Hallowe'en

Schuyler's parents did not get Schuyler a Hallowe'en costume. This was largely out of newborn parent baby brain laziness but also driven by our realisation that she probably didn't understand the concept. She probably didn't understand the concept because we never really mentioned it to her. Fortunately, Kim and Wardy Baby purchased a ballerina costume for her a while ago and Lucy recently purchased some wings for her so she became an angel with very little effort... and she loved it. And I was happy not to have the kid who was "dressed as 'herself' for Hallowe'en".

These pics are from Hallowe'en in the Botanical Gardens with Lucy.

playing with Schuyler's new doll

Schuyler is thrilled with her new doll. It actually cries and pees and poos and sometimes even smiles. She loves the 4 seconds she is allowed to "hold" him... if by "hold" you mean squeeze and squeeze in Of Mice And Men fashion. She has also figured out that he reacts (read: screams) when you hit him in the face. This is apparently interpreted as a good thing warranting repetition. We don't quite know what to make of this.

Schuyler is also fascinated by Charlie "eatin' his boobs" and Mum's boppy pillow she uses to feed him. She has realised that, according to her, she too has "lil boobs" and sometimes tries (as above) to breast feed her dolls using a travel neck pillow as a boppy. It's cute and a little frightening at the same time.

Schuyler's point of view

Charlie!

Mummy!

Lucy!

Schuyler, you are getting a real point of view with some fiercely strong opinions. These are pictures you took over the past couple of weeks with "your" camera i.e. the one you kept grabbing and using to the point where we gave up and let you use it officially. And, of course, your dad still feels guilty about your toy camera finding its way to the bottom of a mangrove lake. I especially like the close up of the stroller wheel. There are more... ahem... artistic shots (lots of very, very short videos of, say, the rug) but these are your view of us which is why I like them.

Today, you were playing on your own when you got home. You were basically mimicking your mum and feeding your dolls which included warming up the milk in your toy microwave and doing the "beeps" yourself when you pressed the buttons on the wooden panel. And you got pretty teed off when your Dad tried to do the "beeps".

Today is the day you also went up to Lucy and said "Lucy, my back and my heart, they're delicate, okay?" and i don't think any of us knew you had such a lyrical turn of phrase (or where those concepts even came from - the only things i've told you are delicate are eggs and crackers when we pack your lunch box together).

Apparently, today Trystan said "Schuyler, you're a girl" and you replied "No, I'm a woman". I think you are going to be a handful as a teenager but i also think you will get a lot out of life which warms my heart.

Every night we switch who will read to you and tonight it was my turn. You rocked the end of book "quizzes". One question was "Qu'est-ce qui vole?" (what flies?) and there were a bunch of pictures including an airplane but you said "Un oiseaux. Daddy where is the oiseaux on this page?" I liked that you understood the question and had a good answer. We can learn about aerodynamics another time.

You make us happy. You drive us a bit crazy sometimes. But ultimately you are magic dust sprinkled through our days.

Charlie is hogging a bit of our time right now (mainly mum's time since he is permanently attached to the poor lady) but he'll be a lot more fun soon. You really like him which is definitely good. You last question at night and first question in the morning is "Where's Charlie? Eatin' his boobs?" We hope you two have fun together in this life. Because there's room for a lot of fun here in between all the stuff you have to do like baths and brushing your teeth. There's a lot of time for play. And, if there isn't room, we'll make some.

Jack-O-Lantern or "smile man pumpkin"

Schuyler, her Dad, and Eli carved the above pumpkin which consisted of a very enthusiastic dad ruining his favourite carving knife on the porch while Eli and Schuyler watched from miniature lawn furniture with a look on their faces of studied indifference. Aside from the now constant chorus of "what's happening?" from Schuyler, they were much more interested in, say, looking at the grass than in this once-in-a-lifetime bonding moment and unique display of artistic flair. She seemed to like it much more when the "happy birthday candle" was inside and the face lit up. The last time I carved a pumpkin was sophmore year in college trying to impress a girl. I guess I have to stop trying to impress girls with pumpkin carving, it never seems to work out.

all together now

I just wanted to see if I could give Schuyler a bath while looking after Charlie and being pestered for some scrap of attention by Magic while Liz photographed me. It turns out I can. It also turns out that I would prefer (strongly) not to.

smiles

The Grumpster

His fifth week in and the smiles are eking their way into his facial vocabulary. It really reminds you how powerful a smile is. It says so many nice things at once. In this case, however, the books all tell you that it is saying "I just farted" but we are pretty darn sure his are real.

not bad for late October

Kim and Schuyler explore Tucker's Point beach.

this is the point...

this is all from a nice relaxing Saturday lunch in october at The Point restaurant.... a more candid description would be a chaotic, stressful meal where Schuyler did not want to eat, did not want to sit in her chair, wanted to explore at full speed and Charlie only wanted to eat and sit in his chair. Luckily, we had reinforcements. Maybe we should stick to Rusticos.

pig tails

The first set of Schuyler's pigtails to survive the length of time it takes to find a camera.

Thank you!

Kim and Ward once again provided shelter and entertainment for Schuyler and Magic when their normal guardians left the country. We really appreciate it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Grandparental handlers

Charlie in Boston Children's Hospital with Gramps

Gramps, Charlie and Fenway (in Upper Crust pizza... very awesome)

Just another day for mother and her remora.

Nan, Gramps and The New Kid.

boston 1

Mini Me

in these bottom two photos, you can see the joy in Charlie's face from the furnishings in Hotel Marlowe.

Boston bound

So you may be wondering why we would travel to Boston with a one month old child... or maybe you aren't. Anyway, little Charlie wasn't gaining weight and the feeding thing was painful and incessant. All signs pointed to his bad tongue tie. Unfortunately, the ENT doctors on the island didn't want to do the procedure so we had to go see the good Dr. Mark Volk at Boston Children's Hospital who did it in his office in about 25 seconds while Papa held down his child. It was obviously unpleasant but worthwhile. At his check up the next week, Charlie had put on a full pound and the feeding (although still very much constant) was more comfortable (and successful) for both mother and son. Schuyler very happily had a three day sojourn with her very kind Kim and Wardy Baby.

And we got to see Gramps and Nan!

The "crib" at the hotel really makes the baby feel at home... if by "home" you mean cell block C of the local penitentiary.

Charlie, you should know that your gramps is very proud of the fact that this picture includes Fenway Park in the background (top left). We'll take you and your sister there when the Sox have another winning season... or when you are in college - whichever comes sooner.