Watching an episode of “Inspector Gadget” (thanks grandpa!) before breakfast, definitely a bit of nostalgia for dad
Time to roll out the pretzel dough, Des definitely has the yolk step down (splat)
In an exhibition-style format, Ella bags the grand slam of puzzles
Bonus movie night: The Muppet Christmas Carol
Des tending to his stuffy flock, everyone is tucked in and there’s even a little room for him to ball up near the crowd
Saturday morning cartoons with Daniel Tiger. If it wasn’t for the abundance of quality EQ concepts for kids and valuable parental insights, it’d hard to read or watch the same thing so frequently.
Barn version 22, now with rocket-powered tractors
Writing birthday thank you cards, with careful supervision of the glitter markers. Ella is sticker captain.
First viewing of Frosty the Snowman
Des assisting dad make sushi
Des trying out a new set of trainer chopsticks while Eleanor tries out her new hand-me-down set
Taking much longer than dad expected, the first course of shelled edamame provided the right level of food and entertainment.
Edible.
A land speed record for consumption, from the little zen masters of the slow food movement
He had to resort to the prior chopsticks, still a bit too much to coordinate with four-year-old-sized hands
1) Eleanor was excited to notice there were rocks on the ground! 2) Eleanor was frustrated that they appeared to be stuck into the ground. Baby’s first critique of concrete.
Des helping making delicious zucchini fritters
Wake up and smell the waffle batter (as you do)
Ella got some good banana smashing in too
Mid-morning lego party
Eleanor getting into the tower-making game
Similar to her seemingly intrinsic desire to press play-doh to her check, there are hypothesis abound to to demystify this particular lego placement… no one will ever truly know.
Tower pride.
Despite it being both a ’68 and a convertible, Des obliged dad’s request to pose with the Mustang
Apparently everyone is ready for nap time
Post-nap hang with her “Maxie”
Putting Eleanor’s impulsive picking to good use
Visiting from the faraway land of Huntington Station, Long Island, NJ- Desmond curates and demonstrates duplos for Wyatt
Somehow indifferent to the charm of aunt Katie and uncle Stephen, all three kids are in full lego mode
Ella showing off her rodeo skills for the special guests
Eleanor’s first upgrade from highchair to kid table
Such a sweet night with friends
Making avocado toast for Saturday breakfast is a team sport
Des taking his ceremonial swig of the lemon juice (that’s normal, right?)
Ella succumbs to peer pressure as Des cheers her on. However, decidedly though not a fan.
“Eee!”
Nailed it.
After helping prep mom’s bike before the owl ride, Des inflates ALL the things
Level up: Eleanor’s first movie night at the table
Mixing up some waffles with mom
Eleanor instinctively planking on ever-patient Max
Dad thought was cute for a few moments before he realized he’d made a huge mistake
Almost as if he could sense parental mistake in precedence, Desmond arrived freaky fast to participate in the shenanigans
Mom thinks this is a dog, Eleanor thinks it’s a cat. “Maww!”
Nice in clean in their pajamas, ready for bedtime stories
Despite the impending late-winter storm, dad and the kids venture out to “the plant store” for seed trays and soil. “Come for the gardening supplies, stay for the pictures with old pickup trucks!”
Eleanor was eager for a good stretch of the legs
She does not trust giant tortoises, alive or bronze. Don’t worry, grandma will protect you.
These two are cute, not cute enough to convince grandma and dad to take them into the fragile housewares section.
What’s better than a weekend lunch at the food hall?
Apparently there are paparazzi amongst Team Llama…
Making some banana bread, just because
The “D” wasn’t detectable after baking, but worth a shot
Peter Pan for family movie night
Des’ glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs finally brought upstairs from Christmas. Not quite installed yet, it does appear they’re doing the dinosaurumpus (thanks again, great-grandpa Irv!)
Eleanor arrives at daycare, looking a little bit worse for the wear, and crawls up on the mini couch and collapses. Apparently Desmond views this as a photo op, though dad is just trying to stay upright since mom now has the flu.
Burritos! Dad’s little sous chef has nearly mastered opening cans by himself
