The Twelve Days of Christmas: Day One

Four Picture Friday: PhotoShop Fun

Multiple Chimp-osis

Jojo of the Jungle

No PhotoShoppery, just some cute outfits:

Inspector Kitty Cat teaching Brudder Bear how to roar.

Brudder Bear: Rrr...

The Mysterious Eyes of Jojo Connors

Chimpy's eye color was difficult to read, but as far as I can remember not as hard as Jojo's are. Some days his eyes look like they are brown like mine, other days they look like a dark blue. I'm not sure at what age Chimpy's eyes settled down to their permanent color but I feel Jojo will be keeping us guessing for a while.

Moo-ry Christmas

Happy Thanksgiving

We give thanks...

for airplane rides

for silver dollar pancakes

for cookies the size of your face

for cowboy blankets

for family!



*** SPECIAL BONUS THANKSGIVING PICTURE ***

"Don't give me that jive, turkey!"

Chimpy's New 'Do

Astute readers have noticed Chimpy's new hair style. After 2 years of trimming her bangs myself, we took Chimpy to my hair stylist (to make up for the loss of business now that I shave my head) for a proper cut. Though I missed her long wavy hair at first, the new hairdo is very cute and (like my shaved head) it's a snap to maintain.







That 'new haircut' feeling.


We hadn't realized how out of control Chimpy's hair was getting until we looked for some 'before' pictures:

Maybe one of these days they'll let me get a bob.

Life with Jojo

"Hello. This is my brother, Jojo."
"Hee!"

"Please excuse his hair."
"Ha!"

We took Jojo to my sister's last weekend. Now, if you had asked me two weeks ago how Jojo compared to Chimpy at his age, I would have said Jojo was a much more serious baby. If I had said that, I would have been proven wrong last weekend. That kid was off the hook, he skipped his nap and spent the time gooing and cooing, making eye contact, grabbing and mimicking. It made K and I feel bad because we suddenly realized how little attention we had been giving him. Just a couple hours of uninterrupted attention and the kid passes a month worth of milestones. We figure we'll go there again this weekend, maybe he'll pick up Spanish.

mimicking

smiling

attention grabbing



Jojo does tend to be a more serious kid, though. He doesn't fuss much, but when he does it is more of a yell than a cry and his demands are very specific. Smiles from him aren't exactly hard-won, but they are rarer than Chimpy's were. He loves his sister and reacts to Chimpy's presence with wide eyes and attempts at talking. When he fusses, she manages to calm him down, which is a strange thing because this comic pretty much sums up their relationship:

Peanuts. March 8, 1953.


The change in the weather has brought to mind that K's is in the last third of her maternity leave. Things are always bittersweet this time of year, but right now she's enjoying her days with her little man.

How We Celebrated

This was our practice victory dance. In reality, we ended up crying, laughing and running around the dining room cheering.

Our Civic Duty

Chimpy and Jojo went to our polling station to take part in the election. While Chimpy used her powers to show passersby how exercising your right to vote can make you glow with pride:



Jojo fixed them with his Reproachful Gaze to keep uninformed voters from making poor decisions:

Happy Hallowe'en!

A Fun Game

Remember this shirt? Every time you see Jojo wearing a hand-me-down, leave a comment. The first to spot Chimpy's old togs gets an autographed copy of Jojo's autobiography, Butterfly Jammies of the Damned: a Second-Born's Guide to Inappropriate Hand-Me-Downs.

Monday Matinee: Hallowe'en Costume Preview

New Looks

Jojo turned one month old and is getting more wakeful and focused.



Chimpy got a stylish new jacket from Uncle Jeff.



Daddy shaved his head.



Chimpy got wheels.

Chimpy Counts Cousins Completed: Collected All Five!

The big event these past two weeks was Chimpy completing her cousin collection with a visit from her cousin Jeff.


Jeff races at the Las Vegas Speedway, the coolness factor of which wasn't lost on Chimpy thanks to her picture book "Who Is Driving?"


Jeff was impressed by Chimpy's appetite and non-stop narratives, and by Jojo's just being Jojo.

"Another Connors man...

...finally, the pressure is off me."

Monday Matinee

Ford Picture Friday

Week of Pictures, Sunday: Shutter Bugged

"You get used to it."

Week of Pictures, Saturday: It's Saturday

Four Picture Friday: We Kiss Jojo

Week of Pictures, Thursday: Spot the Chimpy

On the way to the park, Chimpy rode on Daddy's shoulders. On the way home, she found a more comfortable way to travel.



This will do until we get the Joovy Caboose.

Wednesday Moment of Zen

If only the demands on my day were as prosaic. (Zoom in on the top right portion of the card).

Week of Pictures, Wednesday: What a Difference Two Years Make