That picture, David, was taken at ass o' clock at night, when the tiny human woke up and held the house hostage until she got cereal. The cute factor is what keeps her alive. (Well, that and the part where we love her to pieces, but DAMN, did she HAVE to inherit my sleeplessness?)

Good lord. I mean, Squeak has looked anime-come-to-life before, but seriously?!?

He's quite solid and strong through the chest and arms

That's baseball-related, right?

I love his pictures with Matilda - they both look like this is exactly the right place for them - with each other.

I have to admit that she is extremely affectionate and cuddlesome child

A good friend's son in the exact opposite - he only cuddles when he doesn't feel well (physically) - whenever he gets cuddly, she runs to measure his temperature or tries to make arrangements for the following day, because she just knows he's going to come up with something. So she cherishes the rare times he's snuggling in her lap. Of course, it's easier to do all the chores and the like with him this way, just like you said, what with everything-has-ups-and-downs and all that, but still.

all the love you can give into them when they are little becomes a kind of foundation for them. A knowing-without-thinking-about-it feeling of worth.

That's lovely. Especially when because it's the kind of love that *they* need, which they are seeking.

I don't take it for granted. I'm very aware that I'm lucky to receive her love.

That's lovely, as well. From the opposite side of the former lovely, but still very similar.

[Edit: oh, my goodness, I type way too slowly! Or, rather, I should type as slow as possible, for postings of more pictures?]

Not-middle-of-the-night-in-my-timezone-anyway-cereal:

I wish I could post at length about Gracie and Lillian, maybe later, as I have to run away from the computer now. That is, if my eyes can un-glue themselves from the computer screen and stop looking at all the adorableness.

adorable pictures are about the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. if i could sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time without waking up feeling like i'm going to cough up a lung, that would be nice. *sigh*

tiggy, I hope you feel better soon.

PMM, lori - I can't even link just to one picture with all my words around it, they're all so great! Lillian should be in the dictionary next to "photogenic", "beautiful", "gorgeous eyes", "wonderful faces" and, well, there are just so many words - and you take really good pictures, too, so I can almost feel like I can crawl in them and play with her, not just watch. I can practically feel her joyful spirit shining through.

And Gracie, and her grins and her smiles and her funny faces and her snuggling. lori, I can never thank you enough for all the pictures of the twins you post.

And, in more making-my-day-better topics, according to the Buffista Calendar, today is a triple Buffista birthday: both Jesse H and Theodosia celebrate their birthdays today, as well as Rayne, whose posts I haven't seen in forever, but I hope she gets the well-wishes somehow.

Happy birthday, Jesse! Happy birthday, Theo! With lots of wishes for a great day and a wonderful year!

Hippo Birdies, Jesse!

I'm on dialup from my Aunt's house, before anyone else is awake and wanting the phoneline, so just essentially dropping in to say hi, howdy, and glad to hear everyone is still alive!

I learned yesterday that porcupines will climb willow trees in search of the young sweet twigs. Not that I got to see it, because spring is still far away, but my uncle had to clad his willow tree trunk in metal to dissuade them from eating the whole thing. This explains why you don't see many willow trees growing wild in the Catskills, I think.

Happy Birthday, Theo!

Happy Birthday, Jesse!

I've been at work now for 1.5 hours and have done nothing. I really hope no one has expectations for today.

Happy Birthday, Jesse and Theo!!!