So here's a little chronicle of the activity of the Launder family between Valentine's Day and today. The pictures below start from most recent and go backward.
Corvin and Mazzie are incredibly fun companions these days. Yes they are lovable, huggable, playful, and funny, but now they get great joy from getting out to see the world. (And getting out is fun for mommy and daddy, too.) They like to eat out, people watch, take walks, go to the playground, go shopping. They love learning about this cool world we live in. They adore books, balloons, trains, garbage trucks, dogs, junk mail, farms, animals, fish, toilet paper, the library.
Today, someone asked me what words they are saying. Lots. Some are crystal clear and some we just understand from context and a careful ear. Here's a narrow sampling: dog, kitty, dinosaur, cow, horse, duck, trash, garbage truck, out, outside, in, inside, up, down, hug, kiss, dragon, and, of course, NO!
We just got a copy of the album NO! by They Might Be Giants. I highly recommend it for all of the toddlers and moms and dads of toddlers out there. Mazzie likes to assert herself with the word "no", so we all get a good laugh when the song No! comes on and Mazzie is chanting "No, no, no" along with the lyrics.
Without further ado, here are the photos:
A Family Tradition: Saturdays at the LibraryNearly every Saturday, we put Corvin and Mazzie in the stroller and Steve, Peanut Butter, and I walk about 1.5 miles to town to the library. Books are a key part of Corvin and Mazzie's daily routine, and the walk to town, the big fish tank, and the train puppet theater are big features in their Saturdays.
Mazzie in front of the library.
The Water Table
Mazzie splashes the water.
Corvin studies the pebbles and sand as they dribble and ooze into the water.
Mazzie's dress was soaked.
Corvin's clothes were wet, too.
Daughter and Father
Snuggly Moments Corvin and Mazzie really do seem to adore each other. Yes, they do horrendous things to each other on a daily basis, but there is real love there. Corvin says "Mazzie" as clear as a bell. To me, he sounds like a proper British school boy when he says it; very enunciated with an upswing at the end. Today, at the library, Steve took him upstairs, while Mazzie and I stayed in the children's section. Steve said that he kept saying her name over and over. He wasn't distressed, but he wanted to know where she was.
Corvin is a cuddler. In the pictures below, he had walked over to Mazzie and laid his head on her tummy. Mazzie thought this was very funny and they both had a good laugh.
Cell PhonesCorvin and Mazzie are constantly coveting and grabbing for our cell phones and the house phone. They pick up digital thermometers and remote controls, pantomiming us adults. Beep. "Hello?" Thus the cell phones. Not real, by the way.
Diaphanous
A Walk in the Open Space
Like I Said, Corvin Likes to CuddleFor those of you who don't know this, Beebs, the teddy bear that Corvin is hugging, was the love of my life for many years.
Pots and Pans
Weekend in DenverIn January and February, busy months for me at work, I worked many long days and nights, which meant that Steve had many long nights of housecleaning without help. As a little reward for all of us when the rush at work ended, we stayed in Denver for a weekend.
Magnolia Hotel. Corvin and Mazzie were wowed by the light rail that went by every five minutes, the high rises, and all of the activity of "the big city". The Magnolia Hotel is a family-friendly hotel with both a happy hour and a milk and cookie hour.
Phones.
Hi!
City Park.
Playing in the luggage after the return home.
Reading with Daddy
Tea Box Shoes
Elf
HatWe have been cutting the bottoms off of onesies to make them fit longer. That's one on Peanut Butter's head. Poor thing. Mazzie sure enjoyed it, though.
Corvin with His BelovedCorvin loves his nanny very much. I think it's very clear from this photo that she loves him, too.
Easter Egg Hunt
