Wordless Wednesday

Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

What are Little Boys Made Of?

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs' tails
That's what little boys are made of!

-Traditional Nursery Rhyme

Mommy used to have a book of poetry and nursery rhymes that contained the cute verse mentioned above. She never dreamed way back then that she'd have a little boy of her own! And while he's not quite made of snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails (well, maybe he's made of pulling puppy dogs' tails!), the things Wyatt is made of might include:

Sleds...

and Snow...

Daddy's Slippers...

and Legos...

Overalls...


and Narrow Escapes...


Bare Feet...

and Plain Ol' Cuteness...

That's what this little boy is made of!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wyatt got his first Valentine this year from Auntie Laura. It came in one of his favorite ways--through the "may-ull"--or as you and I would say, the mail. He enjoyed opening his Valentine and admiring the colorful card...

Wyatt got lots of cards, in fact...

Okay, okay, they're not all his. Some of them are Mommy and Daddy's, but Wyatt helped to open almost all of them.

We celebrated this special day in the best way--spending time together. Our little lovebug was his sweet little self, and we look forward to spending our next Valentine's day with two little lovebugs to dote upon.

We hope you had a great Valentine's day, too!

P.S. Click on the link in the column to the right to vote on our list of baby names!

Baby Hickle, Version 2.0

Last Wednesday we got a chance to peek in on Little Brother or Sister. There he or she is, face down, unwilling to show us a cute profile or the shading of his/her face. Oh well, the most important thing is that the baby is healthy, all organs are developing nicely and the weight is just right (a little over a pound).

We were lucky enough to get a shot of the foot...

There it is, right in the middle, sort of pressed against the screen, toes facing the left.

Aren't ultrasound pictures funny? Some people (Mommy and Daddy) look at them and have no clue what they're seeing, and others look at them and claim to see everything! It's like reading tea leaves or doing a word search puzzle; either you get it or you don't.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we stayed strong and did not find out the sex of the baby. It makes the wait till June full of wonderful anticipation. We have so much to look forward to!

Wordless Wednesday

Cruise Vacation: Part Three

Oh, Mexico. The last time we went to Cozumel, we had to slog down a muddy road in a driving rain only to find that the restrooms at the bus depot charged money to use their toilet paper. Oy. This time things were different. (Thank goodness!) Just look at that picture up there. How could we not have a fabulous time?

And look at that beautiful blue water. This, folks, is the Caribbean Sea. Don't you feel more relaxed just staring at that picture? Ahhh...

We spent our day on the island of Cozumel at a beach club called Nachi Coccom. It was peaceful and gorgeous, just what the doctor ordered. Sitting on that beach made us totally forget below-freezing temperatures, deadlines, and whatever other worries we might have. Just look at how laid-back Daddy was...


Okay, well, Daddy wasn't the only one getting comfy...

Yep, those are Wyatt's lil' ol' feet sticking out from underneath that towel. The boys napped like this for over an hour. Mommy had to wake them up for lunchtime!


Now, don't get us wrong, we did more than just nap during our day at the beach. Daddy introduced Wyatt to the lapping waves and the squishy sand. And Wyatt's response?
Screeching and tears. Clawing at Mommy. Begging to be taken away from this big, scary bathtub. Poor little guy!


He was much happier hanging out in the shade of our palapa, a safe distance away from that ever-so-daunting water.

Apparently dry sand is okay. The boys had a good time pouring it from one bucket to another, and Wyatt didn't freak out at all when a little was poured on his feet. Calm and serenity were restored to the beach.

Despite our little guy's aversion to (wet) sand and surf, we really enjoyed our day at the seashore. It definitely provided us with memories we'll cherish every time we look back on our only vacation as a family of three.

Cruise Vacation: Part Two

The first port-of-call on our cruise was the strange little island called Key West. It's closer to Cuba than it is to mainland America, and even though it's small, this place has a huge personality. If you ever get a chance to go there, do it! (And if you like to indulge in an adult beverage or two, you'd be interested to know that Key West's self-imposed nickname is "a small drinking island with a little fishing problem".)

The picture above shows just one of the oddities we encountered during our short visit, the huge Kapok tree located in front of the island's courthouse. Look at the huge base; it truly took us aback. We've seen some cool trees in Gatlinburg and even the state park we visited this summer, but nothing like this!

The next oddity we came across was pecking its way across the Post Office lawn--a rooster! Or lots of roosters and chickens, to be exact. Wyatt thought they were fun to watch...

These birds were all over the island and they seemed to have free reign. The locals didn't pay any attention to them, but the dorky tourists (us included) were snapping pictures by the hundreds. According to our trolley driver, the chickens are a leftover from hundreds of years ago when the island became home to many Cubans fleeing the oppression of the Spanish in their homeland. Apparently the Cubans' motto was "Have chickens, will travel."

Our first destination on the island was the home of none other than American writer Ernest Hemingway. Mommy was very excited to check it out as she had taught a couple of Hemingway's works during her teaching days. Isn't this home lovely? Look at those arched windows and that wrap-around balcony! You'd never guess that just across the street from this beautiful residence is a row of public housing. The contrast between the two was yet another oddity that we added to the growing list.

Here are Wyatt and Daddy hanging out on Ernie's balcony. How cool is it to think that Papa himself probably spent time there, just lingering at the railing while enjoying the balmy Key West atmosphere? Just off the balcony, we entered the master bedroom to find a surprise...

Yep, those are two kitties napping on the bed of one of America's greatest literary geniuses. They look cozy, don't they? Nothing odd here, right? Well, take a closer look...

Did you count the toes on that front paw? All SIX of them!? It turns out that these cats are the descendants of the many cats that Hemingway and his wife, Pauline, doted upon. They don't all have six toes on their front feet, but many do. Wyatt didn't care how many toes they had; he was just thrilled to see some "meows"! It was hard to keep him from tackling them!

We spent nearly an hour at the house exploring the interior and the lush gardens surrounding it. Then, it was off to northern side of the island for further exploring...

Daddy went to the Mel Fisher museum and admired many buried treasures that had been found on shipwrecks, including the coins pictured above. If you know Daddy, you know he's a coin buff, so this was very exciting for him. Not as exciting as this, though...

Yep, that's Daddy's hand caressing nearly twenty-thousand dollars' worth of pure, shipwrecked gold. He said he tried to pull it out of its container, but it wouldn't budge. Poor Daddy! So close, yet so far away...

While Daddy was admiring real buried treasure, Mommy and Wyatt did a little souvenir shopping and unearthed a modern-day treasure--Ben and Jerry's ice cream. (Sorry, no picture of this; too incriminating!) Poor Mommy had to eat all of the sweet treat because Wyatt didn't like it. What a trooper, that Mommy!

We truly enjoyed our brief visit to Key West. It was like the island version of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, and it definitely did not feel like we were still in America! Mommy and Daddy plan to visit again someday (sans babies, that is :))!

Up next: Viva Mexico!