Cormac: 18 and 19 Months

Dear Little Mac,

Sorry we missed the post for your year-and-a-half Birthday!  Both Mama’s and my computers decided to act up at the same time, so they were both in the shop getting fixed when your half-birthday rolled around.  And once we got them back, we just never got around to doing the post.  I’m not gonna lie – we have much less free time with two kids at home and with both of us working full time (as opposed to just one kid and just me working when we started blogging about Daphne)… we truly do apologize if you suffer from second-kid syndrome!   And, with less total free time, we’d much rather spend that time with you, in person, than spend it writing about you.  But we will try harder…

On that note, here is a video I made of some of the time you and I spent together this afternoon – it gives a good impression of what life is like with a high-energy, fun-loving, go-go-go toddler in the house (especially for anyone who doesn’t have any kids, you can see how crazy and messy it can be!).  And, to make up for the lack of pictures in this post, this video is actually composed of 900 pictures – still frames of you, taken at two second intervals and then smashed together like a digital flipbook! And the accompanying music (“Flight of the Bumblebee”) seemed very apropos for your level of activity…

You’re language use has just skyrocketed in the past two months.  It’s past the point now where we can keep track of a list of the words you know.  If it’s something around the house, yard, or neighborhood, you probably know it!  You can say all of our names now, more or less (“Daph” for Daphne, “Pi-yut” for Pilot, etc.), and just added “Aunt Jamie” to that list, as she was just visiting us over her Spring Break.  You’re developing quite the little sense of humor, as well.  You enjoy making faces at us to get us to laugh, and to tease us by pretending to give something to us but then taking it away at the last minute – you think that is pretty hilarious.

One of your favorite faces to make to get us to laugh

You’re still in a throwing-food phase (which we hope doesn’t last too much longer!), and you think it’s funny when we tell you “No!” – which in turn makes us laugh and then maybe reinforces the behavior.  We usually just end up taking the food away for a while… seems to work the best.  Although, Pilot really likes this phase, and hopes you don’t grow out of it too soon!

Love you, Cormac Thomas!

Love, Daddy

Cormac: 17 Months

Macky,

I know this is late. We’re behind on a couple of posts actually. Luckily you won’t read these for a few years yet and its tardiness won’t matter much then.

We have been quite busy and you have been learning and growing a lot. It seems like you learn 5 or 6 new words each day – I never know what you’re going to say next. Just today you said “off sock”, “buggy”, “orange”, “show” and “pillow”. Some of your other recent words include “cracker”, “toilet”, “potty”, “jump”, “keys” and “school”. You can also do upwards of 20 signs. You’re a pretty smart little dude.

We went to a traveling luminarium a couple of weeks ago and you really liked it. You ran around like a crazy person, screeching and slipping on the sides of the tents. Your sister was a little worried that you would get lost, so we couldn’t let you roam totally free, but you sure felt free.

Lately you’ve become quite the little monkey. You can climb onto the dining room chairs and you like to give me a heart attack by standing in your stocking feet on the dining room table. I have visions of you cracking your head open on the tile floor, but you’re like Daphne and you love the rush of being up high. You’ve been trying to jump and you do this adorable little butt wiggle and knee bend that you think is jumping. It is SO cute. I need to get it on video. Today you were doing it while standing on top of the ottoman – you and your sister will be the death of me!

I took you and Daphne shopping today to buy you a new pair of Tom’s Shoes. I picked a pair of red ones for you and Daphne chose a pair of hot pink glitter shoes. You desperately love her glitter shoes and you wore them around the house all afternoon. Tomorrow I’m going to exchange your red ones and let you chose your own glitter pair. Don’t hate me for it when you’re 16.

I love you Mickey Macky, you are one sweet boy.

Mama

A Look Back: Daphne’s Fourth Year in Photos

Happy Fourth Birthday, Daphne Jo!

As per our birthday tradition, here is a look back at photos of you during the past year.  You sure have grown up!  See here for last year’s post (which also has links to the first two years, if interested).  And, as always, we’ll start by using the pic with which we ended last year:

Somebody cut her own hair!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday, to our amazing, funny, intelligent, creative, and fun-loving four-year-old!

We love you, Daphne Jo!!

 

Love,

Daddy, Mommy and Cormac

Christmas 2012 (3 of 3)

Christmas 2012 (2 of 3)

Christmas 2012 (1 of 3)

Cormac: 15 Months

Dear Cormac,

You’re 15 months old today, little guy… and as cute as ever.  Also, as active as ever.  You are still splitting your time between walking and crawling, but slowly starting to walk more than crawl.  Pretty cute watching you toddle across the room with your arms out to the side or in front of you for balance.

You’re also climbing all over everything now, and we have to keep an eye on you even more than ever.  You climb onto the couch, chairs, coffee table, your toys, and the step stool whenever Daphne pulls it out to “help” in the kitchen.  Here are two pics of you and her helping make some pizza…

You’re not really scared of trying anything right now.  You can barely walk, but you tried to climb UP the slide when we were at the park last week.

And even when you are causing trouble and mischief, you are still pretty cute while doing it.  You love to take your water bottles and turn them upside down and try to smash the water out of them into a big puddle…

And you are going through a phase where you love to throw your food (and everything else) on the ground and at us.  And when we say “no” or “no throwing”, you just smile and laugh at us… pretty hard to get mad at you for that.  So we just try to remove your food from your reach, and hope the phase will pass.

You like to have books read to you, by us or by Daphne (who really just makes up the story as she turns the pages, but you don’t know any different).  And you like to turn the pages yourself.  Here’s you reading a Halloween card that Bestemor sent you:

And speaking of Halloween, you were a dragon this year… and didn’t even try to wriggle out of the hood/dragonhead for most of the night.  You had fun trick-or-treating in your little car, following around the bigger kids (even though you didn’t get any candy… but you didn’t care or know any better).

Besides riding in your car, you also like riding in most other forms of kiddie transportation, including the little firetruck you and D share, in the big-kid double-shopping cart with your sister (even though you still enjoy sitting in the normal seat in the single-shopping cart, too)…

…and in the single- or double-stroller as well.  This probably doesn’t win any Parent-of-the-Year awards, but here’s how we kept you and your sister occupied while we were traveling last month:

Thanks iPhone apps!

As far as the traveling we did, it was a quick jaunt out to LA, and we had the opportunity to take your sister and you to Disneyland for your first time!

The great thing about the trip was that both sets of grandparents, Grandpa Al and Grandma Candy and Grandpa Lyle and Bestemor, were able to meet us down there and go with us.

It was Joy and my first time going to Disney as parents, and it was definitely a different experience than just going on our own.  Less fast grown-up rides (though four of us did sneak off to Space Mountain late in the day), but watching the kids experience it for the first time was worth it.  Daphne loved all the princess stuff, and met and got autographs from most of them.  You, Macky, didn’t mind standing in line and meeting them either (you’re always a big hit with the ladies…).

You enjoyed the couple rides you were able to go on, notably It’s a Small World, the Jungle Cruise, and the Teacups.

You’re pretty adventurous and fearless, much like your sister.  Even just in the hotel room, you still find a way to climb around in get into trouble, in this case into a drawer:

You’ve had an active month, Mac, and show no signs of letting up soon.  You’re talking more than ever now, also, and continue to add new words to your vocabulary.  You are definitely keeping your mother and me busy, and we love you to pieces.  Keep up the good work and the cuteness, buddy!

 

Love ya,

Daddy