A Real Toddler Now

Graham and Finn have really been enjoying their time at Happy Days, their daycare. Graham has been in the infant room up until now, but since he's 18 months he's moving up to the toddler room, known as the Ladybugs. Finn is nearing the end of his run in junior preschool (the Superstars) and will soon be off to the Busy Bees. Below is Graham sitting around the table after his first day with the Ladybugs. He loves sitting at a chair, like a big kid, rather than in a high chair. But he still has some baby qualities---the infant room teachers were really sad to see him go, because he is still very cuddly.

We came in while he was eating his afternoon snack, and instead of running to greet us like he's always done, but he just looked up at us and said, "no." He took his time to eat his last cracker, got up and put his napkin into the trash, and THEN he came over to give us hugs. He is a big kid, and big kids aren't in a hurry.

This one below was a nice one during a diaper change before bed. He likes toys.


And, just for fun, another one from when my mom was here. She came over to Happy Days to see their school.

Katie is leaving tonight for a 4-day stay in Philadelphia for the ACRL meeting. Have fun!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

...from these two goofballs, and their parents.

Daylight Savings?

Daylight savings always seemed really fun when I was a kid. It stays light later--what more could you ask for? Frankly they should have it year-round and for 2 extra hours in the summer! That's what I thought. But when you actually have little ones, you gotta keep them on the family's schedule, and that is tough to do when everything changes by an hour. But I think we've been doing pretty well by making manageable increments.

In other news, Graham likes bread. And he can say a few words. And he can dance a little bit. And he's REALLY cute.

Open the bread from Jonathan Fortney on Vimeo.

My Mom, Grandma Mary, came to town to visit us for 5 days. We had a great time in every way except that our little winery tour was ruined by every place we tried to visit being closed on Tuesdays, even though their web sites said they were open. :( The boys love their Grandparents and love to see them whenever they can, either in-person or via skype. My mom managed to push both boys around in the stroller, including up steep hills, even though their combined weight is now 70 pounds!

The rainy season is not over. Not even close. And I had such high hopes.... Not a problem for these two, of course.

Our table is one Finn unit in length. Finn is strangely fascinated with how tall people are, and how tall he and Graham will be. He has decided he will be as tall as me, but that Graham will only be as tall as Katie. He does remind me often that I'm not as tall is my Dad, though. And that Mona is the fastest in the family even though she is the smallest. And that racecars are faster than people. And that airplanes have tires. Actually, there are far more questions than definitive statements, but those are for another day.

Graham likes elephants, too

In the summer of 2009, when Finn was around the age Graham is right now, we went to the Oakland zoo. Mostly to see the elephants. Last weekend we went back, to see the elephants and to see our friends Bridget and Keith, who now live in Oakland. Keith took this picture for us.

Graham & elephants from Katie on Vimeo.
Graham's about as good at making elephant noises as Finn was. Still is for that matter. The main differences are that we were all more bundled up this trip, and I was decidedly less pregnant. Oh, also Graham breathes air now.

Jonathan is out of town for most of this week, returning tomorrow. We're getting along fine, especially now that Graham runs and says words and eats people food, but we all miss him. He's more fun than me - see?