Worms!

The Children's Museum

Daddy's Home!

Snow!

"Winter is not good for me." That is what Ben had to say about the cold weather... before the snow came. Both of the boys were sooo excited watching the flakes fall and cover the ground. Emanuel held a bit of snow in his hand, until he realized it was cold and shook it off with a surprised look.

We went on a snow boot shopping trip and also bought them snowsuits, hats and mittens. They were ready to head out into the snow to play. Of course they didn't have to play alone. Ben and Emanuel's uncles played with them. They had fun sledding down the hill in teh backyard, throwing snowballs, and running and rolling in the snow. There isn't a day they don't ask to go out and play in it!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

The boys just got home from Trick-or-Treating. I think Halloween is Emanuel's favorite holiday! He was very reluctant to go out, until the first little bit of candy was dropped into his bucket. Then everything changed! He ran eagerly from house to house, holding out his bucket and saying, "Eat." I am proud to say that he also said "Thank you." to everyone.

Ben handled the excitement in his regular, methodical way. Before going to each house, he asked permission. "Mom, the lights are on, can I go to this house?" He was so happy about all the candy going into his bucket. He decided he had enough candy after a trip around the block and asked to go home. Once at home, he chose two pieces to eat right away, and put the rest away for later. Tito would be very proud of that!

Ben was a fire fighter, and Emanuel was a dog. Ben set his heart on being a fire fighter a few weeks ago and insisted that Emanuel wanted to be a firehouse dog. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of them together. As usual Emanuel had his own plans, which did not include sitting still for a picture.

Only Emanuel

The weather was beautiful today, so we decided it was a great day to head to Chalco for a walk. When we got to the bridge, 17-month-old Emanuel laid down by the edge to look over. Soon he was laughing hysterically. I just couldn't figure it out- what was so funny about a shallow little creek? I knelt down close to him to see things from his perspective.... he was spitting over the edge. Only Emanuel would think of something like that!

Ben's 3rd Birthday in the Jungle

Spring in VA

Happy 1st Birthday Emanuel!

Sightseeing in Virginia

We all had a busy week! Ben and Emanuel had so much fun playing with their uncles, and it was so nice for Tito and I to be able to go out together!

We did a lot of sightseeing this week. Jim, Micah, Ben and I went downtown and saw the Iowa class battleship USS Wisconsin. We were able to go on board and tour a part of the ship. While not exactly like Tito's ship (the USS Arleigh Burke) it was very similar. We saw the tiny bunks sailors sleep on- poor Tito, no room to move at all!

Peter, Micah and I also visited the Great Dismal Swamp. Mosquitoes everywhere! Even with bug spray they were swarming and eventually chased us out! It was beautiful there, but definitely a very dismal place to live. Click here to read about its role in the Underground Railroad.

Of course we also visited the beach! Ben was very excited to run and dig in the sand. Peter, Micah and Jim all got in the water. Brrrrr- it was cold! They are crazy. Jim found two great seashells- a conch and snail shell. He also found a Hot Wheels car in the ocean! Ben was happy about that since they are his favorite toy!

Emanuel is almost crawling now- he has a sort of hybrid mix of the army crawl and regular crawling. He is very interested in "grown-up" table food now and goes after any person he can who has it! He hasn't quite mastered feeding himself Cheerios or other finger foods, but he is always happy to practice. He also likes to babble. He has discovered he can raise his voice and enjoys doing so!

Everyone had a great week.