When the Cat's Away

Mitchell is on the move. He isn't crawling exactly but he has figured out how to move forward. He kind of looks like a seal pup. What's he moving towards, you ask? Toys. Owen's toys. Mitchell has absolutely no interest in playing with his boring toys. The problem is that Owen gets very upset when his baby brother plays with (eats) his toys. Our living room has turned into a battleground, of sorts, with Mitchell relegated to the pack n' play. When Owen is napping, however, it's another story entirely. 

Here is Mitchell with Owen's first favorite toy, his bus. FYI, the Count is especially tasty.

And here he is with Owen's beloved Octonauts Octopod. There would be some serious hell to pay if Owen saw this going on. 

Can you say precocious? Mitchell is terribly proud of himself.

Good Night Gorilla

Owen's new favorite book is really quite cute. A gorilla steals the zookeeper's keys. The animals follow the zookeeper home and wind up in his bedroom. Owen says that I am the woman. Owen is the zookeeper, Mitchell is the gorilla and Daddy is the mouse. There you have it. Daddy is a mouse.

Owen says the funniest things and it's amazing how he has turned into a little boy during the past year. For us, 2014 was an exciting, challenging but altogether happy year. At the same time it was a time of sadness and transition for many of our friends and family. Onward and upward! Here's hoping that 2015 brings an abundance of health, happiness and sweet gorilla kisses.

Oh What Fun!

 

After singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" for weeks at bedtime and a visit at school from the big man himself (which terrified Owen), Santa made an impressive appearance at the Linker house.  

Santa brought new socks and candy for the grown-ups and a play kitchen and a Star Wars loot for Owen. There were books, toys, clothes and kitchen accessories galore from our families. 

But the crown jewel of the 2014 holiday season were Owen's new Octonaut toys from Grandpa. Here's Owen after an exhausting day of play. Two words. Christmas hangover.

Photo Shoot

I try to capture life's exciting moments like Mitchell sitting up on his own and Owen catching a ball. Unfortunately, life's exciting moments always seem to be blurry. Enter the professionals.

Despite scarred faces, runny noses and general late afternoon crankiness, we took the Linker boys for a holiday photo shoot. I felt a little better about my lack of skills when the photographer told me that Owen and Mitchell are at "really hard ages to photograph." I'm pretty sure she said this as Owen was tackling his baby brother. While in focus, we only got a handful of good pictures. The out takes, however, are still pretty fun.

"Take Me To Your Leader."

"Hmm, not quite sure what's going on here," says Mitch.

 "Hey, Mitchell, why are Mom and Dad waving and jumping? They look like a couple of idiots."

"Yup," says Mitch. "Pretty much."

My Middle Name is Kohler

Steve suggested we change Mitchell's middle name to Kohler. Like the faucet. It's fitting. This baby is a drooly mess. Owen often demands that I clean his toys after Mitchell gets his slimy little mitts on them. This has been going on for months with no tooth bud in sight.

Teething is certainly an adventure and while I remember Owen being a bear while he was getting his molars and angry-teeth (the canines), I do not remember drool and discomfort like this. We literally plow through multiple bibs and shirts a day.

Here is Mitch in his natural state. Without sock and toy munching. We even tried a Baltic amber teething necklace which is supposed to slow the faucet down to a trickle. The necklace was no match for this fierce drool monster.

 

Sleep tight drooly one...

O is for Owen

  

O is for Owen! My little smarty pants likes to point out the most important letter in the alphabet every chance he gets. I'd like to take credit for teaching Owen to identify letters but that honor distinctly goes to his teachers at daycare. I'd also like take credit for orchestrating leaf play but that was all Daddy. F is for fun!

Piece of Cake

The Linkers. Making travel look easy. Don't we look like a happy well-rested family? If you only knew the chaos that immediately preceded this picture.

We just returned to Rhode Island from a California adventure. While Owen is a seasoned bi-coastal traveler, this was Mitchell's first journey to the west coast. Three cities, Halloween and a wedding - our itinerary was ambitious. The three hour time change and daylight savings made things even more interesting. We were up everyday before the sun allowing for plenty of togetherness.

A few things I learned...traveling with a baby is exponentially easier than traveling with a toddler. You don't realize how long a six hour plane ride is until you've had to entertain kids. Along those same lines, playing video games helps pass the time while holding a sleeping baby. A friendly husband and cute kids helps to make friends and sympathizers. It also helps to have a loving aunt and Bubbie (aka Bubs) waiting in sunny California. One more thing, watching the sun set over the Pacific will never ever get old.

Here are some of the best memories from our trip.

Happy Halloween. A cop, his prisoner, a couple of ninjas and a little mermaid!

We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary at Kim and Artie's wedding. Yay!

Mitchell's first ride in the baby swing rocked his world;

And playing in the ocean rocked his!

Mitchell couldn't get enough of playing with his Bubbie and Aunt Amy. I think it's fair to say that the feeling was mutual. It's impossible not to fall prey to this sweet baby's charm.