Sylvan turned 3 in October, and for the first time really "got" the birthday thing. He celebrated over 2 different weekends in addition to his real birthday - one weekend with his Nana (Courtney's mom) and Richmond family and the other with G-Mer and G-Pa (Jim's folks) and Davidson family. The trip to North Carolina was particularly special because Sylvan's birthday is just 2 days (well, 2 days and 72 years!) apart from his grandfather's. Morris's surprise party and fancy birthday cake graciously included Sylvan, complete with a train on top. We continue to be amazed by Sylvan's growth and development. Some days it feels like you can see it happening! Of course, on other days it's very clear that he's 3 and still sorting it all out. He continues to love collecting, sorting, measuring, and organizing things, though that doesn't translate to wanting to clean up very much. Trains, blocks, firetrucks, and construction tools are his favorites, though he also loves working in his "kitchen," which Courtney made from some old cardboard boxes. It's full of random chotckes that he has collected as well as whatever kitchen tools he can sneak from the "big" kitchen. He's got a broad and interesting vocabulary that sometimes gets ahead of his verbal skills. A few words are still babyish (squirrel sounds like squalor, and we hope that lasts forever!) and he stutters sometimes when his mouth can't keep up with his brain. He is an imp with a fun sense of humor, and curious about everything, and very much a little boy and not a baby anymore, and we are working hard to keep up. Whew! Save

What a summer! We've packed it full with family gatherings at the lake, here in DC, and in Richmond, and took two wonderful trips to the mountains. In early July we spent the week with Courtney's extended family in Pagosa Springs, CO, near Durango where Courtney's family vacationed during her childhood. It was a fun, chaotic week with 6 kiddos (5 of them under the age of 7) and also a very special time. We scattered some of Courtney's dad's ashes in a beautiful alpine meadow on Middle Mountain, a place that truly called him home. In early August we took a second trip to the mountains, this time to Jim's parents' cabin in Ashe County, NC. We had some fun extended family time and then a short week on our own at the cabin. We hiked, went canoeing (Sylvan's first time) and ate well. This past weekend Sylvan experienced another first - a day at the beach! After Sylvan insisted that he wasn't going to get in the ocean, we could hardly get him out once he had that first dip. Burying himself and his mom and dad in sand was pretty fun, too. In other news, it's been a summer of acquisitions. In order of enthusiasm, we've 1) bought a washer and dryer (these things really seem like they should last longer than they do...), 2) bought eye glasses for Jim (isn't he handsome!?), 3) bought a car! That's right, after 3 months of carlessness, we decided that the cost of rentals and the hassle of dealing with the car seat was not worth it. We've bought a gently used CRV which is suiting us very well, and still hope to buy an electric car down the road, so to speak. Save

This past weekend we took Sylvan on his first camping trip. We went to Big Meadows campground in Shenandoah National Park, about 3 hours from DC in Blue Ridge Mountains. Stunning place, and a great weekend! We would have appreciated slightly warmer temperatures and more sun - it was middle-30s on Saturday night(!) - but we made the most of the campfire and went on some beautiful hikes. Sylvan collected lots of sticks and rocks, and we saw several herds of deer and some interesting birds. No bears though apparently there were several sightings nearby. The woods were the perfect balance of small bright green new leaves but with the tree canopy (mostly oaks) still open enough to see incredible views through the trees (and spring ephemerals on the forest floor). We highly recommend Shenandoah, just bring a warm coat!

Well, it's official. Sylvan is obsessed with trains. All colors, all sizes, beat up, brand new - all of them are good. He and Thomas the Tank Engine are joined at the hip even to the exclusion of Sylvan's beloved "babies" Lamb and Bear (though they are still a close second), and sometimes even the pacifier! Building intricate train tracks has also become something of an obsession in the Spearpeople household, and Sylvan isn't the only one who's into it (see pics...). Jim has become quite good at making circuits that never loop back on the same path twice, and Courtney is occasionally in on it, too. We have been greatly helped by the donation of an extensive track set, given by one of Jim's colleagues whose kids have outgrown their own train obsessions. Of course we've supplemented with some strategic pieces that make those never-ending loops more fun. In other vehicular news, the Spearpeople are officially carless! For the past 5 years we have driven a diesel Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen, which we loved without reservation until October 2015, when the scandal broke about VW's sham fuel efficiency. Turns out the car's braggable gas mileage, delightful pickup, and overall excellent driving experience were too good to be true. So three weeks ago we sold the car back to VW (where it will likely join about 500,000 others as a new coral reef somewhere in the Pacific Ocean) and have decided to go without a car for a while, to see what happens with the electric car market. Since we bike or use public transportation most weekdays we haven't felt too constrained, but weekends are definitely an adjustment. Grocery shopping and weekend errands are now done more strategically, and we've taken advantage of car sharing options several times - Zipcar, Car2Go, and some full-on rentals for weekends with visitors coming up. Here's hoping for a reasonably mild and low humidity summer!

Happy 2017! Life has been a whirlwind since our last post, both with holidays come and gone and living in this political spectacle of a city that we call home. Sylvan continues to thrive and keeps us grounded, laughing, and a little exhausted. He loves his daycare and tells us about his friends and teachers at the end of each day. We have quite the growing collection of craft paper paintings, crayola "sketches," and collages which we aren't quite ready to chuck. In general Sylvan loves coloring and drawing, particularly when Jim sits down with him at his big sketch pad to draw excavators, buses, and tractors. Sylvan is obsessed with all kinds of vehicles, from ambulances and fire trucks to helicopters, construction equipment, and the ubiquitous garbage truck. Of course there's no shortage of these vehicles to see on our bike rides around the city, and Sylvan can identify the different emergency vehicle sirens sight unseen with surprising accuracy. We have all learned a lot in keeping up with his transportation interests (Courtney definitely had the bigger learning curve...) Developmentally, Sylvan is beginning to speak in complete sentences and has developed some very precise diction with certain words. "I don't like it" and "I like cake" came back-to-back at a recent dinner, which is proof that he has inherited his mother's sweet tooth as well as her penchant for being direct. We are beginning to contemplate potty training and taking away his pacifier but are not rushing it. He had his first dentist appointment today and did very well (i.e., didn't squirm too much and didn't bite anyone), despite a complete lack of enthusiasm for the activity at hand. Save Save

We're a few weeks past Sylvan's second birthday - two years old seems to suit him very well so far! For the big day we had a little party at the local playground, shared cookies and ice cream with family and a few close friends. Sylvan's transition to day care has gone very well. While he missed Nosisa and Desmond (we are keeping in touch with both of them), he seems to love his teachers and has made friends with his new classmates. He is a social kiddo, so the many opportunities for social engagement are exciting and occasionally exhausting. The temptation to bite seems to be waning, which may be related to his growing vocabulary. In general he will talk up a storm with anyone who will listen. His words are becoming intelligible even to people who don't hear him all the time. Good stuff! Save Save Save

What a great summer! We can't believe it's gone, but a few hints of cooler weather here in DC say it must be so. We had three excellent trips - a week to the North Carolina mountains, on our own and with Jim's family at their cabin in the woods; a week in Colorado with Courtney's college girlfriends and their families (8 kids and 8 adults - a high energy bunch!); and a long weekend in Texas with Courtney's family over Labor Day. Sylvan had a blast exploring the woods (lots of sticks and rocks!), riding his first horse (he laughed the first half and fell asleep the second half), and riding in the boat and on a float at Nana's lakehouse. Sylvan also got lots of pool and water play time - we may have a future hydrologist on our hands, he loves water so much! Despite the fun summer we are looking forward to fall and some exciting transitions - a second birthday and a move to daycare from our wonderful nanny share. More on that next time! PS - if you are a parent with experience with toddler biting we'd love some advice...major challenge for us right now. Save Save Save

Sylvan and Jim have a very special relationship. They share a love of hip hop music and potato chips (though Sylvan doesn't get them as often as he would like) and a sense of humor about bodily functions that continues to mystify Courtney. They play with mega blocks, wooden blocks, and just about anything that will stack or nest. They watch Sesame Street, particularly the Elmo skits. Sylvan's favorite mode of transportation is riding on the back of Jim's bike, though he's happy to ride with Courtney in a pinch...she's just not as much fun on the bumps. Some of Sylvan's latest tricks are: - stacking and nesting, as noted above! He is still obsessed with putting smaller things inside bigger things. If there's water available, all the better. - continuous new words - ock (milk), cago (avocado), riri (raisins), not to mention words that sound like what they are - bear, shoe, apple and lots more. They are beginning to string together into Sylvan Sentences, but so far they don't translate to English just yet. - saying hello and good bye, to everyone. Sylvan is super social and quite comfortable talking with anyone who will stop long enough to engage. - steps - Sylvan is getting more and more confident with going up and down stairs unaided. He is still cautious, particularly on the big steep ones, but can take them with a hand quite confidently - testing boundaries - We are hearing a lot more "no" and observing a lot more selective hearing or blatant disregard for directions and requests. He often does it with an impish grin or giggle, like it's a cute inside joke. And sometimes it is indeed cute, though we are bracing ourselves for the more vigorous tantrums that are on the way.   Save Save

We can't believe Sylvan is 18 months old! The last few months really have been the most fun we've had with him. Sylvan is talking up a storm - repeating words that we say (or at least approximating them) and then using those "words" correctly again later on. He is still naturally a little cautious, but that has not kept him from speeding across a room at a slightly unstable breakneck speed, especially when a recently absent parent or nanny arrives. He has begun to walk down a step or two rather than crawling, and he still loves symmetry - always wants two matching things in his hands. He is an imp with a sense of humor! Right now he is obsessed with his belly button (or bey-bey), showing it to whoever will look and giggling hysterically when someone will actually share in kind.

Sylvan had his first haircut on Saturday - a rather emotional and stressful affair but the nice ladies at the Hair Cuttery said he did very well. He certainly made his displeasure known, but not so much that the cut is wonky. It took mom and dad a little while to adjust to seeing cleancut and tidy-haired Sylvan, a surprisingly emotional experience for us, too. We are blaming it on the sweet First Haircut Certificate they gave us at the salon, which says he has "graduated from babyhood." Guess it's official now, snif.