Category: Family

Both kids have been sick lately, and have been kind of lethargic. Even still, this level of cuddling is quite a rare occurrence. Sean tried to get under the blanket just for fun, and then they both settled in to watch Dora the Explorer.

What a goofball, eh? He just figured out how to do this recently. But I think this is one of those things that all kids do, at one point or another.

Those who know Sean have probably heard us talk about his development, and how it is rarely a steadily upward slope with him. All of his developmental milestones have always occurred in fits and starts. One minute, he's actively resisting potty training - the next day, he's fully trained. One day he'll barely scribble on paper - the next week, he can draw trucks and submarines. Until just the other day, he's really shown zero interest in learning how to write his letters. And then, Lori made dots for him to trace so he could put his own name on his Valentines for school. And what do you know - a few nights later, he writes his name all by himself on his doodleboard, and comes into the kitchen, proud as can be!

On Valentine's Day, I ended up going to the store three different times, all before 2:00 (and forgetting paper towels each and every time - but that's neither here nor there). On the third trip out, I took both kids with me to give Lori a little peace and quiet while she took her shower. On the way home, Carter wanted to sing. For some reason, Ring of Fire popped into my head.

The taste of love is sweet -
When hearts like ours meet.
I fell for you like a child.
Oh, and the fire went wild.

And guess what? She loved it. She tried singing it with me a few times - which was pretty cute, as she had a bigger allotment of enthusiasm than lyrical accuracy - and then started asking me to sing it for her again and again in an increasingly groggy voice. By the time we pulled onto our road she was snoring like a bandsaw.

I fell into a burning ring of fire.
I fell down, down, down, and the flame went higher.
And it burns, burns, burns - the ring of fire.
The ring of fire.

So what do you know? I can actually sing one of my kids to sleep. It's hard to explain if you weren't there (and you weren't), but it was a very sweet moment. The dynamics of being a father-to-a-son and being a father-to-a-daughter are very different. Sean and I have lots of sweet moments too, but the ones I share with Carter are much more frequently of the "awwwwwww" variety. And I love it!

Nothing new here - you've all seen these costumes before, and you've all seen the hugs before. But I can't help but assume that this phase where they actually like each other is fleeting, at best. So I like to post every hug pic I get, so that years from now when all they do is argue I can come back and look at these and remember it wasn't always that way. :)

		A week or two ago, it was warm enough for Lori to take the kids out to play in the snow. What I like about these pictures is that Sean is giving us actual, genuine smiles. Which is pretty unusual for him. Normally, he's either stone-faced (and sometimes looking drugged) or has some big, fake, toothy smile plastered on his face. But these pleasant little grins really make me happy to see.

I must have taken this picture at Sean's birthday party, although I don't really remember taking it. Doesn't he look evil? I'm now officially afraid to sleep at night.

No real comment - just a small collection of cute pictures from Sean's birthday party at the house. It was a lot of fun.

Carter has acquired a strange fascination with toe lint. Every time her socks come off, she's right in there digging around. We've tried telling that it's gross, but I think that just makes her like it even more. Her favorite phrase for maximum Grammie gross-out is "a booger on toe lint". Every time she says that, she then cracks up laughing at her own cleverness.

The other day, the kids were playing in the living room while Lori and I were in the kitchen. It got awfully quiet in there, so I went to investigate. Sean was watching Bob the Builder, and playing quietly with his blocks. But Carter was completely zonked out on the couch. A few minutes after this picture was taken, she fell over onto her side and woke up, bleary-eyed and confused. It was adorable.