Look at those faces!  

Jonas and I went to meet some friends in Denver, and he was a big hit with everyone.

Seriously - look at this.  Pretty girls flock to his side.

More male bonding.  Jonas is mesmerized by him.

He retained his ability to sleep through anything.  

Well rested and ready to play with Rowan some more.

How humiliating.  The entire time we were there poor Jonas was forced to tool around in this - a baby seat with a pink leopard print cover on it.

There we all are. 5 women, 3 kids, 5 toddlers, one baby.  The two overwhelmed husbands that were present are behind the cameras.  What a weekend. =)

Back at home...

..and THRILLED to see his sister!  Look at that happy face!  (I call this "Advertisement for cloth diapers", or "an argument for having a second kid".  Seriously - how cute are they together?)

Pretty cute! 

Oh my goodness!

Who is that cute baby wearing Jaynie's old flag outfit?

Whaaaat?  Girl clothes!

Well, I guess it'll be ok just this once.

What a sweetie this kid is. 

Hey Jaynie!  Smile for the camera!

Cheeeese!

What are you doing with the camera out in the car, Mom?

Can't you see I'm trying to eat this fruit leather?  

It's.. slurp... a little... munch... tough.

Riley's two years old!  Time for Birthday fun!

First we swing on her swing-set (look at the joy on that face.)

Then Jonas gets a turn (notice the complete *lack* of joy on that face.)

What's that you say?  It's time for what?

CAKE!

Please notice that Madam is eating with not one, but TWO forks.

This way she can shovel cake into her trap twice as fast.

Seriously.  A Lot of cake went into that kid.

Jonas was alarmed by the amount of sugar she consumed.

She's going to be completely out of control!  What's WRONG with you people?

I have to say, when your two-year-old is eating her 3rd slice of birthday cake, two handed, it makes you wonder what the rest of the day is going to be like.

But hey - life's short.  Birthday parties don't happen every day.  Have fun, eat cake. 

Jaynie the couch potato.

What's with the upside-down laying on the furniture?

Notice even when I'm right in front of her, she doesn't bother to give me a look.  That Dr. Seuss Movie is hypnotic.

Heyyy.  I ate that ice-cream with my HANDS!

Now they're all sticky!

Seeeeeeee!

Yeah - maybe next time we stick to a bowl and spoon.  This kid is not ready for cones just yet.

Ooh!  And what do we have here?

An adorable little spectator!

Baby Jonas, did you enjoy watching us make a mess?

Well, Mommy, it was pretty entertaining.

Especially the part where Jaynie dropped the ice cream in her lap and then picked it up and ate it with her bare hands!

It looked delicious. (But not as delicious as this neck.  Look at the neck rolls!)

God Forbid we use one piece of chalk at a time.  Much more efficient to dump them all out at once.

Jonas trying to talk me into sharing my ice cream.

Shoes?  What shoes?  Oh, these?  No - they're mine.  You must be mistaking them for another pair.  No, I didn't steal your shoes, Mom.  Sheesh.

We've come a long way since the days of the shower cap at breakfast.

She eats her cereal with a spoon now, and generally makes very little mess.

You can imagine my shock and horror when I spotted this.

I don't know what possessed her. 

Of course, being the strict disciplinarian that I am, I ran for the camera.

Nothing says "No! Stop!" quite like taking a dozen pictures.

Oh, well.  Who needs table manners anyway.

When I put this baby down, he was on his back with his head up at the top of the blanket closest to the tv, and his feet pointed toward me.  While I was out of the room he maneuvered himself into a prime tv-watching position.

What?  I happen to be a big fan of Bollywood movies!

Ooh, leave me alone.  They're singing again.

I know, I didn't think it would be possible either.

But it seems as though this kid is actually getting cuter!

I mean, he was pretty adorable to begin with!

I have this exact same picture of his sister from 2 years ago.  Memories.....

Don't you just want to smooch those arms?  And cheeks?  And chin and neck and...

First time in the exersaucer!

Holy chins, Batman!

So, kiddo, do you like the saucer?

I hope so.

Because it's the primary weapon in my arsenal...

In the war against babies getting into trouble.

Prepare to spend lots of time in there.

What are you talking about, Mommy?

This seemed like fun, but now I'm not so sure.

A tool for keeping me out of trouble?  Contained?

Ha!  That's crazy talk, Mommy!  All I have to do is whine and you'll run to get me out!

Hmmm.  He has a point.  The kid has found my weakness already!  (Notice the naked toddler in the background.  That was potty training week - the kid had no clothes on in the house for 7 days straight.)

Behold!  I have learned to knit!

So of course the first thing I do is design and make this a-freaking-dorable tank for Madam.

Who graciously agrees to model it if she gets to wear my sunglasses at the same time. (Also note - big girl panties!  No more diapers!  Woohoo!)

Great Grams and Poppy are here!

And they brought this gorgeous outfit for Madam!

Now seriously folks - how hard can it be to get one good picture?

Just one picture where two kids and two great-grandparents are looking at the camera, and nobody is making a weird face.

C'mon Jaynie! I'm over here! 

Well hello, Miss Center of Attention.

Hey!  Why is she standing in front of the rest of us!?!?!

I manage to get a few good shots of them with the boy child.

He's a lot less temperamental than you-know-who.

Look at him checking out his Great Grams.  He clearly knows a good thing when he sees it. 

Adorable.

Look at this manly men!  So  handsome!

What's this!?!  A good picture of all four!  A GREAT picture!  Even the baby is smiling!  Apparently all you have to do is take 398473985 shots.  Just keep snapping away for 45 minutes and eventually, one will turn out good. 

Daddy and Jaynie prepare to do The Barnyard Dance.  First, they get their hats.

Next they get out the book and all the animals they'll need to act it out.

This would be "spin with the chickens". (We don't have a chicken, but Big Bird works in a pinch.)

Hop with the bunny.

Jaynie looooves the Barnyard Dance.

I am not permitted to read it/do it with her.  It is just a game for Daddy and Jaynie.

Who can blame her?  He's obviously the Barnyard Master.

This is what happens when you stay up till midnight folding laundry, 

Then go to bed, leaving it stacked in baskets in the living room.

Hey Mom!  Look at this!  Baskets to sit in and watch tv!  All I had to do was dump all the clothes out of them! Ha!

Oh my.

It's the Easter Bunny! 

Yeah, if you want to be technical about it,

Easter was the 16th, not the 25th.

But Joe was out of town then.

And the kids don't know any better.

Plus, this way I got to stuff their baskets with post-Easter clearance stuff.

Ha! Mommy!  You're a genius!

Bunny butt!

Jonas had no problem wearing this humiliating outfit at all.

Unlike someone I could mention...

Oooooh! Baskets!

She's no dummy - she headed straight for the chocolate egg.

Jonas helps Daddy film the egg hunt.

Oooh!  I'm so pretty I can hardly STAND it!  (Ignore that bruise on the forehead - an unfortunate incident involving running down the hall carrying a book.)

All this Easter hoopla is exhausting. (Notice the coordinating polo shirts.  Thank you, Grandma!  How cute can they get?)

Ok, kids - what are the chances of a good picture of both of you?

Not bad, not bad.  Jonas - could you look a little happier to be  here?

Oooh!  That's great!  (this is the best one)  Now, Madam - if I could just get you to look up...

Jaynie: Heeeey!  What's that basket over there?

Jonas: Don't even look at it!  This one's mine!

Now we have a big smile from the baby, while big sister continues to check out his goodies.  (He's little!  I could totally take him!  That bunny is MINE!)

Mommy!  She's doing that thing with her head again!

The kiddos with their loot.  Quite a haul.  (If you're wondering - those are Easter stickers on her face.  They were in the eggs she found on her hunt.)

Jaynie digs right in.  MMMmmm M&M's.

I'll just look at Jonas's basket.  He won't mind.

Well - he certainly doesn't seem to.

He also seems pretty cool with the bunny ears.

This is one easy-going baby.  And cute, too. =)

A bunny!  I will CHOMP IT!

What?  You're supposed to chomp the chocolate bunnies?  Not the stuffed ones?

Whatever.  I WILL CHOMP IT!

What are you staring at?  Can the bunny and I get a little privacy here?

Mmmph mmm chomp

Meanwhile...

back at the baskets...

Jaynie got that chocolate egg open.  But what's this?

Mmm mmmph ggmm.  There was a peep in there!  (I love that eyes rolled back into the head look.  Mmmmmm sugar.)

Look at the curled toes.

Those are the toes of someone who is seriously enjoying her chocolate.

Oh, Bunny.  You were meant to be mine.

I know you were in Jonas's basket, but I love you.

And no one will come between us.  You. Are. Mine.

Hey!  Look at that!

Squirrel!

There's a squirrel in that tree!

Ooh, sorry bunny.  Didn't mean to hold you by the ears like that.

My three favorite people.

I'm the luckiest woman on the planet.

That Daddy - such a softie.

What?  You want a rose?  Well here you go!

By all means - take this rose and destroy it!

I have to admit - it made for pretty pictures.

The rose is so beautiful, it causes Madam to spontaneously burst into song.

And there you have it.  Easter 2006. The end.

My next knitting masterpiece - a new diaper soaker for Miss Thing.

Of course, after taking these pics I pulled it apart and started over, so this isn't really the finished project picture.  I'm including them anyway because A) she's so cute and B) this is yarn that Jaynie and I dyed green (we used kool-aid! it rocked!) together and I thought that was worth documenting.

Speaking of being worth documenting!

Mr. Jonas, first thing in the morning. 

It doesn't seem possible, but he's even cuter and softer and cuddlier right when he wakes up.  Yum.

Slam dunk!

We took Madam to the "Toddler Olympics" on base.

There were different stations set up all over the room.

Basketball, running, jumping, puzzles, etc.

She loved the basketball.

After that she found some toys and really lost interest in the whole "Olympic" thing.

Dinosaurs are way more fun than sports, duh.

Mommy, could you leave me and the dinos alone, please?

Fine. I'll take a picture of Jonas, doing his own baby version of sports.  The Head Lift.

Ooh!  Dinosaur distraction aside, Jaynie got a medal?

Hey!  Look at this cool necklace!

And a certificate with my name on it!

This is great!  Yay Olympics!

This just in - Jaynie will be knitting before she starts school.

I was working on the soaker (take 2) and she demanded some yarn and needles for herself.

Look how intense she is, watching my hands.

She will figure out how to do this, by God.

(direct quote) "I'm making you a shirt, Mommy!  I'm knit-ling you a shirt with my  yarn!"  I love this kid.