A Sea Change

Until this week, Noah was still pretty busy figuring out how this walking stuff works. He was a tornado of destruction there for a little while, always getting into trouble. We joked that he was like the Kool Aid Kid from those old commercials, just crashing through walls and generating messes everywhere he went. But, now that he's a champion walker, he focuses on more than just the act of getting there as he toddles about. He is looking for fun. He's still getting into all sorts of things he shouldn't, (pushing every button on the DVD/ VCR player, splashing in and turning over the dog's water bowl, trying to crawl into the dishwasher and the toilets, and taking every opportunity to flip over the trashcans) but he is starting to understand what things are considered no-nos. Finally.

About the same time Noah got mobile, Angus became VERY possessive about what he sees as his stuff. Now, Angus calls our car Angy's Car and our house Angy's House, so you can imagine how lovely things have been here for the past month. Everything is Angy's. And on top of that, Angus is just a naturally careful child. He'd get whatever activity he'd be playing all set up, and then "Hey, Kool Aid!" WHAM!! Here comes the Noahinator. So, basically just as Noah was ready and able to go out into the world and discover and conquer, Sheriff Bossypants instituted his long arm of the Angy's Law. I hear it so often that I started to hear "No, that's Angy's!" in my sleep.

But, this week gave birth to a new dynamic in our home. The boys started to truly play with each other and to see it happening is beautiful. Angus began to see Noah for the good time he is, instead of just as a fun ruining nuisance. And Noah got to hear Angus say more to him than the usual, "NO, that's Angy's!" Hallelujah! Now, a simple game of peekaboo between them turns into 15 solid minutes of belly laughter. A wrestling match can turn into a tickle-fight and a hug-a-thon complete with big wet baby kisses for all of us to enjoy. Playing You-Can't-Get-Me now includes us all. Which is great, because the only kinds of people who can get with that sort of repetition are other little people. If you are over 8 years old, it gets old quick.

To put it simply: Noah entering toddlerhood + Angus beginning to understand what sharing means = GOOD TIMES.

bits and pieces

Sometimes, it isn't what is in the picture that makes me love the shot. It is what's IN the picture. Sometimes it is the closest thing to capturing the real things that fade. Not the images, but the feelings. The smells. That which can never truly be revisited. Like how sunlight has a way of making Angus' hair appear to glow, to become reflective and iridescent. The camera can't seem to ever do it justice. But this shot almost did. Well, at least it captured (for me) the feeling I had while I was awestruck by it's beauty while we took a walk one sunny day. And, Angus has this abilty to be so still and focused. The picture of him with his beloved blanket on his head is just so Angus it brings tears to my eyes. The perfect capture of his silliness, his deep need to be comforted, and his stillness interlaced in one moment. And Noah. Oh, Noah. Holding you in my arms means the inevitablity of a mouth kiss initiated by you. I've never known of a baby who loves to kiss the way you do. That's why I love this photo so much. You are going for it. And the shot of Noah with the drum is the perfect capture of our baby's relentless committment to total and complete determination until domination. They are not the best photographs I have ever taken of the boys, but they capture some of the most precious memories I will ever have.

Best Friends

Argent Party

Lots of folks travelled from afar to come and celebrate the little human filling up this gal. Good times with good friends old and new. Congratulations, Janey and Matt!

New Foods for Angus

It finally happened. Our kid eats food! this week he tried cheese quesidillas, (and liked them---gasp!) and a pb&j (not yet a fan). Last night he ate, and LOVED, a grilled cheese sandwich. Somehere in a chilly hell, pigs are flying.

Cars

Cars is giving the Teletubbies a run for the money when it comes to Angy's attention these days. Every big truck is a Mack, every red car a Lightning McQueen, every beat up old truck is a Mater. And me...I'm Sally.

Always in a Pickle

Noah is always finding himself into sticky situations. He is Danger Baby. He wants to climb high, and climb fast. He was "rearranging" the computer room yesterday, moving the clothes drying rack around the room and eventually onto my Cloud Walker, and then found himself all tangled up inside the mess. I let him challenge himself by figuring his own way out---which he did rather quickly. He gives new meaning to the idea of babyproofing the house.

The Brown Boys

.......

Ever had that feeling that the moment you are in right now may, in fact, be the very best moment of your whole life? I had it happen to me twice last night at Maymont. Once while Noah and I were playing together in the grass. He kept smiling up at me and crawling over to get into my lap and hold my face. The other one was when Angus ran to me in a full sprint from about 100 yards away, smiling his beautiful smile and laughing his perfect little belly-busting laugh, until he ran right into my arms for the strongest hug his little body could muster.

The End of Month One

Angus just completed his first month of school. To mark the occasion, he had his first bout of crying at pickup time. My man was having way too much fun and wanted to stick around a little longer. I don't blame him. His school is rad.

I was caught off guard by how happy I was to see him unhappy to see me. Sure, there's a part of me that still wants him to run into my arms each day, demanding to be held. But seeing him having so much fun, and learning so many new things, and making new friends, and falling in love with his teachers, and developing a life of his very own---living as an Angus wholly separate from the Angus-That-Is-My-Baby--- that is a reward unto itself.

We were really lucky to have gotten him into such a great school. Every day I am more certain that this is the very best place for him to be. Seriously.... look at these shelves. The class consists 16 children under the age of 5, some are as young as two and a half years old, and the shelves look like this at any given point during the day. All hail the magic of school.

Mister Dog

On a recent trip to Barnes & Noble, Tony and I picked up a The Little Golden Book Collection of Animal Tales for Angus because it contained Tony's favorite childhood story, Mister Dog by Margaret Wise Brown. At first, both Angus and I were pretty uninterested in the story. But, in the past few days it has become a must read for both of us. Angus smiles almost the whole way through.

It is a strange little rambling tale of an old dog named Crispin's Crispian who lives alone in a two story dog house and belongs to only himself until he finds a little boy who also belongs to only himself. The two decide to live together and the whole story is fairly uneventful. But there is something to the simplicity. A calmness and a kind of comfortable that can't be explained.

I think I may have pinpointed the reason why we all love it so much. There is this one passage that explains the way Crispin's Crispian lives his life that rings true for we Browns.

Crispin's Crispian was a conservative. He liked
everything at the right time--

dinner at dinnertime, lunch at lunchtime, breakfast in time for
breakfast, and sunrise at sunrise, and sunset at sunset. And at bedtime--- At
bedtime, he liked everything in its own place---the cup in the saucer, the chair
under the table, the stars in the heavens, the moon in the sky, and himself in
his own little bed.

We are taking the word conservative back from those who dwell in the far right of society and putting it back where it belongs.....as a way to describe a slightly OCD need for a comfortable routine and the peace of mind that knowing all is well can bring to those inclined to worry.

Feeding Success

Angus finally ate a pancake. Tony cooked up a few to resemble Tubby Toast, the snack most preferred by his BFFs the Teletubbies. Ours were not made of rabbits.

Baby Kong

Feeding Noah has become logistically complicated. In the past 24 hours, Deuce decided that he simply must be the holder of the spoon. This is great news to us. Spoon feeding two kids takes up a lot of time. One kid with feeding difficulties is enough, thank you. So, we are fostering Noah's desire to master self-feeding, even though calling it messy it a serious understatement.

Overall, Noah is doing a fantastic job of getting finger foods into his mouth. But until he can actually spoon food into his own mouth he will require a bit of assistance. To remedy this, we give him a decoy spoon to practice with. Then he divides his dinnertime into alternating intervals of (a) swatting at the mommy or daddy-held spoon and roaring, like a miniature King Kong batting away fighter planes, (b) slamming his spoon-clenched fist into the container of food, and (c) smearing the food drenched fist, spoon handle end, onto his increasingly messy face, and (d) sometimes getting some of the meal into the mouth.

Band Practice

Deucey and Me

While Angus is at school, No. 2 and I share special time...just the two of us. So much personality is packed into this tiny little body.