Thaddeus, classified

Daddy and Cinnamon in Iraq

Thaddeus sent his hobbyhorse, Cinnamon, to Iraq with Cameron to keep him company. He got the idea from a Sesame Street video where Elmo's Dad deploys.

Looking for an Ertle

Thaddeus is ready for the Zombie Wars!

Exploring Seattle

How do you not love a city with organic drive-through espresso on every corner?

Coming from the heart of Crackdown in D.C., we were unprepared to deal with the viciousness of crime here.

Keller is using the exersaucer!  He is having so much fun being able to reach out with his hands, but especially enjoys Thaddeus coming over to play with him.   There are enough electronic doohickies on this thing to reel in even our jaded 2 1/2 year old.  Do you remember Mr. Merlin?  It had nine red lights you could push and I played with it for hours on end.  But our techno kids would figure it all out in five minutes, then sniff at it as grossly inferior.  :)

Holy cow, life smacked us in the face like a wet noodle

Hi friends!  

We've arrived safely in Washington and, thanks to a housewarming we scheduled for tomorrow (!!!), have somewhat unpacked.  Which means that the upstairs still looks like a snowglobe but the living parts of the house are generally presentable.  Aside from some VERY RUDE neighbors who have not RSVP'd yea or nay for the party so we can plan our numbers, all is very well.  Here's the condensed news:  Cameron leaves in a week, the kids are not in at the CDC yet and I'm mulling options, Marry the au pair (pronounced "Mahi," oops) is doing great and finally getting some very richly deserved leave tomorrow with some other local au pairs from Brazil, I start work on the 9th, our stuff survived the PCS fairly well, all the work on the house is done except some tiny odds and ends and it all looks fabulous..and...what else?  My mind is now turning to all the stuff I want Cameron to do before he leaves:  picnic with the kids somewhere awesomely northwest, a date with me in the big city, wire up all the electronics, install all the various safety devices around the house, and so on.

Here are some pictures from Cameron's i-phone as I can't get to my stuff at present (everything not yet unpacked is jammed into the study -- it's going to be a misery to untangle but after the party).

We miss everyone - come visit!  The guest room is dripping with ambrosia and rose petals, I promise.  Chocolates on the pillow, the whole bit! :)

love,

Tamara

Our co-sleeping angels.  We don't let them sleep like this at night -- this was taken when Thaddeus came in from his bed in the morning for  few extra zz's while we kept a watchful eye.  Too bad, though, because it was pretty cozy.

Teaching Thaddeus to swim has been a dream since I was pregnant.  And it's AWESOME!!  He's preparing to jump in here after several rounds of his favorite game, "steal your noodle."

Marry is a HUGE hit!!

From Thaddeus' farewell party at the CDC  :(  

Curious George is very big right now. He's a good little monkey, you know.  But always very curious!

Here's poor Finnigan on cat mickies for the drive west with Cameron and Dave. 

Iron Chef, Cutie Pie, and a Trip to the Fair

Any sign of cooking sends Thaddeus into a helping frenzy.

Keller continues to smile and smile and smile!

This was taken a couple seconds into Thaddeus' first ever circus ride.  He looks slightly worried.

By a couple rides later he was an old hand.  He insisted on going on this one many times and gave us a bright smile every time the car came around the loop.

Watch out, tigers!

We're not sure where this tiger hunting business has come from.  He doesn't have any books or videos with tigers, nor are there even puzzles with tigers.  Chickens, cows, horses, cats, dogs, ostriches, crocodiles, birds, hippos, rhinos, elephants, and lots of ducks.  No tigers.  And yet, apparently they lurk EVERYWHERE.....

A spectacularly nice Mother's Day present

Why the All Night Milk Bar stays in business

"All night?  Pretty, pretty, pretty please?" *blink* *blink* "I love you....." *blink*

Do you think they might still be this sweet when they're teenagers?

This cracked me up

People ask what it's like to have a baby and a toddler while in grad school...

It was Thaddeus' turn to bring a snack.  Cameron and I had a yummy fruit tray planned until we forgot ALL about the whole thing until five minutes before show time.  I was, to put it politely, tied to my desk, so Cameron hightailed it over from the War College, ran into the Commissary, and came skidding in to the day care five seconds before Thaddeus would have noticed we weren't there.  All's well that ends well!  And how funny are those plastic gloves, btw?

The key is to remember everything you need BEFORE sitting down.  As those of you who know me know, this is a significant challenge.

Keller's First Plane Ride

This doesn't seem so hard!  Keller takes in the view as we finally left for Seattle to find the new house.  Thaddeus stayed home with Grandma and had big times.  

Keller looks so peaceful leaning on Daddy's arm.  Is Daddy gazing in rapture?

Is he?

No, he is not.  Daddy is playing Playstation Kill Kill Kill.  Or, as my friend Hilary calls it, "The Man Leash."

I whiled away the hours making faces at Keller.  He has started smiling!!  There are MANY pictures of him smiling now.  I may have gotten carried away with the camera feature on Cameron's i-phone.  But Keller was so incredibly cute and what else can you do with a 7 week old on a plane but smile foolishly at them and take a zillion pictures?  :) 

What could be better than a kid who insists on yogurt and three bowls of grapenuts and shredded wheat for dinner?

Why, a child who eats two bowls of grapenuts, one bowl of shredded wheat, and some yogurt for dinner. . . AND refuses to exchange his diapers for the potty.  Heh.  Tomorrow might be another five-BM day at the daycare.  His caregiver, Miss Meaghan, keeps telling us that grapenuts and shredded wheat are "weekend foods."  Hee.  One has to wonder how far their patience will last.  Poor Meaghan and Thum!  

Sing me a song, piano man!

Thaddeus and Phoebe get their rock on together.  Groooovy, baby, groovy!

Why we love our children

Visit to the Children's Museum

The Children's Museum is FUN!  For those of you living near Providence, Rhode Island, with children between 2 and 5 or so, this place is well worth the admission fee.  Thaddeus had a marvelous time and didn't get to half the attractions before burning out.  The picture is of a little booth with reflecting mirrors like a fun house that was his particular favorite.   

Easter!

Thaddeus had a great time decorating eggs and making snacks for the Easter Bunny.  Later we went to one of the mansions in Newport for a fancy egg hunt -- cold, but very fun.  We didn't have much luck getting a picture of our precious angels - Thaddeus was too busy running amok all day.  The day finished with some drama, though not without a valuable lesson.  We now know not to let Thaddeus play "hide" inside a bathroom that has a deadbolt.  The new window Cameron put in is becoming, don't you think?  The landlords are sure to love it.

Thaddeus and Keller have a tubby!

Doesn't this look a bit like a Three Stooges set-up?

Thaddeus gets extra points for sharing his tubby when this was the last of the Elmo-colored bath fizzies.