Lunch with Collin

Collin and his parents came down for the day last Sunday, and he and Toby enjoyed every second together.

Gyminis: Not just for babies anymore

Toby joins Charlie for some Gymini-gazing.

Spring Cuties!

Maia and Toby pause for a picture while picking dandelions for each other. ("Here ya go, Tobe, I got this for ya!" / "Tank-u, Mye!")

Safety first

Suzanne, Maia and Toby enjoy an excuse to hold hands on a morning expedition around the neighborhood.

Toby and Gagada

Toby has started walking into rooms and shouting, "Hi, Gaga!" whether or not she's present. If she doesn't turn out to be in the current room, he just marches on to the next room and tries again.

Fatty!

Charlie at almost 4 weeks old. No one would ever guess he was a preemie -- the boy is juicy! Gaining on average a pound ever four days -- his Dr. says he's never seen anything like it.

Cuddling with mom

Shortly before this picture was taken, Toby walked over to Charlie and said "Hug!" and wrapped his arms around his little brother.

Gymini

Charlie's first time in the Gymini -- he loved it!

"Look-it, Tobe!"

Maia proudly showed off her sand-slathered belly to a fascinated Toby.

Charlie with his eyes open

Charlie is now at 37 weeks gestation, and is slowly starting to wake up a bit. Today he was awake for almost 3 whole hours, which was a treat, and allowed me to finally get a picture with his eyes open.

A Gagada's love

Gagada has a cold, and wants to be sure not to pass it on to Charlie -- but can't resist holding him. You can see her solution. What a love!

Easter spoils

Toby was very excited about his first Easter egg hunt, and proudly showed off his spoils to all of us.

Easter egg craft project

Samantha and Jack helped Toby dye his first Easter eggs, which ended up in a heaping, squished-up, colorful mess on the art table. He loved it!

Samantha visits!

Samantha spent her spring break in WA with the Cheneys, and was able to make a day trip down to Portland to see us. She and Charlie hit it right off!

New sandbox!

Toby was THRILLED to start digging in his brand new sandbox, which Jack built and Gagada funded -- a family affair. We haven't been able to get him out of the sandbox since it's unveiling, and thanks to Toby's sandy trails, the house is slowly becoming a sandbox unto itself...

Big rig driver

Toby gets behind the wheel of the dump truck!

Lending a helping hand

Toby shows the sand delivery man how to dump out the merchandise.

Double diaper change

Two boys, two beautiful (dirty) bums!

Checking each other out

Toby and Charlie are pret-ty interested in each other already.

Daddy's boys

And a new era of Boy Time begins to unfold before our eyes.

Vision of the future

After Toby discovered my headphones and MP3 player this weekend, we no longer have any trouble picturing him as a teenager. He kept asking to replay the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," and when Beyonce came on he was horrified.

Family time

We were worried about jealousy, but Toby loved Charlie right from the start. He touches his baby brother's fingers and toes and makes his version of a "coochie-coo" sound, which sounds something like "eee-ooooh, eee-ooooh!" He also repeatedly asks Charlie to "cry! again!"

With Gagada

Gagada visited the hospital every afternoon and cuddled with Charlie, allowing Jack & I to go on an outing with Toby. Despite being in the hospital, it was a really sweet time for our family.

Snuggling with mom

During our week in the hospital, Charlie and I spent most of our time doing Dr.-prescribed "kangaroo care" -- as much close skin & body contact as possible. We were both very happy with the arrangement.