Back in business.

So, it has been a while since our last post. Let's go for an update of the past few months.

My mom came out so we took her to a Renaissance Fair(e).

We sure met some colorful characters there.

Huzzah for Grandma!

Then we sent Megan and Topher out to Utah:

The TSA detained him for being dangerously cute.

Thanks for returning him, girls!

And I went to Minneapolis:

Land of creepy styrofoam men on top of buildings

The conference I was at went well and I was obviously very proud of the poster I presented.

I'm pretty sure we did stuff for Thanksgiving and Halloween, but the pictures are not on my iPod, so here is a substitute:

Sorry folks, it's the best I could do.

But the big excitement now is, of course, the semester being over! Christmas!

So that's where baby trees come from.

Topher, as always, was a big help with decorations:

He was especially a big help in convincing us to take all the balls off the tree and just use bows because they are not nearly as tempting to throw.

So now it is just a matter of waiting for Christmas while we go caroling:

Pay no mind to the cookie crumbs.

Play in the snow:

"In the snow" being use quite liberally here, obviously.

And pretending to be Jorde La Forge:

What?!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Yes we're going to a garden party.

Let's go ahead and clear this up for anyone wondering: Yes, every post I ever do about one of our children's birthdays will indeed feature a line from "Birthday" by The Beatles as the title. Deal with it.

Now that that is out of the way, let's blow out the candle! Three times!

With the rituals out of the way it is time to party!

If this doesn't look like fun, I don't know what does.

Oh wait, yes I do. It's this:

Big thanks to everyone who came out to Topher's birthday party. He loved all of the presents. We didn't get any video from his party, so here is some footage of him opening presents from us (his parents) later in the day:

Overall Topher seemed to have a great time on his birthday. Unfortunately, he has already started telling us what he wants for his next birthday (hint: it's trains again). It's going to be a long year.

Topher's super excited to be two. He is also super excited to have a butt-load of trains. In case you don't believe me, here is proof of both:

Drumroll Please!

We're a little slow at getting this up here (hopefully many of you saw Megan's post on facebook), but we are happy to announce that Topher has a baby brother on the way. We'd post photographic evidence of the fact, but we are not sure of the intricacies of child pornography laws, so you'll have to take our word for it. Here are some of the highlights:

This one's a little harder to make out. It is a straight on shot. He looks like skeletor, but the thing to notice is that he is sucking on his pinky. Cute, huh?

If he is anything like Topher, he will come out of the womb and immediately ask to look at these pictures of himself.

Another tricky one - This is his little mouth and nose. He is yawning in the right one.

And last but not least, high fives for babies:

He does, in fact, have a thumb, it is just not in view here.

Moving Day

Hello everyone, I'm writing to you from out brand spanking new apartment. Moving in has made for quite the weekend.

Things started off well when we first checked out the new place. Things turned a little dicey, though, when we found this critter in our kitchen:



Apparently, he was warning us about the gangs of buzzed college students that wander the streets during the weekend. Nothing that Fred, our maintenance guy, can't handle though.

From there it was time to move our stuff. Topher was a big help.

We're really thankful for those who came out to help us move. When it was all over, it was time to relax with a well deserved donut.



Now that we're settling in a little, Topher has been getting more comfortable and making some new friends. Most notably, he's really taken to "pumpkin guy," whom we met at Wal-Mart:



BFFs

Prediction time

Our ultrasound is next week. Topher's made his picks. Leave a comment with what you think (it will be about a year before we find out the eye color, though).

A day in the life...

I'm pretty sure I've used that title before, but I'm going to run with it. Today I wanted to share the average day with Topher. First off in the morning it is time to brush his teeth:


Don't forget to spit!

From there it is time to hop on his bike an ride to work:






Pay no mind to the pink handles. It's a loaner while his Harley is in the shop.

Then it is time to get to work. What is he so busy with you ask? Prepping for the NBA, of course:

Football was going to be his game, but then he got depressed about the Cougars and Huskies yesterday.

After finishing up at the office it is time to party. We don't have any video of this ourselves, but we did see this on NBC 30:

We and the accused have no comment.

Quick one.

Hello all,

Got a quick update for you all. I got myself a new toy (iPod Touch) and have been taking it out for a spin, and here are the fruits of my labor:




What could Megan and Toph be looking for? Here is your answer:

He is quite the connoisseur. Fortunately, he has been working off the sour cream calories with a little football:




Excessive celebration calls are common around these parts.

And last, but not least, we bring you a dramatic representation of a deep sea diver.



Titanic, here we come.

A glimpse into the future...

As is apparently becoming a tradition, we decided to turn to the internet to tell us what the baby on the way is going to look like. The site we used before is now a paid service, so we gave a different one a go. Let's take a look:


Apparently we are having a girl, and we didn't do too bad, if you consider what Topher was supposed to look like. She does look a little like an extra from The Planet of the Apes. Unfortunately, then we got greedy. Here is a projection of what she will look like when older:



AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


From there it was pretty much anything goes. So, here is what it would look like if Megan had a baby with Harry Potter:

She did apparently come out of the womb with spectacles and all.

And last, but definitely not least, here is what it would look like if me and Mr. Bean had a baby:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you George W. Bush. That explains it.

Submarines and a Bounce House

What do they have in common? Topher got to go inside both this weekend! Before I talk about them though, I wanted to throw up this picture of Toph reading a new book he got this week. He loves anything that moves (especially airplanes), and he will look at this book all the time. Sometimes he doesn't even want me to read it, he just tells me what the pictures are and that everything goes fast. He actually fell asleep reading it in the car the other day. He's so funny!


Anyway, a friend and I took our kids to a Submarine Museum (the official name alludes me, but it was on an awesome naval base) down near the coast. It was so much fun! Usually, Toph doesn't really mesh with the whole museum scene (he's a toddler for crying out loud!), but he did great! Partly because he loves hanging out with other kids, and partly because the museum was pretty hands on and he was able to see boats which of course, as I was informed over and over again, go fast.

Toph was able to push buttons, turn dials, and steer a submarine simulator. I thought he'd died and gone to heaven!

Looking out the window at the real submarine we got to tour.

Gangplanks scare me to death. Not so for Toph. He was just so anxious to get inside the sub!

Inside the sub, where I did NOT die from claustrophobia I might add. I was proud of myself. Toph did great! Who would've thought that small enclosed areas actually make him behave better??

I snapped this picture quickly and then freaked out at Toph for climbing on the guardrail. Sometimes my imagination is a bit too vivid for my own good. At least it keeps Toph alive :)

I was so proud of Toph for being so good at the museum and I think he had a ton of fun! Then yesterday, Toph had another chance for some fun when we attended a friend's wedding reception. She and her husband were married in Italy earlier this summer, so it was fun to see them and hear all about their beautiful wedding. The set up was really nice, and thankfully we were seated at a table with people we knew.

Although Toph was a bit suspicious of everyone...

As much fun as dancing, chatting, and eating are for a toddler who didn't take a nap, Toph's attention was turned rather frequently to the bounce house that was set up for the kids. Our shy child wouldn't go in without Scott at first, but gradually, he warmed up and played so hard that he was sweating up a storm and eventually refused to get out. We had to send Scott in after him and he was so angry!!

It was great to see friends and eat great food! And thankfully, Toph fell asleep on the way home :). It was a fun weekend!

It's Summer!

This picture really says it all:

Despite this picture having said it all, I will go ahead and say some more about summer, though.

We have been busy, busy, busy this summer. I don't just mean this in the sense that I learned that the UConn library starts flicking the lights on and off when you are there too close to closing time. No, we have been some traveling fools, too. First off was a trip to Utah to see our families. Topher had a great time.

Here he is learning to do cartwheels with his Aunt Libby.

Topher never did figure those cartwheels out. He is getting pretty adept at his somersaults, though:

He also had a good time watching some balloons go up,

Hanging with all of his grandparents,

Only one grandparent pictured.

And getting his Elton John on.

We made sure to find some time to relax, both in a nearby stream,

And in the traditional manner.

I retract my previous statement. This picture says it all.

In between trips, we took some time out for the local K-9 Olympics.

The K-9 Olympics are really good if you are a fan of watching fat guys get bitten by dogs. And really, who isn't?

From there it was time to visit Palmyra, NY. This is basically our first family vacation as just our family. We had a great time.

This smile brought to you by tricking Topher by asking him "Where are your teeth?" We've come a long ways from the Cheeser days.

I think Topher's favorite part was having ready access to a bed that was just perfect for jumping.

If anybody reading this happens to have been staying in the room below us: We are so sorry.

We had a great time there and highly recommend it to everyone.

This is as close as you get to a smile from Topher these days without tricking him.

And here is one more shot of Topher at the Hill Cumorah. No funny caption, it's the Hill Cumorah for Pete's sake.

So that is the update.

But wait... There's one last thing...

Eat your heart out Steve Jobs.