Yes, as a matter of fact, I do belong here.

Cisco isn't going to fit in this for long but has found Max's chair to be quite comfy.

Building a Rocketship

Edit video online at onetruemedia.com

One morning, I snuck away for a few hours to have breakfast with college friends. While I was gone, Grampa Richard helped Max build a rocketship. From the pictures, it looks like they had a blast building and "flying" it.

The Artiste

Max loves drawing and painting. We finally broke down and bought him some fingerpaints, because Miss Ellen (who runs a kind of pre-preschool class) always told me after class that "Max sure does like his fingerpaints." Here he is working on his latest masterpiece at the camp. 

It Cwashed

Grampa Richard was flying his plane. Max loves to watch this and was very excited. He looked up at him and said "Grampa Richard, now you make it crash!" We all laughed and explained to him that this wasn't like the flight simulator that they use together and no, Grampa was not going to crash his plane. And then, much to our surprise and Richard's dismay, he did. Luckily, the plane was fine. And Max was thrilled. 

Stealing Daddy's Corn

Following in her brother's footsteps, Lauren loves corn on the cob, and last night she stole Josh's from him. When I brought Josh another ear, she stole that one instead. Then, she decided to eat both.

Can't Take Your Eye Off Her

You can not take your eyes off Lauren for a minute. She gets into everything and loves to climb. She climbs steps, the slide in the backyard (up the slide and up the step side) onto the small picnic table, onto the table from your lap, onto the couch, and even stands up on the changing table. We thought Max was active and agile, but Lauren has him beat. All those people who told me that she would be much less physically active because she is a girl were very wrong. But that is okay. She is a lot of fun and we are looking forward to seeing her climb the trees higher than all the boys. Well, sort of. 

Waiting for Dada

Lauren has a word for Josh now. When she is looking for him or sees him, she exclaims Da!! Or sometimes Dada! When Josh was packing to leave Maine, she and Cisco waited rather impatiently for him to return to the camp.

Note that Lauren is taller than Cisco at the moment. We don't think she will be for long. 

New Friends

Diamond has finally decided that Cisco is okay afterall. Actually, she seems to really enjoy his company, for the most part. There is still some jealousy there, but she likes to play with him, and when we are at the lake, she tends to start her mornings with an invitation to play with him. 

Tadah!!

We got some playsilks for Max and Lauren. Max had me put all but one on him and he was a magician, performing magic tricks. I put the remaining one on my head and I was a pirate. Argh!!!!!!

Tired Girl

A while back I posted a picture of Max asleep at the dining table. Well, here is the Lauren version. She is not one to willingly go down for a nap, but sleepiness got the best of her here.

The Biggest Balloons Ever!

As many of you know, Max was hospitalized right after his birthday. I noticed some unusual bruising on him, and blood tests revealed low platelet and white blood count (pancytopenia). It was very scary for all of us, and he is still getting weekly blood tests as they continue to try to figure out what is going on with him. In the meantime, we have to limit his exposure to other children and possible sources of infection as he is neutropenic (low white count, so at high risk for infection).

Some wonderful mama's that I have met online sent Max these amazing balloons when he was in the hospital. They were as big as he is, and he loved them. 

Funny Grampa

Lauren likes playing with Grampa Mazgelis' mustache. She actually seems to think most things are funny, especially people's mouths. It is probably because we have teeth and she doesn't. 

I'm Three!

Max had a nice birthday party when he turned three. It was a small get together, and he chose a Dora candle with balloons on it. He calls the candle "My favorite Dora candle."