Pummelvision: Two Years in Review

There's a website called Pummelvision that takes all of your pictures from an online database and, well, makes a video out of them. It won't do Picasa yet, to the blog is out, but I had to try it, and here's what my facebook account looks like. Since I joined facebook initially to watch a friend tick down to her due date, my account covers about the last two years. Thus:

Two years in review (not quite in order) via facebook Pummelvision. If nothing else, a certain someone changes a lot in the course of a one minute video!

Revenge, Holiday Style

Cheryl is a wonderful woman who keeps me sane much of the week. However, she's obviously missing the joy of sending her grandchild obnoxious things. Thus, her present to our family:

I have a longer video if you'd prefer. Full of more toddler glee and chipmunk joy. Although at one point, E does go looking for the off switch himself.

If you'd prefer Jingle Bells (and several octaves lower), I refer you back to our video holiday card.

I hope your holidays are as full of glee as that kid up there. And perhaps lower on chipmunks.

Yum, Grilled Cheese

Recently a woman (whose 15-month-old outweighed E) made some comment about "Well, you can't force him to eat". I almost laughed in her face. This kid eats. He just puts in all in that hollow leg he inherited from his father. At least, I assume that's where they keep it...
(I should give props to Baker Street Pub, which lets Ray, Ali, and Angela get their Sunday Ticket fix while feeding them. Grilled cheese, apparently.)

The holidays continue, and if you missed our card, scroll down.

From Eamon

Happy Holidays!

This week has been fun - as the mail catches up and everyone gets our address updated, we've gotten so many wonderful cards from our friends near and far. As with every year, I'm impressed by ya'alls gorgeous pictures, your awesome cards, adorable children and furchildren, your ability to decorate my mantle, your creativity (most original: the Vegas postcard... I'm not going to even pick most artistic) and well, your organization. As with every year, I offer to set up Christmas cards if Ray will help address them.

So, um, well... thank you all for the cards. We love them. The mantlefull makes me all warm and fuzzy. We offer this in return:

A look at our holiday celebrations thus far: tree fetching, ice skating in Louisville, the insane light show that is down the block from us, posing E for daycare cards, and the Erie gift opening (I have to give special credit to the 3M package and Aunt Joanie/Uncle Denny's Noah's Arc for baby amusement potential). Note that there is no Santa's lap - while E is into Santa, it's apparently love from a distance, as he wouldn't go near him at daycare. Anyway, it has been a good holiday so far! Since I wish you all could be here to share it, here's the next best thing I can offer:

Music: Jingle Bells by Barenaked Ladies. Particularly appropriate given E's current obsession with the book Jingle Cats.

If you need more: here's last year's.

I hope you all have wonderful holidays full of fun people, good food and drink, and all the appropriate good cheer. We'll be thinking of all of you!

Play

Last week, instead of trying to find a bar with Sunday ticket to watch the delayed Vikings game, Ray bowed to our schedule and the hungry voice in the backseat, and we ended up at McDonald's. Given the game, I think this may have been a good choice on his part.


I'm sure Eamon thinks so!

Hangin'

E has found a new level of bonding with his dad.

Thanksgiving...

I'm way behind here, but E and I got to spend Thanksgiving with the Baumgartner clan.

Friday Cute: Mohawk Style

I thought I owed you all some cute. And it's been a while since anyone has seen a mohawk around here.

You know you love it.

So, this happened...

Note: this happened two weeks ago. I'm behind in the blogging, as you all know. Before you jump to the picture, all is OK.

Creative

Yes, he's riding it like a scoot-bike. What you can't see is the art installation underneath him, consisting of three of his stacking toys. When I found the upside-down stool with a colorful installation about an hour after Ray took this picture, I was very confused as to what the boys had been doing.

Note: this means they left the TV with football playing. Of course I was confused.

Light...

I'm hoping this is a metaphor. Not that the tunnel is particularly long, but if nothing else, I'm ready for some sunnier evenings around here so that we can get out and have fun. E just wants to get back to the playground, which is quite chilly and dark by the time we get home. Thinking of solstice around here!

Could I Get a Warning Meow?

It has come to my attention that not blogging for a week is FROWNED UPON in this ESTABLISHMENT.
That above was entirely for Ray, who could use a smile at work. And partially for my mother, who called to check. Yes, we're still alive.

Sort of. Lots of chaos around here. Some illness (bad, but we're surviving), a grandparent visit (good, and they survived), lots of work (good... mostly).
But we're still rockin', don't worry!

Have I mentioned the view?

The Flatirons.
Yeah, I'm obsessed with our view. I'll return to the regularly scheduled toddler next post, promise.

Salt & Pants

If Ray did a "favorite things" ala Oprah, this would be pretty close to the top right now. It's Salt & Pants. AKA a salt and pepper shaker.... that's wearing tighty whities. Or, as the box says, "The most fun you can have with your pants on.

Aren't you glad to know he's out there?

Yard

Happy.

Happy Turkey Day!

Every year we try to do a Thanksgiving with friends over the weekend - partially to ensure that Ray actually gets a Thanksgiving dinner, partially because it's a whole lot of fun (and partially because it means I get leftovers). This year there was the added bonus of forcing us to make the first floor of the house presentable (and forcing Ray to get Rock Band set up, but that's another issue). Anyway, this is always a fun time, and I always am having too much fun to take pictures. So I have this.

Yes, I got a picture of everyone. Too bad only one person is in focus.
Ohh, but I do have this:
Yum, fried turkey.

Anyway, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving with great people, and that the pictures come out well!

aMAZEd

It has been a little chilly around here lately. I thought everyone could use some sunshine, courtesy of our trip to Grant Farms.




May your Monday be as fun as a trip through a hay maze.

Scenes from Last Weekend

A lot more concentration on the game than a year ago.
What a ladies' man....is this a preview for 60 years from now?

One more...

from Jen's last time with Eamon.
Not as great a family photo as the ones she picked for the blog, but I've never managed to capture Mr. "catch me if you can"... despite seeing him all the time. I love this shot!

View

This should have been posted a while ago...this was what greeted us the day we moved in to the new place.
The guys were already at the house and I was driving up. I had to pull over to get a picture (the one above is at the turn into our subdivision) and tell Ray to go upstairs.
Fortunately, they made it. (Side note, check out those eyelashes on E...)
We're right in a common ballooning area. Last Monday morning E was eating his muffin.. "balloon?" - even in cold icky weather, two were out!

Whimper

Last week, E caught one serious cold.
This is my reminder for those days when he has pushed every button and then walked right back over and is starting on the first one again. Pushing buttons=healthy and happy. This kid had no ability to push anything.
He spent a lot of time sacked on the couch, watching Pingu ("Duck?"). The cats tried to help.
There were a few happy moments, but the smile was pretty elusive. Fortunately, three days of sleeping on every available surface and he's back to normal. In fact, I think he's trying to get out all those words that he couldn't while he was sick.

Woo-hoo

At Halloween, I mentioned this hat. When class was over this summer, one of my former students asked if I'd like a hat her son had grown out of. I wasn't sure, until she showed me the picture.
Oh, yes, I wanted it.
You can't entirely capture the true glory on the camera.
Admittedly, the happy toddler zooming about makes it harder.


Picture this with a Vikings jersey, and you have a pretty easy backup halloween costume.

Tea Party

No, this isn't a political post. Just a note that, about a month ago, Eamon decided to try a whole new level of creativity.

A tea party. With a bunny, a saber tooth tiger, and a puppy in attendance. Shape sorter shapes and a disney princess were served, and everyone agreed that the green triangle was quite delicious.

Sunday Morning

When Ray's home he usually gets up with kiddo. And when he's home on a Sunday, they usually watch football together. Apparently they combined this and were pregaming with ESPN a few weeks ago. Toddler version of tailgating?

Alternative Costume

Oh, Hi. How are you doing? Yeah, it has been a quiet week here, sorry about that - moving, lab meeting, all that. Just trying to get the house cleaned up so we can post a tour, really...

In the meantime, here's one of Eamon's alternative Halloween costumes. Daycare dresses up all the kids pretty much just for the teachers' amusement, and I had already moved E's costumes to the other house when I realized I needed to send him in on Friday all costumed up. So, he got the first (of probably many) last-minute costume.
 The (German?) tourist. I blame his Aunt Laura for this (or at least my urge to put black socks on him). Ray and I find it hilarious.

Happy Halloween 2010!

The Eamonator costume that Ray's mom made still fits.
And the tail is still too cute.
I told him if he put it on and we went out, he'd get candy.
I never told him that I'd let him eat it.

Actually, at this point he had already had a Reese's. We stopped by Alli and Isaac's (E as a crazed Vikings fan: jersey and a hat one of my ex-students gave me that will be featured here soon), and he ate a whole peanut butter cup. Funny how it takes exactly five minutes and then you can literally see the chocolate hit his brain. We watched the end of the Vikings game (boo) and then got home (yes, to the new house!) just in time to see the entire block worth of kids mustering up. We got our treats together and joined them for a few houses.

E was wide-eyed, between the kids (probably 15 or so between 19 months and 8ish), the crazy decorations (one house had an inflatable haunted tunnel) and the proximity to bedtime. However, I think he had fun. We came home and ate dinner near the front door so he could help hand out candy. All in all, a good halloween. I can't wait till next year when he really knows what's up.

Although we may need a new costume... Laura?

Daredevil

Jana sent this photo that her mom took at the apple picking party. Eamon wasn't nearly as interested in apple picking as he was in the big kids' toys.
We're pretty sure he learned this from Wii.

[Edited to add: I didn't explain this nearly well enough. The last time this boy saw a skateboard (Kaya's graduation), he pushed it around but couldn't really figure out what it was for. This time, he knew he was supposed to stand on it sideways and bend his knees and kick to push. He just had no idea what to do about balancing. And I do sincerely think he learned what he did from the Wii ("skating" with his dad). It's a little crazy.]