Activity 'round here

There's been a lot of activity 'round here lately.

The first exciting bit of news was that Prince William got his first pet! (Total impulse buy - what on earth was I thinking? Do you realize the incredible rate at which two tiny fish can generate poop?!)

I know what I was thinking...my heart shrivels and melts at the way he says "fish", so I just needed to hear him say it a million times per day. Plus, they were 19 cents each, and I already had the bowl, so I figured it was a safe first pet trial.

Turns out it was anything but safe for these poor fish.

As new occupants of our cat-dominated household, they lasted all of 10 days before meeting their unfortunate demise.

You live, you learn. (To quote an excellent 90's musician)

Our next bit of excitement was a big celebration with our out-of-town relatives.

My dedicated blog readers may remember seeing my darling niece Penelope show up on this blog at random times throughout its extensive blog history, like here and here. Well, it's hard to believe, but TWO YEARS have passed since she first graced us with her presence. A two-year birthday is certainly and occasion worth celebrating - so she and her mommy were in town from Seattle for the week. It was great to have family time together.

There was a lot of cousin activity going on.

Lots of rough-housing (I think Grammy and Gramps got quite a work-out)

Lots of snuggle time

 
And some refined tea-sipping as well.

All the cousin fun left this little guy tired out! (I can never resist sticking in a picture of my sleeping baby)

I had ample opportunity to start training my little niece in the way that she should go (i.e. nurse practitioner of course!)

I think she's doing an excellent job, she has much potential

Now him on the other hand...I'm not so sure about

It was very fun to help celebrate my niece's birthday (especially since I missed her first birthday party while I was in Florida last year)

She's turned into quite the sassy and stylin' little two-year-old

Thankfully though, still not too grown up to have fun with balloons

Happy 2nd Birthday Pretty Penny!

Many of these pictures admittedly were taken by my sis-in-law - I stole them and touched 'em up and couldn't resist using them in a blog post :)

Literary Fun

So, this past weekend, because we were going stir-crazy stuck in the house with a 15-month toddler in the middle of winter because we are striving to engender the love of literacy at a young age in our child, we opted to take little Will to the library to meet Clifford the Big, Red Dog. (not sure if commas are a part of his title...if they are, is that considered an Oxford comma? I'm not sure...but I've definitely been obsessed with that punctuative article ever since I fell in love with Vampire Weekend. On a side note, did you know that punctuative is a word? Oh, I love the English language, it's splendid!).

Anyways, apparently this year is the 50th anniversary of the invention of this captivating canine character (Oh, I love the thesaurus!), so we went attired in our bells and whistles. Here are a few photos of the incredibly exciting event.

Sitting with the other kids like a big boy,
engrossed with rapt attention

Seeking reassurance that mommy and daddy are still present

Must not have gotten the memo that it was time to stand

Missed another memo that walking up to children and touching their faces is not an acceptable social practice

I'll admit, I was as pleased and proud as could be when he did not dissolve into frightened tears the moment he got close to Clifford.

That makes one out of the three of us who is not terrified of large, stuffed, inanimate beings. 

In all, it was a great little weekend diversion...made greater by the fact that it was "free". In case you were wondering, yes, we definitely think that it vindicates the thousands of tax dollars we pay. 

I've started to perfect the rare art form of cheesy toddler smiling

Valentines Vibes

What would cold, snowy February be without the bright spot of Valentine's Day smack dab in the middle?

You may remember last year I couldn't resist posting some pics of my little 3-month son...

Well...he's grown a bit.

Cloth diaper still fits though...phew!

When I was growing up, my mother always made Valentine's Day special for us. Each year during February, our household rituals regularly consisted of decorating shoeboxes to store precious valentines, special parties to make and exchange valentines with friends, and lovely dinner settings complete with doilies, red dishes, pink milk, etc. I suppose she instilled in me a love of Valentines Day...while my husband loves to scornfully decry it as a "Hallmark Holiday", I love to get my red and pink on. 

In a great summer garage sale find, I swiped this lovely sign for the door

Another great addition was this cute gift that Grammy gave Will. 

Feel free to send this little guy some Valentines because he's got a special spot to store them!.

This year I fashioned a couple Valentine's buntings with some supplies I had around the house. Easy, free, and festive!

This one also doubles great as a photography prop!

C'mon folks, Valentine's hearts and babies...does it get any cuter?

I couldn't resist a little impromptu photo shoot

He was tolerant at first...and then quickly over the whole thing

Unhappy Baby

It was great though...with a couple props and a nice red tablecloth (thanks Annie!), I was able to turn this...

Into this

Happy Valentines Day, from this wily little Will

Finishing touches...

I think I am finally done decorating my son's room.(Those of you who follow my blog may have read my nursery tour post here)

I am so happy with this room - I still love just hanging out up there (though I must admit, the window seat is kindof chilly in the winter!). However, there were a few details that I had planned in my mind which have finally come to fruition. Great things come to those who wait...or something like that.

I commissioned my little sis (who is following in my foot-steps in the direction of nursing, but like me, has had her share of inward turmoil...the battle between scientific practicality and flight of fancy artsy/craftsy) to illustrate some of my husband and my favorite children's literary themes for the walls.

I am thrilled with how they turned out!

 Top left: Curious George
 Top right: Babar and Celeste
 Bottom left: Calvin and Hobbes
 Bottom right: Winnie the Pooh and Piglet
(all white frames and matting from Ikea)

Mr. Tumnus in Narnia (sorry about the unavoidable glare)

 Peter Pan - My personal favorite.

Isn't she amazing?!! Thanks Auntie Lills!

The second touch was a more recent addition. I've been wanting to somehow incorporate some of my photography into the nursery. So I ran to Ikea (again) and grabbed some simple white frames and hung a few of my favorite shots from the past year.

I was loathe to pound nails into my father's beautiful cabinetry, so I stopped at Ace looking for some Command hooks. What I got were even better! These strips worked like a charm. They made it a lot easier to hang the pictures exactly where I wanted them, and they will leave no damage. Yay!

 I was a little worried that it would be a bit too busy and take away from the more simplistic look I was going for...and some might say that it does...but I think it personalizes the room a little, so overall, I'm quite pleased with it.