We’ve been so busy over the last month. I hear there’s been a lot of clamouring for updated material in the wilds of the Internets, so I do apologize if you’ve been anxiously awaiting a new post. I can assure you that we have nothing to hide!

We’ll try to get a few more catch-up items up this week.

Nicky is doing great. Unfortunately, he still sleeps better during the day than at night, so mom and dad are tired.

Everybody thinks Alex was louder than Nicky at this stage in their respective lives, so I guess we have that in our favour.

He’s a grunter, like Alex was. He’ll go on these weird grunting jags where it sounds like he’s straining to excavate. Perhaps all kids do that at this age as they’re getting the plumbing worked out.

Last Sunday, we went up to the compound to celebrate Mommy and Grandpa’s birthdays. While we were there, Alex took his first picture.

It was Nicky’s first trip away from the house other than visiting the doctor. We were excited to get him out seeing new faces and pressing the flesh. Here he got some cuddle time with Aunt Nancy.

Alex was able to enthusiastically confirm the location of his ear. You can see Nicky was impressed.

Now, a personal interlude if you’ll permit the intrusion. When I was young, I used to be surly and annoyed at someone who wanted to take my picture in a family-and-friends situation. It was usually someone’s mother precisely documenting an afternoon so that it could be dropped in an album and forgotten about. Somewhere in teenager-hood, though, I decided that I’d respond to the camera with as good a shit-eating Eddie Haskell fake camera smile as I could rather than dropping attitude, and it really brightened everyone’s day. I was only passively being a jerk, and people often didn’t even notice after they got their prints from the photomat.

It took me until puberty to figure that out, but Alex and Nicky were hanging out with Grandma for the following two photos and I told Alex to smile. He’s not even two and he’s mastered the technique.

I teared up a little as I took these–that’s my boy!

For his birthday, Grandpa made ribs, and a whole lot of them.

Alex did his part to resolve the pork surplus.

Alex has become very good at eating corn on the cob.

We’d just seen Karen before dinner, and she’d cut the hair of the men present, other than Nicky. Alex did a great job with his haircut, but I didn’t get any pictures of it. I think someone else might have, so we’ll see if we can get some. That’s why Alex looks like he was casting for the bowl cut commercial in this picture.

Meanwhile, Aunt Phet held Nicky for much of dinner.

After dinner, it was Alex’s job to help people open their presents and relieve them of their chocolate birthday cake.

Grandpa needed the help–cooking his own birthday dinner had made him tired.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa and Mommy!