May 30, 2010 by Dad.

Memorial Day Weekend and we had planned to redo our deck which involved painting the railing and replacing the floor boards. We got interrupted by weather and possible rain so we joined Chloe, Megan and the Triplets for a picnic in Pioneer Park just south of Naperville downtown.

First a couple of photos of Etienne is his “birthday outfit” from grand ma ! Thanks Grandma !

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May 26, 2010 by Dad.

A bath toy that Etienne has now been enjoying on the floor in front of my study so I can keep an eye on him while working.

He really is a terribly adorable distraction from work.

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May 26, 2010 by Dad.

Etienne is a very happy boy. He only complains about two things, hunger and then to a lesser degree when he is dirty. Feed the boy after a nap and a clean diaper and this is what you are in for. Smiles and gurgles and giggles just come bubbling out of this little monster.

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May 24, 2010 by Dad.

Ok, so the title is a bit misleading, the swimming is probably exaggerated but none the less, Etienne was in his summer swimming gear in a pool with water - that is about as close to swimming as what he will get for quite a few years. As you can tell he loved it ! By comparison, Cezanne’s first equivalent swim outside was at the start of May 2007

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May 22, 2010 by Dad.

With your first child you push them to roll over, crawl, sit up, pull up and stand before taking on walking. With your second you realize that it is not a race. The first baby to walk is NOT the winner. Now I won’t say we have been purposefully discouraging Etienne from becoming more mobile but we certainly have not been as eager as we were with Cezanne. Today he was again very interested in what I was doing in the laundry and he was really in my way so I picked him up and prompted him against the washing machine and he just stood. Just look at the cocky little smile and the “confidence” in letting go to pose of the photos…

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May 17, 2010 by Dad.

I was trying to get some work done while Lanelle went to fetch Cezanne from school. Etienne has discovered the plants and plugs and all the charging cables ( cell phones etc. ) I had him on the floor in front of my study and within a few minutes he had found the one pot plant and was trying to pull at the leaves. I decided all I needed to do was to move the exersaucer in front of the plant and that will be enough of an obstacle to deter Etienne… I was wrong, he just climbed through the underside of the exersaucer and got to the pot plant and the lovely dirt. Another “caught red handed” photo !!

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May 16, 2010 by Dad.

Having two kids means sometime there are going to be activities that conflict and yet we manage to somehow fit both in. Today it was a birthday party for Cezanne and a playgroup for Etienne. We started at the party for Cezanne and then left her there while I dropped Lanelle and Etienne off at the playgroup. I then went to pickup Cezanne and we went to buy some plants for the garden before returning to fetch Lanelle and Etienne from the playgroup.

Etienne and his friends

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May 12, 2010 by Dad.

Just sitting with Mama in the study after a nap and some food and I am the happiest boy on earth !

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May 11, 2010 by Dad.

It does not matter what she is doing, Cezanne is the most interesting thing in his world and Etienne just wants to do what she is doing. On this particular occasion Cezanne was playing babies and Etienne got a crash course in how to care for a baby. He then also found his way into Cezanne’s doll house and got quite friendly with Mulan before being caught. Finally the 2 kids played with the farmyard and again it was more about what Cezanne was doing than the toy !

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May 7, 2010 by Dad.

Cezanne got her Fisher Price Play Family Village out and Etienne just had to check it out as well. He especially loves the handle on the fire station that makes the siren sound when you turn it.

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