"You need to comb your hair, Mommmy!"

While looking back at recent posts I've realized Rhys doesn't make as much of an appearance as Alanna. I think that's because he has become so much more verbal in our interactions, whereas Alanna is quite physical still, so it's easier to take pictures to post here. The only recognizable things Alanna says are "mum mum mum mum" when she wants me and "dta dta dta dta" when she sees Daddy. So, here is a post about Rhys and some of the funny things he's said recently:

....."and the chipsymonk went up into the tree," said while looking through a book with forest animals in the pictures.

....."Fantatasia" is what Rhys calls the movie "Fantasia". He recently discovered our VHS copy in a drawer. He likes the dinosaurs and the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

....."Rrraawww! Here comes the ty rexie!" when his tyrannosaurus rex appeared at the table.

....."You need to comb your hair, Mommy!" said one morning this week as we were sitting at the table eating breakfast. (I had planned to wear a hat to take him to school, but I sure didn't feel good about the state of my hair after being told that by a three and a half year old!)

He's a pretty funny guy.

"Keep crawling, keep crawling..."

This afternoon's sibling party happened in Rhys's room. You'll notice Alanna is now crawling (which makes life even more exciting). Rhys spent several minutes encouraging, demanding, enticing, and cheering Alanna on in order to get her to come into his room. She happily complied:



Now if only Rhys will remember the days when he tried to get Alanna to come into his room and that he was thrilled when she made it and they could play peek-a-boo, which they both love playing. Instead, I envision a lot of Rhys trying to keep Alanna out of his room in the upcoming years...

Happy New Year!

.....Playing in the late afternoon January sun in the living room.....

The holidays are over– and we had such a great time– but it's time to return to the daily grind. Some of our recent exploits:

.....Christmas morning. Santa and our families left us lots of wonderful presents.....


.....New taste sensations: avocado.....


.....and sweet potato.....


....."Playing" together. Alanna enjoyed what was under the table while Rhys played with what was on top.....


.....and finally, Alanna is ready for a winter hike.....

Bath Time!

This is why Alanna now takes baths in the bathtub. I had to get out the mop after this experience!

Thanksgiving

This post is a bit late, but certainly no less special for us. We spent Thanksgiving in Idaho with Aaron's family and had a wonderful week. Cousins were a main source of fun, and Great-Aunt Ginnie was indispensable. Rhys hardly noticed Daddy and Mommy were around what with Grandma, Grandpa, cousin Kylah and Aunt Ginnie keeping him entertained. Aunt Ginnie went home on Thursday evening, and Friday morning the first words out of Rhys's mouth were, "Where's Aunt Ginnie?" He kept asking for her throughout the day. 'Tis the season: we are so grateful for all of Aaron's family!

....Cousin Kylah and Rhys eating a snack with the ponies....

...."Posing" on Thanksgiving morning...


.....Cousin Ivy Jean, Alanna, and Kylah watching a movie....

We even managed to get in a good hike at the Little City of Rocks. Rhys is a spectacular hiker and he and Daddy did some rock scrambling, too. Alanna (in the pack on my back) slept through the climbing we did.

.....Rock formations, looking southward.....

.....Rhys, Daddy and Rusty triumphantly summited the rocks...

.....Daddy and Rhys after climbing up into a hole in the rock....


.....Descending (the large crack above and behind the boys) after the hole in the rock.....

.....Rhys and Mommy (and Alanna in the pack- you can just see her little pink foot).....

November Images

...Alanna splashing in the bath...


...sticking out her tongue...

...and eating blueberries...

...Rhys helping Mommy make peroshkis (stuffed dough pockets)...

...and being silly...

...and generally having fun...

Happy Halloween!

Rhys the Builder waves hello!

Alanna the Purple Mummy isn't so sure about Halloween. Actually, we didn't do anything exciting. Alanna is dressed warmly because we hung out with neighbors in their driveway with Jack-o-Lanterns, a fire in the fire pit, and Halloween luminarias. Rhys didn't want to wear his Bob the Builder costume, so he wore his Batman jammies instead. Oh well!