Fall in the city

Even though I am back at work and things are busier, we still had some fun times recently.  Justine is already almost 6 months old, and Spencer is now loving preschool.  Justine is sitting up, trying her first foods, constantly squealing like she needs us to know she has a voice (she might have to keep that up for awhile in this household), and remaining much calmer than her brother in most all situations.  Maybe one day she'll sleep too.

In terms of Spencer updates, it's pretty hilarious to watch the excitement of Halloween and Christmas grow exponentially each year with young kids.  Spencer basically spent October talking about the candy at Halloween, and then Halloween night running from house to house yelling, "More candy!"  And he's already been making a list for Santa (probably since I tell him to ask Santa for almost every single thing he asks me to buy for him).  On the list of "Bad/Naughty" things he shouldn't do before the holiday, he put down: hitting, whining, kicking people, matches (he learned this from the firefighter visit at school), not going to bed on time, and tearing up books -- I guess that means he's listening?  I have been writing down other funny things he says in my phone to try to capture this age, and here are some recent gems:

• Trying to convince him to try cheese again, I reminded him that he used to eat cream cheese and cheese sticks as a baby.  His response:  "When I was a baby, I used to eat cheese *branches*." Always a competition, and he always is winning.
• He often watches a Sesame Street video about brushing teeth with Bruno Mars.  And he calls him "San Bruno Mars," a mash up with the name of the mountain next to our house.
• Singing the Ghostbusters song before Halloween, we taught him 'I ain't afraid of no ghosts.' He paused and responded: "But you *should* be afraid of ghosts."
• Closing his eyes tight and shaking back and forth in his car seat: "I can't get all my energy out, Mom!"  
• And the true winner, while eating BBQ with my brother, "After I eat ribs, I'm gonna bounce," and when my brother leaves and takes home leftovers: "My daddy hooked you up."  Just a tiny carbon copy of Chris.

 Here are some pictures from the past few months:

 

Hardly Strictly Music festival in GG park:

Halloween kiddos:

Justine and I took a work trip to DC and met family/friends (apologies that I didn't take more pictures):

First daddy-son camping trip near Santa Cruz:

Ocean fishing with dad (breaking apart a sardine fish for crab bait):

Eating the fish eyeball after camping (!):


And finally, here is Spencer's rendition of a preschool Halloween song, with the "stirring the [witch's] brew" finale!

End of summer '17

Since I am headed back to work on Monday, I figured I would try to post a couple of pictures of life lately.  Justine is only 3.5 months old, and she is already getting shafted on the regular photo taking and updating about her life -- sorry, baby girl!  We still love you just the same.

Justine has had a wonderful summer and is even more fun now that she isn't a newborn but a chubby and bubbly baby.  Already ready to catch up with her big brother and not to be left out of any action, she rolled over front-to-back at 9 weeks and then back-to-front at 3.5 months.  She coos and smiles all day long, and has added a giggle to her repertoire.  So basically, an angel baby.  

Spencer also had a huge summer, becoming a big brother as well as starting preschool in our neighborhood.  Big changes (and lots of tears) of course, but he is settling in like a champ. He is a fabulous big brother who gives tons of unprompted hugs and kisses to his little sister.  He also continues to give us so many hilarious statements/observations on life:
"Mom, I threw money in the fountain...I wished for a helicopter full of treats."
"We don't want to lose Justine.  If she gets lost in the jungle, I will go and save her with Finn's [his best friend's] light saber."
[Talking to his sister]: "Did you have a good day at mom's work, Justine?" (Didn't have the heart to tell him that we actually stayed home while he went to school)
[Watching Chris wipe out on the Hamilton pool inflatable obstacle course -- which, yes, was meant for bigger kids and not adults]:  "Daddy needs more practice." [Then, when Chris went again and mastered the course with a front flip at the end]: "Dad, that was incredible."
[When asked where we were flying on the airplane]: "Costco!"

A few pictures of the summer craziness:

Justine's first trip to the beach at 2 weeks old:

Father's day picnic in the Presidio:

Sibling love:

Lil Wonder Woman:

1 month old:

Cutie pies:

Strawberry smiles:

2 months old, with some serious cheeks:

Grandma and Grandpa Lyles visit us to meet Justine!:

 Annual Giants game (someone really only cared about the ice cream):

First day of preschool!

3 months old:

And ending maternity leave with an amazing family trip to Kauai:

We are also so lucky that my parents have come to stay with us for a few months to watch Justine as I go back to work, and the kids are loving having them here already:

Justine Rees Lyles

Welcome to the world, Justine!  She was born on May 25th around 5:30am and weighed 7 lbs 6 oz.  She is an angel and a perfect addition to our family!  She also looks to be a full blonde, including eye lashes and eyebrows, and it might have curls like her dad as well.  Spencer has been a fabulous big brother, constantly telling me that he can hold "my baby," bringing her toys as well as singing her songs when she is fussy -- nothing but sweet kisses and love, at least so far!

Now we just have to figure out how to parent 2 children...

The final countdown to becoming a family of 4

We only have a few days until baby girl Lyles will be joining our family, and so I wanted to try to post a few pictures of Spencer as an only child.  Oh, how his life will be drastically changing very soon!  He still seems very excited to have a little sister, and often tells me that he will help rock her to sleep or give her a toy if she's crying -- so let's hope at least one of those promises comes true in real life!

Spencer has been his usual rambunctious and fun-loving self lately.  He is now into a phase of making up events, like telling me this morning that he jumped over a fence at the park and ran away from his daycare provider, or that a wolf made the tiny scratch in his leg the other day.  But the longtime favorite still remains poop jokes -- I see those in my future for many more years to come.

Here are some pictures of his latest adventures!


Easter egg "hunt" at Dolores Park:

 Sitting on the dock of the Bay with dad:

Fired up at China Beach with Anika (and Meghan and Alex and Eli during their trip to SF!)

Playing on pregnant mom's back after Izabella's baby naming ceremony:

Dyeing Easter eggs (but never eating the hard-boiled eggs- "That's disgusting!")

Bubble fun:

Can still convince him that homemade popsicles are "treats" - let's hold onto this for a long time, please:

Pool time at Finn's house during a mini heat wave:

Posing on the front steps again, but I think he might have finally forgotten about "saying cheese" in the morning: