3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months, 1 week.

This morning, Graham and Connor went to a puppetry festival where they met R2D2 and learned some tap dancing moves from a marionette.  Later on, Boy Genius Connor stacked 4 blocks into a tower!

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months.

My dear Uncle Jim passed away peacefully this morning.  He was a kind, smart, funny, and generous man who I loved and will miss so much.  I'm grateful that both of my boys were able to spend time with him.  Graham even got to accompany Jim to Bob Chin's for crab claws and garlic rolls!  In his mid-80s, Uncle Jim was up for anything, including the playground and dining out with a baby.  Pretty impressive.  (top, with Graham in 2012; bottom, with Connor in 2013)

Graham and Connor spent a beautiful afternoon in Brooklyn excavating sand and doing headstands, respectively.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months.

After a cat nap, Graham, Connor, and Bennett cooled off in the water feature at the park.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months.

Just a couple blueberry-loving boys.  Connor loves to share his food right now.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months.

Back to Brooklyn for the 2 seasoned travelers.  Thank you, Mac and Jim, for such a great week and for letting us hang out with Connor Powers, the most delightful 6-month-old on the planet!

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months.

We could only manage a quick trip to the beach this afternoon before that cloud went from scenic to scary.  After dodging the rainstorm, the boys got into their jammies to crash baby Connor's bumbo dinner party.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 2 months.

Connor wondered why Graham gets 2 ice cream cones and he only gets the occasional lick.  

Graham overcame his reluctance to jump into the pool today.  After one jump, he loved it and spent the rest of the afternoon jumping in and getting thrown towards the steps to do it again.  He doesn't mind going underwater at all and will do a little scooping and kicking but is definitely not sea-worthy yet.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 1 month, 4 weeks.

Connor suddenly knows exactly how to use a fork (provided you pre-load it with food).

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 1 month, 4 weeks.

Today's highlights included playtime for the PJ-clad Connors, dolphin and horseshoe crab spotting from the shore, and building a sandcastle to be reclaimed by the ocean and Godzilla Connor.  Daddy taught Graham to make drip castles, which he very patiently worked on for a long time.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 1 month, 4 weeks.

Beach week 2014 is off to a great start.  We're at the Wild Dunes Resort outside of Charleston, SC, with Auntie Mac, Uncle Jim, and their baby Connor, who are generously sharing their fantastic beach house with us.  So far the boys are loving the sand & surf, and all of us are getting a chance to soak up some rays (and a bottle of sunscreen per day).

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks.

Happy Father's Day, Travel Edition!  Will spent his Father's Day providing the in-flight entertainment for Connor, who, while not exactly miserable, was also not especially enthusiastic about being contained to his parents' laps.  Graham was happy as a clam watching "Toy Story" in his very own seat.

Thank you, Will, for being such an amazing daddy to these two peanuts.  We are all so lucky to have you and love you very much.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks.

Our Friday the 13th got off to a rough start but a pizza lunch followed by the first ice cream cone of the season and some good messy playtime at the park salvaged the day.

Connor just started pointing at pictures in books.  His favorite is the book about him that Grammy had made for him.  Thanks Grammy!  He has a new word--"nana," meaning banana.  He also barks a lot of orders at us in a language we don't understand.  Hopefully we either learn to speak Connor or he learns some more English soon.

3 years, 4 months/1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks.

Impromptu jam band!

3 years, 3 months/1 year, 1 month, 3 weeks.

This is Graham's last week of school.  Today, they had show & tell (Graham brought Monkey, his stuffed monkey) and a special storytelling performance about a lovie, Catbear, who got lost on the subway.  Graham doesn't seem to understand at all that school is ending.  He loves going and I'm sure will miss it this summer, though Connor will be very pleased to get to take his morning nap earlier (he'd like to be asleep during the preschool drop-off).

3 years, 3 months/1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks.

Today was Graham's last swim class with Miss Shari.  In the "pre-beginner" level, he learned to do a "starfish" (back float), "scoops and kicks," and to swim supported only by a noodle.  He also practiced jumps into the pool, though he won't jump in without holding onto an adult's hands yet.  He's very into jumping outside of the pool.  He calls his big jumps "hulk jumps" and can (and insists on) jumping 3 steps at a time!

Connor took advantage of the nice quiet house to sleep.  Smart kid.

3 years, 3 months/1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks.

Graham, Honor, Connor, and Gil picnicked in the park on a beautiful day.  The poor babies were left to scavenge scraps after Graham and Honor scarfed down most of the prime pickings.

3 years, 3 months/1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks.

The return of whale butt!

3 years, 3 months/1 year, 1 month, 1 week.

Connor has made the switch to walking nearly all the time.  He's also suddenly very hungry and seems to have a parisian palate--for snack today, he ate blue cheese, asparagus, and strawberries, and ignored the cheddar and crackers.