Snow day

Ronan has a raucous cackle.  It's almost the same sound from when he was 1.5, and it's one of my favorite things.

Ronan hasn't come to work with me in a long time, but today his school was canceled and Orion's wasn't.  We explored all over campus and had fun (and he watched a live rodent surgery), and now he's watching Tom and Jerry cartoons in my office.

That cackling...

Orion has been practicing his kung fu moves following Ronan's lead.  Ronan does the poses shouting "Duh, Duh, Duh" as he punches, and so Orion kicks his leg up and says Duh Duh Duh!!

Then and Now

Holiday Hats!

Orion happens to have the same snowflake PJ zippersuit Ronan wore on his first Christmas.  So here is a succession of babies in PJs in holiday hats.

Ronan, Christmas 2009

Orion, Christmas 2015

Orion, Christmas 2016

Holiday 2016 into 2017

Happy Holidays!

There's nothing like working on a grant application to make me want to update this blog instead.  So many great visits are now over, leaving our noisy household of four feeling nonetheless quiet and empty.


Orion has taken to chanting names over and over (RoRo, Dada, Nana, Papa...) with his particular zeal and enthusiasm.  He is also experimenting with more sentences, although not all are equally intelligible (is he really saying HOT OWL?).  The best to date was "RoRo no bye-bye."

Ronan has been acting more cuddly, punchy (as in punching his mom), and especially silly.  Last night at bedtime we laughed over some selectively winnowed "inappropriate city names."  Favorites that had him in stitches were: Middelfart, Butt of Lewis, Suckerville Maine, Nowhere, and Itchy Bottom.  That last one might have been a composite when I couldn't read the real one.  We had a few "where are you from" sample exchanges that he wanted repeated over and over, finding them just as funny the second and third times.

I love the role you all play in these kids' lives!