Snow days

Charlie is back at daycare this week after two snow days at the end of his first week at the new building. I think the stress of all the recent changes in his schedule and routines have taken their toll. He's been more irritable and the rash on his face has flared up a bit. He has also not been going down for naps or at bedtime as easily as he used to. But he seems to be getting back in the swing of things this week.

I had some fun taking some photos in the backyard last week of birds and snow. In an optimal world, I would have had some white clothes to wear, and left Lucy inside, so the birds would have been more trusting and come closer. But a little patience did finally pay off and I got a couple of really nice shots of some cardinals.


Charlie also had fun playing in the snow last week-- helping me shovel was his favorite thing, even more than sledding down the front yard. Some photos and video are posted on my flickr site.

Entertaining Lucy is back to practicing here in the new year, now including a drummer. Charlie is readjusting to the loud noises coming from the basement when it's time to go to sleep. Liam is getting accustomed to it as well.

I have been attempting to get motivated to finish up the list of tasks I had wanted to get done while I was on leave, but the snow days last week sort of sidetracked me. Now I have less than 3 weeks to prepare for our big Florida trip and my return to work. Liam generally lets me get some things done during the day, but every once in a while we have a night (like last night) when he doesn't sleep much, and it leaves me wanting to nap all day the following day. But the way his face lights up with a smile when he sees and hears me makes it difficult to be mad at him at all.

Little Big Boy

Liam had his 2 month check-up today at the pediatrician. We thought he felt heavier than Charlie at this age, and we were right! He weighed 12 pounds, 11 ounces (80th percentile), compared to 11 pounds, 2 ounces that Charlie weighed at his 2 month appointment. He has definitely made up for the fact that he was almost a pound lighter at birth.

His height measured at 23 inches (50th%) but I think he might actually be a bit longer, because he was fighting the nurse as she tried to stretch his legs out straight to measure him. His head was 16 inches (60th%).

Charlie had a good first day at the new daycare yesterday. They must have really worn him out, because he was looking very tired when we went out to dinner to celebrate. He was excited to see snow on the ground in the parking lot-- he said he wanted to "go crunch crunch and make handprints." One of these days he will learn the difference between handprints and footprints!

Photo recap of 2009

I decided to go through my flickr posts of photos taken in 2009, and select those that were my favorites, and which would also document the year for our family. You'll find a healthy mix of photos of the kids, along with a lot of animals and plants. Seems I tend to take a lot of the same sorts of photos. Maybe my resolution for 2010 should be to branch out and challenge myself to take more photos of inanimate objects. I seem to remember enjoying doing that before the kids came along.