Happy Friday

Halloween and more

For Halloween, Walt was a whoopie cushion...utterly appropriate since he makes the same sound effects. Kudos to Mike for scoring this um, unique, costume online.



We had quite an eventful evening. First, a couple from our playgroup who live near us hosted a little party at their house. Then we met up with our nanny-share friends, the Stenbergs, to walk the babies around the neighborhood in their costumes.



Walt unfortunately didn't really understand the significance of his first Halloween...nor did he properly appreciate all the attention he was getting for his costume.







We had heard that Belvedere Street in our neighborhood was one of the best Halloween experiences in the city, so we wandered over. We were totally unprepared for the magnitude of Halloween festivity we found there. The street was packed, everyone (parents included) was in costume and all the garages were full of people acting out scary scenes. These people were putting on fully-costumed routines from Madagascar (the movie, not the country) in their windows.



These people set up a toddler dance club in their driveway.




And, of course, there were interesting costumes.





All in all a fun night.



Here are a few pics of our little Bears fan...







...and a few more randoms...









And because, really...who gets tired of a chubby baby sticking his feet in his mouth?

Walt and Hannah

Our nanny sent us this picture yesterday of Walt with Hannah, his nanny-share friend. I think he just might be a ladies' man.

New pics, new tricks

So, Walt is well into his fourth month now and more fun to hang out with every day!











He got a great report at his four-month check up and had a great time ripping up the paper on the examination table. He got the chance to perform most of his tricks (laughing, rolling, grasping) for Dr. Rostek, who was properly appreciative.

He's becoming more and more interested in his surroundings...including Manny



and the constant parade of sports on television.





In honor of Walt's four-month birthday, Mike took the day off and we headed up to Point Reyes for a hike.



Walt looking like we're crossing the Sahara:



We stopped in Tomales Bay to celebrate Walt with clam chowder and platters of oysters at the Marshall Store--delicious!







An altogether lovely day




Great fog shot from Crissy Field last weekend:



Walt's new trick:

Almost 4 months old!

Just a bit of commentary to go along with the pictures Mike posted below...

Walt will be four months old on Friday...I can't believe it! He is growing and changing so fast...every morning when I get him up I hardly recognize him! It is still looking like he's going to be a redhead, and his eyes are still as blue as can be...ours are brown, so they must be a gift from his grandma and Aunt Lisa!

I went back to work a couple of weeks ago (four days a week) and it has been great--is it okay to say that? It is just lovely to be around adults and have some control over my day, and it's relatively quiet. And I am just so excited to spend time with him on Fridays and weekends. Mornings and evenings are fun, too. Our nanny-share is working out great...Walt and Hannah (the other baby) just love Heather-the-nanny (not to be confused with our friend, Heather)and so do we...we really lucked out. And it is just so cool to see the two babies together...not exactly playing together but they do bump into each other occasionally in their rolls on the floor, which at this age is about as much interaction as we can hope for.

Walt has been rolling all over the place, once he mastered front-to-back and back-to-front there was no stopping him. He is such a good baby...smiley and happy most of the time and so very active. He goes for his four-month check up next week--can't wait to see how much he weighs, he's such a little peanut. He is also starting to get really excited about toys...he seems to be tired of his baby gym, but loves the ball pictured below, his stuffed strawberry and just about anything he can grab onto (especially burp cloths, my hair and Mike's nose). He's been sleeping through the night like a champ since he was about six weeks old, but for the past month or so he's been reliably sleeping a good 10 hours or so, which is great.

Not that parenting hasn't been great so far, but it is really starting to get fun. Past his finicky newborn phase, Walt is so much fun to be with now...and I feel like the three of us have got a good routine going.

Congratulations to our friends Darcy and Anna who both had babies this past week! We can't wait to meet Luke and George!

He's getting silly...