Like herding cats

Poo-pah (Z's name for Grandpa Walt) sent some Carnegie Mellon gear to the kids a while ago, but the shirt was too big for Miss S. She's finally grown into it, so I wanted to take a photo of the two of them wearing their CMU shirts today. After I wrangled them onto the bench (the easiest way to get them together is to make them sit on something that forces proximity), I faced the challenge of photographing two young children who aren't very interested in being photographed. Afterward, as I was looking through the photos to pick out my favorites, I decided that it would be more fun to show you what a typical photo session with these two looks like.  And maybe you will appreciate why I have so few photos of them together.



So after all of that, here's what we ended up with!  (Although I have to admit that some of my favorites are the sillier photos that show their personalities.)

Happy Easter!

This was the best I could do in my attempt to get a photo of the two of them "together" and "smiling".  You can see Miss S's adorable Easter dress, knitted by Gramma Hill!  We also realized today that Z only has one button-down shirt, and it's the same one he wore in his Santa photo last year.

At least they are both looking at the camera this time...

The only way to get a smile in a photo around here is to do it myself.

After the Egg Hunt, Daddy reads their new Easter book to them.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Compare & Contrast: Santa Photos (2008, 2009, 2010)

The first one (from 2008) still makes me laugh.  Z was doing just fine until the lady “helping” the photographer started ringing that darn cowbell.

Our very own Zcrooge

Santa:  Are you hoping for anything special for Christmas?

Z (with his back to Santa): <silence>

Santa:  How about Legos?  Do you like to play with Legos?

Z: <silence>

Santa:  I bet you like toy cars.

Z (still with his back to Santa):  I.  LIKE.  TRAINS.

All in the family

Mommy’s hat (from the crazy “hat-a-day” knitting days…pre-children, of course)

+

Big brother’s snowsuit

=

Pure sweetness

  

Indoor wading pool

Subtitle:  “Why we pick up Cowboy’s water bowl when Mei-mei is on the loose”

 

 

Happy Birthday, Poopah!

A few seconds of sweetness

Yes, she has him wrapped around her little finger.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Hill!

Happy Halloween!

From the cutest Strawberry, Cat in the Hat, and Skele-Cow around!

Bugging the Cow

A certain little lady in our house has decided that her favorite place to hang out is on Cowboy's bed. And if Cowboy happens to be on the bed at the time? Even better! Although he generally doesn't stay there for long.

And yes, she's dressed like she's auditioning for a role in "Flashdance".  While carrying around a book of insect stickers.  Because that's how she rolls.

My favorite pumpkins

The fun-capacity of a sun tent should never be underestimated

Bipedal Preambulation

Catching up with a few pictures

It's been a busy summer here at raising hill and I've been terrible at keeping this blog updated. Here a few photos to show what we've been doing:

Mei-mei takes a stroll with her wagon while her brother waits (not-so-patiently) for his turn. (Note: I've also realized that his fingers go in his mouth whenever I get the camera out -- unless he's specifically asked me to take a picture. Hmmmm.)

 

Mei-mei frequently displaces Cowboy from his bed while she rolls around and tries to do somersaults. However, she makes it up to him by giving him one of her "head-butt hugs".

A rare hug from big brother. She looks as surprised about it as I was.

1.  Z was very excited to wear his favorite pajamas on "Pajama Day" at preschool. He wanted me to take a picture of them, so he did the same cute little stick-your-knee-out pose he does every time he asks me to photograph an outfit. Chris does this exact pose when he tries on new pants. I half expect Z to say, "How do these look, honey?"

2.  Ahh, summertime in Seattle.  Heading out for a Sunday walk.  Of course, after we walked a few blocks in pouring rain and got thoroughly drenched, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and we looked ridiculous in our rain gear.

3.  Little Miss still loiters around the house, but now her range has increased because she no longer needs to hold onto anything.  She’s also started taking a few tentative little steps, but she’s not fully walking yet.  I know it’s coming VERY soon though!  Time to get her some shoes.

Bottoms up

We gave Mei-mei her first taste of cow's milk after she turned 1 year old. She was not a big fan. When given the choice between a cup of water and a cup of milk, not only would she choose the water, but she'd first shove the milk across the table.  After talking to the Dude (the Hillions' pediatrician) and hearing of Mary's similar situation with Big P, I decided to try out lactose-free milk.  Here's the result:

Going for a ride

I have some catching up to do on this blog, but I wanted to give you a little taste of what’s going on around here.  Here’s a photo of Z helping Mei-mei use her new walker wagon.  She’s not so sure this is how it’s supposed to be used…

Have doll, will travel

Glam rock baby

...plus Cowboy Warhol.

No pictures of Z because he wanted absolutely nothing to do with the crazy wigs (although when I put on the blonde one, he immediately said, "Final Countdown!"). Mei-mei didn't mind the wigs as much and she even practiced a bit of posing and head banging. Cowboy? Well, the poor dog doesn't really get a choice. He knew that one of the wigs was going to eventually find its way onto his head, so he just sighed and waited.

A bit of sunshine to start your week