Welcome!

We hope this Blog will be a fun way for you to keep track of what is going on with our family. We also hope that you find us as interesting, photogenic, and entertaining as we obviously find ourselves!

So, on with the bragging:


On the 20th, Alex turns 11 months old and Evan turns 33 months.


Evan is as precocious as ever. He likes to read, tell jokes, work on his US State puzzle, help with household chores (cooking, laundry, mowing the yard, watering plants), dance, sing, play with his friends, and ride his tricycles. He keeps pretty close eye on goings-on around here. For example, he came downstairs after his nap on Wednesday and asked Ani, "What's in the package?" What package? "The truck came and brought a package. The engine was very loud. It woke me up." Not having noticed any truck or engine, Ani checked outside the back door. Sure enough: a package. We waited to open the package (a telescope purchased with mycokerewards points!) until after the kids went to bed. Not having discussed the telescope with Evan, we were shocked when, on Thursday afternoon, he noticed it set up in the office and said, "Oh! A telescope. The UPS truck brought it on yesterday. It is for watching the stars and the Gaithers." As best we can remember, we once mentioned possible telescope usage (including its less than celestial purposes) several weeks ago. We really need to watch what we say! And we won't be using it for watching the neighbors -- at least not the Gaithers.

Alex is learning something new every day. Today, he climbed all the way up our stairs. Yesterday, he learned to drink out of a straw. In the last week, he has come close to perfecting his baby signs for "fish," "hat," "elephant" and "dog." He can follow simple instructions such as, "wave," "give me five" or "give me a kiss." Alex crawls like a cute, scurrying crab, on his right knee and left foot. Despite this unorthodox technique, he is lightening fast. He pulls up and cruises around furniture, so we suspect that walking is not far off. Alex has never liked baby food other than rice cereal, so he has been eating "table food" with us for several months. His favorite foods are bananas, watermelon, grapes, corn, sloppy joes, graham crackers, pineapple, yogurt, Eggo waffles, and anything on our plate that he is missing! He has a healthy appetite and can even out-eat his brother and his weight-watchers restricted mom!

Above all, Evan and Alex love being brothers. It is apparent already. Alex wants to do anything and everything that Evan does. Even when they are not playing together, Evan is aware of every move Alex makes. We are very proud of our little guys. Despite occasional frustrations (e.g. potty training and early-morning wake-up calls), they make us so happy.

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Below is a run-down of our summer thus far. We've included links to picture sets on our Flickr account. Feel free to browse through as many (or as few) as you'd like!

The minute Will was done grading his final exams in early May, we hopped in the car and drove to Orlando. To see some of our favorite Disney pictures, click here. The balance of May was spent priming and painting our kitchen. What a job!

On June 1, we drove to Daytona Beach for 9 days. Will graded Advanced Placement US Government exams while Ani and the boys spent much time counting the minutes until Daddy was done grading. Dan and Susan (Gramps/Nana) joined us for the balance of the week. The kids loved the water and the rocket launch! Daytona Beach pictures can be found here.

On the heels of returning from Daytona, we hopped a flight to Denver to spend a week. Here are some of our favorite shots of that trip.

Dan returned home with us mid-June. He and Will replaced all of our counter tops in the kitchen. I have a new smooth-top cook surface and we love it!

After a few days for rest, laundry, and repacking, we flew to Chicago for a week over the 4th of July. Family from Iowa and New York joined us in Evanston at the Williams' (Gramie/Bapa) house. Pictures can be found here.

Phew. At last, we are home for a few weeks. It is too hot to do much, so in these pictures we are goofin' around the house!

Enjoy!

-Ani & Will