playing around

 

in our backyard

(literally less than 10 feet from our back door) (I made the dress from an old corderouy shirt) 

Carousel

We went on a merry-go-round this week. I thought Amelia might not have wanted to go on, she was very serious when she first saw it, but when I asked her if she wanted to go on it, she solemnly nodded her head. Our friend caught this picture before we started moving and Mia was talking about something. For the rest of the ride she was very quiet and serious. however, she did want to go on it again, and was just as serious for the second ride. I guess some things are just too fun and exciting to even emote. The little frien we were there with was the same way, and he's usually a bit more animated than Mia. 

Mia style

This is how you sleep in your new bed. (she's had it for a week now, and takes her naps in her own room and goes to bed there, but wakes up at about 4 am and finishes her night back in our room.)
And this is how to eat salad, Amelia style. ( we'd had a dissapointing eggplant dinner-too bitter to eat, even though I did everything you're supposed to, so Mia only had about one bite, then ate almost all the salad using the tongs. Whatever works!) (And that look on Burke's face is him rubbing his gums together, still working on a tooth) ( and you can see a bit of my haircut, I took the scissors and cut off the bottom half of my hair) 

dancing queen

We were in the basement (hard to tell from the background decor, I know), and I was sewing, Burke was rolling and Amelia was rocking! She was showing me the different dances that belonged to the different pre-recorded mixes on the electric piano thingy. She was actually matching them quite well too.

Another cute Mia story; the other night, both children asleep, Mia upstairs and Burke on the couch, we heard a loud bang from the bedroom. Lance went up to see and she whispered to him "I'm asleep". And that was that.

Also, Burke's canine has been covered up again, so now he is again toothless, and there are no areas where it looks like teeth are imminent. We'll wait for the next full moon... 

the end of the party

A friend, who is a photographer, took these at the end of a birthday party.

In other news, Burke is eating solids. When he started lunging for my spoon and smacking his lips I took it as a sign. I knew he was ready, teeth and interest in food, but I can't believe how quickly it's gone!

Another little thing, Amelia has about a 90% accuracy rate in telling whether Burke is awake or asleep. This though we're in a different room and he usually makes no noise when he wakes up. It can be very handy to just ask her instead of going to check...

no shots of the teeth yet...

But here is our vampire boy. No rice cereal for him, it's sraight to the steaks! Now his top right molar is showing and the right canine will probably have broken through by tomorrow. 

first tooth!

Burkes' first tooth is poking through now, but it's his left top canine!?!? Are we raising a little vampire?

Cirque du So-So

 

more cirque tricks...

 

my little attachment

 

Varekai!

We got to go see Cirque du Soleil tonight. My sister babysat and I managed to tear myself away from my children to go see the show. It is beyond words! I had seen some performances on tv and was curious to see whether it might not be better on tv because of the focus of the camera. No, it was absolutely incredible in person. Not only do you see the amazing performance but you also get to see the concentration on the spotters faces, the smiles on their faces when they finish, their arms or legs quivering as they held their weight, the little adjustments as they prepared to do a move. So worth it. Even worth being away from my almost 5 month old for 4 whole hours. I hope that if the circus comes to town again in a few years that we'll be able to take the children.

look what I found in my garden!

 

getting ready for bathtime

Sorry posts have been light lately, Burke had been needing me to sleep with him for his naps, then as that was passing we finally got new carpets and flooring in our place! The turquoise/teal is (almost) gone and in it's place a lovely silvery chocolate brown. They are finishing the dining room tomorrow, and I will post a picture soon. Luckily our weeks of cold, rainy weather have paused, and it is hot and sunny so that we can have all the doors and windows open to de-fume the place.

Burke just loves baths. He goes in there with Amelia and flops and squirms his little body around (I just support his head), and if he manages to push himself with his foot he does his version of a laugh. It doesn't matter what his mood before, as soon as he's naked and realizes that he's going into the tub, he's happy. 

Adaptive Behaviour

Yesterday, I was trying to nurse a fussy Burke (he's teething) and Amila was happily playing. Suddenly she was quite upset; there was a mosquito buzzing around her and it stayed with her when she came over beside me. She was truly crying and upset. I ended up having her lie on my side while I was nursing Burke on the other side. I realized that from an evolutionary standpoint, it would make sense for children to cry for help if a bug comes close; mosquitos could carry malaria or other diseases that could kill a child before they grew up to reproduce. I'm not sure if this is the case, (it sounds plausible to me), but either way, it helped me understand a behaviour that otherwise seemed silly.

The artist at work

Her art form is drama, the pen and paper are props. She asked me to take her picture, so I took a few, then went to put the camera away and she said "how 'bout dis one mommy, how 'bout dis one?" That's the look she was holding on the bottom left. The bottom right is the only candid shot , taken as we were laughing about all the tomfoolery.

rolling over

He can roll onto his belly now. He lays on his arm, and today he actually wiggled that free too. He's not crazy about being on his belly, so tummy-time is short-lived. He leads the roll with his mouth; that is he is sort of searching for a nipple when he rolls. Whatever works! 

Maybe its a guy thing,

I don't remember Amelia's hands ever getting in the way whan I changed her diapers...

they woke up before 5:30 this morning...

 

siblings