Well, I guess my sneaky switch from "nap time" to "quiet time" actually worked! This afternoon, Adam went into his room for quiet time with his books and stuffed animals. At first, it was quite noisy as he pulled all his books off the shelf one by one and then sang to his animals... then it got VERY quiet. I went in his room to find him asleep on the floor. So cute! He battles sleep like no one's business, so he must have been REALLY tired to fall asleep in the middle of playing. Of course, baby brother Matthew still hasn't napped this afternoon and is wildly playing and crawling around. Poor little guys were both diagnosed with ear infections this morning so it is Amoxicillan for everyone for the next 10 days. Hopefully, that will kick this lingering snot, cough, wheezing extravaganza we've had going on around here.

In other news, I have been offered a job with the City of Napa in the Long Range Planning division of their Planning Department. The job will involve writing ordinances and land use policies as well as helping to design a specific plan for downtown Napa - which is sorely in need of some vision and direction. Napa is already on the map, and I am excited to help make it an actual "place". :) So, though I have gone around and around about going back to work in an office, it seems that in this economy, I am fortunate to have a strong job offer. They will let me work 6 hours in the office each day and 2 hours from home - so flex time at the outset is really a nice perk. Now I just have to find the ideal childcare situation for the boys that will be the least disruptive for them. Seems like we are embarking on yet another transition for our family. I'll keep you all posted as things shake out.

8 months and cute!

Matthew is 8 months old and getting really involved in exploring his world. When he was about 7.5 months, he got up on his hands and knees and was ready for launch. By 8 months, he was on the move! Just this morning, as I was sitting down to post these photos, he pulled himself up to standing! Boy, oh Boy! He's growing up fast!

Both Matthew and Adam have been sick this week with a really nasty cough that is keeping all of us up most of the night. Needless to say, it has been a bit of a challenge with behavior unraveling all around. I'm hoping that it will be gone soon and we can get back to our nights of interrupted sleep - but not the hours and hours of rocking a coughing baby or trying to soothe an upset little boy who doesn't understand why he keeps waking up.

So, let's hope for healthy days ahead with lots of sleep!

8 months and crawling... standing too!