and i love you more everyday

two, little buddy!  you're two!

i can hardly believe it.  what a beautiful, brilliant, kind boy you've become.  you're more beautiful, more brilliant, and kinder than i ever could have imagined, in fact.  the last two years have been the best of my life because i've spent them with you.  you bring such happiness to so many people, but no one more so than your mommy.  you are my angel.

thank you for giving me kisses when i ask for them, and for saying, "of course, mommy," with such sweetness in your voice, and for singing me the sunshine song every night at bedtime (which is, easily, the cutest, most amazing thing i've ever heard).  thank you for being such a perfect little partner at the grocery store, and for helping me feed bean breakfast each morning. thank you for crying out for me after every nap, even if i'm still fast asleep.  thank you for eating your spinach pizza, since it does, after all, contain a vegetable, and thank you for demanding at least eight peach and mango squeezies a day, even if it is slowly bankrupting us.  thank you for staying at wiggleworms for just another song, even when you want all you want to do is go home and eat bunny crackers.  thank you for being so warm to the baby in mommy's tummy, and for trusting that your place in our hearts will never, could never, change.

since you've been here, will, life is just more.  colors are brighter and sounds are louder.  the stakes are higher and fears are scarier, but our laughter is lighter and our smiles are wider.  quiet is quieter, mornings are earlier, and days are busier.  my heart is deeper, and softer, and more real.  with you, life is bigger, and better, and somehow closer to what is true and right.

like i used to tell you when you were a little, tiny baby, you're the youest of yous, and that's a wonderful thing.  thank you for being you.  you are, really and truly, the best.

second installment

on a cold morning in november

there's a mouse in my kitchen, 

 red chapstick dots my duvet cover, 

and my couch is splattered with mango puree.  

my back aches, i have a nasty cold, 

and the threat of pre-term labor has already resulted in one trip to labor and delivery.     

and yet, all i feel is gratitude.  here's why.

for the rest of my life, on bad days, 

i'll need do no more than glance at these beautiful photos, 

taken on a cold morning in november, 

when my boy was nearly two.  

and there's this

because it makes me happy.

boston, belated

a week ago today we were on an airplane, flying home to chicago from boston.  will got to spend a few fun-filled days with his cousins and grandparents while uncle andy and aunt erin were on vacation in mexico.  it was terribly exciting.  shuttle buses, airports, two cats, a trip to a jump zone at the mall, danny's trains, an ice cream cone, and dinner with uncle matt and aunti kaki in brookline (thanks again for the cars, uncle matt!).  here are some of the moments i captured amidst the chaos.

will loved spending time with danny and doing big boy things with him,

and patrick reminded me how wonderful it feels to hold a baby.

books at bedtime were not as peaceful as this picture may have you believe.

it took me about fifteen shots to get this photo of the boys sitting together

because danny spends most of his time like this.

our time out east reminded me of how lucky will is to have cousins close in age.  the latest generation of moynihan men has a lot to look forward to, not in the least the impending addition of

our little moynihan princess.

halloween 2012

colin thought i was mean for posting this photo on facebook of will on halloween,

but i think it would have been meaner to post this one

or this one

or this one.

i would have posted this one

but it was blurry.

don't worry, 

tooyah did end up having a great night, 

filled with special friends and yahyee-pops and chock-yit and punkins.  

let's hope we get some better shots next year.

will speak, 22 month edition, and more

some recent gems...

a few minutes after we spotted air force one flying into o'hare...

bock omama! on da aiw pwane!

at nap time, overheard from the crib...

change bo's diapah! bo poop! bo poop!

(diaper is perfectly clean and dry.  occasionally some grunting is thrown in for extra impact)

need moh wader! moh wader!

(water cup is full)

uh oh boppies! uh oh!

(throws boppies on floor)

daddy you come in hewe and pick me up and take me out da doah!

(this one just impressed us.  he's not even two!)

and when all else fails...

bean! bean! bean!

and, every few minutes...

bo fall down! bo gedduh bump!

and, every few seconds...

mamma! mamma! mamma! sit on da pay mat! 

bo's been busy, that's for sure.  

he's been trying on all his winter gear,

hanging out in daddy's new backpack,

creating train tracks of greater and greater complexity,

and spending time with his buddy graham at the children's museum.

bo has also discovered jewelry.  

he's clearly very secure in his masculinity.

this year, most appropriately, bo will dress as tooyah for halloween, 

though he recently expressed a desire to be a punkin instead.  

photos to come!

punkins and a pony.

tinkle tinkle toot!

oh, will, you're going to love this when you're thirteen.

and then there were two.

she likes to kick at nap time and bed time, her head is on the big side like her daddy and her brother, and she gave me the most horrendous case of morning sickness imaginable.  we anticipate her arrival at the beginning of february, but my last baby was early, and then late, so anything's possible. she's been growing in my belly for twenty weeks, but has existed in our hearts for much longer.  we don't know where we'll put her, aside from the warm spot in our arms, but we know we'll love her, and that's all that matters. 

introducing our daughter, and will's sister, the newest, littlest moynihan.

lately

we went on a train ride,

visited the ee-ah doct-ah (otherwise known as the ent, where we received a clean bill of health), 

have been learning to drive mommy's car,

and insist on sitting at the table to eat our meals.

we love to go under water at swim class, 

and jump on mommy and daddy's bed, 

and diaper our stuffed animals (a request to diaper bean was recently denied).  

we take walks down the street to pet the pig statue, 

chase the pigeons in the square, 

and construct train track after train track after train track.

we are devastated each and every time a choo choo falls off the track (which is often). 

we sing row row row your boat while we rock in the chair,

and we drink lots and lots of chocolate milk.

we enjoy putting our dirty socks in the washing machine,

and carrying fresh laundry to the bed.

we are a helper.

 if we could eat only popcorn and pizza we would.
we occasionally speak with a twang.

we count to ten by ourselves (!).  

we throw out clean diapers because it's fun,

and dip our entire face in the yogurt bowl.

we are a stinker.

we collect berries at the park and send them flying down the slide,

and we just discovered the joy of hiding in a closet.

we prefer the number four.

we hug tighter than ever, and we are generous with our kisses.

we are a joy, pure and simple.

first pair

of underwear!

colin and i have been staring at this picture in disbelief,
wondering when on earth our round, jolly, angelic baby
grew into this handsome, playful, charming little boy.

every day we feel somehow more proud and more in love with him.
it just keeps getting better.

choo choo heaven

on sunday afternoon, colin, will and i made a trip to the chicago botanic gardens with a very specific exhibition in mind: the model train garden.  despite a steep entrance fee, it was everything we could have hoped for.  our little train aficionado was enthralled for a full hour.  steam engines and amtraks and coal cars and circus trains and dairy trains and old fashioned passenger trains circle in and out of tunnels and around ponds, climb mountains and cross bridges high and low.  the exhibition is set up so as you walk through it, you move from seattle to san francisco, and so on all the way across the country, through big cities and national parks, to cape cod and boston.  the final stop is a train station in glencoe, illinois, home of the botanic gardens.  without further ado, here are some of our photos from choo choo heaven. 

awe.

trains down low.

"moh choo choo!"

and trains up high.

"todas!  perdus!"

"i know it's sad, but now we need to say byebye to the choo choos, will."

seen and heard

seen:

toddler running down the hallway with gymbo the clown in one hand, a diaper in the other.

gymbo the clown in a diaper.

toddler rummaging through the garbage can and retrieving a piece of discarded food.  eating discarded food.

eight car magnets strategically stuffed beneath a drawer next to the fridge.

toddler and three-year-old neighbor in violent tug of war over a giant red ball, each hugging one side of the ball while crying and yelling at the top of their lungs.

potty insert worn as a hat.

toddler spinning and spinning and spinning, and then falling over.  repeat.

toddler sneaking out of gate at park and running down street while laughing like a maniac.  repeat.


and heard:

yook, man!
look, man!  also, look at that man.

bawack o-mama!
barack obama

todas and perdis
thomas and percy

i did it!  you did it!
self-explanatory

ah jou.
i love you.

mano geegee peese!
mango squeezie please!

gak ooh.
thank you.

gaj doah! uh uh uh!
garage door! up up up!

and finally,

bo, yoh dwa-manic. 
will, you're dramatic.

elk

the four of us (that includes bean, of course) spent last weekend at uncle keith and aunt lisa's charming lake house in elk rapids, michigan.  it was magical.

miraculously, all of aunt lisa's antiques survived.

i can often be overheard calling will "the bug."  

i think he looks just like my little bug in this photo. 

being a bug is a good thing, by the way.

will was very passionate about this car.  

he endured great emotional pain when other children attempted to ride it in his presence.   

and i just love this photo.  

the public beach was an ideal place for will to begin to feel comfortable "swimming" in bodies of water larger than his bathtub.  just where a small river meets lake michigan, several sand bars form around very shallow pools of water.  it's perfect for little legs and timid hearts.

here, will courageously nagivates the waters.

we got home monday evening, and tuesday morning i was ready to go back.

endless thanks to aunt lisa and uncle keith for sharing their home with us and 

making these beautiful memories possible.