Monday, June 29, 2009

It's a Niece!

For those of you that don't know, Patrick's Aunt Katie and Uncle Brandon are expecting a baby at the end of the year and they found out last week that it's going to be a baby girl! We've been really excited about Katie and Brandon having a baby since they told us at Easter. They're going to be amazing parents and it'll be so cool to watch them with their little one.

We're also really excited about Patrick having a cousin that's so close to his age, especially since Katie and Brandon live relatively close (although, not close enough if you ask me. There are still a few houses for sale in our neighborhood guys...I'm just sayin'). The Beans told the family the great news at Easter dinner, which, you may remember, was at our house this year. Towards the end of dinner Patrick needed a diaper change and Katie and Brandon volunteered to do the deed. We, of course, didn't turn down the offer and did our best to conceal our glee. They were taking a little while to change the diaper but we knew Patrick can sometimes be very wiggly during that process so we didn't think much of it. But when they brought him back downstairs he was wearing a new onesie


World's Best Cousin

Last week when Katie and Brandon found out they were having a girl they called with the news and told us that Patrick needs to start brushing up on his Big Brothering skills since Baby Bean won't have an older brother. Something tells me between Brandon as a Dad and all of Baby Bean's uncles and Grandpas, she'll be covered. But, I told them I'd see what I could do to start instilling the "chivalrous" trait in Patrick now. I Googled "how to make a baby chivalrous." Sadly, my efforts were fruitless - thanks for nothin' Internet! So like any good father and future uncle, I'm improvising based on what my idea of chivalrous is. Sadly, they don't make real swords for babies and apparently dragons don't actually exist despite the myriad books I read on the subject when I was little. So instead I started Patrick on a strict regimen of lifting all his heaviest toys and carrying them around the room. And he's chasing Roxy all over the place now, which should help with his speed. I'd also like to teach him to say "my lady" with an English accent. By the time Baby Bean is born, Patrick will be a mean, lean, Big Brother machine - or a happy, chubby, cousin playmate that keeps calling everyone "my lady"...but whatever.

World's Most Chivalrous Cousin

Congratulations to Katie and Brandon again. We're very very excited for you guys and can't wait to meet your daughter. And best of all, it's just in time for Christmas so we get to buy her all kinds of great stuff!

Friday, June 19, 2009

A Whole Lotta Learnin' Goin' On

As I mentioned in the last post, Patrick learned to walk pretty well this week. Sunday he went to sleep able to take a few steps at a time to get from a table to a chair. Monday he woke up and decided he could walk half way across the room. It's Friday now and he's able to walk from one room to another while holding things and stopping to pick things up along the way. It's amazing how quickly kids learn things!

We also got a set of alphabet magnets for the refrigerator - mostly so Patrick would stop pulling off all of the real magnets and pictures. He loves pulling the letters off and sticking them back on. The other day when we were playing with them I thought that maybe I should start telling him what they are now and what sounds they make to see if he starts recognizing them. Sure enough, he does. His favorite letter to say the sound for is "H" because it sounds like laughing - and he fake laughs every time he says it.

Here's a video of him walking from earlier in the week. I think it's his first time wearing shorts with a draw string so it looks like he's leading himself around on a leash. The second part of the video is us going over a few letters from the refrigerator (in between him being distracted by the gate I finally put up yesterday).


Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Fun With Bubbles and Mommy

Just wanted to do a quick post with a few recent pictures. We had a great weekend at Lake Blueridge and Patrick started really walking on Monday so we'll post some pictures and videos of both of those things soon. For now, here are some really cute pictures of Angie and Patrick playing at bath time.







Monday, June 8, 2009

SUMMERTIME

We had a blast with the Barkers and Rebecca a couple Sundays ago. John and Wendy hosted a very yummy dinner at their summer home in the Hamptons...or not. It's actually a rental they're staying in while their house is being reconstructed from a tree falling through the master bathroom a couple months ago. They've handled the ordeal with their usual laid back attitude. The kids had fun together, especially riding in the red wagon and feeding the ducks at the pond.











Thanks again to the Barkers and Rebecca for a great dinner and evening. The rest of the pictures from the night are over here.