UU Flower Communion Today

The past few Sundays, we've been visiting the Unitarian Universalist fellowship in Stony Brook. Their annual end-of-fiscal-year celebration, the "flower communion," was today, so we each picked out a flower and joined the ceremony.

It's damn near impossible to get both of them smiling and looking at the camera at the same time, so this was as close as we were going to get:

Claire was much more interested in how her flower tasted.

When we arrived, Robert was excited to add his flower -- and our flowers -- to the vases in the front of the room.


On the way out, Robert chose one of the big orange flowers to take home:

Messy Eater!

Doctor Robert

Always concerned with his sister's health, Robert gives Claire a daily checkup.


He listens to her heart,


gives her at least on shot,

and checks her ears.
Claire usually giggles and tries to squirm away. She's good at rolling, and it's only a matter of time before she can actually escape.




But, for now, she really can't escape Dr. Robert's evil clutches.
Tonight, he had some trouble getting her to "Say Ah!"
She just wanted to eat the flashlight.
So, when Robert wanted to take her temperature, he tried another tactic to get her mouth open.
"6 pounds." Whew, that's a relief! Last night her temperature as "35."
Claire looks stunned, but has a clean bill of health. Until tomorrow.

Summer! Finally!

Today, Robert (with help from Daddy) went through all of his toys and picked out everything that was a "baby toy" to give to Baby Claire. As a reward for his generosity, we took him to Toys R Us and told him he could pick one toy. Robert chose a pool. Since it was hot out (and finally not raining!!), we set it up after lunch. Robert was thrilled.

(Please disregard the baby doll floating face down in the background of the pics. I know. It gives me the creeps, too.)


"Swimming":Dancing:
Bending:
Yelling at his toys, "You not go near the hose!"
Here he is reprimanding "Fisherman Pete" for going near the hose.
"Take a picture of me for Regular Grandma!"
When Claire woke up from her nap, we brought her out to try the pool. Robert explained the rules to her: "No splashing water, and always have a grown up with you."

We dipped he toe in, and found out quickly that she was NOT A FAN.
I took this picture to prove that she can cry.
So Daddy went in with Robert instead.
Mommy and Claire just watched.
I guess this is an ankle-deep version of water polo?
Photo courtesy of Robert:
Claire was much happier sunbathing on a towel. Just like Mama.

Weather Day, Part II

Here is an excerpt from a recent performance of "Weather Day." Notice how it abruptly ends with a bow.

Weather Day, Part I

Robert, the budding musician, loves to do 20-30 minute long performance art pieces that he makes up as he goes along. Lately, he does these for the benefit of his sister, often with guitar accompaniment. Lately, he has been doing variations of his composition, "Weather Day," Which features dramatic dynamic contrasts, emotional outburst, and a catchy chorus. It can (and has) go on for hours.








Claire is always suitably impressed.









Apparently, this one had some sad parts in it. It usually does.

Father's Day, 2009

(OMG How cute is she?)
Claire and Mommy getting ready for Father's day (photo credit: Robert)
The best we could do for a father's day picture. It is so hard to get them both looking at the camera and not looking dumb.

Daddy and his little girl.
Because of the terrible weather, we moved the picnic inside. Luckily, the roses love the rain.
Claire and Pop-Pop:
Pop-Pop and his grandkids:
Father's day!

Flag Day!

On June 14th, Chris got out the flag and brought it outside. Robert spied him and said, "Daddy, why you have that flag?" Before Chris could respond, Robert's face lit up and he got very excited. "Is it FLAG DAY?!?!?! YAY!!!!" Good job, preschool.

Flowers and Mommy

Taken by Robert.

First Day of School

Claire had her first day of school on June 9th, 2009. Here she is all ready to go...



And a flashback from May 30, 2006 when Robert had his first day. There is definitely a family resemblance..

Swingin'

Got the baby swing back out for Claire.

Robert immediately took over. Apparently, it is the big brother's job to push the little sister in the swing.


STOP TAKING PICTURES!

(As you can see, the fence is still not painted. Give us a break - we're working on it.)


Robert decided to twist himself up on his swing...
... and fell off the most graceful manner.
Mommy eventually took over pushing both of them, which is more of a feat of dexterity than you might think.

How Do They Get Along?

Robert and Claire, BFFs.
Here they are, playing together, as is typical.
Peek-a-boo:




Playing with Mr. Met:
Chatting:


Robert "eating her belly":
Singing and laughing together:
Chicken imitations:
A kiss for the little sister:
BFFs, I tell you.

Baby Claire

Photos courtesy of Robert.

Robert the Master Puppeteer

Robert decided to give a Sesame Street Puppet Show. So he got out his SS finger puppets...

... and began to "entertain" Baby Claire


Then he remembered that usually the puppet master hides behind something......and puts his hand up to make the puppets talk. Well, he didn't quite get it right.
He then moved on to making each puppet move while doing their voices.
Daddy gave him a demo of how puppet shows are generally done.


Instead, Robert decided the characters all needed to be put into baby cereal bowls. Life rafts, apparently. I guess the house was sinking.



Oscar fell out and could not be saved.

Daddy's Little Helper

Trying to get all caught up on a bunch of pics we've not posted yet.
Here is a set from a few weeks ago when Daddy and Robert decided to start painting the fence. Robert was a great helper, but the job never got finished... thanks in part to the three straight weeks of rain we've had!

Brother and Sister, Best Friends

Includes a cameo from Robert's fake bellyache, which can only be cured by his daily vitamin. (Don't ask.)

Into The High Chair!

Cutest Baby Ever

Memorial Day with the Centerport FD

Got to spend the day with Uncle Lou and Aunt Lauren at the Centerport Fire Department Memorial Day Picnic. Good times; they had lots of food and drink, and tons of fun for the kids. Robert was happy to join in the fun. One game involved digging for candy through a big pile of sawdust... Robert "dug" right in:

He found a nice little pile of candy off to the side, which was much easier than digging through all that mess:


Robert took his loot back to the table and dumped it out:


Robert then wanted to go check out the fire truck. Baby Claire was less enthused:

But Robert was excited to follow Uncle Lou:



He got to talk on the phone ("to Mommy")...

...and check out the new heat-vision camera...

...and of course, play with the sirens!

Suddenly, Robert and Uncle Lou appeared on top of the truck:

But Robert was definitely excited to hang out inside!

Then he went over and checked out the ambulance as well.

Cutest baby ever:

Ice cream and watermelon!

Aaaaaand... cutest baby ever.


When we got home, Robert wanted to play in the sprinkler for a bit.


What a great day!

Hangin'

Baby's First Cereal

Claire is slowly starting to join us in the wonderful land of food. Here are a few photos from her first rice cereal experience, which she really enjoyed! (And Robert was a great helper!)

Happy Mother's Day!

To the best mom in the whole world!

The Cutest Baby Ever

The Mighty Bug Hunter

Robert took his bug jar outside to look for bugs. Mom helped:



They couldn't find any on the lawn (thanks, Long Island Tree Care), but found an inchworm hanging from a tree down the street. Robert named him Wormy:

He fed him a leaf, then opened the bug jar... and Wormy fell out and returned to the wild.

Playin'

Who Gave The Toddler The Camera?

A Visit To "Music Class Park"

After Music Together class on Saturday, we took a few minutes to explore the park outside the Village Center. Robert enjoyed playing on the beach...

...picking up big rocks...

...and hurling them into the water...

...while Claire just enjoyed watching.

Then Robert danced on the boat in the playground, pretending to be a pirate.


This is his "pirate face":




Claire enjoyed a dolphin ride too!

Since the park is right outside the building where we have music class, Robert christened it "music class park."