Aries and Flamingos

2nd Aries in the family of four. I do believe the actual symbol of the Aries is a ram (My lovely wife confirmed it (through fact, not action)). While I love a strong-willed ram, the cuddly little sheep depicted above is what I believe to be false advertising . . . hmmm, this outfit did come from auntie Tauna . . . . another ram . . . . I mean Aries!

Audrey is taking to her big sister role quite well.

Grammy is taking to her role pretty well too. : )

Sydney turned 3 in May and I do believe Audrey looks a little intimidated by the extremely large pink princess crown cake. You can barely make out the finger "swipe" mark she took out of the corner. Caught on camera kid.

Proof that it's not all sugar going into our little spark plug.

Audrey discovered the amazing fun of blowing the "weed flower bloom" into the wind. Daddy discoverd an activity that took 45 minutes and had a positive outcome on the look of the yard.

Not mommy's favorite picture. Lisa and I have a standing "beef". Mine is that Audrey loves mommy's tatoo (as well as the tatoos found on her first two nannys), and Lisa's is that Audrey loves daddy's "bicycle". I guess tatoos are a little less dangerous, but how cute are little moto-cross girls?!

As usual, mommy's right. We'll stick to the 3 wheeler for the time being.

Those cheeks aren't going anywhere soon.

May brought a weekend that hit 90 (really), so we decided to head down to the beach and . . .

. . . break out the new pink flamingo bathing suit.

Kids have an amazing tolerance for cold-water. Nothing makes you feel more manly than having your 2 year old call you out for not being able to handle the chill. "Hold on honey, daddy's got to ease his way in . . .".

I see this as proof that Audrey will be a great rebounder in hoops someday, Lisa sees it as a solid base to build some cheerleader moves on. Either way, she's not wearing the cinderella dress!

Though somedays I think the cinderella dress is better than the alternative. The best part of the outfit is the finger to elbow yellow gloves. Classy.

Sammy!

Cotton Candy and Baseball

Nipping at the heels of the brown "cindarella" dress in Audrey's list of favorite things is the Space Needle. On a freakishly warm April Saturday (remember that 80 degree'r we just had?) we decided to take her down to the Center for some close up viewing of the Needle. Here she is in full "rock star" pose staring up at it. Does anyone else see Lisa here?

And here she is debating the pros and cons of running into the fountain . . . Pro - absolute, care-free fun . . . Con - wet cindarella dress resulting in potential change of clothes . . . result . . . .

. . . . keep the cindarella dress dry and head for the COTTON CANDY!!!! (mom was very happy with this decision)

I do believe cotton candy has now passed the Space Needle into the #2 spot on Audrey's list of favorite things.

My memory probably serves me wrong, but I don't remember Audrey sleeping nearly as much as Sam. Look alive kid!

He's border-line trying to nap in the tub! Notice Audrey's contribution of the rubber duck (it bounces surprisingly high of a 3 week old's head when thrown from outside the bath).

GG got the only smile on camera (so far). Well done GG.

Mommy picked out the outfit. Sorry Sam, at least the collar isn't turned up.

While this looks like we allow Audrey to play with electrical outlets, it's actually just her waiting in anticipation of microwave popcorn (honest).

In cindarella dress fashion, the new "annie" nightgown dominates the evening wardrobe.

This is the once a week alternate when the annie nightgown is in the wash.

How many Sekora's can fit on one couch cushion? While Audrey has been very sweet with her little brother, she definitely has a subtle way of nuzzling in on the action. I know someday soon I'll be begging to get them both on my lap again so I cherish every second of it now.

Grandma Sharon got Sam out to the Ballpark for his first taste of the action. I failed her miserably in the baseball arena, but there may be hope with Sam.

Right about here we blew the 2 run 8th inning lead. Sam, watching the big screen, couldn't believe it either. I think he agrees with Grandpa Fred, as soon as the bullpen took over, we should have headed for the car!

I never asked for a little brother!

OH NO! A little brother?! Maybe I can scare him away with my "monster face"!

Didn't work? Fine, I'm outta here! Dad, can I borrow the Nordy's card?

He's still here? Maybe my new fairy wand and cape (thanks Grammy) will make him disappear. Abra-Cadabra!

Look, I turned baby brother into a pretty annual arrangement.

The only thing that can cheer Audrey up more than an ice cream cone is her BFF Sydney. I found myself saying what every kid's 3rd grade hall monitor said "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt". Unbelievably this ended up being a 5 minute giggle session with no tears. Audrey certainly needed it!

Here is Lisa portraying the pain that no man will ever have to endure.

And here is Dad stealing the first kiss. What a jerk.

Audrey's initial reaction was quite positive.

Her second was "He's still here, I'm so over him!".

While my eyes are nailed on Sam, I think Audrey's are focused a little higher.

She will no doubt be a great big sister.

Okay, before anyone dials up child protective services . . . Sam had a pretty good case of jaundice. They sent us home and said if it should happen to get sunny to strip him down and put him in front of a window in the direct sunlight. If nothing else it's proof that the sun does shine at least once every other March in Seattle.

The first meal out simply had to be burgers, or as Audrey puts it "let's go to the hanga-bur store!".

Anyone that's seen Audrey at the dinner table knows that a simple burger has no chance with her. That's a solid patty up there!

All in all, week one with little brother went well. Eyes are still blue and Daddy still drys her hair after each bath. Maybe her world isn't collapsing after all.

It's a boy!

Friday night, 5:38pm, 7lbs 11oz, 19.5in, SAMUEL DAVID SEKORA!

Thank you, thank you Lisa. She was wonderful (as usual) and is recovering well. Audrey now has competition on this little blog. I have a feeling cyber-sharing will be easier than the 3-dimensional kind. We'll keep you posted!