Kangaroo Nico & Skyscraper Spencer

Nico has discovered the joys of bouncing in the jumper. Here he is in action!

As much as Nico enjoys being in the jumper, his favorite activity remains watching his older brother. On this afternoon, he experienced the best of both worlds. Spencer, for his part, engaged Nico in a game of peekaboo which he loved as much as Nico did.

When Spencer is not entertaining his younger brother, he also likes to build towers of blocks, towers higher than he is tall. Watch out for the crash!

The Next David Beckham?

If you're not an European soccer fan, you may not realize that there is a fine art to ripping one's shirt off and flying around the field after scoring a goal. Luckily, our good friend Stuart is schooling Spencer in this fine art and Spencer is quite an apt pupil.

A Day of Firsts

Spencer's interest in reading has blossomed to the point where he now listens to chapter books. We currently are making our way through the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. It seemed time for Spencer to apply for his first library card which he proudly displays here.

Nico is also experiencing many firsts including tasting solid foods. We started with rice cereal and, as you can see in this photo, moved on to peas, a taste he has yet to acquire. On the contrary, he stuck out his tongue and tried to shake the peas off. When that didn't work, bobbing his head up and down couldn't shake those peas off either. Ewwww! Peas! I can't say I blame him. Pureed peas don't rank high on my list of favorite foods. We'll try again when he can eat peas whole.

Spencer embraces the role of feeding his little brother.

Everybody Knows He Loves His Toes

Nico loves to snack on his toes - morning, noon and night. I've been trying to capture a photo for weeks but until now, Nico has been too quick for me. At last, success!

Creeping Along

Nico gets around - rolling, creeping, scooting. Better finish baby proofing...

Bath time Hijinks

The ancient art of basket head-balancing was begun by an ancient Sumarian 3 year-old in 3,600 BC. Spencer carries on the tradition in the tub, delicately balancing one of his bath toys while smiling, singing Frere Jacques, and offering his generation's take on the health care debate (he's for the public option).

Swim, Swim, Swimming Along

What better way to spend Labor Day weekend than by taking a dip in the pool followed by sharing a picnic with friends? Here the boys pose with their hats on a perfect late summer morning.

Nico's grand introduction to the water was a big success. He loved his first dip in the water held securely in Daddy's arms.

Nico gives his seal of approval by pat, pat, patting the edge of the pool. It appears this little California boy has many years of water fun in his future.

Gummy Smiles

After a couple of weeks of increased nursing sessions, night wakings and of course, drool, we felt along Nico's gum line only to discover that his bottom two teeth are emerging. He reaches for everything in sight and attempts to chew on it. Nico has fine tuned his grasp enough to be able to hold his pacifier and flip it around, Maggie Simpson style. Watch the video to see his technique.

Tile, Glorious Tile

Next up in our kitchen remodel: installation of our tile backsplash. Not only did George, our talented tile setter from Wilshire Tile, do a fabulous job but he patiently answered all of Spencer's questions about the process.

We chose 4"x 4" glass tiles from Classic Tile & Mosaic.

Glass tiles are impervious to water. Plus we love the luminous quality the tiles give our relatively small kitchen. The sage green color compliments our sleek grey countertops.

We selected a gray Prizm grout - stain-resistant, fast-drying and eco-friendly.

The finished backsplash! The photos don't do it justice because as you can imagine, the light reflects off the glass. It's the perfect accent to our kitchen.