Gaygee and Haha

It's been a while since I posted an update on the kids. Here's something fun that's been going on lately:

Hunter began referring to Gracie as "Gay-gee" months ago. It's still cute, today, especially when he is looking out for her interests. Tonight for example, when I gave him a cup of milk, he wouldn't take a sip until "Gay-gee" got her cup, too. Once she had her cup, all was well. But, up until Mom handed it to her, Hunter pointed at it with a look of concern and repeated "Gaygee! Gaygee!"

It's taken Grace a long time to come up with a name for Hunter. I guess the H sound is more difficult that the G sound. But, the other day, while Hunter was finishing a nap, Grace blurted out, "Mama, Dada, Gaygee, Haha," then beamed as if she'd just won the Nobel Prize for "Best Spoken Toddler." It was hilariously cute! So, Gracie is officially Gaygee. Both she and Hunter are referring to her that way. And, Grace is now calling Hunter, "Haha." (Though, Hunter has yet to refer to himself that way.)

In the days since Grace's revelation, she's repeated the quartet of names several times. One of these days, I'll have a video or audio recorder handy and capture it. It's absolutely priceless.

Should have more pictures up soon. Been organizing our collection lately. Lots of stuff that hasn't been posted!

Seattle 103, Tuscon 101

Seattle played a road game today and beat Tuscon with an all-time best temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (39 C).  Regional temperatures soared, with official readings topping out around 108 in Bellevue, and unofficial reports as high as 120 degrees!  Now, if only the Mariners and Seahawks could beat the Diamondbacks and Cardinals! The extraordinary news of the "win" made both local and national news.  Here's a round-up of some of the coverage: Local Coverage National Coverage Oh, and, apparently, the entire state is on fire!

Hunter's Helmet & Gracie's Revenge

Hunter and Grace did a little on camera work a couple of days ago.  It was almost bed time.  So, they're pretty tired looking.  But, this is a pretty good example of their personalities:  (As always, better quality video can be found on our MobileMe gallery.) Hunter's Helmet [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y84IXh8maP4&feature=player_profilepage] For those of you wondering why Hunter is still wearing his football player Halloween costume, he's actually wearing the helmet to correct a flat spot on his skull. It's a condition known as plagiocephaly. He has a mild case.  His hair would likely cover it up eventually. But, we figured we'd give the helmet a try and see what happens. No sense putting up with all those flat head jokes later in life, if you don't have to. :) Gracie's Revenge [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64ZkGU3_thA&feature=player_profilepage] Both Hunter and Grace are definitely being themselves in these videos. Hunter is generally content to sit and play with a toy. Gracie is into everything. I wonder which is closer to me and which is closer to Jill?

Happy Five Months!

Hunter and Grace turned five months old, today. (Has it really been five months?!?!) To celebrate, I uploaded a couple of recent videos. (These are, of course, on both YouTube and our MobileMe gallery which has better video quality than YouTube.) Hunter's Perspective What the world looks like when you are five months old... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=Z_AoyUP8e2I] Laughter Jill's friend Monica finds something for Grace to laugh about... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEOC3qkzaKo&feature=player_profilepage] Note for posterity:  Hunter now weighs 16 pounds, 10 ounces, and Gracie weighs 15 pounds, 6 ounces.