A very sad good-bye

We bid a fond and very sad farewell to this bundle of love and energy on Thursday. We will miss your enthusiasm, "Bia"! (Luckily, we don't have to say "Good-bye" to Auntie Katie and Uncle Clay until next week; you can bet that the tears will be flowing then.)


Months ago, Jonah started calling James "Bia" ("Bee-a") for some reason that we never managed to figure out. Here, Bia works his magic with the rubber tubed ball that Auntie Angie scavenged from the playground for us way back in October.Bia manages to bring out the best in Jonah. (Auntie Katie does too, but she's only seen as the head-cropped-out pregnant lady in the video.)
Our boys love to hug each other. Both are very sweet with their hugs and kisses, though they sometimes play hard to get, and neither one always performs on command. We like their spunk. We can pretend that this was their last hug (though it was far from it); their last hug was a little anti-climactic, as four moms and five kids had just come back from a wild time at Starbucks, Jonah was over-tired and (literally) roaring like a lion (or dino?), and it hurriedly took place on a street corner. So here are our boys, sharing the love.
We love and miss you, James! God grant you many years in your new home!

Manny's turn

(This was not actually Manny's first time on a swing, but these pictures are much more fun than his first swing adventure. On the first adventure, it was cold so he was bundled, and he was tired. So let's just pretend.)

Look, everybody! Manny's in the swing! And he likes it! Which is good, because at this age he is too small for anything else.

Manny also wants you to know that Jonah is not always "the photogenic one". He offers this picture as proof. "Who's cute now? Huh? Huh? Score one for the Moo-ster."

These big blue peepers could melt any heart. We always say that blue is Manny's color, but here you can see that he's lookin' good in brown too. What a sweetie. (Thanks to Aunt Lizabeth for the outfit. You really know how to pick out the cute ones!)

Life with J

The best days always begin with cubes. Jonah explains the basics of truck-drawing to Manny. Manny is fascinated.
Stopping for a moment to conjure the cheesiest smile imaginable...
...before getting back to the business of playing with cubes and choo-choo.
Jonah does his best impression of the Virgin Mary. I'm pretty sure that's what he's trying to do here, between the drape of the "robe" and the expression of purity and innocence on his face. Jonah is VERY pious.
If one toy is good for Manny, thirteen must be better. We don't call him "Helpful J" without reason.
Jonah takes a load off with a little light reading: Livy's "An Early History of Rome", if I'm not mistaken. This photo was in no way staged. My kid just happens to be a genius. He's showing an early taste for non-fiction, much like his father.

Cubes... and where we find 'em

Despite the fact that Jonah almost choked on and certainly swallowed one a couple months ago, we continue to let him play with "cubes" (i.e. boullion cubes); they are one of his favorite "toys", keeping him occupied for tens of minutes at a time. Sorting, dumping, scooping, placing: so many ways to play with cubes! I don't know what we would do without them.

Cubes to the rescue,

in front and in the bucket. Cubes in the truck.
Choo-choo cubes.
Cubes on the track.
Hoi polloi cubes.
Cubes at rest.

Cubes styled by Jonah.