D-E-A-D

A more updated version of this video....

A good antidote to a bad day....

Dancing? Symphony

Excuse the slowness, as usual, and now I'm going to give you two video posts in one week, but you NEED to see the other side of this. Ray got to stay home for more of November, which means he got to hang out with the Santa moose. He did finally find a way to make Eamon stop playing it.

Dance along.

E HATES it when we sing along to the radio. So I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that this infuriated him as well. Apparently, Ray got him to the point where he wouldn't play the moose just so Ray wouldn't dance. (It's sort of mean, but if you'd heard this moose twenty times in a row...)

Anyway. I'm pretty sure you won't be infuriated so much as amused:

May that lighten your Christmas spirit.

Symphonic.. Something

Cheryl took her revenge on the next generation a little early this year. She left off her gift to E, a saxophone-playing moose, at Thanksgiving. 

Saturday we went and got our tree (At an indoor tree lot. With champagne and cider. Fabulous!) and we got it up while E was sleeping and pulled out most of the decorations. E and I did the ornaments Sunday morning (he even kept them mostly evenly distributed! You can see in the background below.) and then E noticed something on a bookshelf.

A chipmunk.

He almost lost his mind. As soon as Ray got batteries in it (oops) E set up a symphony. 

He isn't doing it in this video (chipmunk losing battery power fast, send AAA batteries stat, paws not wiggling), but he still does the dance with the chipmunk trying to imitate the little paw movements. Much more coordinated this year, still hilarious.

Big Dog, Little Dog

This is long, but, I think worth it, at least for those who have been sending E books. He is in no way reading words, but he's getting pretty good at memorizing and using pictures as clues!

If you don't remember the story, you can find a few pages here.

Good Morning

Send birdbaths. And a rag.

{Edited: The video should work better now. You might want to turn your speakers down a touch...}

2 years

My little man turns two today. Not hard to believe: in some ways he has been two for months. Sometimes he has (or develops) a firm view of how the world should be, and help you if you can't fulfill that ideal.

Most of the time, however, he's a whirlwind of ball throwing, drop kicking, drumming, car pushing, steamrollering fun. He has just recently embraced verbs and now he goes in circles around the first floor (this floor plan is built for E): "I kick, I kick, I kick" or "running running running". It's as though the constant narration in his head just found its way out. Out of nowhere, in a public place, he'll want "steamroller" (a rolling about the floor game he and Ray invented). Now, the block cart is a form of transport ("scooter!"),  and "Tower" is a sign he wants you to build so he can destroy (and help build, a little). He loves all the animals he can see from our house - knows the dogs by name and flaps ecstatically for the geese.

If you can keep up, the show is pretty amusing.

At the same time, there's the quiet boy, the one who will pile you with books and then crawl up on your lap, who will ask for books by a main character or a feature, and who will recite them with me when there are no books around (we do a pretty mean "Moo Baa Lalala"). He's starting to sing, too, although his version of the ABC's makes for a much simpler alphabet. Happy Birthday is pretty cute, too.

He still eats well (despite the fact that random strangers assume otherwise) - edamame, peas, corn, pancakes, mac'n'cheese, string cheese, breads and bananas probably top the list, but he'll at least try everything (except spinach, oh well).

Above all, he loves. He demands hugs and usually gives them when requested. The hardest thing in his world right now is the fact that Donut isn't that interested in being hugged (or, from Do's viewpoint, smothered). He'll hug books, animals, and even a random inanimate object, particularly if it makes him happy ("I lie-ke it! I lie-ke it Alot")

This blog has been filled with E's cute moment, his foibles and his cuteness. It has been a pretty awesome two years, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.

Love you, little man. Happy Birthday!

(and yes, videography is getting harder)

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.

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!

Easily Amused

This is why fathers are good for little boys. Mine is lucky to have a very good one. Eamon invented this game last week, but Ray seems to have caught on to the rules quickly.

Easily Amused on Vimeo.

Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of Mother's Day, I offer a video to our mothers. I realize now that motherhood has a lot to do with loving, caring, and all of those beautiful things. But it also has a lot to do with revenge. So, Mom, Laura, enjoy:

I'm going to hope this translates into vacuuming/mowing skills.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there!

Stepping Out

I'm going to start by apologizing for the quality below. I'd edit, but it'll be next week before you see it, so... please forgive. I'll also note the context of this video- I make videos and take pictures for Ray when he's out of town, so this was originally last night's video, hence the end.

And I'd just fed E soup for dinner, so he's minus his broccoli and cheddar covered clothes. But still wearing socks and shoes, because, well, that's how we roll!

But I do think you'll enjoy, despite all those excuses. Those of you not related by blood can turn up the volume and listen to the kitty-drunk kiddo giggle.

Those of you related to us by blood will enjoy because we are in TROUBLE. This just went from a rare occurrence, to something that happened three times yesterday, to something that is happening pretty frequently. We're about to lose the last bastion of mobility. I'm very glad Ray saw the first steps, saw his first tries. We're about to forget what "try" looked like....

EEK.

Crafty

Ray's brother Steve is crafty. He has made a ball run and and AT-AT rocker for Eamon, both of which have been seen here before. And now, a table.
Perfectly Eamon sized. He loves it.

He doesn't quite trust the stools yet.

But the table has found a whole new use already.

Steve, you've been hacked. :) Thanks for the awesome table! We'll paint it soon, we promise. We have the low-VOC Whey-based urethane-substitute all ready (You wish I was kidding. I'm not). And Eamon promises to take gooood care of it...really.

Happy Easter 2010!

We didn't get the cute pics this morning. Eamon slept through the egg hunt last weekend (next year, people!).

So, courtesy of the Easter basket from my mom- our wishes for a happy Easter.

Chipmunk peeps everywhere, rejoice!

We interrupt the regular posting schedule...

... to share this.
If we'd known he was going to perform for the camera, perhaps Ray would have had it right side up. As it is, I'm pretty amazed that we got that first instance on video.

Eamon woke up this morning and decided that standing was acceptable, when it was only accidental yesterday. Now, steps are accidental. How long will that last?

Do you ever have a day...

that goes something like this:

Ray's parents were here last weekend, and there are great pics. There are other great pics. All of which need to be edited first... I'm behind, so you get this. More to come, as always.

(Illustrative video thanks to one Dad with nerves of steel and a very normal day with boy destructo.)
(Yes, that is the sound of a dowel hitting an iphone case.)

First Words

First, a warning- you may have to reload this page after watching the first video to see the second....

Last Thursday, Eamon woke up with his second word, all wrapped up and ready to bestow on me the minute he got up.

But first: I've been trying to get video of his first word for a while, and Ray finally came up with the perfect opportunity on Saturday when Eamon woke up from his nap with it.

It is sort of worrisome when your child wakes up with (in tones audible from the floor below) "UH-OH".

I think he was commenting on the state of his diaper. Still not sure. But, since he was in the mood, we got this (via me hiding in the hall):
Note how deliberate he is about it.

Eamon's second word was equally useful. It took me a bit to realize that he rarely means it unless it comes with a firm headshake. Here's the video I shot for Ray last Thursday (excuse the one-handed videography):

If you can't hear his second word in the clip, it's the word I most dreaded.. "No".... Turns out it's pretty funny when he uses it when he doesn't really mean it. For our parents, I'm sure there's general amusement to be found here - go chuckle to yourselves. Quietly, please - we're talking over here.

Tappity Tap Tap

I need something to change out that last post... ah, here you go. Eamon's Rock Band skills are improving. Alli was losing her voice after nine straight songs, so ignore the vocals...

Merry Christmas...

.. Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, whatever the appropriate expression, Happy Holidays.

I stink at Christmas cards, so I offer this as a expression of our good wishes to you and yours:

Music: Christmas Can Can by Straight No Chaser 
(Thanks for that, Laura and Brad!)

I hope it's a sufficient alternative. We did "Lafayette/Grunzinger Christmas" early, since Ray had a trip this week. La Junta/Baumgartner Xmas to come.

While Eamon did receive presents from us and the various Grunzingers, he most appreciated the boxes (Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa G!). I hope you all find as much joy this holiday season as a 10-month-old boy finds in an empty cardboard box. Which is to say: a lot.

Merry Christmas!

Laura, Ray, and Eamon

Combat Crawl?

As I think I noted before, on Monday Eamon discovered forward propulsion. Ray calls it the zombie crawl. Perhaps that's because kiddo chose the week when we both have the flu to become more mobile. (So far, we're both doing better today. Yay!)

Here is some much more enjoyable video than what I've been offering of late. Note a) the look he gives Ray and b) I cut it off, but he ends with a big "sigh" at me. Parents are such a trial to our boy.

Anyone interested in helping us baby proof?