Jonas is thrilled to be tied to me for another day of snuggles.  My back? Is not so thrilled.

Aaaah.  Venezia.

We got seats on the boat this time, and just rode it around admiring the city.

Here we have the beautiful and romantic hotel Joe and I stayed at in 2001.

And now we stay where there's a park, commissary, and we can park our car full of diapers right outside the room.

Don't sound like such a martyr.  You know we've only made things better. You guys must have been SO BORED before we came along!

Now then - let me see if I can rip this necklace right.. off.. your.. neck....

Ok, Jonas? Could you look at the camera? And Joe?  Jaynie's totally blocking your face.

No?  Oh, well.  There's the whole family in Venice.  Great pictures, eh?

Either she's perfected her technique,

or these pigeons are dumber than the ones we saw yesterday.

Ah - throw a one-year-old in the mix and they all back up.

Notice the lady behind them with the wrap. I'm not the only person on the planet who ties her children to her.

Ok, now notice the total strangers taking pictures of my kids.  They're just. that. cute.

I mean come on!  Don't you want pictures of them?

Jonas getting kind of far away here. Joe and I had to play tag - someone just had to follow him around, never taking their eyes off of him.  He's quick, and it was crowded.

We considered actually going in, for like 20 seconds. They we realized the HUGE crowd was the line waiting to go through the metal detectors.  No thanks!

This is my "Are you coming or are you taking ANOTHER picture?" face.

Do I need to caption this?

Another one A) because its so cute and B) because you can see the drama playing out behind the statue - Jonas trying to escape via that dock.

This is what she put on to be "Cinderella! When she's cleaning!"

I think that's an excellent game.  You can start with Jonas's room!

And after that you can hit the dining room!  Look!  It reaaaallly needs it!

I bought Jaynie this bathing suit in Venice.

We stayed on base and shopped at the far superior BX.

Then we came home where the pool wasn't open yet.

So she insisted on wearing it in the tub.  And doing these modeling poses.

What is he doing?  Blowing on a brush, of course.  Duh.

Clean feet. Mmm.

God forbid they both look at the camera.

Why the blowing?  I don't know.  But he blows on everything.

I was half a second too slow to catch the water dump.

But I did catch this great tushie shot.   Enjoy!

Mmm!  Spaghetti-ey!

Hi Mom.

Yeah, I made a mess.

I'm ONE and you gave me marinara!  What did you expect?

Amazing how the noodles just stick up there, huh?

Whoa, Jayne.  You look tired.

No, no!  I'm totally happy - seeeeee?  (Does this kid have the biggest, prettiest eyes on the planet?  Surely its not just me who thinks so?)

Well, they say clothes make the man.

And I think this outfit proves that. How cute is he?

Now we will have a demonstration...

Of his wonderful climbing abilities.

Which he learned from his sister, who learned from the Foose twins.  Thanks Fooses. The legacy lives on.

Hey! Twink!  Show me that new dress!

Yeah! Twirl that skirt, honey!

Oh, a little dancing?  Dance, baby!

Close up of the cuteness.

WHAT are you guys DOING out here?

Here he comes to see what's going on.

Ok, see that adoring look she's giving him?  I honestly don't know how he does it.  He breaks her stuff.  He hits her, bites her, pulls her hair. He steals her toys and runs away crying if she tries to get them back.  He takes naps that are at least an hour longer than hers, and sleeps an hour later in the morning, so twice a day she is forced to sit quietly and NOT WAKE YOUR BROTHER UP.  And she's still crazy about him. Must be the chubs.  I love them too.

Uh, what exactly are you wearing, honey? (Notice trouble on his way in.)

Forget her! Take a picture of ME!

Can we get back to my stellar outfit?  You didn't even check out my shoes!

Hmmm.

Hey, Mom.  Maybe you should let me take some pictures now?

Seriously - just hand me that camera.

Why won't you give it to me?

I WANT THE CAMERA! GIVE ME THE CAMERA!

I'm hurt, Mom.  Its almost like you don't trust me.

You've cut me deep, Mommy.

Can we get back to me, please?  This is my Jasmine outfit!

(Actually, it's a sleep mask and size 5T jeans.  You avoid Bratz dolls and trashy clothes for your kid, and she wanders out in a sleep mask and falling off jeans.  With rhinestone heels. Why do I even bother?)

Hehheheheee.  Blackberries.

Ok, I'm trying to get a shot of this cuuute outfit.

But Jaynie takes this opportunity to notice her shadow.

Look at this! I raise my arms, it raises it's arms!

Jonas.  What are you doing back here?

Oh, nothing.  Pay no attention to that lemon in your tailpipe.

More shadow play.

It's incredible! I can make it do anything!

Look!  It's on me just like Peter Pan! (quote)

Is that not the girliest laundry line on the planet?  Apparently Jayne and I produce 3 to the boys' every 1 outfit.  At least that's how it seems on laundry day.

Why stand still and smile when you can run right past the camera laughing?

I said "Jaynie - stand next to your brother so I can get a picture of both of you."

So she followed the poor kid around for the next 15 minutes.  He couldn't shake her.

And I got not a single pic of them both looking at me.

Lots of great top-of-the-head shots, though.

Jaynie: Sit still, Jonas!  Mommy wants a picture!

Jonas: Leave me alone!  I'm trying to close this buckle!

He's very serious about buckles.

Look at this look of concentration.

Ok, honey - seriously. I'd like a picture of you actually looking at me, please.

Sigh.

Straight from bed to pushing buttons.

Buttons on the a/c unit...

Buttons that turn on and off the lights...

This one ran over so I could take a picture of her "in my jammies!"

What?  You don't wear a skirt and leopard-print tights to sleep in?

We don't know where he got this, but Jonas loves to blow on stuff.  It's a sign of affection.  Or maybe  he just likes to watch your hair move.

Another fantastic photo of my kids!  Some day I'll get a good one of both of them.  I have faith.

I can't remember what they were watching, but Jaynie demanded A) a movie in  MOMMY'S ROOM, and  B) a "little couch" to sit on while they watched it.

Jonas models his very manly romper.  Do not believe everything you hear on the playground.  This is the very pinnacle of masculine fashions.

Yeeeah.  Right after this shot he stole that bear and things really deteriorated.  Let's just end here and pretend that they snuggled close and watched the movie in peace.

Modeling with Atlas.

Ok, seriously.  Was someone coaching her?  Has she seen too many kid's catologs?  What's with the posing?

Bad light, but clearly shows a holy terror climbing my furniture.  From here he climbs on to the arm of the couch and jumps to the cushions.  Good times.

Ok, Mom.  I'm ready to go to the commissary.

What? Oh, this?  I'm a FLOWER!

Yeah - I totally forced him in to this outfit from last summer, as soon as it got warm.

He only wore it the one time, it kept unsnapping whenever he sat down.  A shame, because it's still totally adorable.

These were supposed to be "before" pics.  I was turning this shirt into a sundress for her.

But I measured none cute once and it turned out too small and I threw it away in a fit of anger and now have no "after" to show you.  She's still cute in this huge shirt, though.

Just when you thought bath time couldn't get any cuter.

Goggles.

Hey!  Do you mind?  I'm naked here!

What?  Say cheese?

CHEEESE.

Now can I get back to my pbj?  Thanks.

Behold!  My kid can WRITE!

Look how proud of herself she is!

Those are actual letters, folks.  Readable ones.  And considering these pictures are 3 months old, pretty darned impressive.