Saturday, June 30, 2007

Water acrobatics

As you may recall from posts about our recent vacation, we went snorkeling with the boys - which was AWESOME. And as you have probably seen from the pictures, we're having a great summer in the swimming pool. But it's not just a great summer enjoying the cool refreshing waters, it's a great summer for water acrobatics.

Here is the list of things that the boys like to do and can do in the pool at the moment (they are 3 yrs, 2 months old):

  1. Float underwater looking at the bottom. Max breath hold time to date: 12 seconds.
  2. Swim from me to Heather underwater - across the pool (yes, swim - kicking and with a "breast stroke" kind of thing).
  3. Pop up and catch a breath.
  4. Jump off the side of the pool and go under in the shallow end.
  5. Dive (Owen - head first, Kyle - belly first) in the shallow end; pop up and swim to us.
  6. Run and jump off the side and swim over.
  7. Run and dive off the side and swim over.
  8. Run and twisting - spinning jump and swim over.
  9. Do the same in the deep end and swim to us underwater. Owen can swim about 20 feet under water from a dive.
  10. Dive off the side, swim down, touch the bottom.
  11. Dive off the side, swim down, touch the bottom and grab diving toys.
  12. Dive/jump off the side and swim to the steps.
  13. Forward flip dive off the side of the pool. Legs go all the way over in the air with head hitting the water first (this is mostly Owen and a little scary to watch).

It's really true. I will try to catch some video of it soon.

Owen is a total natural in the water. He is to water as Kyle is to golf. Oh - I forgot to mention - Kyle hit the ball 55 yards last week with his 5 wood.

We sometimes joke about how it's clearly not our genetics that give them this amazing physical ability. Even if people tell Heather regularly how much they look like us. All we can do is encourage it - not that we really have to do much to do even that.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Grand Plans

Last night at bedtime when I was trying to get Owen into his pajamas he kept lingering in front of his mirror in his bedroom. Looking right at his own reflection he said to me: "Look at me mommy! I'm a man!" He then said, "No!!! I'm not a man! I'm a big boy! But I will be a man! When I am a man I will be a captain! A captain of a ferry! A new ferry! A big ferry! And I will drive it so fast! Very very fast! I will drive it to Virgin Gorda! Me and my brother both. We will both be captains!!!"

This morning at breakfast I said to Kyle: "Kyle, Owen says he will be a captain of a ferry when he grows up. What will you be when you grow up?" Before Kyle could answer Owen said: "You will be a captain too, right Kyle? We will both be captains." Kyle nodded, "Yes, Owen, I will be a captain. You and me both. We will both be captains." Then Kyle paused as he thought this through. "No!" he said, "No! I will be a pilot! I will drive a airplane! A big airplane! Up in the sky! So high! Very very high! Me and my brother both. We will both be pilots!!!"

Baby Tiger

Well, currently, in this house golf is the "it" sport... as many of you who read this blog know. Kyle and Owen (especially Kyle) have been able to accurately identify Tiger Woods when they see him on t.v., on billboards, and in magazines since they were about 22 months old ("Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Hit the ball Tiger!!!"). Long before K & O came around I was interested in the Tiger Phenomenon. I've followed the race-related commentaries and critiques about his questionable racialized quotes and actions; Tiger is loaded with racialized complexities; It is sociologically fascinating (and at times infuriating). Anyway... his inter-racial marriage is old news. The big news now, of course, is the Baby Tiger. (I told Kyle the other day that "Tiger had a baby!" Kyle said, "A baby tiger??") Today I was catching up on some blogs. A lot of the culture/race-related blogs have been addressing the baby "cub" since her birth. I came across this great post from a blogger I like: Click here.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Love Thursday: Love of Life in the U.S.A.


Kyle On Our Deck, First Week of July 2005
(photos below taken the same day)

Before Kyle and Owen the Fourth of July never meant much to me. I have never been a "patriotic" person. My critical stance on social-political life began very early on. I can remember as a teenager being aware that my constant critique of the social world easily frustrated people. I'd often get strong reactions (not usually positive) when I'd voice my opinions about all the things I was worried about: sexism, racism, classism, homophobia, capitalism, apathy, unequal education, blurred Church-State, anti-abortion, child abuse & neglect, lack of social services, structural inequality, etc., etc., etc. (the list was/is endless). People often made it quite clear to me that they thought I should be less "cynical" about, and more "grateful" for, life as we know it in the contemporary United States. I learned to keep quiet. And I quietly went and got a PhD in sociology, focusing on inequality in the contemporary United States, and reading a lot of Marx, etc. along the way. I travelled around the world a little bit -- I saw enough of the world to know that I was truly fortunate to live in the U.S.A. But still I was much more critical than not. It still upset people when I spoke my mind about it. Luckily for my mental health I found a soul-mate who sees eye-to-eye with me on almost everything. Braydon and I made a quiet life for ourselves and created a refuge for each other. And we always knew we'd adopt. Yes, this is part of our radical politics. No, my children aren't "symbols" -- they are the loves of my life, the heart and soul of my world, the center of my entire universe (anyone who reads this blog surely can see how much I fiercely love them). But Braydon and I did have to come to grips early on in our adoption process with a lot of stuff -- perhaps the most complex and difficult was the notion that what we were doing was, indeed, one way that we live out our politics. It was a radical act, a way to share our privilege, a way to do something concretely good in a world we often felt so bad about. Adopting from Haiti was that for us. We know in our hearts, minds, souls that we were adopting for all the right reasons... one of those reasons had to do with our social-political beliefs. We had to learn to come to terms with that, and we did. Sort of. Braydon was more at ease with it than I was. I was always unsettled about it to a certain extent. I worried that people would think that we adopted the children that we did in order to "make a statement" (people have even overtly said things to that effect to me). I worried that as white parents we'd be unable to raise black boys well enough. I worried what people would think. But I felt inside myself that this was what I was meant to do, and Braydon was sure of it too, so we moved on through the process.

There was a precise moment in time when all of my internal angst and conflict over this public/private~~political/personal adoption-related-stuff finally all melted away. I remember the moment as if it has been carved in stone in my life history. We were bringing Kyle and Owen home. We were going through immigration in the Miami airport. I was already emotional because of everything we were going through. Just minutes before I had sat in an airplane crying tears of joy as we landed. I had never wept upon landing before. But the emotions overtook me-- I was holding Kyle, this precious tiny baby, with his twin brother on Braydon's lap further back in the plane. We were bringing them home on immigration visas that were supposed to make them American citizens upon hitting U.S. soil. As the plane started to go downward I pulled Kyle close. As we landed I remember saying to him "You're my baby, you're in the United States now, we're going to a doctor tomorrow, everything is o.k., you are here now, everything is o.k., welcome to America baby, welcome to America." He was 8 months old and had only heard English for the past week (from us, in Haiti), so he obviously didn't understand me. But the Haitian man sitting next to me did speak English, and did understand me, and I remember the look in his eyes. These emotions were intense for me, and still lingering, as we waited in a special immigration room deep inside the Miami airport. The immigration officials knew we were coming. They had found us in the crowd and pulled us out from the masses and taken us aside. They took us into a room and treated us like we were very, very, very special. I'll never forget the feeling. A man took our sealed yellow envelopes -- one for each baby -- and went behind a bullet proof window to open them and "process Kyle Macon Johnson-McCormick and Owen Badio Johnson-McCormick." The "process" was to make it official. They were becoming U.S. citizens right then and there. I can't articulate the feelings. Braydon and I just kept looking at each other wondering out loud: "Is this really happening???" The boys were oblivious. There was only one other person in the room. He was Haitian and had been on the same plane as us. I have no idea why he was there. He was distinguished looking, dressed in a fine suit, extremely clean cut. He seemed to know what was going on. I remember distinctly seeing the glass door open, and the immigration official walk right up to Braydon with a huge smile on his face. I watched from just a couple feet away. Braydon, who was very pale from nerves and emotional overload, held Owen in his arms. The man handed Braydon some papers and then looked at Owen. He said, "Welcome! You are the newest American citizen." Braydon said, "Oh my god, everything is o.k.? It is all done?" The man shook Braydon's hand firmly and said: "Yes, congratulations Mr. McCormick." He then turned to me and Kyle and welcomed my little Haitian-American to the United States. I shook the immigration official's hand and said thank you. Braydon said to him, "So, we can go?" And the man said, "Yes! You're free to go! You can just walk right out of here! Congratulations!" Before we knew it the man disappeared back behind the glass. We were left standing with two babies and two Haitian passports. We had to see for ourselves. We opened the passports to look at the immigration visas. Yes, they were stamped. The stamps looked very official. It was done. We hugged. I remember saying to Braydon, "Oh my god, look what we've done?!" And I remember him kissing Owen's head and saying to me, "I know, I know, I know." We cried a tiny bit. We were so alone in that room. Except there was that Haitian man, still there, calmly watching the whole thing. We started to collect our things to leave. The man came over. He touched Owen's head, and then Kyle's head. He looked at our babies and with a kind and strong and confident voice he said: "You are two very lucky little boys. You will do great things." He then bowed his head down and said these words to Braydon and I. These words we will never forget: "Thank you. Thank you for what you have done. You have done something incredible here. I am awed by what you have done. I would like to say thank you. On behalf of the Haitian people: thank you." We stood there dumbstruck. It was all so surreal. We muttered something like, "Well, thanks, but we're the lucky ones..." and then the moment was gone. It was in that moment, when that man said those words, that all of my intellectualized angst just melted away. I have never questioned myself since. I am comfortable with what we have done and I am proud of what we have done. That kind man in the Miami airport -- whoever he was? for whatever reason he was there? -- he allowed me to be at ease with this one aspect of our adoption: the notion of living out my radical politics in this very personal way. I truly believe that if it is in your heart to adopt a child then you should. However, now, I am much more aware of how much the social structure can help or hinder that. It is not just a personal decision. In so many ways, and on so many levels, it is an intensely social-political decision both on the part of the adoptive parents and the "system" in which they are situated. I am deeply grateful for the fact that Braydon and I live in the country that we do. I will never take the opportunities that we have here for granted. I am still gravely concerned about all the same things I've always been... and I also now have a new-found perspective on life in the U.S.A. We are a family of four, two of us are immigrants. And the Fourth of July means a lot to me now. Over the next week we'll be celebrating the Fourth of July with my parents who will be visiting. Finally, I can honestly say that in at least two ways I am proud to be an American. And those two ways are very significant. Kyle. And Owen.






Excessive Heat Warning In Effect






Wednesday, June 27, 2007

"Favorites" & Quote of the Day

Owen Shares His Ice Cream Sandwich With Cooper


"Favorites" -- Everyday I ask the boys what their favorite part of the day was. Tonight Kyle said his favorite part was: "When Papi held me jumping so big in the swimming pool in the deeper." (The boys call the deep end of the pool "the deeper.") Tonight Owen's favorite was "When we went with my nanny Alex to Annabelle's house." (Alex now takes the boys to our neighbors' house every Wednesday morning for a playdate with their friend Annabelle and Annabelle's nanny Sonya.)

Quote of the Day -- Owen: "Annabelle's nanny Sonya has brown skin! Just like me! And Cooper has brown skin just like me too!!!"

5 Things Meme

Cloudscome at A Wrung Sponge blog has tagged me for this meme (click here). When I first started blogging I had never heard of a "meme"... if you want to know more about it, you can read the Wikipedia definition by clicking here.

Five Things I Was Doing Ten Years Ago

  1. Reading a lot more than I read these days
  2. Self-psycho-analyzing a lot more than I do these days
  3. Throwing a lot more rockin' parties that I do these days
  4. Fighting with Braydon a lot more than I do these days
  5. Five years ago, on days like today, I was sweating profusely in my hot and sticky non-air-conditioned apartment in Jamaica Plain, Boston
Five Snacks I Enjoy
  1. Chips and salsa
  2. Nachos
  3. Popcorn
  4. Cashews
  5. Veggies and dips

Five Songs I Know All the Lyrics To
  1. (oh gosh, just five songs?! I grew up at a camp!... I know the lyrics to literally hundreds and hundreds of camp songs and pretty much every song John Denver and James Taylor ever sang!!!) Ground Squirrel Ground Squirrel Shake Your Bushy Tail; Let It Be (JD); Shower The People (JT) {hi Mom and Dad!}
  2. Life is a Highway & Rise and Shine {hi Jen Slavin!}
  3. This Little Light of Mine & Wheels on the Bus {hi Kyle and Owen!}
  4. I Like Pizza Better Than Cake {hi Waters Family!}
  5. Most every song an every album by Eddie from Ohio {hi Patricia!}; Indigo Girls {hi Braydono!}; Amy Grant {hi Stina!}

Five Things I Would Do If I Were A Millionaire
  1. Give my parents a check for $200,000 to do with whatever they wish
  2. Steal Karen (our housekeeper) away from all her other clients so that we could have her with us full time and pay her like a QUEEN
  3. Take 2-4 big family vacations per year, instead of just 1
  4. Buy Braydon, Kyle, and Owen a convertible Mini Cooper with all the fixin's they could ever want
  5. Go crazy for a day at J.Jill, Talbotts, and Ann Taylor


Five Bad Habits
  1. Not sending thank-you-notes
  2. Biting my fingernails
  3. Not cleaning up my room
  4. Not responding to email right away (sometimes not responding ever)
  5. Eating the snacks listed above under "Five Snacks I Enjoy"


Five Things I Like To Do
  1. Travel
  2. Go to the movies
  3. Go out to dinner
  4. Cook
  5. Play outside with Kyle and Owen


Five Things I Would Never Wear Again
  1. Mini skirts
  2. Penny Loafers
  3. Ribbon Barrettes
  4. White Tights
  5. A rugby shirt with the word "Benetton" in huge print across the front

Five Favorite Toys
  1. K & O's scooters
  2. K & O's "helicopters"
  3. K & O's pool dive sticks
  4. K & O's airplanes
  5. K & O's toy garbage trucks

Five Bloggers I Tag for This Meme

  1. Corey (click here)
  2. Lori (click here)
  3. Rony (click here)
  4. Fitzville-Mom (click here)
  5. Laura (click here)

Cars the boys know

Well - the boys are very much car lovers - just like their Papi! Here is a (not quite) exhaustive list of all the cars they boys know. And when I mean know - I mean they accurately identify these cars almost 100% of the time - when driving down the road.

These are not in the order of how important these cars are to them. I'll just say that right now there are two cars near and dear to their hearts - first and foremost (and we don't know why) is Chrysler's PT Cruiser; which they love to shout at the top of their lungs as we drive down the road.

They are also particularly partial to (and we do understand this) the Mini Cooper/s; which again, they never hesitate to shout at the top of their lungs.


VW Passat wagon aka "The blue car"

VW Bug "VW BUG!!!!"

Mercedes e320 "Kathy's car"


MINI Cooper aka "Just like Mor Mor's!!!"
Toyota Rav-4 aka "Charlie's Car

Volvo S40 "The white car"

Volvo V70 aka "Mor Far's car"
Acura MDX aka "Our old black car"
Chrysler PT Cruiser aka "a PPPTTTT CRUISERRR!!


Honda Odyssey aka "Sandy's Car"

Honda Pilot aka "Alex's or Jackson's car"


Hummer H2 "HUMMER is broken!"
BMW X5 aka "Matthew's car"
Subaru Outback aka "Wah's car"


Suzuki Grand Vitara aka "The rental car"

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Our First Big Talk About the Birds and the Bees

Owen & Kyle in the orphanage in Haiti



Over the past six months or so Kyle and Owen have started to ask some very simple basic questions about their adoption (click here for a post about one example). But they have shown zero interest in anything related to pregnancy, birth, reproduction, etc. I have actually been surprised by how disinterested they are. I've tried to bring it up with them, I've tried to open the door to conversations and questions, I've tried planting the seeds of interest (so to speak!), but it has led to nowhere. Even when we've seen pregnant friends and I've said, "Look guys, she has a baby in her belly!" and even when their little friends have had new baby brothers and sisters born to their families, still no interest in it all. They are totally interested in babies, in stories about when they were babies, in the idea of having a baby in our family (eeeks!)... but no interest whatsoever in where babies come from. This morning, though, we had our first big talk about the birds and the bees. These conversations are surely complicated with any young child -- you aren't exactly sure how much information to present, how much to hold back, what they can grasp, what they can't... But when adoption is another layered twist to the whole thing the conversation is even that much more complicated. I did the best I could this morning. And I desperately consciously cognizantly tried to soak in the moment and be fully present so that I'd remember every single word because I knew I'd want to write it all down later. Obviously, I don't remember it perfectly (the conversation was too long). But below I've tried to write it out as exactly as I can remember.

We were sitting on the floor of Kyle's room doing an alphabet puzzle. Owen chose the letter "N" and we were looking for where the "N" puzzle piece goes. It sits on top of an image of a nest ("N is for nest"). I said, "we're looking for a nest." They couldn't find it. I pointed to the picture of the nest. I said, "there's the nest!" Owen said, "that's not a nest, that's a basket." I said, "yes it does look just like a basket, but that is supposed to be a nest -- 'N' is for nest and Nate and no and nap." I said, "look, see the eggs in the nest?" (in the picture of the nest there are three little blue eggs popping up from inside it). I said, "see those eggs? That's a bird's nest. Birds live in nests. The nest is their house, their home. And those are the birds' eggs -- they will be baby birds." They were dumbfounded. I repeated it: "Birds live in nests. Their babies come from their eggs." They're both looking right at me. You could hear a pin drop. Obviously I've totally captured their attention with this (even though I've said similar things, if not exactly the same things, in the past -- suddenly today they are finally interested.) I decide I should go with it, I say: "Birds live in nests. Bird babies come from bird eggs. They are born from bird eggs." And we went from there~~~

Kyle: Born.
Heather: Yes, the birds are born from eggs. They come out of the eggs when they are born.
Owen: Born. Just like me and Kyle! [Excitedly pointing back and forth to himself and Kyle.] Just like us.
K: Just like us! Just like me and my brother were born!
H: Yes, you were born.
O: Yes! We were born from eggs! Just like those [excitedly pointing to the puzzle picture of the eggs in the nest]!
K: Yes! We were born from eggs!
H: Yes, you were born. But not from eggs. Baby birds are born from eggs, but not baby people.
[They are absolutely mesmerized. They are totally completely still -- which is almost unheard of -- and they're both staring right at me, ready for more.]
H: Birds come from an egg. But you're not a bird! Do you know where you were born from?
O: Haiti.
K: Yes, Haiti!
H: Yes! You were born in Haiti! [They are delighted with themselves. I stand up and take down from Kyle's bookshelf a framed picture of the photo at the top of this post -- a photo of K & O as little babies in the orphanage in Haiti.] Look, see, this is Kyle and Owen when you were babies, right?! And you were in Haiti. In the orphanage.
K: That's me [pointing in the photo to himself as a baby]. And that's my brother [pointing in the photo to baby Owen].
H: Yes, you were little babies and you were together in the orphanage. See [pointing to the photo], you were together in the crib.
O: We were little tiny babies. We had no teeth. We drank a bottle.
H: Yes! You were babies. And you were born in Haiti. But not from an egg. [Again, you can hear a pin drop]. Do you want to know where baby people are born from?
K: Yes!
O: Yes!
H: Babies come from a lady's belly!
[They appear absolutely astounded and confused.]
H: Yup! That's right, babies come from a lady's belly!
O: From inside?
H: Yes. And you both grew together inside a lady's belly! Kyle and Owen both together! In Haiti!
[Total silence.]
O: But I need to be in your belly mama???
H: I know baby. I wish you were in my belly. But no, my baby, you were born from another lady's belly. Not from my belly.
K: But you need to come here [pointing to the picture of K & O in the orphanage]. You need to come here and get me.
H: Yes, we went to the orphanage and we got you.
K: And you picked me up?
H: Yes, we picked you up and we held you in our arms--
K: And you gave me a bottle.
O: Yes! A bottle! We had no teeth! You gave me a bottle! Many many bottles!
H: Yes, we held you and fed you bottles and we took care of you. We adopted you. Both Kyle and Owen. You needed a mama and papi and we adopted you! And we took you home!
K: But where were you? But where were you when we were here [pointing again to the picture of K & O in the orphanage].
H: I was waiting for you baby. I was here, at home, and I was waiting to be able to go get you.
K: But you need to come.
H: Yes, I know baby. I know. I wanted to come. We came as fast as we could.
K: And you took me home?
H: Yes.
O: You bit me?
H: What?
O: You bit me? You ate me to go in your belly?
H: No, sweetie, I didn't eat you.
O: But how did I get in your belly?
H: You grew in another lady's belly. But she didn't eat you. Do you want to know how babies get to grow in the bellies?
K: Yes!
O: Yes!
H: From a man and a lady together. They can make a baby grow in a lady's belly.
[They both have blank stares and I've lost them now. This is clearly too much information.]
K: Look! [picking up a new puzzle piece] An "S" for Sadie!
H: Yes! An "S" for Sadie! Let's find the "S"...

And we continued with the puzzle.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Love is a Patient Thing

Braydon and Kyle, in the woods on the waterfall hike Saturday


Today was another tough day. The plan all along had been for me to take today off to be home today with my boys because Alex had to take today off from nannying. But the truth is that even if she hadn't planned to take today off I would have called her to cancel this morning because Kyle wasn't better enough. The antibiotic is working but he still needs a lot of TLC from his Mama -- which means that Owen still needs to show us a lot how upset that makes him. I know I shouldn't complain about twins... God knows I wouldn't trade them for the world... but honestly, it is just hard sometimes. Moms of twins out there--- I know you know what I mean. Twins are awesomely wonderful and twins are also awesomely challenging. It is like so many things-- you really can't know 'till you've done it. I know that people think that any two kids wouldn't be all that different than twins-- but believe me, it is different. In so many ways. Thing is-- right now-- after this day-- I'm just waaaaaaaaaaaay too exhausted to try to articulate it all here. I need to get some sleep (especially given how very little sleep I've had in the past two nights). I have a ton of energy-- just naturally-- that's just me. But suffice it to say: there were moments today when I was at my breaking point... pure exhaustion combined with pure 3-year-old-twin-boys combined with one-of-those-boys-quite-sick-and-one-of-those-boys-quite-jealous challenge. I was on the verge of tears just from the extremeness of it all. There are days when I seriously think to myself: "They should just bring a film crew in here and do a whole season of Survivor: Dual Career & Twins Under One Roof." I try not to complain. I try to see the positives (it isn't hard to do-- there are simply so many positives). But every once in a while... the whole thing just kicks my butt. Braydon too. He's been on the edge for the past 48 hours. At least we're in this together and we can both roll our eyes at each other and cry (literally) on each other's shoulder from time to time. Growing up there was this one camp song that always stuck with me. Always. To this day I hummmm it to myself in moments of distress or joy. Here it is:

Love is a patient thing.
Love is a kind thing.
Love's not corroded with doubt,
Or anger.
Love is enough
When you've got nothing but love.
Love never ever runs out.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Owen & Kyle Today


We were up all night with Kyle who had a fever. He spikes fevers really high -- last night our highest reading was 104.9 at 4:30 a.m. (and that's with an ear thermometer, which they say is always a degree or two lower than the real temperature?!)... Even though Kyle has always had high fevers when he's sick it is still scary. Braydon had him at the clinic when it opened first thing this morning. He's on an antibiotic and on the mend. We're sure he'll be just fine, but it is super hard on our whole family when one of us is sick (and wow doesn't one of us getting sick just make us realize how close to the edge of everything falling apart we are living???!!!; It is hard to manage it all on a good day, let alone a sick day). Today was a tough day. But more than any of us, Owen HATES it when Kyle's sick. He loses his best-friend-playmate for the day... all of our plans for family fun get thrown out the window... and worst of all... his twin brother gets tons of attention which just drives him (understandably) nuts. Kyle is very demanding when he is sick. He demands constant attention and requires that he is held (usually by me) 24 x 7. That alone is very hard on Owen. And Owen lets us know it. Anyway, while Braydon and Kyle were at the clinic this morning I was at home with Owen. We've been working on two big things lately and this morning -- with the one-on-one time -- Owen mastered them both. Owen was so proud to show off: 1] how well he can put his moisturizer lotion on and rub it fully into his skin all by himself (photo above), and 2] how he can zipper his own vest all by himself (photo below). We also went to the grocery store together this morning -- just Owen and I. And although I have no photos to show it, I can attest that at the grocery store he was so proud to show off: 3] how when out and about without his twin brother side-kick he can still charm the socks off of many of the shoppers all by himself (and what a joy to go grocery shopping with just one three year old instead of two!!!!!!!!!!!!!)


P.S. About the first photo--- "Barack the Vote. Obama 2008." --- It is a tough call, but I'm pretty sure I'm standing behind Obama for the next election. However, I'm VERY sure, knowing my boys, that they would definately vote Barack all the way if they could.

First Photos

For better or for worse we let the boys each take photos tonight. They actually held the camera, looked at the digital screen to see what they were composing, pushed the button, and took the shots. Here they are:

Owen's first photo-- of Kyle and Papi-- shockingly, he actually got Kyle to look right at the candle and smile, which is something Braydon and I find almost impossible to achieve.



Kyle's first photo-- of Owen and Mama-- not quite such a perfected shot as the one above... however... Kyle was able to achieve something possibly even more shocking: at the young age of three he was able to capture the true essence of the end-of-a-long-day-of-him-being-sick on the faces of his brother and mother.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Waterfalls


Today was a beautiful, beautiful summer day. Not too hot, and perfectly blue sky. We went to the Delaware Water Gap (click here) and hiked for two hours in the woods. We saw several beautiful waterfalls along the way. Doing this kind of thing as a family is K & O's absolute favorite way to spend their time. They are almost always happy, almost all the time. But when we're exploring new places (especially outside) the boys are unbelievably happy. As always, click on any photo to enlarge.






Friday, June 22, 2007

Friday Night Makin' Pizza

Sadly, at the last minute, our friends Jessica and Paul and baby Sammy had to cancel on coming to visit us for the weekend. We were feeling really down about that today. But we decided that we're going to try to make the most of this very rare opportunity to have a weekend alone at home just the four of us. We started the weekend off with a *bang* this evening: we had our first real WHOLE FAMILY COOKING TOGETHER EXPERIENCE... We made pizza. It was crazy. It was messy. It was fun.




Photo of the Day

7:39 a.m., Friday, June 22

Thursday, June 21, 2007