Morning Rituals

Daddy and I aren't the only ones with morning rituals anymore. Osten has recently started shaving, which at this age just entails running around with Daddy's shaver and listening to the loud noise it makes. (This particular morning, I think his time would have been better spent combing his hair rather than shaving his beard, but that's just a passing observation.)

Meanwhile, Marci keeps us all busy in the morning by ransacking my makeup bag and running around with the telephone.  (And I wonder why it sometimes seems like such an ordeal to get everyone fed, dressed and loaded in the car in the morning!)

Fire & Water

I think Osten is looking for a new recruit for his fireman obsession. This fire hat has recently become a highly coveted bath toy. Here is a rare moment of sharing caught on film for posterity. Something tells me I will need to look at this photo often over the next few years ...

Eskimo Pie

Check it out ... Doesn't he look just like the Eskimo Pie guy??!!

Tea for Three

After her nap yesterday, Marci and I had our first tea party. Parker-piggie got to come, too, although she mostly just watched. She and Marci have become pretty tight lately, and we're hoping that eventually she'll take the place of the paci.

Marci takes a pass on the milk and sugar, but can't forego the paci just yet! (You can just barely make out Parker-piggie in the foreground by the tea pot.)

Survivor

A nasty stomach bug has been running rampant through Osten & Marci's school. It hit Marci's class especially hard. By Friday, there were three girls left out of a class of ten kids. Her teachers said the week had been like an episode of Survivor, and they were wondering who would be the last child standing. Well, I got the call at work yesterday morning that Marci had been voted off the island. Luckily, she just had a mildly upset tummy, and we had a nice afternoon hanging out together.  

Money in the Bank

A couple of weeks ago, Osten and I made a bank out of an old coffee tin. Surprisingly, it has become one of his favorite toys, and he loves to dump his money out and place each bill and coin one-by-one through the little slot on the top. We haven't done an official tally lately, but I'd venture to guess that his little bank has amassed a grand fortune of almost five dollars by now. Anyway, since his bank is getting so much play time, we decided that it was time to get fancy and craft a custom-made cover for the coffee tin.

Since crayons and especially his new scissors are another favorite pasttime, Osten was fully onboard with this project. Of course, he's not such a fan of having his picture taken lately, so I had to grab a couple of shots of him on the sly. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good shot of the finished product, but something tells me that his bank will make frequent appearances on this blog since he plays with it so much.

Story Time

We found Osten in the chair in our bedroom this morning reading to Wyatt. By the time I grabbed my camera, Osten said that Wyatt had fallen asleep, but I guess the story goes on (with or without a captive audience!)

Have I mentioned that Osten isn't so much a fan of having his picture taken these days?

Luckily, I'm persistent, and Osten is amenable to comprimises!

Fire for Hire

Fire engines are still all the rage in our house. When we visited the local fire station last week, we found out that Osten can be a junior firefighter in just nine more years. Meanwhile, he is keeping the home fires burning and playing with his new Lego fire truck that Daddy brought home from his trip to Orlando.

He usually won't amuse me by posing for the camera anymore, but for some reason I was able to convince him to look my way. It was probably because he wanted to look at the fire raging in our fireplace right behind me. Hey, he's not the only one that's had fire on his mind lately!

Mommy's Night In

Mommy had the special treat over the weekend of a girls' night at our house for a wine and chocolate party. Daddy stayed in, too and entertained Osten and Marci. All it took was some popcorn and an offer to watch Spiderman on Daddy's peter (a/k/a computer), and Osten was on board.

Marci, on the other hand, took a little more convincing. As usual, we had to chase her down to get her into her pajamas. As you can see, we have made much progress on conquering her paci habit . . .

Head of the Class

Just a quick post to document Marci's recent doctor's visit for her 15-month well check.  She is still growing strong:

height:  30.5 in. (42%)

weight:  26 lbs. 6 oz. (88%)

head:  48 cm. (whopping 93%)

It looks like we've got another big head on our hands!

Gal Pals

As of late, Marci and Wrigley have become fast friends. And if the numerous chewed up Lincoln Logs are any indication, Wrigley is in definite need of some attention. Marci has recently become her biggest fan . . .

. . . and the affection seems to be mutual!

Clothes Horse

After a big outing to Chuck E. Cheese today, Osten took a late afternoon nap which gave Marci and me some quality girl time. After she tore apart her kitchen, the little clothes horse unloaded a couple of her dresser drawers.

She was happy as can be just sitting amidst the heaps of clothes.

If there was a method to her madness, she didn't share it with me and I certainly wasn't able to figure it out!

Unfortunately, she is much better at making a mess than cleaning it up, but she gave it her best shot.

Five, Six, Pick up Sticks!

Lately, a favorite pasttime has been picking up sticks in the yard. Even Marci seems to be a fan.

But Osten is the real stick fanatic. He runs around picking them up while shouting, "Pow, pow, pow!" Where he got that from, I don't know, but he is certianly all boy!

And in our yard, the sticks are everywhere!

Curiously, I even recently found a stick under our bed. I have my hunches about the culprit!

Marci: On the Move

Marci is changing almost daily these days! And she is unbelievably busy. Her favorite thing to do is imitating her big brother. She's into his toys all of the time now. Here she is trying to get behind the wheel of his Cozy Coupe.

And she loves his new t-ball stand.

Drink break!

Check out all of her hair! It's growing faster than a Chia pet!

Driveway Fun

Lately, the weather has been just perfect for playing in the driveway. Now that Marci is getting around so well, she is often the one leading the charge!

Daddy is also a big fan of driveway fun.

Here's a shot of our littlest fielder.

With Marci fielding for Daddy, Osten has gotten to be pretty good on his scooter!

Happy 2009!

What better way to kick off the new year than with some original artwork!