Autumnal Update

hello and hi.

happy halloween and thanksgiving. we hope you are doing well and apologize profusely for our lack of communication. I (wes) don't write or call much because 1. I hate, hate, hate, hate talking on the phone and 2. because I am overwhelmed with writing at work and so am loathe to do any more typing than absolutely necessary.

so, those of you who feel like you are being ignored please understand that you remain in our hearts and thoughts. once a loved one, always a love one.

anyway, the reason for this blog is to detail Fletcher's life, so I should get to that.

Fletch is a remarkable small person, enamored with trains, planes, automobiles, and anything that rolls. his vocabulary is exploding, and he's recently added such gems as "for real" "cool" and "house shoes". Sara recently cut his bangs because his hair was getting in his eyes, so his mullet is really starting to shine now. I can't bear to cut off those darling curls in the back yet, so mullet-ed he will remain for the time being. he's been spending a little time in daycare, and of course has developed a cough. we're so very reluctant to introduce him to the animals that are other children, but we've no other recourse now that I've banned Sara from working nights (I require at least a daily glimpse of my loved one. I guess I'm just needy). so, hopefully he'll avoid contracting a deadly illness and developing horrible habits, but I'm not optimistic. his best hope is for me to get a huge raise or a better-paying job so Sara can continue staying at home. fingers crossed...

I've been looking forward to Fall so he can start wearing layers. Everybody looks better once the weather gets cold.

This one is included not for my exuberant gesture and expression or for Fletcher's nudity; but rather for you to see just how damned large he has become. The dude is half my size now.

This was his first time on a trampoline. He loved it. When it was time for lunch, he pitched one of the biggest of what are now becoming daily, if not hourly, hissy-fits. Ah, childhood.

"Here I go again, on my own..." Have Mickey Mouse activity car, will travel. Don't have Mickey Mouse activity car, will throw hissy-fit.

This looks like a freeze-frame from a Jennifer Lopez music video. We don't know what he was doing, but we're glad we took a picture of it.

What 90's band's singer does this remind you of?

Hint: In our house, Sara and I are the two princes to King-Little-Mister-Can't-Be-Wrong.

Our pre-meal Thanksgiving walk. The post-meal pics feature a lot less walking and a lot more lying around on the floor while Fletcher jumps all over us. Fun.

A Few New Pics

Hi, guys! Hope you're all well. Sorry it's been a while.
Fletcher's 19 months now and growing every day.
We'll have pictures up (hopefully) soon of Halloween.

We borrowed the easel from my sister's kids and got some paints.
We haven't played with it in a while because it can get very messy.

Fletcher & Giada at Zilker.

Fletcher on the train at Zilker.

Niiiice.

Mismatched? Daddy doesn't do such a good job in the dark.

Get that ?&$!%# camera out of my face!!!

Giada relaxing all cool.

Dallas!

Singing to Mary on her birthday at the Sondregger's.

I forget the name of this place. Mary & Sam with Fletcher.

Heart-breaker.

All of us at the Sondregger's.
I always feel sorry for the non-Moscowvites who endure our little reunions (Sam & Stephan).

Grace & Fletch.

Mary & Fletch. He loves getting cuddles from pretty ladies.

Watching Bekah ice the cake. We're easily entertained.

It's time, once again, for a themed blog

First up: beer...

...more beer.

Laundry closet:

Don't worry! We never leave him unsupervised. Unless it's to go grab the camera! :)

Summertime! Pool-time! This is the one at Grammy's house.

At our house (I fill up a bucket in the tub and pour it into the pool on our balcony).

Grammy's big pool with Aunt Mary & Uncle Sam.

More pictures (Dallas trip) coming soon!!
Too tired right now to mess with this thing anymore tonight.

Just a few snap-shots...

Don't have many to post right now. Maybe over the next few weeks.
We're going on our first road-trip: to Dallas to visit friends & family.
We'll share our fun times with you when we get back!! :)

Silly boys.

We had a really pretty spring here in Austin. Lots of rain.

Belly!

The promised paparazzi shot.

Succession of Dinner-Time Photos

Tortellini!

Video

We have video of Fletcher walking! Just visit Sara's myspace page: www.myspace.com/ssythoff to view. It's on the main page, so just scroll down a little to watch! Love to all!

the return

i'm back. sara's done a bang-up job with this thing for the past few months. but i'm spending a lot of time home alone now so i have no excuse. i made a very regrettable blunder this winter and erased many of our photos from the computer. so luckily we had this blog thing for the sake of posterity. his future devoted minions will be glad there still exist those pics of his crusty umbilical cord. i should update you on some vital stats:
h~30.5 inches
w~23.25 pounds
melon size~49 centimeters


I know, it's so cliche, but there's nothing else like kids wearing their food.

winner, by way of knock-out. the spaghetti sauce was overmatched from the start.

he's not a big fan of his play-pen, but mommy and daddy are.

we should have named him cletus or something

he's got this weird phobia of grass. concrete, asphalt, linoleum, carpet, gravel...but no grass.

For those of you who've checked the blog in the last couple of days, you may have noticed a problem with the pictures that I posted. Hopefully I've fixed it, but let me know if the problem persists/returns. Laters!

Fiesta!!

Pictures from the birthday party! It was fun, but exhausting! I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we start having to plan games & activities for his future parties. I think I'll just take them all to see a movie, or rent a moon walk. I'll even get a clown, if that's what it takes to stay sane. Wait, no. No clowns. You must all hold me to my oath of no clowns.

Opening presents with cousins Lauren & Daniel. He got some good ones! Toy cars, bubbles, clothes. Thanks everyone!

And a Radio Flyer "trike" (even though it has four wheels). He can't get on it by himself yet. But he likes to ding the bell, and turn it on its side so he can spin the wheels!

Cake! Sam's Club makes great cakes, BTW!!!

He did NOT take his nap that afternoon!

Little Miss Natalie sat on a Grammy :)

Fletcher-Lou (as my friend Patty likes to call him)

Well, it's been a while. I know I say the same stuff every time I update this blog: hope you're all well, missing those far away, etc. But it's true. And we're always excited to know that you are interested in the growth and progress of our little guy.

His birthday was this month. I'll put a separate post up with pictures from his party. We are sad that we couldn't share his special day with Wes' parents & family. But they were thought of, and missed!!

Anyway, here are some random pictures for now. Stay tuned for pictures from the party!!

Little feet (probably watching Baby Einstein)





Loves his books! We read them all at least twice a day. I had to get new ones for him, and also borrowed some from the library. He makes his librarian grandfather proud!

Uh-oh, toilet paper!

Preparing for his fiesta!!

There's a paparazzi shot in every batch of pictures downloaded from the camera. I may feature a new one every time I update the blog! Look for them in the future! :)

Little man in his button-down shirt!

Okay, I can explain. He crawled under the chair and couldn't get back out, so he started screaming! I thought it was amusing, and quickly shot a picture. Then urgently rescued him from the bad chair-monster. I know, I'm a mean mom. But it was funny. It was!