Beautiful Babies

A few Hershey kisses will buy me some more of Patrick's patience so I can photograph my babies. But he is quick to chastise me and say "I'm not a baby, I'm a big kid, Mister Mommy," in the exact same tone in which we reprimand him.

Kickin It At Home

We spent a snowy Saturday practicing our football kicks. Patrick likes to back up to "the line," which is usually as far back as he can get from the ball inside our house, and waits for us to plant the ball and yell "heeere comes Patrick!" Then he runs as fast as he can and kicks with pure glee. I played defense, defending both the house and Madeline, who was fascinated by the mayhem.

Saturday at the Museum

There were lots of interesting things to see at the Museum of Natural History on Saturday morning. After checking out the dinosaurs we found the Discovery Room—a place where toddlers are encouraged to explore all kinds of neat stuff like seashells, musical instruments, rocks, and even an alligator head! Patrick was particularly enthralled by a pair of binoculars. After the museum we met up with Mariel and the rest of the Carrs at the ESPN Zone for some games and mini cheeseburgers. Patrick and Mariel raced skateboards, horses, and even jet skis in the game room, and amused the rest of us at lunch by taking turns nibbling a single green bean. Good sharing!

Two Month Checkup

Madeline had her 2-month checkup this week and got good reports all around. She’s 14.4 pounds and 24 inches long, and her head is 16.5 inches in circumference, which puts her more or less in the 90th percentile for everything. She did very well holding up her head and following objects with her eyes. In non-medical news, she is a joy of a baby. She actually coos and goos and loves "talking" to us. The other day she laughed for the first time and it was the best thing I heard all week. We have been having many adventures together and are loving our girl time. Last week she accompanied me on a few ladies’ lunches and a trip to the mall, and this week we’ve been hitting the gym. She has also made her presence (and displeasure) known on several conference calls for work, and shares my skepticism about the new business “strategy.”

Happy Meals

While Madeline gave Liz a test run for a couple of hours yesterday morning Patrick and I headed over to Barnes and Noble to read stories and play a bit on the train table. Patrick is now one of the big kids at the table and I have to make sure he doesn’t take trains away from the little guys instead of the other way around—when did that happen? On the way home we stopped at “Old McDonald’s” for a special treat. Patrick loved the prize race car inside his Happy Meal and ate lots of fries and a few bites of “hangaber.” Madeline had a nice walk with Liz while we were out and smiled and cooed for most of her visit, and ever so politely refused to take her bottle. She was very happy to see me again when we came to pick her up, and quickly got down to the business of making up a missed meal.

Tub Time

Madeline's First Hike

She slept through most of it, but Madeline took her first Thomas family hike yesterday morning on Roosevelt Island. Patrick had a great time, but kept a cautious eye out for tigers. We didn't see any, but we did see six deer and lots of birds and jets buzzing overhead on their way to National Airport. After the hike we all hit the Italian Store for a delicious pizza party.