Picture of the Week

ALL computer issues fixed, at least for now. There is bad news to that though, but we talk about that later. FOR NOW, PotW is back!!!

This week, we were doing our weekly shopping as Charlotte everyones prepared for the snow by stocking up unnecessarily on bread, milk, eggs. The extra traffic and the fact that mommy was shopping with a buddy and dawdling (after a playdate and nearing nap time no less!) made for a boring and tiring trip for DT. I couldn't resist when I saw DT had shopped 'til he dropped, and stopped in the frozen foods to get a couple of snapshots.

DT asleep at the wheel!

Picture of the Week

Dane Thomas went today for his 18 month check-up. He had to get a shot and Daddy held him, while I got a "shot" to capture the moment. Please enjoy.


Details and stats to follow.

Picture of the Week

What a happy Thanksgiving we had! Hope all of our readers did well with turkey and fixin's. We had about 20 visitors and surprise, surprise - the day went swimmingly! We could not have asked for better. We so enjoyed not having to rush from place to place, and we're thinking this open door T-day is the way to go!

We only took a few photos, and I selected this one for PotW. It is unbelievable how much I hate it. Can we say Awkward Family Photos anyone? I mean, even Dane Thomas looks angry! Makes you wonder what I said before I took the picture, huh?!


Gramps, Daniel, Dane Thomas and Great Grandma

Picture of the Week

Trick or Treat!

Picture of the Week

Dane recently got his first haircut! I'll tell you more about it later with more pictures, but I HAD to choose a shot for this edition of PotW. Here he is being cut in the chair. Even with that silly face, our little guy makes such a handsome man!

Picture of the Week

Dane and his cousin Ben went this past weekend on the first of what we hope will be an annual apple-picking trip. Both of us, the two boys, and Granny K drove out to Skytop Orchard in Flat Rock and picked and picked and picked. And munched and munched and munched. We all had a great time, got some cute shots, and will be ready to head back... in about a year.This is Dane sitting in his basket eating a fresh apple. Skytop was a lot of fun. If you've never been, you might consider the drive worth it for the donuts and cider alone. BUT, we paid $15 to pick half a bushel. We weighed it when we got home and it was 22 pounds. That's more than Dane weighs - for $15! More pictures to come after some sorting and editing.

Picture of the Week

Dane's huge into cars right now, as you may remember from last PotW. He loves to bang on Dan's motorcycle, wave at passing neighborhood children on their bikes, climb into the jogging stroller, and play with his very own "cars". He has about 5 of those push toys that look like cars or bikes. He pushes them around, vroom-vrrooming all over the house. He's learned already that the open floor plan loops, making a perfect track for him to race around. He stands on the seat of his cars and rocks them back and forth. Jackie does not like this, and when she catches him, Dane quickly and silently climbs down.
This video is intended for an auditory picture, much rather than a visual one. Listen to his constant "vroom vrrooom" and delight in it as we do. You can choose to either ignore that it sounds more like "mom mom" or focus on how super cute that makes it.

Picture of the Week

If you ascribe to the saying "There are only good days, and great days", than you'd consider this a good week. At some point, each of us three have felt grumpy, icky and blah. Things have broken - car battery, computer, hardwood floors. Dane's been destructive and violent (poor dogs!), menacing (he's managed to steal and lose my kitchen colander), and testy ("yeah, TRY telling me no").

So I chose this picture for two reasons. One, note the spit bubbles. Dane has seemingly learned to do this out of nowhere. At my visible displeasure he thrives and does it more, better. He walks around blowing spit bubbles all day long, soaking his shirt sometimes so much I have to change him. It's messy and germy. Were there any rest from this new compulsion, it wouldn't be so bad. This is all the time in our house right now. We thank you for your sympathy.

Reason two for choosing this photo: it makes me smile. Like I've said, this hasn't been a terrific week and there was much too little laughter. But when Dane was playing with his car this week - his other fascination - we couldn't not play with him. Laundry wrinkled, dinner burned, calls went unanswered. He lays down to play eye level, he rolls it through his cardboard tube, and makes the cutest vroom-vroom noises. So, should you need it, I hope this picture completely melts away a crummy week and recharges you for Monday anew.

Picture of the Week

Another video.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's true, then this 1 minute video will tell you a lot about what's going on in our house lately. Dane's learning to do so many things all by himself! Only sometimes... that's not so great for us. Watch and see what Dane learned this week. Boy, are we in for it!

Picture of the Week

So, we decided to take Dane to the zoo. He had never been and the weather was gorgeous and he has always been so interested in animals. We're strolling through looking at all of the animals. Dane's seeing the flamingos, lions, tigers, bears, elephants, various birds and fish, and we're getting pictures of them all. He's having a great time and our excitement mounts as we near.... THE MONKEYS! Dane plays with the monkey statue, totally recognizing that it is in fact a monkey. THIS is the moment we have come to the zoo for. So, we present to you... Dane Thomas' very first encounter with a real monkey:Do not adjust your computer. There is nothing wrong with your eyes. No uploading error. Just as we went to take the picture of Dane and the monkey, the camera broke and this is how every shot turned out. What might have been the best photo opp so far, and we miss it! Niiiice...

Zoo pictures and more about monkeys to come.

Picture of the Week

As a young(er) mom, I would drop everything to rescue my son from any little discomfort, fear, or inconvenience, no matter the cost. This meant missing several once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities. NOW, as a slightly more experienced mother, I know that if Dane is safe and a situation presents itself worthy, than a picture is a must. While watching soap operas and eating bon-bons on the couch the other day, I hear from the other room "MAAAMAAAA....!", which is no good because Dane Thomas is currently on a daddy kick where Mama is only uttered when he is hungry or upset. And he just ate.
MAMAMAMA continues until I make it to the toy room, where I find Dane in his shenanigans. He managed to climb himself into the toy box, and of course, could not get out. I do my best to explain to him (while quickening my pace) that Mommy will get him out, that he's okay, as I race to the camera. A couple snaps later and Dane is distracted, completely unfazed, and playing in his toy box. Literally.

Picture of the Week

It's a cheat, but it's legit. This video was taken the 25th, right before bedtime.

Dane's latest obsession is brushing his teeth. He LOVES it. First Mommy brushes them and then gives Dane control. He goes at it, shaking his head and the toothbrush simultaneously. So cute. Hope this video makes you smile too. =)

Picture of the Week

We have been spending a significant amount of our free time at the pool lately. Dane really enjoys the water and it's refreshing in the summer heat. The only downside is Dane is a little adventurer and misses no opportunity to explore everything in fine, intricate detail. He often runs off (and he's fast!) and has come closer than we'd like to falling in the pool. So we strapped him up with a life vest while poolside. Here's a shot of him running around in his little life jacket, ready for action!

Picture of the Week

Goodbye Mommy & Daddy. (We'll explain later)

Picture of the Week

While we're getting settled in the new place, and still waiting on Internet service, we've managed to get a few pictures up to share. Take your pick of pics for your own custom PotW!

Picture of the Week

OUR NEW HOME!!!

We closed on our new house today. Although most of you knew about the purchase, we didn't mention it on here because when we started looking, we didn't know if we'd find anything we liked. When we found a house we were interested in, we didn't know if we'd make an offer. When we made an offer, we didn't know if it would be accepted. When the offer was accepted, we didn't know how the inspection would go. When the inspection report came out good, we wanted to make sure the deal would go to closing. When closing was scheduled... well, by then it seemed much too late to mention it. =)

But closing, though delayed a week, went through today and we are now the happy owners of this place. That's why we've been so busy (and not posting), and that's why we are soon to be busy some more. You'll excuse our laziness while we break in our new home.

Picture of the Week

Dane's learned to climb and he'll get on anything he can!

He managed to get up there by himself, and he was very proud.

We're proud too.

Picture of the Week

We are officially parenting a toddler now.

We're finding the proof in paper trails:

Picture of the Week

Pictures of the Year!

We showed one other video at Dane's birthday party this weekend - a video montage of his first year. Included are pictures of Dane from minutes old to last week. Try not to get choked up...

Dane's First Year

Picture of the Week

Some pictures from Dane's First Birthday!