Tiny Legs

Calvin loves to "draw," but his works of art have always been energetic scribbles completely consuming the piece of paper.

So imagine my surprise when he walked up to me this morning and said, "I drew you, Mommy!" And handed me this:

I was so taken aback and completely overcome. He asked, "why are you laughing?" I assured him it was just because I think he is the cutest boy in the whole world.

Boy #2's Bedroom

 We moved 4 months ago and I am finally getting pictures together of the new house. I have loved decorating and have about 5 projects going at once. Linus' room is done for now.

I went for minimalism, being inspired by so many great nursery pictures I've seen on Pinterest. I decorated with old Disney vinyls, a 30 year old map of Disneyland, original character sketches from a golden age Disney animator (Tyler's great uncle), and a few cute vintage-y stuffed animals. What do you think?

Am I powerful or am I enslaved?

Sometimes Linus just wants me.

Loinis

Poor Linus sometimes does not get the attention he deserves. I spend so much of my day talking to Calvin and trying to help him out, that often Linus is just left to observe us. He seems to like it at least. And he isn't afraid to pipe up with a loud "yop!" when he needs something.

He is so easygoing, and he is such a grateful, cuddly baby. All he ever seems to want to do is cuddle with me and nurse. He is just adorable. He is not quite as big of a fan of sleep as Calvin was, but we're working on that.

At his 4 month checkup, he was 25 percentile for everything, but he seems to be chunking up pretty fast. We gave him a taste of rice cereal a couple of days ago, which he ravenously ate, his body trembling all over as if it was the coolest thing he'd done in life so far. And maybe it was, I guess.

Calvin just loves him. I have to keep a keen eye on those two because sometimes Calvin loves him a little too hard. We then have a conversation about how not to squash your baby brother. When he says his name it sounds like "Loinis" and it is the cutest thing. They are going to have so much fun together.

So happy in his high chair.

Linus' signature look. He always has one finger in his mouth. Calvin says he's looking for "hand food"- whatever that means.

Twas the Season

We had a great, long holiday in Tucson with so much family. It was wonderful. I so wish we lived down there and could spend more time with so many people that we love. Calvin especially has so much fun playing with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. He is still talking about "Remember we put in the flour and the eggs at Mao's house? Member that?" and "Remember at Baba's house when we played with Sophie? Member that?" It's so fun.

Christmas Eve in Tubac with all of the cousins. Here is the 2nd cousins Nativity. Calvin is a little shepherd with a Star Wars shirt on at the bottom right. This was moments before the taller shepherd dropped his crook, beaning Calvin on the head.

Calvin ate each stocking stuffer as he opened it. Here he is with a "white christmas treat" as he calls it. He was so excited that Santa brought him everything he asked for- candy canes and a pair of slippers.

Linus also loved the Christmas excitement!

Though everyone got tons of fun gifts, the only thing that anyone wanted to play with was an iPad.

After Christmas hangover in his new Snuggie for kids. All 11 nieces and nephews now match their uncles. We really need to get a picture of the camo snuggiefest.

Nick is a super uncle and Linus is loving it.

I had no stroller or baby carrier in Tucson so I looked up how to "make" a Moby-like wrap. 1. Buy 5 yards of fabric. 2. Cut it down the middle. 3. Enjoy your wrap! I raided Baba's fabric cache to find this cute orange print and voila! I have a wrap. Linus loves it (Calvin never liked this sort of thing), and it was a lifesaver while we were down there.

Hiking in the early morning in Sabino Canyon. I so love Arizona winters.

Calvin absolutely LOVED going on this hike.

A rest, a snack, and some waterfalls.

Watch out for Mountain Lions! This is Tyler's biggest fear.

I flew back with the boys by myself-- an adventure to be sure. Again, the wrap was lifesaving. After driving 2 hours to Phoenix, boarding and deplaning because of technical problems, waiting for the next flight to arrive with our misplaced baggage, and another hour home, we were exhausted! But, hey, I did feel like Supermom.

Happy holidays and welcome to 2012! We love you!