Marc and Brendan playing "football" yesterday. The rules they play by seem to mostly involve who can tickle the other the most.
Liam dressed up for Halloween. We took him to a few of our neighbors to say hello. Brendan decided he wanted to stay home and pass out candy, so that's all the trick or treating we did this year.
An update on the family:
The boys are both doing well. Brendan is doing fairly well in school. His academics are good and behavior-wise is doing well, too. We are seeing much improvement over last year. We are considering transferring him to another Montessori school (part of the same Charter as the one he goes to now) that's a 10 minute WALK from our house. I feel particulary silly that I didn't know about this campus. Seems like him going there is an opportunity for him to make friends in our neighborhood for a change. If this does happen, it won't be until the school year is over, though. It's a hard decision to make, as we have become very attached to the teachers at the campus he's going to now.
Liam is great...actually, that's his status quo! He's a pro with walking now, improving his skills daily and even attempting stairs standing up on occasion. He can clearly say "ball" and "dog." He's also got a small army of molars, although he still has some left to come through. He decided a little while back he wants nothing to do with baby food, so he's pretty much gone from just bottles to bottles and adult food, abeit cut up. He's startlingly quick, and seems to understand most everything we say. When asked for his shoes, he goes to get them. When asked to lie down on the changing table so I can change his diaper, he does (well, SOME of the time, anyway!). He's into EVERYTHING, which means we are in full use of various locking mechanisms and swearing under our breaths when we forget to lock up. He watches us closely and is right on us when we don't lock up. Within seconds, the contents are strewn about the floor.
We'll be spending Thanksgiving with Marc's mom and gram and then we'll be home for Christmas. I'm excited about spending Christmas at home. It'll be the first time in 15 years or so that we've planned to do that! I've already knitted personalized stockings for the boys and am planning to fill them in the usual Wilkendorf manner. :) My personal tribute to grandad! I have a zillion details buzzing about in my head on what I'd like to do and what might be fun for the boys. I feel like I'm 7 years old again!
Brendan enjoying the smaller non-vertebrate members of the show.
Liam wondering what the heck this thing is!
Snakes, snakes, so many snakes!
Liam getting a better view than he's used to.
One of the many strikingly-colored chameleons. 
Brendan stared at this display silently for several seconds. I wonder what was going on in his mind?
So much to look at, so little patience for all of it!
Giving Gram goodbye kisses
He spent the whole visit on the back porch, blowing bubbles with Gram-Gram.
Spongebob times deux!
Running drills at basketball practice:
We visited Effie Yeaw Nature Center this weekend, and the boys had a ton of fun scrambling along the trails and throwing many a rock into the American River. Both of them came away quite wet.
Ozzy desperately hoping to be rescued. Liam loves him to distraction.
Hmmmm, up to no good? Yep!
Looks innocent, huh? Well, that little cherub is enjoying crashing that jetliner into the ocean, full of passengers! Lovin' every minute of it, too!
Brendan is TRYING to do his class workbook. Liam is trying hard to convince Brendan to play with him. Let's see who wins...
Still trying...
Still trying...mom ended up rescuing Brendan. He was determined to work on the exercises!
Brendan's turn to be pushed.
Big brother giving Liam a thrill ride!
Marc and Brendan playing "football" yesterday. The rules they play by seem to mostly involve who can tickle the other the most.
Liam dressed up for Halloween. We took him to a few of our neighbors to say hello. Brendan decided he wanted to stay home and pass out candy, so that's all the trick or treating we did this year.
The view from our room.
The glorious pool, where we spent the bulk of our vacation.
The swim up bar. Our favorite spot!
One of our mealtimes.
The beach was Brendan's favorite place. He loved the surf.
The entire Kindergarten class at CMP, with diplomas in hand!
Brendan receiving his diploma from the principal.
Marc and Liam, hanging out before the celebration began.
Liam and I, hanging out before the celebration.
Started working on this tree of life sweater for the new baby, but it's actually more for Brendan's size. 
Made this spur of the moment for the new baby, but it's rather girlie, so maybe it will become a gift for a girlfriend with a baby girl.
Made this for the new baby. It's the Baby Poonam pattern.
My felting experiment for a diaper bag. It turned out a lot bigger than I anticipated. We'll see how much use it gets. 
Current fair isle experiment. I've never tried to knit gloves before and so far, the fingers are not much fun. I'll have to redo the part that I've done for the fingers.
Tree of Life sweater. Meant it for the new baby at about 6-9 months, but it's knitting up mucho bigger. It might even fit Brendan! That's what I get for not swatching. Oh well!
