not letting rick near this kid’s head

after watching simon get his buzz cut, toby asked for the same, but i’ll have to be given valium if rick ever puts a razor to toby’s head!

homespun haircut

View Full Album

so today it was HOT here – like 90 degrees.  and simon’s head was all sweaty.  rick, particularly sympathetic to simon’s hyperhidrotic plight, decided to take matters into his own hands.  thinking himself a barber because his dad was one while in the army, rick pulled out his beard trimmer and applied it to simon’s head.  you be the judge of the result!  (i can tell you simon seemed a lot more comfortable post-shearing, much like our dog fred after he gets his summer cut.)

fun with bubbles

View Full Album

this afternoon, rick resurrected a bubble machine we’d bought 5+ years ago for our wicked/wizard of oz themed halloween party.  the boys had a great time with it.  later, toby told me his dad had bought the bubble machine as a gift for him and simon.  i’m not sure why i felt compelled to burst his bubble, but i couldn’t resist telling him the truth.  he continued to have a great time despite my honesty.  (but can someone answer why i couldn’t manage even that little white lie?)

oh, pump boy, there’s a spot on my window!

look who’s getting in on the act of washing car windows!

granted he did a little better with help.

what a team!  have you seen a cleaner windshield?

memorial day

View Full Album

we had a terrific day with our friends susan, bob, jacob and twins lily and jeanette. we met them for a memorial day parade, then went back to their house and enjoyed their backyard with them. it was perfect. toby and jacob played with cars and trucks, and simon repeated HOT DOG over and over until he got his. the girls just sat there looking adorable. what a great day!

gearing up for “cars 2”

 

racing into theatres june 24!

(and if you’re curious, we didn’t buy – we test drove at Toys ‘R’ Us on a rainy day when the park was off the table)

springtime on the farm

last night was toby's spring show at school

he earned rave reviews for not only knowing all the words to the 10 or so songs, but for singing them far louder than all the other kids combined ;-p

how adorable is our little farmer?

another day, another birthday party

sunday was sammy's 4th birthday party. the weather was gorgeous, and we played in his backyard.

simon particularly enjoyed a large bucket of water with squirt toys in it. he stood by it almost the entire time.

toby enjoyed not only the pretzel seen below, but also the chocolate cupcake (which by this point had been reduced to a mere frosting goatee).

clearly, we all had a good time. (and not just mama, who especially enjoyed her bloody mary!)

visit with uncle aaron

 

we’re going to start with recent pictures and work backwards.  here, the boys are modeling their new GAP looks.  toby perfects his model look, while simon shows off his very first pair of full-length pants!!!

next we move to pictures that were taken last weekend during the short, but sweet, visit from ‘uncle aaron.’

where’s simon?

 

 

 

 

um, we see you, simon!

hey, now both boys are missing!

oh, here’s simon!

but where’s toby?

 

 

 

 

 

 

here’s toby!

(with his new “thomas” sleepy pillow, a gift from aaron)

here’s simon enjoying the new pots and pans foodie pal aaron brought for him to use with his new microwave.

“let me give you some foodie advice, toby…”

wait, he’s escaping!!!

(tell me, what is the point of a baby gate if your 3-year-old child can still slip comfortably beneath it?)

well we couldn’t stay home all day.  we had serious business to attend to – namely, our friend avery’s 4th birthday party, which uncle aaron attended with us.

it’s great to have friends (sam and ella pictured here).  the price of toby’s popularity?  2 birthday parties last week and 1 this weekend!  how did we get such a popular kid? ;-p

this leg is made for walkin' (video -- on blog only!)

yesterday, simon would only walk holding mom or dad's hand,

but today...

(and that was a very tired simon at the end of the day!)

simon's 3rd birthday

this morning i woke up to "happy birthday" in both english and chinese.

more excitingly, i unwrapped the one toy that had captured my attention on a very purposeful recent visit to the toy store - a microwave oven that lights up and beeps and comes with an assortment of fabulous plastic foods!

because i haven't demonstrated as clear preferences for things like restaurants as i had for this microwave toy, my parents let toby pick where we'd celebrate my birthday. he chose 'all aboard diner,' where our food, including complimentary birthday cupcake, arrived on a choo choo and the wait staff, dressed like train conductors, sang me an unusual version of 'happy birthday.' (mom recently learned that the version we all know and love is actually subject to royalties, if you can believe that?!)

if there's one thing i do well, it's open my mouth for food! ;-p

(there would have been a great photo of me with cupcake all over my face, except that the camera was in video, not photo, mode and mom, not realizing, shot the whole thing sideways - oops!)

at the front of this all around great restaurant there's one of those train displays where pushing buttons makes things spin, turn and go.

anyhow, mom is somewhat obsessed with reflections, so instead of taking pictures of the train display, she took pictures of my 'ge ge bee' (big brother toby)...

...and of me.

(mom has always been a sucker for a cute face!)

all in all, it was a pretty nice 3rd birthday (first celebrated here in the U.S.)!

take me out to the ballgame - part two

well, toby may not be destined to become a catcher...

...but at least he's guaranteed a career as an exotic dancer!

ps - trouble viewing the videos?

"visit" them on the blog at http://tobymercury.blogspot.com

take me out to the ball game

the boys’ school gave out free tickets to watch the kane county cougars play ball on sunday.  toby and simon, hearing they were going to a baseball game, apparently thought they would be playing.

 

earlier this week, simon discovered toby’s riverside fire department helmet.  any kittens in trees?

 

 

 

 

 

 

simon and toby are wearing their didi (younger brother) and gege (older brother) shirts here.  it may be the matching outfits, but aren’t they beginning to look alike, or is it just me? ;-p

learning to walk

here's evidence of how fast simon moves on his own. (note that in this video, taken a few weeks ago, he signs and speaks PLEASE.)

here's footage of simon up on his leg for the first time since bringing it home. he hasn't quite found his sea legs (or land legs, as the case may be).

and here's footage of simon earlier this week at his first prosthetic follow-up. there was talk among the prosthetists and PT about simon's in-toeing. they concluded it was the inevitable consequence of his anatomy (no hip!). in fact, at home the next day we discovered there was a loose pivot in his leg. a little wrench action...and voila!...he walks a lot straighter now. more video footage soon...

(and don't be surprised if he's running next time!)

easter at the zoo

we realized we were in trouble this morning when we pulled up to target to discover a completely empty parking lot.  uh oh…closed easter sunday!  however, we’re fortunate to live very near brookfield zoo, which is open every day of the year.  so that’s where we spent the afternoon today.

 

hopefully the boys’ stroller isn’t hiding the beautiful floral butterfly in the background.  (yes, i know i generally am not a butterfly fan, but to have created such a thing entirely out of flowers…that’s worthy even of my admiration!)

 

i was afraid we might not get the boys back (toby, because he seemed lost in reverie; simon, because i feared he’d be eaten!)

the hamill family play zoo has lots for the kids to do.  the boys petted a bunny, planted marigold seeds, and, as evidenced here, painted their faces.  (actually, i painted simon’s face, but toby created his motif all by himself!)

irresistible faces…even with the pox!

spring holidays

first came passover…the spirit of our seder is best summed up by this first photo (note the firetruck in toby’s hand and, even more strangely, the spoon dangling from simon’s mouth!)

it was definitely our intention to ‘get it right,’ so to speak – the haggadot and seder plate all made it to the table – but this year’s seder was especially relaxed – the dog bone substitute for a shank bone provides ample evidence!

speaking of dog bones…check out fred’s new do…he got his summer shave just in time to look nice for the holidays…of course, our neighbor mocked him as he barked menacingly at her through our fence while wearing this easter egg bandana

after passover came easter and, with it, egg dyeing…

 

…and ‘peeps’ eating.  (how guilty does simon look devouring his?)

 

when it comes to the spring holidays, we’re definitely an equal opportunity family! ;-)