Fortitude

At dinner tonight the conversation turned to the subject of morality. Specifically, theft. At one point Brad turned to Harper, who was listening intently, and asked, “Do you know what stealing is?” “What?” Harper asked. “Stealing is when you take something that doesn’t belong to you,” I answered and Brad added, “… because you lack moral fortitude. Do you know what moral fortitude is?” But he didn’t have a chance to finish because Harper jumped off her chair and scurried into her room while Brad and I continued the conversation.

  

A minute later she returned with this:

… a plastic model dinosaur(?), monster (?), post-Apocalyptic mutant from Hell (?) which she found at our neighborhood park a couple of weeks ago. She is now very concerned about the little boy or girl who may be missing it. 

So if you know to whom the Stuff of Nightmares belongs please let us know. It has had a hot bath and been tucked into bed every night since it has been under our roof. (To be clear, it was tail-less and forelimb-less when she discovered it.) Harper truly hopes it will find its way home to the little boy or girl who loves it (straw not included). 

We are so proud of our little moral compass! 

  

Luck O' The Irish

The thing about green food coloring is that it immediately renders everything it touches visually unappealing and, therefore, unappetizing.

Due to the fact that both Brad and I have more than a little Irish heritage, I felt obligated to celebrate St. Patrick's Day today (however feebly). As such, when Brad got home from work he and Harper made a leprechaun trap (which promptly caught one very sneaky and quick little leprechaun), then we had green eggs and pancakes for dinner (green eggs and ham would have been more poetic but we've got a lot of vegetarians around here), plus Harper walked around all day with a rubber snake. And then there is this:

Irish eyes are smiling.

Yes, that is green food coloring in her bath. 

Yes, it is likely I will regret this later.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, from the Bookers!

To Tide You Over

I'm just finishing our California vacation post. Hopefully I'll get enough time to sit down and post it in the next couple of days. In the meantime, Will has been working on crawling in earnest.

Now that is one seriously cute smile.

Sixth Month Milestone

Will is six months old today. Six whole months! In celebration we introduced his first solid food... oatmeal!

He did pretty well. Of course, he made the I don't know how I feel about this face. And he tried to grab the spoon with his sticky little fingers. And more of it ended up on him than in him. But, for the most part, mission accomplished.

The entire experience made me nostalgic; for when he was a sweet, cuddly little newborn, for the days when Harper was trying food for the first time and so on (see here: http://bookerpack.blogspot.com/2011/04/oatmeal-bath.html). Where are my babies going?

2013 Year End Update

Happy belated New Year from the Bookers!

We opted out of a traditional holiday card this year due to time management issues, so please don't feel slighted that you didn't receive one. No one did.

Instead, we humbly offer this virtual update. We hope it will suffice.

Brad had a good year. He is now a full fledged partner at the research farm and really enjoys his job. He helped facilitate the growth from one location in Dover to a second in Thonotosassa. Not only does he balance a busy workload but he has been spending more time with our growing family as well as setting aside some personal time for working out and spending time with friends. He is a great husband and a wonderful daddy.

   

2013 has been the year of (barely) controlled chaos for me. I knew learning to juggle two children would be a challenge, and it is. I love being at home with the kids but I've also been trying to get out more and find ways to use my brains and talents so I don't feel like being a mom defines me. (Plus, you can only take so many conversations about going potty before you feel like you're going to lose it.) I am so grateful to have a supportive husband and, let's face it, the cutest stinkin' kids ever. 

Harper, our little busy bee, is taking toddler Spanish and a preschool preparation class and just became a Level Two Swimmer. Becoming a big sister was a big change at first but she loves her little brother and is such a great helper around the house. Her vocabulary continues to grow by leaps and bounds daily (truly, that kid has a crazy vocabulary). Her favorites this year include learning about basic anatomy and physiology (yay Bill Nye the Science Guy!), animals (but especially amphibians, reptiles and, of course, dinosaurs), spending time with her friends, making new friends, pretending she is a dog, and reenacting How the Grinch Stole Christmas (starring Harper as the Grinch).

   

Will has had an eventful year. In addition to being born, he has spent quite a bit of time babbling, teething (and, in a related story, drooling), rolling over (both ways), holding his feet, and sitting up in his car seat if he isn't strapped in (it really startled me the first time he did it!). He is a sweet, happy boy who loves to smile and laugh and just be around people. He has been such a wonderful addition; it's hard to imagine a time before he was a part of our family. We look forward to watching him learn and grow and experience new things every day. 

Also, my obsession with documenting every instant of our family life continues. I took these photos this morning. The album is entitled Christmas Jammies. Enjoy!

  

About the Boy

Will is nearly 18 weeks old. Eighteen weeks! How is that even possible? 

I was looking through some old photos the other day and realized that he is suffering woefully from Neglected Second Child Syndrome; I have probably three times as many photos of Harper by the time she was his age. Not to make excuses, but it is tougher to take the camera out when you're constantly chasing and/or cleaning up after someone. Fortunately for us, Will is so easy-going I cling to the hope that he'll never care that he has gotten less attention than his sister did. Hopefully.

Anyway, here is my attempt at equalizing things.

He's babbling up a storm these days, making N's and B's and G's and K's and, his new favorite, H's. Harper and he make "zombie growls" at each other and then he laughs and laughs like she's the funniest thing in the world. He's also grabbing his feet all the time and working on his abs by sitting up in his car seat. I think he'll be sitting on his own in no time. Where is the time going? 

Also, Harper made me a Play-Doh heart yesterday. That kid can be so sweet. I am such a lucky mommy!

Thanksgivingkah 2013

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! We were lucky enough to have Brad's brother here with us this year. He drove out all the way from Colorado to meet his niece and nephew for the first time. Needless to say, it has been way too long since we've seen him, so it was great to have him here and catch up. And Harper and Will really loved getting to know their Uncle Ben.

Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin

Ben's trip was delayed due to scheduling and one nasty storm so he got in a couple of days late, which worked out just fine for us. We ended up celebrating Thanksgiving (or The Great Feast of Starch, as its known around here) on Saturday instead of Thursday. Then we had all day Sunday to spend at Honeymoon Island. Of course, I was compelled to take pictures for posterity.    

 Uncle Ben

Harper loved playing with Ben.

Making a sand cave for the dinosaurs (naturally).

Brothers

Trying to look natural (doesn't Ben just look like a bigger, hairier version of Brad?).

Harper chased...

... and chased...

 ... and chased the gulls.

We finally got her to sit still for a minute.

Ben is a little stiff in front of the camera. 

It didn't help that Brad was doing his impersonation of a high-fashion photographer and saying things like, "Be sad.... sadder... so sad. Yes, that's it! Now you're a tiger! Growl, human tiger!"

Of course, Brad hates having his picture taken, too. I think it's a Booker-thing (except for Harper, who LOVES having her picture taken, proving the rule).

After all the beach fun and photos Harper got to run around on the playground with Brad and Ben while Will and I took a break.

On Monday Brad went back to work so Harper and I took Ben and Will to the Florida Aquarium. It is Harper's absolute favorite place in the entire world, and it was the first time that both Ben and Will had been to an aquarium, so it was an extra special trip.  

Obligatory shot in front of The Ray.

With both of the kids.

I love this one.

Monday and Tuesday Ben was out at the farm with Brad doing guy stuff (which I imagine to be eating battered things, driving farm equipment, wrestling, and talking about killing things with their bare hands). Brad desperately needed to do guy stuff. Ben ended his tour d'Tampa by getting lost and, in true Booker form, risked his life driving around the ghetto for about an hour before coming to his senses and calling to get directions. No visit to Tampa is complete without risking one's life.

Anyway, the week went much too quickly and now Ben is making his way back to Colorado. Thank you so much for visiting, Ben. Let's make sure we do it again before another five years pass!