Continuing with the better late than never theme...

Now that I'm basically posting pics from six months ago, there is such freedom in what I write because: a) six months can lead to very rosy, if somewhat blurry, glasses, and b) enough time has passed that I can write pretty much anything, however mundane, and it'll be an amazing relief to me and others. So, enjoy these pics from January 2009!


I'll always remember nursing both boys to sleep when they were under a year old. What a sweet, perfect experience. I would often sit there and gaze at their zonked-out and pudgy faces, and sneak pictures like this one. Nursing a 16-month-old is a very different story! Callum now stays incredibly alert, with one of his arms always reaching up to touch my face or pull my hair or try to take my iPhone out of my hand... :-)


More fun on Caltrain on a chilly January morning


On an unusually warm Saturday in January we had a picnic at our neighborhood park/playground. Ronan was so happy that it was pleasant and sunny and perfect for running around!


And jumping with joy!


And rolling in the grass!


Callum too had fun crawling and scootin' around.


Cute bug



I think this was his very first sandwich! And he ate the whole thing.


As things often go, our perfect picnic day ended with a snag. Ronan was dangling from the play structure (he would later say that he was waiting for us to catch him) when he dropped and hit his chin on the ground. Because he's an ardent thumbsucker, his bite is not aligned properly so his top and bottom teeth crunched together (sorry to be graphic). A section of his top front tooth cracked but was still dangling and a corner of the other tooth was chipped. That's in addition to the 3 or 4 chipped teeth he has on the bottom! Since we hadn't switched dentists yet, I drove Ronan to SF to see wonderful Dr. Katz the next day and he was able to "save" the broken tooth (hooray!) and repair it to look like normal. Good pediatric dentists are HEROES! After that dental adventure, I treated Ronan to ice cream and a grilled cheese sandwich at the Toy Boat Cafe on Clement St. He rode the horsie, lapped his vanilla ice cream, and we both missed being in SF.


More pics of the Toyboat Cafe - a great place to cheer any kid up.




We are lucky that we get to visit Grandma Kathy (Popo) every few weeks. Here are the boys at her piano.




Like Ronan, Callum loved pounding on the keys and making music.


Callum and a safe sword!


Bringing back memories of Ronan, Callum climbs stairs relentlessly. He has the added incentive of wanting to keep up with his older, bigger brother!


Callum napping in his car seat. I love these shots. :-)


Alta Vista Park in SF has to be one of the most scenic playgrounds in the world. Perched on a steep hill, it offers kids a whole bunch of different play structures and latte-sipping parents an amazing view of the city. Stunning.