grandma's here!

mom arrived yesterday for a visit - but, as usual, her trip was not without its hiccups.  first, her flight from syracuse to newark was delayed, and united (being the fabulous airline that we all know it is) refused to check her baggage through newark - meaning she had to collect it and check in again at newark, for another united flight!  ridiculous.  long story short, she did not make her connection to munich.  instead, they re-routed her through london (heathrow - worst airport EVER for a short connection).  they did it so quickly we didn't talk, and after checking a couple of flight scenarios we decided she'd still fly through munich and arrive here around 3pm.  well, after the munich flight arrived & the airport had emptied, we realized she was not on that flight after all, and began to wonder where in the world mom was.  luckily, ben was able to use her confirmation number to view the updated itinerary (did not occur to us to do this before, clearly) and find out she had actually flown from london to dusseldorf, germany, and would be arriving in about two hours.  it was a long day for all of us - especially mom - and we were all very glad to get home last night in time to eat a quick dinner & put emre to bed - and then go to bed ourselves.  mom's luggage?  that should arrive today!  i'll be sure to post pics from the week.  for now, here's what we got up to last week...

at gymboree music class with daddy

parachute game - this part always makes him sleepy...

saying goodbye to gymbo

visiting dede's office after gymboree - hangin' with the guys

shoes

playing with his new toy from evie

getting kisses from evie...

...and giving kisses to evie

a sunday night treat: chinese hot pot - courtesy of donna & john

doing his best to play with conrad - two tired babies on a sunday night

 

playing happily by himself...

...until he spots the camera.

@ gymboree with dede.  a surprise weeknight treat!

keepin' busy in the morning while mommy drinks her coffee

uh-oh, he found daddy's flask.  it's all downhill from here!

munching on some multigrain cheerios, his current favorite breakfast.

emre's busy week

emre had a busy week - as did i.  on tuesday, our nanny called in sick - she had a stomach bug.  this was actually a treat for me because it meant i got to stay home with emre - not something i get to do often!  we made the most of it - went to open play at gymboree, ran errands and did grocery shopping.  the grocery shopping was fun because emre sat in the cart for the first time - a big boy experience.  he loved being up high, face to face with mommy, and looking at all that there is to look at in a grocery store - a LOT.

watching the other kids play at gymboree - his favorite thing to do

sitting in the cart like a big boy!

napping with penguin

on wednesday, the nanny was sick again.  so, we got to go to playgroup!  another treat, for both of us.  well, when we arrived at carole's house, her daughter talia was all over emre.  granted, it had been a while since they'd seen each other, so some re-aquainting was in order.  BUT, talia really went out of her way to make emre comfortable.  she was hugging him and petting him to start...

posing with her pal

drinking emre's water as conrad looks on

sitting on his lap

...but then the kissing began!  that's right - emre got his first kiss (just in time for valentine's day), and then some.  she just couldn't give him enough kisses - and he was happy to accept them!

first kiss

and i will kiss you on top of your head...

the best part was how he just sat there, completely fascinated by the whole experience.  he didn't move, even when she sat on his lap!

the rest of the week was rather dull, as i got the stomach bug on thursday that the nanny had been sick with & was flat on my back all day because of it.  yuck.  

making a sad face to really capture the essence of the eczema mommy was trying to document for dr. hande

on friday we went out to celebrate valentine's day - since i was sick the day of - and emre, as usual, brought the entertainment.  all in all it was a good week (save for the stomach bug, of course).  hope yours was, too.

peek-a-boo!

happy child

we've been having so much fun with emre lately - he's just such a happy kid.  and now that he's bigger, he's not only able to entertain himself (way less exhausting for mom & dad), but he's able to entertain us as well!  each night it's pure fun/entertainment from the time we get home from work until he goes to bed.  we are loving it!

 trying on daddy's shoes

laughing at his own joke

making his 'hurt' face (he does this when he thinks maybe he can get some attention even though he's not really hurt)

'hiding' - or so he thinks

future soccer star

happy little knight

hmmm...

ma, i'm really funny!

i love my new toy - thanks aunt sarah & uncle jeff!

he's always busy, busy busy

 well i had a failed attempt at getting emre's 1 year shot... basically because he's too busy to sit for a picture these days.

hmmm... this is boring (yes that is a balloon in the corner of the picture that his mother was frantically waving in an attempt to get a smile.  fail.)

instead he wanted to tear up the sign - and he did.

he's just super busy these days. he has stuff he has to do, you know?  we try to keep up with him but, man, it's hard.

bubbles in the bath with daddy

each night after dinner he seems to have an agenda.  usually that agenda includes lugging a box of his toys from one end of the couch to the other - pulling some out along the way, putting others in.  it's very involved work - and he does NOT want our help, thank you very much!

i've gotten in the habit of pulling his pants off for this activity because, obviously, it's just adorable to watch those chubby little legs walk around.

ma - stop looking at me!

i'm too busy to look at the camera, ma

chubbers

i was wondering where he gets it from until this weekend, when i sat in the living room watching ben work on several projects around the house - not wanting to be disturbed - busy, busy busy.

just like his dad

in other news, emre had his first gymboree music class this weekend (fun!), drank his first cup of cow's milk, and did his first bit of running around at the park - on his own!  yep, we've got a walker/jogger. he's just figured out he can actually walk on his own, and when he does he gets the biggest smile on his face and screams with his hands in the air.  pretty much the cutest, most hilarious thing you've ever seen.  

and the days?  they just keep on getting better!

got milk?