Still October 10th, now Nina pours on the charm in an attempt to get us to let her run free… alas, not this time little girl! See this image larger.

Am I the only person that looks at this picture and wonders where his little boy has gone? See this image larger.

I couldn’t let this photo op disappear, it reminded me so much of this picture (click to see the old picture) I took of Ian a long time ago, where he had to be the one to sit out on the fun… See this image larger.

Those of you not in Michigan for fall, this shot is for you… makes a great desktop background. See this image larger.

I photoshopped this a bunch, I admit… you’ll note a variance in the skintones that I couldn’t keep consistent. It looks better than the two pictures it is made out of though, trust me. See this image larger.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, right guys? A good-bye hug and it is time to leave already. See this image larger.

Back at home, October 10th… See this image larger.

October 6th, this is the treat that Ian requested from the pink ice cream truck, stored in the freezer for a day when he behaved a little better and finished his dinner. Here he discovers that cold food can sometimes be a little too cold. See this image larger.

But still delicious… See this image larger.

Nina is temporarily thrilled that her brother is going to share his M&M treat with her… this is before we broke the bad news to her… See this image larger.

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BONUS VIDEO! October 7th, behold the face of a girl trying puffs for the first time. If you don’t know what a puff is, imagine something like a… piece of popcorn, without the shell, that is specially formulated to completely melt in your mouth into goo in moments. The idea is, something to try and chew, but failing that not dangerous. Click here to watch the video!
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October 8th, Ian had his PJ bottoms pulled all the way up to his armpits. It was cute, but probably not really (bad) photo worthy. See this image larger.

October 9th, Ian tries out his cool book wherein they teach him to trace inside the lines. He did awesome. This is at least his second time playing with this book, and he did very well the first time, months ago. See this image larger.

Finally it was time for the hayride! That’s one of Ian’s teachers in the background, during the hayride she told me more about Ian opening up socially… Awesome stuff! See this image larger.

All smiles! See this image larger.

It was a little cold though! See this image larger.

We took a lot of pictures, didn’t we? See this image larger.

Finally it was time to pick some apples… One cute little person noticed Daddy taking pictures, can you spot her? See this image larger.

Ian found a good pumpkin, but was not about to wait around to find the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. See this image larger.

Hi family! See this image larger.

Mommy and Nina followed the hay-riding truck in Mommy’s car so that Mommy could split off and go back to work… it wasn’t a Tuesday, after all! See this image larger.

“Land, spreadin’ out so far and wide!” See this image larger.

I admit to panicking a little when Mommy left… Did I have everything I needed to take care of both kids during a field trip?!? Turned out everything went just fine, in no small part to Mommy packing everything I could need! See this image larger.

Ian got to try on a fireman’s coat. It was heavy. See this image larger.

Here Ian poses in the driver’s seat of a firetruck! He was pretty thrilled! See this image larger.

And then Ian got to ring the bell! See this image larger.

Thanks for checking out the blog… more Nina pics next entry, I promise! See this image larger.

NOTE – This post was originally published on September 30, 2010 at 11:43pm. I’ve moved it so that it falls in line with the rest of the timeline.

I’m interrupting our regularly scheduled update for this present-day update… then we’ll head back to August. (NOTE – This sentence refers to original publishing date, sorry.)

On September 29th, Nina and Mommy went to her last physical therapy session. Nina did very well, she was crawling, and climbed up some stacked 6″ thick mats (seen in the background on the right) like they were steps. Also one of the other kids did well and everybody there clapped their hands. And so Nina joined in! First applause, nine months old! There’s still a few things for us to work on, but overall Nina’s doing great!

Later in the day I joined Mommy and Nina for her follow-up visit to the ENT doctor. He took a peek in both of her ears and down each nostril and gave her the diagnosis of “everything is looking great.” Looks like we’re most of the way through this particular pair of hurdles.

Nina apparently chatted and sang all day for the people at daycare after the doctor’s appointment.

That reminds me, yesterday, September 28th, the caregiver at daycare told me that Ian had had an amazing day of communication, that he had stopped being shy and started asking for help, etc. I swear just the other day I explained to him that shyness can get in the way of some things, and that Daddy could have made a lot more friends in his life if he had been less shy. If this conversation had anything to do with his attempts at school to be less shy, I’m ridiculously proud!

NOTE – This post ends the month of September, we begin October next entry… which means we’re almost caught up!

September 23rd, the timeline got pretty messed up in previous entries, I tried to fix it. Somewhere in there I hope I mentioned that Grandma Barn and Grampa Ray flew into town to help us with Ian and meals and whatnot during Nina’s surgery. We’ve had to rely pretty heavily on grandparents, friends, neighbors and more this year… I can’t say thank you enough but that won’t stop me from trying. Thank you! See this image larger.

On this day Nina definitely crawled. No doubt about that one.

Here’s some notes from around this date (September 23rd) that will give you an idea of what has been said recently by our crazy kids:

Nina – “A bah bah!”
Me – “A bah bah!”
Nina – “Dada!”

Ian showed up at the side of our bed two nights ago, standing, but completely asleep – a silhouette of a head and shoulders with a blanket… When we dragged him into our bed he talked incoherently for a few moments, in partial syllables. Much later in the evening he blurted out “those are pictures, those are not videos,” while he was still dreaming… this is something I say to I’m when were looking at pictures on my computer and he wants a photograph to spring into action.

Me – “Ian do you know your street address for the new house?”
Ian – “No.”
Me – “two two four arbor.”
Ian – “two two awbow.”
Me – “two two FOUR.. And it is on arbor.”
Ian – “awbow.”
Me – “arbor.”
Ian – “awbow.”
Me – “What does a pirate say?”
Ian – “Arrrrrrr!”
Me – “What do you say when you are cold?”
Ian – “Burrrrrr.”
Me – “Ok now say both of those together.”
Ian – “Arrrrrrr burr?”
Me – “Perfect.” (proud smile.)

Tv character – “…and I’m still in my pajamas, do you wear pajamas?”
Ian – “Yes!” Ian says excitedly and happily. Then he looks down and realizes he’s in his clothes. Looks a little perplexed and disappointed…. Goes back to watching show.

Grandma Barb – “What do you want for lunch?”
Ian – “PeanutButterNJellyAndAPieceOfCarrotCake!” (remembered from night before)

Words maybe we’d rather he forgot include “bahmma” and “poopy.” I’m not sure what bahmma is but it is more the way he uses it. Example: “You are a bahmma.”

September 25th, Ian helps Mommy with the meal preparation… See this image larger.

A cute shot Grandma Barb snapped of our happy little girl! See this image larger.

Her tongue had been feeling out those gums a whole lot those days and even more when this post was written in October. I bet you can guess why! See this image larger.

Quick everybody roll around on the floor! See this image larger.