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January at the King House

Today is February 1st. It appears the entire month of January slipped by without a blog post. So what have we been up to? Because of my supreme lack of short-term memory, which I blame on motherhood and a general lack of deep sleep, I will refer to my calendar: Play dates, baby showers (coincidentally all for boys), visits with friends, home repair projects (a built-in cabinet in our mudroom), and hot yoga classes. Then at the end of the month we travelled to Texas, but there will be more on that in the following post.

Poor Kieron has been in teething hell for the past month. He has two teeth on the bottom which appeared while we were in Hawaii, and this month four on top showed up all at once. Overall he’s so easy going and cheerful, but the teething can make him pretty cranky at times. Oh well, he’s such a good baby, we really can’t complain, poor little guy.

With Kieron changing so much, it’s easy to forget how much Avery is growing and changing as well. Last week I looked at some pictures from back when Kieron was born, and that’s when I noticed how much Avery has changed. He’s much taller and boyish looking now. It’s cute, but makes me sentimental. He has a very vivid imagination and is always playing dress-up and making up some fantastic story or another.

Here are some pics from the past month. The first few were taken by Avery, our budding photographer.




Brothers


Avery and his friends, Preston & Ashlyn

Avery likes to stay up reading before going to sleep. He loves his new reading lamp.

Kieron in his high chair

We have very similar pics of Avery at about the same age

Kieron in the tub

He loves bath time, and this starfish is his favorite bath toy


Tickling the ivories







I love this picture

Daddy gives Kieron a mani/pedi

Mommy cuts Avery’s hair

Avery making faces in Kieron’s jacket


Kieron at the bakery (he’s outgrown his hat)

Avery outside Caffe Lladro

The boys at bath time. They have so much fun!

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Visiting Santa

We returned to the Cougar Mountain Zoo this year to visit Santa and his reindeer. The boys were both great sports and sat on Santa’s lap. Avery sheepishly told him what a good boy he was this year and that he would like a police station for Christmas (for the past month he’s been asking for a big tow truck, but whatever). Then we fed the reindeer and quickly visited the tigers and emus before we got too cold to walk around anymore.

The boys with Santa

Feeding apple slices to the reindeer





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Goodbye Commodus

Lindsey and I have some very sad news. This afternoon we put Commodus to sleep. It was by far the most difficult decision we’ve ever made together, and we’ll dearly miss our little pug. About ten months ago he injured his back and despite our attempts to help him heal, his condition deteriorated. Over the past weeks there were many tears as we tried to figure out what was best. In the end we decided there wasn’t much joy left in his daily life, and we didn’t want him to suffer. Today the vet came to our house, and we cuddled with him on his bed by the fire as he drifted off.

Commodus, you were such an incredible little dog these past 8 1/2 years. You joined our family a year before we got married, when you were just two months old. You were our first baby, quadruped though you were. We spoiled you, dressed you up in ridiculous costumes, and bought anything that had a pug on it. That first year, we took you on many adventures, to the beach, to the top of Winchester mountain, and all over Bellingham. You went boating with us and even learned how to swim. On our wedding day you were our ring bearer. Throughout the years you’ve stood by as life happened. When we started a family you cuddled with Mommy throughout both pregnancies, and when our boys came home from the hospital you were there to greet them at the door. The pitter-patter of your paws on the floor, your snoring, and soulful brown eyes that always expressed a look of deep concern will be dearly missed. This marks the end of a chapter in our lives. Although we weren’t ready to move on yet, it’s a time we’ll always have fond memories of. It’s a time we view as our youth, our 20’s, the beginning of us and our life as a family. We’ll miss you puppy.

There are SO MANY pictures. Turns out we took roughly 3,000 of our pooch. This was the least we could get it down to.



With his brothers and sisters

The bowl we picked out was way too big






At Ocean Shores

Cruisin’

Camping at Winchester (he was licking mac ‘n cheese out of the pot)

He had a taste for the Vegemite

Trying to enjoy a margarita

In the Nooksack River

Pug-o-lantern

Our ring bearer




With Cosette




With Nicole



At Lake Padden


Head of the Lake

Camping

On Lummi Island

He’s a Mac Dog

Santa’s helper


At Clayton Beach

Feeling baby kicks


“Get me out of this ridiculous hat!”

“No, not another one!”

“Now antlers?”



“I heart wood stoves”




“I think Mom’s had too many cookies”


Greeting Avery on his first day home

Pug buns

Snoozin’ in the sun

With Old Nana

Teaching Avery to roll over… it worked


On a walk

With Avery



Good times in the back yard


Overseeing the potty training



Greeting Kieron on his first day home

With his brothers

In the end Commodus spent much of his time in bed in front of the fire.



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Halloween 2010

This was the best Halloween to date! The festivities started with our traditional stop at Trick or Truck. Avery had a great time visiting with friends and checking out the various big rigs. After that we rushed home and prepared a quick dinner. Then Avery and Daddy headed out for some trick-or-treating while Kieron napped and Mommy handed out candy. Once Kieron woke up, we met up and finished going around the block.

The real fun started when we all got home and it was Avery’s turn to hand out candy. By this time he had a little sugar-high going. Every time the doorbell rang, Avery yelled “They’re here! They’re here!” He jumped up and down, grabbed two fists full of candy, and sprinted to the door. When Mommy or Daddy opened it, Avery exclaimed “Happy Halloween!” As he distributed the candy, he asked each trick-or-treater if they would come back to play with him and if they would go to Costco with him on Sunday. And he said a bunch of other things too, whatever else came to his mind. He was really on a roll, and we were in stitches!

Our little firefighter











With Jackson at Trick or Truck









“I love candy!”

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Pumpkin Patch

We took the boys to the Carpinito Brothers Pumpkin Patch before Halloween. Avery was thrilled, and his favorite part was pulling the wagon we stacked with pumpkins. It took quite a bit of work on his part, but somehow he managed. We went on a hayride, which he also enjoyed, but Kieron cried almost the whole time. He missed his evening nap, and was a bit out of sorts. Of course we dressed the boys up for some photos.




No pumpkin patch trip is complete without a hayride








Searching for the perfect pumpkin

Chillin’ in the jogger. About to lose it.

Avery in front of the corn maze









“I can pull… this… all… by… myself!”

The boys


“Help! Get me off these pumpkins! I am not an Ann Geddes model!”

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