Daddy Practice

I got the camera cleared off yesterday.

And this morning I finally caught the most elusive of beasts -

Brayton's Smile

Admittedly though, I caught it towards the end, so I will continue to try and catch it at its full glory.

Brayton takes a long nap every afternoon from about noon to three.  Today, since he is home, B put Brayton in the B.aby Bj.orn and let him nap there.

After the nap, B left the B.jorn lying on the living room floor.

A bit later McColley picked it up and asked to wear it:

Once it was on properly, McColley announced "Now I need Brady!"

After attempting to appease him with the cat... who was too big... we decided to let him carry Brayton:

Won't he be a great Daddy some day?:

No more pictures...

... until I download all the pictures on the camera to our external hard drive.

There's only about 785 pictures on there right now.  It was actually on my list of things to do today, but it was one of two things I didn't get done.

Things I did get done:

1) Got McColley to the babysitter's on time.  He had a great day and was excited to play with the other kids again.

2)  Took Brayton into my work to meet my bosses.  I also set a firm date for going back to work (a strenuous one day a week) and picked up my Chri.stmas presents.

3)  Started a savings account for Brayton.

4)  Scheduled Brayton's 2 month well-baby check and McColley's 30 month well-child check.  Unfortunately Brayton is a 'Pediatric' patient and McColley is a 'Family Practice' patient... so it will be a parenting ballet the day of.

So... it actually was a productive day despite the camera.  

(And, just to show what an obsessive picture taker I am... those 785 pictures are just since Chr.istmas.  Its been a rough two days with no camera.)

Snow!

We woke up to light flakes falling from the sky and the ground blanketed in white.

Luckily, the blanket was only about half an inch deep.

So, after skating we went over to T's house to play in the snow.

Obviously, being winter... the plants need to be watered:

We don't have 'official' winter clothes, so I just put McColley in three layers.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find Brayton's bear suit, so I wrapped him up in one of my coats and borrowed one of T's hats.

I think the pink and purple really matches his eyes:

Once they had watered the plants it was time for another favorite winter activity -

baseball:

Along with borrowing a hat for Brayton, we needed to borrow mittens for McColley.

They needed a little shake-off halfway through:

After being outside for a while, they realized they could play with the snow instead of just in it:

It has stopped snowing, but as I watch O.prah while the boys sleep, all the schools that are closing early are scrolling across the screen... it really is different out here.

Ple.ase Tou.ch! Museum

Since Sunday was Grandma and Grandpa's last full day here we decided to do something special and head up to the children's museum in Philad.elphia.

Brayton got a bit upset on the way up, so McColley helped sooth him:

When we arrived the first thing McColley saw was the water area... and it was love at first sight:

After exploring the rest of the first floor, we headed down into the basement where there is a whole child-sized city to explore.

McColley's favorite place was the supermarket.  He helped Daddy check-out:

Of course, every city has construction... so McColley helped Grandpa stack the bricks:

And to finish off our big day, McColley rode the carousel:

He LOVED the carousel, so much so that there was a bit of a fit when we forced him off.  We talked him down by saying he could invite T to come with him next time and ride the carousel too.   (Now he keeps telling me that today's plan is to go with T and ride the carousel.)

We walked through the gift shop before leaving the museum and Grandma found something she knew McColley HAD TO HAVE.

He got it this morning as a last gift before they left:

So now McColley has a pirate ship to go with his pirate costume!

Although he keeps telling me I can't eat the (plastic) treasure chest.  I have no idea where that came from.

Good Times with Grandpa

Brayton has now officially met all of his grandparents:

Grandpa Maguire arrived Thursday night, rented a minivan and only got stuck in a 'small' traffic jam on his way out.

As promised, we took him to Ch.uck E. Chee.se on Friday so McColley could show off his mad horse riding skills.

However, once there, McColley decided he would rather drag Grandpa around to as many games as possible.

From Air Hockey...

... to punching ducks...

... to shooting spiders.

Eventually it was time to eat and McColley needed some help cutting up his pizza:

Grandpa got back to the table just in time for a picture:

After about two bites, McColley was ready to play with Grandpa once more.

Brayton also decided it was time to wake up and enjoy the sights and sounds of C.E.C.:

We were only there for about two hours... and then we had to run our errands (at To.ys 'R Us).  It's so hard on McColley and Brayton having Grandma and Grandpa here...

Today's highlight was Daddy and Grandpa picking up McColley's new dresser and bedside table.

Since the dresser is kid's furniture, the manufacturer suggests bolting it to the wall.

It was a multi-generation learning process:

(In this picture B is using his new stud-finder.  Insert whatever joke you find appropriate... I've already made about 20.)

Once they had marked the stud, it was time to drill.

The Foreman had to verify the drill bit:

After drilling, it was finally time to bolt the dresser to the wall:

However, we ran into a bit of a problem... B couldn't get the screw all the way in.

Of course, the screw is in the way of the one drawer that I've actually got McColley's clothes in.

McColley (Circa 1859)

The bitter cold of a Dela.ware January wouldn't keep McColley from performing his morning tasks.  He rolled out of his small bed as the sun peaked over the leafless trees and pulled on several layers of thick woolen clothing, thankful that his mother had gotten them sewn before the frost hit.

His body walked out to the barn automatically.  He pulled out the cold stool and sat it down next to Tess, ready to get milk for the day:

Mother had the fire roaring in the stove and the kitchen provided a warm reprieve from the frost outside.  McColley sat down the milk and grabbed a spoon to help prepare breakfast:

Mother hurried breakfast so McColley wouldn't be late to school.  Upon arriving at the school house, McColley took his place at the head of the room.

Today he would be teaching the alphabet to whichever of his students made it in despite the cold:

The day passed quickly and the students learned all that they could as they and the stove battled the cold that seeped in through the school-room's cracks.

McColley rang the bell and released the students early so they could be home before the sun dipped behind the trees again:

However, McColley would not beat the sun home today.  It was his duty to play the organ for the evening choir practice at church:

The station master, the best baritone in the choir, caught cold despite the hearty singing.  McColley offered to run the station for him that night since he was the only other man in town who knew M.orse Code:

The night was uneventful.  The train never left Le.wes because of a delay at the chicken plant.  McColley waited patiently, hoping the train would arrive before the first of the day's passengers:

The station master returned before the train arrived.  He relieved McColley, but asked him for one more favor.

McColley stopped at the mill on his way home to let them know that the train would be late to pick up their lumber and flour:

McColley returned home, ready to start the day again.

We took McColley to the D.elaware Agricu.ltural Museum.  In case you couldn't tell... he loved it!

Ole!

There are few instruments that a one-month old can play. So, when you find one...

you go with it:

Brayton enjoyed rockin' the maracas (until he bonked himself in the nose).

Though the highlight of the evening was when Brayton rolled from front-to-back.

Don't worry... I took two minutes worth of video after putting him back on his front which can basically be boiled down to this:

No, there was no repeat performance.  Perhaps he was just too happy listening to the crinkly sound of the elephant's trunk to try again.

However, the real controversy in the house is Brayton's Official First Smile.

B swears he got him to smile Sunday night.

B, T's Mom and I saw him smile at music class on Monday.

B wants to claim The First Smile, but I think we've agreed that it Officially happened on Monday.

In continuing Smile News: I got him to half-smile today.  And, B got him to smile this evening.

However, B cannot get Brayton to smile for the camera:

So, as Pablo of The B.ackyardigans would say 'I must capture it on film!'... and I will post a picture of Brayton's gorgeous smile eventually.

Private Practi-cat

Kiera: Must keep alert.  Watch for anyone going near the cat carrier.  Must pay attention.  Must not get taken back to THAT PLACE.

Keira:  Oh Wise Mentor... did they... did they do this to you?

Orlando:  Yes.  Yes they did.  But only once.

Today was the dreaded S-Day... Kiera got spayed.

Luckily, the vet gave us about three days worth of pain meds to keep her comfortable.

********

In other news:

Here is a visual of how much Brayton has grown.

December 21:

Today:

And in general adorableness:

Three Pirates At Music Class

Amazing

This Month's Milestones:

- Met Grandma and Grandpa Hopkins and Grandma Maguire

- Started having 'Awake and Aware' periods

- Is bursting out of Size 1 diapers and newborn clothes

- Enjoys being entertained by McColley

- Started making noises

- Can sit up while supported

We would like to thank Jen for the excellent idea... now let's see if we can keep it up.

You Will Always Remember The Day You Almost Caught...

Captain McColley McSparrow

(Yes, we went to the mall today.  Yes, we went to the D.isney store.  Yes, there was a sale.  Yes, we should have bought about six.)

In other news, Brayton is getting strong and has quite a bit of head control.

In fact, he can stay upright when propped up:

What Momma Wants...

Momma gets! 

And what I wanted was matching pajamas for my boys!  (Even though Daddy thinks it's a little silly... but he wasn't at the mall yesterday.)

Here they are in their matching adorableness:

And since Daddy was in pajamas too (and the infamous 'marcing' shirt), here are my three boys:

After the posed pictures McColley started entertaining Brayton:

And we managed to get one more posed picture in:

Then McColley decided he was a horse:

Followed by rolling over and shouting, "Put Brady on me!  Put Brady on me!"

So we did:

And then the screams of "He's tickling me!  He's tickling me!  Get him off!  GET HIM OFF!" started.

Ahhh... brothers.