floor play

Meredith adores Thomas. She loves it when he gets down on the floor to talk and play with her. Her whole body wiggles with excitement. I keep expecting to see her crawl away with him when he does turn to leave. I'm sure it won't be long now!

Happy Halloween!

The spider snacks on raisins while waiting for the lightrail.

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CUTE SPIDER SPOTTED DOWNTOWN!

PORTLAND, Oct. 31 - A very cute spider was spotted downtown this morning. He was seen riding the lightrail, shopping at Nordstrom and attending toddler storytime at the Central Library. Onlookers described him as cute, beautiful and generally a pleasure to see. He was overheard greeting people with "Happy Halloween!" as he made his way around town.

Related stories:
Adorable white bunny spotted with spider
Spider and bunny meet a friendly skeleton
Colorful characters around town - Halloween costume or normal attire?

Monster March

This afternoon Thomas and Meredith's cousins joined them for a favorite neighborhood tradition -- the annual Moreland Monster March. Besides the local middle school's band, a fire engine and a police car, the parade is entirely composed of children, parents and dogs in costumes. We always stake out a spot somewhere in the second half of the parade route so we can watch the costumed participants pass before joining in at the end of the parade. There were many great costumes today, but my favorites by far are the ones pictured here!

Cole as a skeleton and Meredith in her bunny suit watch the parade.

Francesca the kangaroo (with her own little roo!), Jeff as his beloved dog who recently passed and Thomas as a spider. Can you believe they all fit in this small wagon?? They rode like this for almost the entire half mile walk home. Silly toddlers...

Fish Hatchery

A gorgeous morning for a visit out to the Fish Hatchery!

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left: Thomas enjoyed feeding the trout

center: adult salmon "climbing" the ladders - fun to watch!

right: Meredith's having a good time watching everything

new things

Pictured above: Meredith and her new playgroup friends this week. The babies in the photo range from the hefty 5 month old boy in the left front corner to the two 8 month old boys in the back. The girl laying down is just three days younger than Meredith. Such fun to have groups of babies together!

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New stats from her six month well-baby appointment today...

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length: 25.25" (45th percentile)

weight: 15lbs, 7ozs (50th percentile)

head: 17 inches (89th percentile)

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And a new sleep record! Last night she was put down in her crib at 9pm and she didn't wake until 5:30am this morning. Yes, my friends, a continuous 8.5 hours of beautiful, solid sleep. This mama was doing a little jig this morning!

Yoga

Thomas demonstrates yoga poses from his new book Little Yoga...

"the butterfly"

"the cat"

"the sleeping mouse"

"the monkey"

"the frog"

"the dog"

six months

Meredith in her bunny costume at the zoo

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I generally don't compare the kids, but every once in awhile it's interesting to see how they compare at a particular age. Here are SIX silly comparisons at six months of age...

• teeth: none yet; Thomas - 4
• sleep: 5 hours last night!; Thomas - 12 hours
• food: not interested; Thomas - loves everything
• sitting: for a few seconds; Thomas - yes
• rolling: yes; Thomas - once
• cuteness: totally; Thomas - not so much (kidding!)

love

Moments like these make it difficult to imagine there may actually come a day when they will claim to hate each other and fight, squawk, pinch, kick and hit like siblings always seem to do.

100% girl

Last week two strangers commented on my "boy". Huh?! Did you look at her?! When I look at Meredith and see photos like these I can't help but think she's 100% girl. Silly strangers in public places...

Happiness is...

...hearing daddy pull up in the driveway.

Happiness is also listening to the pouring rain beat down on the new garden window and know that not a single drop of that rain water is getting inside (a little paint and she's a done deal). Such simple, little things make me happy...

the kids

"mama-Thomas time"

That's a large, red apple floating above Thomas' head!

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This morning I took Thomas to the annual apple tasting event at a local nursery. It sounds like a simple, small event but it isn't. In addition to the apple tastings, there is live music, fun activities for the kids, cooking demonstrations, a long list of apple and pear varieties available for purchase, all the nursery's plants to wander through, etc... We had a great time sampling fresh pressed cider, painting a pumpkin, listening to a swing/jazz band and the list goes on and on. It was especially great for this mama to spend the morning with just Thomas and no one else!

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I did, however, miss M and Meredith who were both at home having some "daddy-daughter time". At nearly six months (already!), she's becoming so much fun and I can see the "daddy's little girl" thing happening. Did you know that he sings to her??

In search of the great pumpkin...

It was a perfect day to be at the Pumpkin Patch! Absolutely gorgeous weather and although a little busy with today being a school holiday, it wasn't really that crowded and certainly better than any weekend day this month. We took a very bumpy hay ride out to the fields to find our perfect pumpkin (shown above next to Thomas, not the one he's sitting on), enjoyed lunch at the farm and finished it off with a quick trip through the farm's market. We came home with three pumpkins - one from the field and two that Thomas picked out in the market for himself and Meredith. When I first asked if he would pick one out for her, he declined stating that "she can't hold it". But he did pick one out for her that I ended up carrying. She also had a good time today taking in all the sights and sounds, esp. those inside the busy little market. Good times with good friends!

Thomas and his pal Logan wait with their pumpkins for the tractor-pulled hay ride to pick us up.

T enjoys a sucker from the market on the drive home

Big Mama's babies

Big Mama, as my brother and his family have affectionately named her, farrowed a litter of 10 piglets exactly two weeks ago. We finally made it out there this afternoon to check out the surviving eight piglets. So cute, so sweet and so much fun!!

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Visiting Uncle Doug's farm is always an adventure. Thomas played hide & seek with his cousins for the first time and enjoyed checking out the cows, chickens, dogs, cats, fish...

collecting fresh chicken eggs in the barn

playing with his cousin's horses

M found this Bratz doll interesting; Thomas called it "scary" (I agree!). She also enjoyed the huge aquarium full of various fish.

Thomas' first post

THHHOMAS was he2rre

fhnnm nm

vbBBBGNNNNNHNMMMMMMMMMmn,m/

4fweeeeeeeeeeeer3

Meredith's first post

a.2w cbc bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbcc5rrrrrrrrr6777 8

the mail is here!

One of the highlights of Thomas' day is the arrival of our friendly mailman. Sometimes we'll greet him on the porch or in front of the house. Lately though he's been arriving while we are eating lunch so Thomas and I open the mail while we eat. Thomas' favorites are the envelopes that contain an envelope. He opens the mailed envelope, locates the return envelope and immediately goes about sealing it up for mailing. Sometimes he'll stuff something in it before sealing it up. The mail has definitely become a fun thing for him to receive and send. He enjoys helping me stamp and seal my envelopes and often we'll walk them up to the post office for the full experience. He's also been known to mail a few of his own letters. I'm sure his love of receiving daily mail will change in about 16 years when he's receiving his own bills.

baby sister

Thomas loves you.

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He asks for you first thing after waking in the morning. He loves to help bathe you. He shares his stuffed animals with you because "Meredith likes duck". His voice goes up an octave when speaking to you. He points at things and describes them to you when we are driving in the car. He always wants you to go first, whether it be a diaper change or something else. When you smile at him, it encourages him to continue talking to you and laughing with you. He is always there to get whatever you need and has started to tell me what you need. Sometimes he'll pick out your clothes. He enjoys spending tummy time and back time with you. He has even started to show you how to roll across the floor and crawl. He adores you.

bump!

It's raining, it's pouring;

My sweet boy is crying.

Pulled off his sock

Fell off the sofa

And now there's a knot on his forehead.

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It never fails. Every time M is out of town the kids are sick and things like the above happen. Every time. Tonight's tumble was actually the third one this week, but the only one to leave a visible mark or bump. Afterwards he sat on the sofa and said he was going to wait for his dad to come home...