We were all pretty psyched when Uncle Adam & Auntie Beth visited last week. It rained every day but we got some outdoor play time and they helped chase Augie around Fort Langley. We ate out a few times and August was seriously amazing. He aced the whole 'toddler sitting and playing quietly for an hour while the adults talk' thing. Most 20-month-olds would be far more interested in running around/crawling under tables/tossing food across the room. Let's hope he keeps this up!

Augie's finally over the nasty cold he's had for a few weeks so he's finally breathing easy and sleeping through the night again. Poor kiddo.

Fun times with Gramma

Augie really loves his Uncle Adrian (aka Lindsey Buckingham), as you can see.

with a quack quack here and a quack quack there...

Sledding!

We went up to Cypress on Sunday to go sledding and weren't sure how well it would go over with August. Well, he LOVED it. I wish I'd gotten a better shot that captures just how much. We'll definitely go again this winter.

Sweeping is so last year

He still loves to give the floor a good sweep now and then but his favourite new thing these days is pretending to cook while I'm making meals. He'll reach for the spoons and pots until I set him up with his own chef's table. Funniest part is that he does it all with a very serious expression.

Toddlerama

It's been a while since I catalogued some of Gus' obsessions so I'll do that now for posterity. It's mostly for my own gratification--rapid passage of toddler time and all.

Here are a few current fave things:

-Bellybuttons! This involves sticking his finger in your belly button if he catches sight of it.

-Bronx cheer, blowing raspberries, zerberts: whatever you want to call them, August LOVES giving them.

-Wrestling

-Drumming

-Toothbrushes

-Dancing

-Puddle jumping

-Stick gathering

-Vacuums (Watching me vac, playing with unplugged vac, pretending to vacuum)

-Cats and saying "meow meow meow"

-Dada's guitar, listening to him play.

We've been lucky to get some breaks from the standard January deluge here in Vancouver so August and I have made the most of it with puddle stomping, swing testing, stick collecting, and general tearing around in parks. Can't wait for February, when the buds start to peek and the days lengthen just a little.

Diane Arbus self-portrait, 1945.

I can't recall if I posted this one before but it's from a year ago and it kills me! I found it as I was sifting through photo archives for something non-Augie related. Took me a lot longer to find what I was originally looking for...

Happy Holidays

August had so much fun during our Christmas visit to Nana and Papa's, despite all of us muddling through colds and other maladies. The whole family, near and far, gave Aug some awesome goodies that he was amazed to discover were his to take home. He's going through an extra-shy phase these days so he played coy with Nana and Papa (and Uncle Adrian) for a few minutes each day before letting loose again. We enjoyed the sunny, snowy days with plenty of cribbage, good music, rest and yummy food.

Ho ho ho

Bright Nights train ride! Augie loved every minute. Lots of "oooooh's".

Stanley Park's miniature train comes in. We found out that this is its last year in the park. Vancouver Parks Board cuts :(

Helping dada decorate the tree. Ooooooh.

Decided hats aren't so bad after all and wanted me to put this toque that Nana knitted on his head. He very earnestly "sweeps" the floor like this at least once a day.

In other news, the inevitable indoctrination has begun: when you ask him what Santa says, Augie laughs, "Ohh ho ho!"

wintery fun already

Mom and Dad's electric toothbrushes are far more interesting...

A visit with Uncle Adrian

Busy boy on the go

We got him his own mini broom. This is the face of pure, unadulterated joy, folks.

Wait, is this a black and white picture of Augie?

Great shot of Chris (peering into a crystal ball, perhaps?) from Grandpa.

Correction: Grandpa just told me this is actually a picture of HIM, not Chris. Hilarious!

Just came across this one taken a year ago. Makes me realize how much he's looking like a big boy these days.

halloween 2010

Augie dressed as a fuzzy little bear for his first Halloween and his little buddy Charlie dressed as a monkey. We walked around the hood a bit to check out the lights, pumpkins, fireworks and costumes and the boys danced (2nd pic) in the streets and seemed to love every minute of it.