quick post before our trip...

We're off to Chicago tomorrow, the first leg of our Grand Tour of the Midwest, so I'm throwing these up in a hurry before we go.

My attempts at the brother-sister portrait continue to be frustrated, by someone's preference to hug Woobie and refusal to remove the binky...
and someone else's inability to remain upright.

Here's Brennan doing what he loves the most - playing with Thomas & Friends on the "train-train tracks". He still enjoys going to "school" and has a couple of girlfriends - Zoe & Finnia. In related news, I think I've finally figured out why he comes home with glue in his hair so often:

I'm still finding macaroni in my car.

Lucie's current activities include:

epic naps, with Mommy and/or Mumbles

jamming things in her mouth

squirming and kicking and rubbing her ridiculous baby feet together.

We managed a Mommy & Brennan ride on the carousel - although he whined for Daddy up until getting the ticket. He also chose a cat because the little girl in front of us repeatedly said she wanted to ride a kitty. Luckily, there were enough kitties to accommodate everyone.
Just as fun: getting a very close look at the fish, and trying to climb into the fake savannah at the Academy of Sciences -
This is Brennan's favorite perch, the windowsill in Mommy & Daddy's room. He's just up from a nap, which is why he looks a bit sad. He wakes up like his mother, a little foggy and slow, and needs a little time before he's ready to talk & play.

And here's Lucie at 6 months, bigger, sitting up a little better, and ready to chew on the Sophie Giraffe with tooth #2:

iPhone round-up

Sometimes, you only have a few seconds to catch them doing something funny or sweet. Other times, you can't face hauling one more thing with you, especially if you're just going to the playground down the street. For those times, well, there's the iPhone. So here's a random selection from the last few months.

Daddy caught Bren & Lucie doing their version of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam one Saturday while I was at work.
The one exception to the iPhone theme is Lucie's 5 month couch photo. Yes, she's wearing jeans. Important Lucie stats:

first laugh - April 19

rolled over - May 3

first tooth - May 22
Here's Brennan in the tunnel slide at the local playground. How did I get him to wear a hat, you ask? Easy. I put one on Lucie, and then it was all, "I wanna hat too".
I nearly missed the boat with her hat, actually. It was crammed in the back of a drawer and the weather has been so crap for most of spring there's been little need for a sun hat. So when a pretty day and a trip to the playground came up I was scrambling for something to cover her transparent head. It barely fit - I kind of had to shove it down and then pull on the chin strap to get it fastened.
The new mini-treat selections at Starbucks have been a big hit with Brennan, although he doesn't care for the little marshmallows on the Rocky Road Cakepop. He picks them off and hands them to me, because that's what I need: a handful of sticky mini-marshmallows. Here he is enjoying the Tiramisu variety along the waterfront.

Lucie was having a Little Edie moment here.

This one goes back a ways, to Thanksgiving. "Gangi" (my mom) has knitted Brennan a number of adorable little sweaters, which he is absolute pill about wearing, so we try to get photographic evidence when we manage to get one on him. Success was brief, as later that day he got into the baby powder and needed an outfit change.

Here's Kris illustrating another great part of iPhone photography - when you're trapped under a baby, the iPhone is often the only camera within reach. Ditto for dogs curled up on your feet.

I don't know what possessed me to put all my sunglasses in a bottom drawer, but Bren's favorites are these red ones:
He calls them glasses now, which makes me a little sad. When he was less verbal, he thought they were called "cool", because I would help him put mine on and then tell him, "you're so cool". I can't believe there are already funny little things he's outgrown, like when he used to say "yes" to every question he was asked, claiming his name was "baby", or asking to see his 2nd birthday photos by requesting "happy cake". With his 3rd birthday and full days at pre-school coming up in August, I know there will be more and more things he outgrows, and all too soon will be too cool to wear Mommy's sunglasses...