avablog » Emmett

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy

map — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:04:02 +0000

I’m able to count on one hand the number of times either of our kids has fallen asleep without significant help from either Leah or I.
I’ve always marveled at pictures of kids who’ve dozed off mid-meal, for example, one tiny hand still clutching a tangle of saucy spaghetti noodles. So it was photo-worthy this weekend when Emmett passed out on the couch in the middle of a small snack (I know, my bar for photo-worthy is low).

This was about 3:30 in the afternoon, so I wasn’t about to let the boy settle in for a long snooze that would then keep him up until 10. So I roused him (against Leah’s wishes) and then tried my best to stifle a laugh as I watched him groggily grab the last bite of his granola bar and bring it halfway to his mouth before falling back to sleep. A little more jiggling brought him fully awake, and he seemed to suffer no ill effects (read: no tantrums!) from having been brought out of sleep prematurely. They’re so cute when they’re sleeping, aren’t they? Even with bits of shredded cheese stuck to their chins.

Fond farewell

map — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:50:26 +0000

We’re certainly at a stage right now where AGP and ECP are fighting for dominance/attention at home. They can usually manage to sit together for about five minutes before one of them hits, pinches, or otherwise annoys the other to the point that a fight breaks out. So your dear narrator could be forgiven the occasional muse on whether these two kids like each other at all. This morning, however, came an affirmation.
Ava was hurrying out the door to mount her bike and head to her friend Mac’s for the ride to school. She was all bundled up against a stiff, cool wind and had her backpack on. As she stopped in the driveway to put on her gloves, she looked back at the house and saw her brother looking out at her through the window at the bottom of the stairs. She waved, blew him four or five kisses, and mouthed, “I love you Emmett.” Then she set her bike on the ground and ran right up to the window to blow more kisses. Emmett returned them from his perch atop the baseboard inside. Then Ava ran back to her bike, hopped on, and was off.

As I watched the goings on from the window at the landing, it warmed my heart to see these two be so affectionate to each other without a parental plea. I hope this is the place they always come back to, no matter what happens in their lives.

Hola!

map — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:16:28 +0000

I’m sure you’ve been waiting impatiently to see pictures from our recent trip to lovely Isla Mujeres. Well, I’m hereby rewarding your lack of patience!

Enjoy!

RAWR!

map — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:05:32 +0000

Ava was too sick to come along to the work trick-or-treat session last night, but Emmett and I had a great time. We practiced his thank yous, and he did a good job filling up his little pumpkin bag (I told him we had to make sure we got some candy for his sister, too). Even so, I think he missed having his zookeeper along.

And, in motion, where you can really appreciate the magnificence of the beast:

How he says “cashews”

map — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:35:26 +0000

“Car-shoes.”