Straws

Today Anna asked if she could keep a straw forever. A straw from a juice box. A straw.
This must have been an unbelievable straw that she was using as a horn/animal noise maker.
She wanted to keep it forever.
Forget toys, straws are where it is at.

A few years ago when Anna was almost 3, just 2 weeks after Christmas, we were sitting downstairs watching TV and I noticed that she was playing with a big red straw, and she had been for almost an hour. She had personified the straw and created a storyline and apparently forgotten all about the dozens of new toys that we had just given her at Christmas.

Straws forever.

Operation Yard Domination

I have this problem after I have a baby of making bigger goals than I can chew. After Eliza was born, I was like, "I'M GOING TO MAKE DINNER EVERY NIGHT!" literally, like the day we got home from the hospital. That was not a terrible goal and once I mellowed out a little, I was a lot better about making dinner.
With Calvin, my overreaching goal has been "I'M GOING TO RE-LANDSCAPE THE ENTIRE YARD MYSELF!" This is obviously not a totally smart or reachable goal immediately after having a baby, but I started anyway. The goal is more grass, less maintenance. So I started chopping up and digging out some gross Oregon Grape bushes and so far it's going pretty well, I hope to have the front yard under control before snow falls. If only I could get consistent infant nap times established and a bottomless garbage can, I could knock this project out in a week. But we wouldn't want it to be too easy, would we?

So anyway, that's kind of what I'm up to. Operation Yard Domination.

More Calvin

Here are some more pictures of Calvin and...mostly Eliza. But Anna wasn't very accommodating.

These first 3 are from Aunt Robyn's photoshoot.

 We are getting along pretty well now, I think we've turned a corner and are settling in nicely together. Though, nights are still a gamble. He's gaining weight, not too fast, but at a steady pace for sure. He loves to sleep in his chair, I think because it allows him to scrunch his feet up the way he likes. Eliza still loves him and gets up in his face whenever she can. Anna always asks to see him and hold him, but never for very long.

 To make up for Anna not being in any pictures, this is a picture she took herself. Pretty handsome.

Here is Calvin modeling his cute Llama sweater that Aunt Beetle got him. It's almost too small already so it had to be documented.

Eliza also loves her Peruvian sweater so we got her to model it with him. Anna was not interested.