Hangin' with the boys

A profile shot of Wakefield's finest


The boys came in their costumes to my office for a Halloween party.


This was the other "Nemo" in the mix. This is Finn, born one day before Rhys.


My favorite Giraffe

Cath and I got in the act and dressed as the Munster's. We may dust these off in a year and make Nik go as Eddie Munster.


Nik getting in the pumpkin carving act.


The terrible twosome on All Hallow's Eve



"Ok kids, look over here. Over here. Over here....aww forget it. "


Nik and Catherine did much better for Take 2


Post "trick or treating" booty


Enjoying the fruits of his labor

Turning two requires two birthday parties

Here are Cath and Rhys at the World Famous Cumberland Fair.


Here are "Gippy", Nik and Emma. I have no idea what the sheep's name is. Let's go with Marcos.


"I got a deal for you goat. You stay there and I'll stay here."


Emma and Nik got to enjoy a few spins in this hot rod.


As soon as they got back from the fair it was time for birthday cake!


The birthday boy.


Nik and Emma enjoying some breakfast in the den.



Birthday party #2. Here is Meera feeding Rhys a bottle.


This is one of the countless times he said "WOW!" during the party.


Here is Rhys in some traditional Indian clothes. We had him wear them for...


The ceremony where he ate solid food for the first time.


The Little Prince


One more of the Lil' fella.


More birthday cake!


Niky lecturing his birthday cake.


Matching sweaters knit by my mother for the boys.


Birthday parties will tucker the best of us out.

Finally, here is Nik on the morning of his birthday.

Enjoy!

How bout them apples?

Our apologies for taking almost two whole months off. With that out of the way, let's get to the pics!

Rhys and his lady friend Violet. Watching these two grow up together has been great.


"It vibrates on it's own, honest. Quit shaking it."


We were once again graced with a visit from cousin Emma and Grammy.


Nik is the only person I know who still reads "The Family Circus".

Nik's maiden voyage


"Put down the camera, stop laughing at me and help me out of this thing!"


Look out, sneak attack!


Happy lil' Baby boy


TWO happy lil Baby boys


Spontaneous dance party




We took the boys apple picking, complete with hay ride.


Nik has a future as a migrant farm worker



His apple orchard intensity is unmatched


Cath and Rhys enjoying this beautiful day


We were joined by Juls, Finn, Kelly and Tyler




Here are Cath and Rhys at the Special Care Nursery reunion at Winchester Hospital. Hard to believe how much he's grown since his time there.


See you guys next time, Go Pats!

Shucking and jiving

Catherine Crane, Lisa Crane, Catherine Dhingra and Destructo at the July 4th parade in beautiful downtown Wakefield.



Here is a video for you to get a sense of how creative people in town get with their floats.


Rhys, the barrel chested wonder. Nik won't be able to push this guy around for too much longer.


More smiles every day.


Nik and Emma modeling the double stroller that was a godsend on our trip to the Clam Festival in Yarmouth.


A slightly confused Nik on his first carousel trip. I'm guessing the non-blinking horses creeped him out.


Her excitement level is off the charts. And not in a good way.


Clam Festival. Hooray?


A trip to the children's museum for some money laundering "practice" seemed to suit Nik just fine.


"Jesus! You didn't tell me this thing vibrates!"


And we close with a kiss.

Summer

Here is Nikhil reading about his latest obsession, trains.


Emma came down to visit and enjoy some birthday cake made in honor of her turning the Big F-O-U-R.


Nik, did you get enough cake?



The partygoers worked off their sugar high and took to the street on their bikes.



"Are you tired? I wanna see if we can make Atlantic City by sundown."



Cousins


We made it up to the Gorton's to visit with Miss Hannah. Who as you can see, LOVED holding Rhys.



Rhys and Lady Violet gettin' acquainted.


Nik and I hit the Crane's pool for the 14 minutes it wasn't raining last month.



Hangin' out at Catherine's house


"Do you know anything about trains?"



The rare newborn smile


:Seriously, I want my own blog."

Me and Baby Brother

This was Rhys' home in the Special Care Nursery and Winchester Hospital. All told, he spent 18 days there.


Here is the little fella strappin' in for his ride home. He was breaking the scales here at a whopping 5 pounds 7 ounces.



Nik waking up to the newest bundle of joy in the house.


Unfortunately, the experience has caused some regression on Nik's part as you can see here...



.....and here


To take Nik's mind off of things, we took him to the fair. This was as close as he could get to the rides. Both attempts to ride the train were met with tears and screaming.


Rhys loves keeping his arms above his head while he sleeps.


Are horizontal stripes slimming? I can never remember.


Loungin'


He's so tiny, he makes ME look big.


Meet Mr. Tyler Prevost, he's been tearing it up for about 4 months now. Sleeps through the night too.....showoff.




Finally, some video of lip smacking good times at the dinner table.

Why can't we be friends?

We are very sorry for the prolonged absence. But as some of you know, we've been preoccupied with some big news. Let's get to the picshas!


Nik loves to wear his Elton John Glasses during breakfast.


Easter morning arrived with the beloved Elmo. Honestly, I think they embedded a chip into his brain that would not let his parents rest until Elmo was under our roof.


Nik cleaned himself up, found his Easter sweater and got to work on his basket.


And by get to work, I mean cover his head in green confetti.


When you're 18 months old, this is really the only way to travel.


This photo was taken about 50 hours before......


these little feet entered the world.


Rhys Carter Dhingra. Born April 19th at 4:14 AM. He weighed 5 lbs. 1 oz.


Our latest tax write off enjoying his first bottle.


At first Nik didn't seem bothered by Rhys moving in on his turf.


But he soon needed to lean on his friend Catherine for emotional support.



He quickly warmed to the news


And we were ready to go back and see Rhys as a family.


Nik made one quick run for the door, but we were able to convince him to stick around.


And, by the looks of it, things will work out just fine.