avablog

Last evening, just after I came outside to sit next to Leah on the porch and as I munched on a large piece of raw cauliflower, Emmett toppled down the cement steps to the front sidewalk. There are only four steps, but it appears that he managed to catch most of his weight on his […]

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It seemed like it thundered steadily all night last night. Ava typically awakens after one or two good booms (Emmett does OK, so far), so last night I stood at the bottom of the stairs and listened between claps for sounds of her crying in her room. Nothing came. Minutes went by, and I waited. […]

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I don’t have nearly enough pics of the kids together. I’m doing what I can to resolve that situation, and here’s proof: They’re so cute together. This morning, before we left for work, Ava and Emmett played together on the front walk. Ava did chalk drawings of excavators (for him) and puppies (for her), and […]

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I debated posting this, partly due to my modest nature(*cough*), but also because it just sounds so implausible, even now, that I hesitate to strain your capacity to suspend disbelief.

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For the most part, Ava and Emmett get along well. Mostly because Emmett’s good natured enough to let much of Ava’s nastiness roll off his back. He likes to get up on her bed in the morning and jump on her while she hides from him under the covers; he doesn’t yet understand “irritated.” Sharing […]

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Today is Emmett’s second birthday. L and I sat on the couch early this morning and marveled at our little guy as he pushed his new backhoe loader around the floor at our feet. What a miracle he is. And not in that “every embryo is a baby” way, either. A quick look back: And […]

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Emmett likes to belly up to the counter at the island in the kitchen and watch me make scrambled eggs. Last week, I was going along with my scrambling one morning when I went to pour the eggs into the frying pan and happened looked up at Emmett, who was smiling the biggest, most beautiful […]

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I suppose if someone as cute and funny and lovable as Emmett had been dropped into my life when I was four, I might’ve had a difficult time adjusting to it, too. So it’s understandable that Ava sometimes feels like we’re spending all our time and attention on Emmett, even if reality doesn’t support that […]

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We all trucked up to Mount Vernon yesterday to have brunch and and see the town’s annual Chalk the Walk event. The chalk was all fine and good, but it was a gorgeous day, and it was just nice to get out with L and the kids to do something fun. I even managed to […]

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…he won’t be a little boy anymore. Someday soon.

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Our friend Liz organized a nice brunch around an Easter egg hunt being thrown by the city of West Branch over the weekend. It was a great time. You may be surprised to learn I had my camera along, which came in handy when AGP, Hilda, and Thisbe got crazy with their baskets before the […]

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He’s a scamp. A troublemaker. A provocateur, even. Welcome to another video I shot when Leah wasn’t home.

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I’m really not old enough to make that reference, probably, but this is an adorable video of ECP, regardless.

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I was home with Emmett and Ava yesterday afternoon, as both were sick with…something. I can’t even keep the illnesses straight anymore. Anyway, I was home with them, which gave me a chance to take some photos. Like this one:

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He’s starting to look more and more like a big boy. And maybe less like a little old man? One can hope….

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Completely. Utterly. Irredeemably. Unabashedly! I never did anything in my life to warrant the blessings heaped on me by these two kids. Which makes them even sweeter. Like money for nothing.

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Emmett now seems to be entirely over his recent bout with pneumonia, and Ava’s been crazy about getting out into the piles and piles of snow that still linger after our recent storm.

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