Baking, sleeping...

First two photos - catching Josephine in one of her pensive, thoughtful moments...

The tricky part of having two kids is trying to get quality one-on-one time with each of them... but my main goal is to foster a loving relationship between the two of them.

It's moments when we're able to make bread together - and when they nap together - that I have a lot of encouraging hope about the latter...

Jo is so excited about Sam learning to walk so that the two of them can go on adventures together.

My Green Dress

My mother made this dress for me when I was a little girl - Jo looks adorable in it, I think!

The Fun of a Swivel Chair

Let it Snow

It's been a bummer of a winter here in Virginia - ice and cold, but no snow!

Except for in our house, that is - the day Jo and Sam undid a package of styrofoam and proceeded to play mermaids swimming in it... I had only stepped away to change the laundry over... it only takes a minute...

And because Sam is frightened of the vacuum cleaner, it was tricky getting the pieces up.... the millions of teeny tiny pieces... some of which still lurk in the sofa and somehow in my sock drawer...

Jo's Drawings

Right around Christmas, Jo's artistic ability just exploded. After the Nutcracker, she drew a schematic of the entire theater, complete with the drums, the stairs to our seats, the stage, the soldiers, the hallways. She also started drawing faces and bodies, like the above - self-portraits - dozens of them - with multiple body parts, like eyebrows, fingers, throats - and hair styles - like "here's me with long hair blowing in the wind" (the first one above) or "here's my hair with a side ponytail." The other week she drew a cat - peeing. And now, they almost look like cartoons - the last one above, for instance, indicative of her most recent style.

We've also been learning about things like snail mucus, koala pouches, and where our food goes when we eat it - she knows all about the esophagus, for instance... Three is so far a really fun age!!

Stickers and a Clarinet

So proud to have put little stickers all over Sam's head

Music time with Daddy, always a big hit!

The little tykes' cutest moment these days: When they embrace each other like two little bear cubs, in a hug-tussle, and kind of kiss each other. Sooooo cute!

Jo's manners these days - may I and please and thank you - are incredible!

Sam is into pointing with his index finger and saying "dis! dis!" And eating Everything. Literally. Everything. Of course.

The other day, Jo asked if we could give Sam away to her friend Emma. "I just want to be alone with you and Daddy," she said. So I made arrangements for the two of us to have a mother-daughter outing together, to her delight, but said, "Well, do you still want to get rid of Sam? Sell him to the gypsies?" "No, he wouldn't like them. I want to keep him." And today she said: "We don't sell babies for money, mommy." We often have a good time laughing at the silly things Sam does - like biting his own finger and making himself cry - biting our toes - baby antics...