has been quite an adventure, but something about his being the second child...and my energy level being sapped, or something...prevents me from celebrating in quite the same way I did for Zac.

Is that awful??

Silly boy

2009-03-11T14:09:00.001-06:00

March 2009

Marcus' first haircut!

2009-03-07T20:52:00.003-07:00

What we had to start with...

He didn't really dig the clippers much...

His temporary "faux hawk"...

Looking good!

OK, people, I've had enough of this nonsense...

The finished product.
SO handsome.

Boys

2009-03-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Zac with his magneato creation

February 2009

Scraps

2009-03-07T11:25:00.001-07:00

Watching Horton Hears a Who

2009-02-16T20:55:00.001-07:00

February 2009

Boys playing

2009-02-16T20:40:00.004-07:00

February 2009

Brothers scrap

2009-02-16T20:40:00.001-07:00

The boys

2009-02-10T21:07:00.001-07:00

Z with a magneatos ship he built all by himself
(can you say future engineer?)
February 2009

Dinner conversation

2009-02-10T21:00:00.001-07:00

Z: Oh, I feegot to tell you....Iwentpooptodayandmybumitcheswho'smakingabiggermess? (referring to whether he or Marcus is making a bigger mess with his meal)

Mom (struggles not to laugh.)

Life with a four year old is never dull.

New Digiscraps

2009-02-08T10:24:00.001-07:00

Zac said....

2009-02-08T10:23:00.001-07:00

"You can eat clouds...you just have to wash them first."

Happy Birthday Chris!

2009-01-31T17:25:00.001-07:00

1.31.09
I love you honey!

Boys

2009-01-30T21:00:00.001-07:00

Zac at 10 months

2009-01-29T21:51:00.005-07:00

Oh dear.
This doesn't bode well at all....
I thought Zac was busy--he's NOTHING
compared to the hurricane that is his brother.

Handsome

2009-01-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

January 2009

Can you even believe those eyelashes?

Seriously.

2009-01-29T21:42:00.001-07:00

I can't even believe that I am posting these
pictures for the whole world to see....poor
Marcus. He would be mortified if he knew.
I turn my back for five minutes
and THIS is how I find my son dressed....not by
my worst enemy, but by my beloved HUSBAND!

I know, it kind of makes your eyes bleed, doesn't it?

Marcus at 10 months

2009-01-29T21:24:00.002-07:00

So much for elephant photos...he doesn't have

time for them any more....and frankly,
I can't catch him and shoot the picture
before he starts to move again.....oh well.

Zac asked,

2009-01-29T21:03:00.001-07:00

"If you took the moon out of the sky, would it just go back up?"

Happy Last Day of George Bush's Reign of Error!

2009-01-19T09:08:00.003-07:00

I cannot wait for the excitement tomorrow...the future is looking much brighter than it once did.

Peace out.

He loves his activity tables!

2009-01-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

January 2009

Digiscrap pages

2009-01-18T09:00:00.001-07:00

Thinking about a change

2009-01-11T10:21:00.003-07:00

to another blog host, that is.

I've got friends who are on Wordpress, and I've already got my blog name saved over there, but up to now, hadn't thought REAL seriously about switching...

I'll keep thinking and once I've made a decision, I'll let you know.

I think we need a little flashback...

2009-01-06T20:48:00.002-07:00

October 2005

July 2005
(just before his first haircut)

March 2005

January 2005

November 2004

(and am I the only one who is irritated that Blogger
now posts your photos in the reverse order of how you
upload them???? Argh)

Brothers

2009-01-05T22:36:00.001-07:00

Kleenex box snow shoes

2009-01-05T21:55:00.004-07:00

Someday, this kid will be famous for the stuff he invents.

Being a prototype, of course, they had a few bugs
to be worked out.
Namely, they disintegrated in the snow.

Zac Christmas

2009-01-05T21:45:00.002-07:00

Looks like Santa came thru again this year

It was a very gamey Christmas

Cool bike for Granma & Poppa's house

Marcus' First Christmas

2009-01-05T21:36:00.002-07:00

What's Christmas without candy canes?

Can you even believe how cute he looks?
Me neither.

Time for updates!

2009-01-05T21:26:00.002-07:00

Things are movin' and shakin' around here... Marcus is crawling like a little maniac and of course, he ALWAYS bee-lines for whatever prohibited thing is nearest--his favorites being anything with an electrical cord, night lights, dog food dishes, and the stairs. I am working to train him on descending the stairs properly, but he is in too much of a hurry to stop and back down, so he typically crawls at full speed (which is surprisingly fast) straight for the bottom. Sigh. It's exhausting to spend longer than about 10 minutes with him. :) But he is awfully cute, and doing very well now that his tubes are in. We suspect that he has already had another ear infection, based on the goop that was seeping out of his ear, but thanks to the tubes, we were all able to sleep thru the nite.

Speaking of sleeping thru the nite, we are working with Marcus to get him to give up the two or three bottles that he typically drinks between bedtime and morning...and he's not especially happy with us for doing it. We have had to resort to a modified Ferber method, and it triggers my PTSD from the nites in the Omnigon Pit of Despair when we had to do it with Zac, so it's pretty painful. Fortunately, Chris is amazing and has been working with M, and really, he's a quick study--not nearly as stubborn as his big brother, so we're doing pretty well in the sleep department all things considered.

We also had to move the crib mattress to its lowest setting because Marcus is such a daredevil that I wouldn't put it past him to attempt to climb out already--especially when he was so disgruntled with us for not picking him up when he demanded it. The beauty of that move is that now we have to change diapers on the floor (poor second child, we never purchased a changing table for him) which really makes every diaper change an adventure not to be soon forgotten. :)

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T21:21:00.002-07:00

wow.

Where did 2008 go?

Oh well...onward and upward, I suppose!

I hope this year is the happiest and healthiest on record for everyone.

To Friends and Family

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas

and best wishes for a happy healthy 2009

This is three hours after surgery...

2008-12-23T22:10:00.002-07:00

talk about a quick recovery!
He did great, and continues to do very well.
He didn't sleep well last nite, but I think it was
because he had forgotten that daytime is for
eating and nite time is for SLEEPING.

Goodbye, bucket.

2008-12-23T22:02:00.003-07:00

We loved thee well, but this boy is WAAAAAY
too big to fit in you any more.
So we've moved up, but we won't soon forget you.
12.23.08

My little elf

2008-12-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

12.22.08

Winter Garden Aglow

2008-12-22T08:59:00.002-07:00

Last nite we went to the botanical garden Winter Garden Aglow
and witnessed first hand what Clark W. Griswold aspired to.
It was amazingly beautiful.
The temp was about 40 degrees, which was nice,
but the wind was gusting about 20 miles an hour--so
it was an interesting experience. Marcus stayed with
Granma and Poppa, so Z and Chris and I enjoyed the
lights and some hot cocoa as a threesome.

Chris is holding the "snow cat" that Zac made...he had to carry
it around for about 20 minutes before he convinced
Zac to let him put the cat somewhere safe...

Love this

2008-12-22T08:50:00.001-07:00

I uploaded the memory card to the computer
and was thrilled to find this picture that daddy took
while I was gone yesterday....SOOOOOOO cute!
What a wonderful surprise. :)
12.21.08

Home safe and sleeping

2008-12-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Chris and M made it to and from surgery just fine...and now M is sleeping peacefully upstairs. Whew.

T minus 9 minutes and counting

2008-12-22T07:21:00.003-07:00

...till Marcus' surgery.

I'm not there with him this morning for two reasons:

1. I didn't handle Zac's surgery very well and I don't want to go thru THAT again

and

2. Zac is home and obviously can't stay by himself. Tho I guess he IS four years old, and in some circles, that's practically the age of consent...

Anyway...here's hoping all goes well. Fingers crossed.

And again, he goes for the beard...

2008-12-21T12:03:00.002-07:00

Marcus had the opportunity to sit on Santa's lap
at Chris' office party (this time, I got some pics of just him--forgot
last time)...and you can see, he goes for the beard.
Checking authenticity, I guess.
12.12.08

Baby loves snow globes

2008-12-21T08:02:00.002-07:00

12.14.08

Trimming the Tree

2008-12-21T07:52:00.004-07:00

What, doesn't everyone have a plastic hanger in their tree?
(this was Zac's contribution...it's Luke Skywalker's ship--yeah, he's
totally into Star Wars right now)

12.14.08

First winter snow

2008-12-21T07:38:00.002-07:00

12.14.08

I know, I know...we had a bit of snow back in October,
but snow belongs in December, so I'm calling this one the first winter snow. :)

Tower

2008-12-21T07:29:00.003-07:00

In traditional kid fashion, Zac has learned that once the
presents make an appearance under the tree, hours must be
spent organizing and arranging them.
Of course, Z has a rather different take on that..

Of course, daddy's on hand to offer some engineering advice

The finished product.
(and for the record, it's still standing in our family room)
12.16.08

Then and Now

2008-12-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

3.14.08

12.14.08
Love you buddy!

Pretty much....yup.

2008-12-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

12.14.08

Monkey boy

2008-12-14T22:38:00.001-07:00

Where does he get these ideas?
Good lord, child.
12.14.08

9 months old already?

2008-12-14T22:33:00.004-07:00

Where did the time go, child???
(the pictures this month were very difficult to get
as Mr. M has decided he knows how to crawl,
and he is very busy and has places to go, don't you know)

Marcus makes a friend

2008-12-10T17:05:00.001-07:00

December 2008

New trick

2008-12-10T17:01:00.003-07:00

I don't remember Zac having this phase (but perhaps I haven't scrolled back far enough in the old blog posts), but Marcus now thinks it's supremely hilarious to spit his food out. And not simply spit it out. But PROJECTILE SPIT it out. (Think a raspberry with a mouth full of pudding--that's what I'm talking about)

I have to admit I have a hard time not laughing when he does it because it is pretty funny...but I also recognize that laughing once or twice is all it takes for the little shaver to make a permanent habit out of it. So now I'm working on Stern Stone Face Mommy--but it's SO hard when I get that huge gummy (+ two bottom teeth) grin from him.

Little monkey.

Sippy cup fun

2008-12-10T16:52:00.003-07:00

December 2008

We're starting to transition Marcus toward a sippy cup
and he is LOVING how much fun it is to drink water!
He doesn't quite get the tipping part, but he thinks
the water that comes out is just too much fun!

All I want for Christmas is tubes

2008-12-10T16:47:00.002-07:00

Another ear infection. Same song, just the dance remix.

So...took M to the doctor today and much to my surprise, I didn't have to beg for a referral to the ENT. I didn't even have to ASK. It was offered. Outright.

So we have a consultation next Friday (19th)...two days after his current (10th? 11th?) round of antibiotics ends, so his eardrums should be good and inflamed for the doctor to see.

If he could have the surgery before Christmas, that would be simply wonderful....so let's keep fingers crossed and hope for a miracle.

Santa almost blew it

2008-12-07T17:14:00.004-07:00

We have known for MONTHS what Zac wants from Santa. Months. He wants a green Lego four-propeller airplane. We've seen sale flyers from TRU come and go, seen it at Walmart and Fred Meyer, but always figured we had plenty of time to get it.

Well, not so.

Toys R Us is sold out. Fred Meyer, Walmart, Target...none of them have it. On ebay, they're listed for quite a bit more than the MSRP. But God love Google.

Found the Lego Store online. And they had it in stock. And I ordered it today. So, provided all goes well, Santa will come thru like a hero again this year.

Whew.

Let's hope Santa is a little more on the ball next year.

Santa

2008-12-06T23:06:00.003-07:00

Today was our annual pilgrimage to see Santa--Zac for the
fifth time, and Marcus for the first. It was a smashing success
and we got some cute shots.
(For the record, this guy is the REAL Santa Claus--Marcus
checked his beard thoroughly, and we love him.)

Milestones

2008-12-02T02:08:00.001-07:00

We moved Marcus' crib mattress down...he's starting to figure out how to pull himself up a bit!

He has two bottom teeth!

Sigh. He's growing up entirely too fast.