Baby steps

Eleck took some of his first steps this week, but he waited for Nini and PapPap to arrive before he really started walking. He is so proud of himself.

Copycat

Here are some of Eleck's new tricks. Now if he could only say "mama!"

Crawl City

Eleck's favorite toy!

Hit the Road, Jack!

Apparently Ray Charles is the man.

Eleck and John Kalman just love listening to him. Every time we turn it on or sing it to the boys, they are instantly happy!

And catching up...

You are probably starting to wonder what our kids are up to these days. It's been such a long time since we've posted anything that you probably cant' remember what they look like. Does Eleck even crawl? Does he like to eat? Is he the cutest child EVER?

Well, the answer to all of those questions is YES!

Happy Birthday Mike Mike

Happy Birthday Michael Pat!

We're sending you some love from the entire Fa family (and Uncle Ed!)

Happy 28!

xxoo

Warning: This is gross.

Summer time in San Francisco may be freezing cold and foggy, but we do get all the delicious summer fruits and vegetables. We have a weekly farmer's market just two blocks from our house, and John Kalman (and now Eleck) eat their way through that thing every Sunday. JK is particularly fond of the plums.

Bath time

This was John Kalman & Eleck's first bath together... and it was a huge hit! Great news for us, as it will probably cut our water bill in half. :)

games

I know it's kind of gross that Eleck is playing on the bathroom floor, but this is too cute!

baby food

While John Kalman was eating all organic, home made baby food at 8 months.. his baby brother's tastes are a bit simpler. Pizza.

I'm pretty sure this is second kid syndrome at its finest.

Hurry, Hurry Drive the fire truck!

Today might have been the best day of John Kalman's life! All of his dreams came true when he sat in the cab of a fire truck, turned the steering wheel & rang the bell. He has been on cloud nine all day.

happy brothers!

The boys, doing their things...

Nap? Who needs a nap?

John Kalman has decided that since he turned two, he doesn't need to take naps anymore. Of course, his mama completely disagrees! We read books, talk quietly, and do some snuggling... I tip toe out of his room... and then he goes nuts! He throws everything out of his crib, jumps up and down, and just generally wreaks havoc. I usually leave him in there for a good hour, and by the time I retrieve him, he's in a full sweat. And, he immediately tells me why he doesn't need a nap.

The best sound in the world...

Eleck is the world's happiest baby, and there isn't much better than listening to the sound of his giggles. His laugh is deep and comes straight from the belly... just like his brother.

Tooth time!

Eleck spent the last month on the "Top Ten Drooliest Babies" list (John Kalman still holds the top spot), and has two pearly whites to show for it.

I can't believe we did it...

We kept saying we'd do it when he turned two, but saying goodbye to the dreadlock was a lot harder than I ever imagined. See it here:

Our little whiz kid

My parents were visiting a few weeks ago, and after watching John Kalman play for a few hours, my dad said to me "He is going to be a challenge for you." I immediately came to his defense - "...but, he's so sweet, and he listens well!" Pap Pap laughed and said that's not what he meant. His point was that John Kalman is so smart, and that we're going to have a hard time keeping him interested. Of course we're all a little biased, but I do think that kid is a genius.

On the eve of his second birthday, here are a few "Kalmanisms."

• The other day he was trying to put his sunglasses on. He has a little routine where he blows on the frames to try to clean them off (like he's seen me do!) and then he puts them on top of his head like a teenager. This particular day he couldn't get them to sit just right on his head. He looked at me, in a huff, and said "Mommy! These glasses are frustrating!" What not-even-two-year-old says the word 'frustrating?!'

• Last night Jack was reading him "The Cat in the Hat." We read that book almost every day, but I've never heard him repeat any of it until last night. He recited - from memory - the first ten pages of that book. "I sat there with Sally, we sat there we two, and I said, how I wish we had something to do. It's too wet to go out, it's too cold to play ball, so we sat in the house, we did nothing at all. Then something went bump! How that bump made us jump!"

• Jack went on a ski trip in February with some buddies, and he brought John Kalman a stuffed moose from the trip. We thought it was hilarious to ask him where he got the moose, because he'd always say "Daddy brought it from his ski trip with the guys." Funny. Well, this morning I said "Where'd you get your moose?" And he looked me dead in the eye and said "Utah."

He's a little whiz kid and we are so proud of him! I can't believe he's going to be two tomorrow... Here are some pictures of him looking like a teenager.

Mines!

I'm sure I'm not supposed to encourage this, but I couldn't help messing with him. Plus it's so cute that he says "Mines!" instead of "mine."

W, X, Lie, and Z

John Kalman is an alphabet singing machine. He does it perfectly almost every time... if you forgive him for saying "lie" instead of "y."

Happy Baby

Eleck is a really sweet, super happy baby. Which will probably come as a total surprise to all of you - since he was not that sweet or happy when we were traveling last year! Ever since we reached the three month mark, he's turned a corner and is a jolly little fellow. See for yourselves.

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

Eleck is on the move. He hasn't totally rolled over on his own yet, but he tries - all day, every day. It's gonna happen this week, I'm sure of it! I just hope it doesn't happen while he's on the changing table and I'm chasing John Kalman through the house.

I love me.

We are obviously crazy about our sons.

Turns out John Kalman is crazy about himself too!

There is not much he likes more than watching himself on the computer. He asks me at least six times a day "Watch wideos? Watch wideos?"

He eats all the germs...

Check out John Kalman's version of the popeye song!

Grammy Face

While we were in Seattle over Christmas, John Kalman and his Grammy played a game where they made faces at each other. This is what we call 'The Grammy Face." He does it ALL THE TIME!

Funny faces

John Kalman is really coming into his personality lately. He's turning out to be quite the funny kid. He's very into sound effects and just makes the goofiest faces and noises. This video is kind of long, but gives you a glimpse into what I'm talking about.

Eleck update

This may be a repeat, but here is Eleck at 3 months!

He's awful cute, huh?