Velociraptor

Alex has really gotten into screeching like a velociraptor (or maybe a pterodactyl) recently:

Flip

Steph found out today (so I found out this evening) that Jodi (our regular babysitter) has been helping Evan to do a flip of sorts. Here are Steph and Evan practicing:

I've never seen it for myself, but apparently when Jodi does it Evan whips all the way around without catching his leg or anything (which happens to us almost every time). We'll keep practicing, though.

Still More Exersaucer

We just keep getting better pictures of Alex in his Exersaucer...

And video, too:

Mom and Boy

I got some nice pictures of Steph and Alex today, of which this is the best:

Big Boy Utensils

Evan has been eating with a fork and spoon for quite a while, but if there was cutting to be done he mostly called in the big guns (or rather, the big knives), Mom and Dad. That might be about to change, though:

Of course, he probably would have been wise to choose an easier target than a green bean for his first time using a knife:

More Exersaucer

We took some more cute pictures of Alex enjoying himself in his Exersaucer, just because:

Goodbye Grandparents

My parents just came out for basically a long weekend, so Monday night they had to leave to catch their red-eye back to the east coast. They left after Alex's bed time, but Evan got to give goodbye hugs and kisses:

I Heart New York

Since my parents were visiting from New York Evan thought it was appropriate (he may have been coached a bit) to bust out his "I♥NY" shirt that Aunt Kimmie gave him recently:

Grandma's Birthday

My parents came to town for the weekend to attend an 80th birthday party for my dad's boss from CSU East Bay. This meant they were also in town for my mom's birthday, and to save her from having to cook for us on her own birthday (part of their reason for coming was to see the baby and give us some extra help, of course) we took everyone out to dinner at Buca di Beppo.

The evening started out pretty well. Our reservation was a little later than Evan's normal dinner time and we were worried that even a reasonable delay getting us seated and getting the first of the food to our table would lead to a cranky boy (like many kids, Evan's mood definitely sours with hunger). As it turns out we got to sit down right away and some bread arrived at our table almost immediately, but Evan wasn't that interested. He had became somewhat lethargic once we got to the restaurant, owing to the fact that he wasn't feeling too well and had started running a fever (both boys have been carrying head colds since our trip to Santa Fe for Christmas).

In the meantime Alex has in high spirits, and he and my mom were having a good time making faces and talking to each other:

As it turned out (not surprisingly) Evan's cold flaring up, which was actually a bit of a boon to the rest of us at first as the resulting lethargy made him much easier to entertain, eventually had its consequences. He may not have been interested in eating anything but he had no problem guzzling lemonade (Evan is usually a good eater but he is always a good drinker). Unfortunately if you take lemonade and Tylenol, add them to a stomach full of milk (drunk in the car on the way there) and not much else, factor in a healthy dash (pun intended) of cold and fever, and mix it all up in a kid who is willing to throw up with almost no provocation, what you get is an overly damp and smelly father/son combo and a short birthday dinner.

Exersaucer

Up until now if we wanted to put Alex down for a bit we had to put him in his bouncy chair or lay him on the ground under his Kickee Bear or some other activity mat. Nowadays he's got enough upper body control to play in our Exersaucer, though:

Alex thinks the Exersaucer is just as much fun as Evan used to:

It's so much fun he's got to talk about it: