Peter as Dark Helmet from "Spaceballs"

My son has yet again been exploited for comedic purposes.  This time, it was my friend, Lauren, who assisted me.  Once Peter sees all of these goofy pictures (when he's old enough to care, that is), I'm in big trouble.  Remember the 1987 movie "Spaceballs"?  If not, this should jog your memory:

Too bad we didn't have any little glasses handy or else Peter's transformation into Rick Moranis would have been complete!

How NOT to sled on a snowdrift

More Michigan shenanigans

The great deer rescue

Last weekend in Michigan, GrandDad took Charlotte on another adventure.  This time, they were following a map to help a mommy and daddy deer find their baby deer in the woods.  We brought some new resin figurines to help add some authenticity to the hunt.

As they were studying the map, Charlotte told us that she was "Diego" and that GrandDad was her "helper".  Charlotte started the journey by trooping through the deep snow like a champ with the assistance of her "helper".

The intrepid explorer was thrilled when she found the baby deer sleeping in an area where she and NanaB had discovered some deer beds the day before.

They celebrated their success by sledding down the hill a few hundred times.  We had to practically drag Charlotte inside for lunch.  She is turning into quite the little snow bunny.

GrandDad and Charlotte make a great adventure team!

Snowy adventures in Michigan

Happy Valentine's Day jig by Charlotte

Yeah, that's totally my daughter.

Peter's new love

We just got back from a great weekend in Michigan at NanaB and GrandDad's house, but I haven't downloaded the pictures just yet.  Instead, I needed to report on Peter's new obsession -- Sonny & Cher.

You see, it all started with a magnet on NanaB's fridge that plays a snippet of "I Got You Babe".  Peter begged for it to be played over and over again.  Yesterday, Peter was having a rough time for some unknown reason and wouldn't quit fussing.  We tried everything (including his beloved monkey blanket), and finally I suggested playing "I Got You Babe".  It worked!  When we got tired of holding him so he could press the button, I put him on the floor and moved the magnet down low.  He must have played it 40 times in a row.

Was it annoying?  Yes, but not as annoying as a 14-month-old whining and fussing.  Plus, I kind of like the song.  Peter again just couldn't cheer up a little bit ago, so I downloaded the song for him.  He's happy now!  He really liked looking at the photos I pulled up of Sonny & Cher to show Charlotte.  Hey, whatever it takes to keep him happy, right?

Here's for you, Petey!

Snuggles

Chilly day blues

This morning, we made a quick trip to the library before Peter's nap.  When even new books weren't cheering up my kids on this bleak, chilly day, I knew we needed to get outside to run around.  After lunch, I bundled us up and set the kids loose.  Peter REALLY doesn't like to walk on grass yet though.  Once Charlotte got over her disappointment that we couldn't roam around in the backyard, we all had a good time walking up and down the sidewalk.

It's always a good time to dance in Charlotte's world.

And it's always a good time to stagger around aimlessly if you're Peter.

Charlotte takes her role as big sister very seriously.  Here, she was protecting him from the dirty trash cans.

Yes, I know Peter's coat looks ridiculously large on him.  His 12-month coat was nearly impossible to get on him, but he's swimming in this 18-month one.  I renew my demand for an industry-wide baby clothing revolution and insist that companies begin to sell 15-month clothes!

Wait up!

Charlotte was telling Peter all about the (pretend) baby puppy that we were hunting for on our journey.  Peter was just trying not to fall flat on his face.  

And that's the end of our winter walking adventure!

Update!

I wrote to AskArt.com (which bills itself as the "Artists' Bluebook") to give them information on Georges le Serrec de Kervily's date of death and attached a photo of the portrait to illustrate the story.  A "content manager" wrote back a few hours ago to let me know that based on the information I supplied, they updated de Kervily's page to list his date of death as "c. 1952" and requested by permission to post the photo of the portrait on the page.  How fun!  You can see Aunt Betty's portrait on the site if you click here.

Great Aunt Betty and Count de Kervily

Well, I may have possibly debunked one Stringer family story about the origin of a bed, but I might have redeemed myself by actually helping prove the veracity of another family legend!  We have a beautiful portrait of Corey's Great Aunt Betty (an awesome lady who unfortunately passed away about six years ago) that was given to us when Betty's brother, Corey's Grandpa Stringer, downsized from a house to an apartment.  

With the portrait came some handwritten notes Betty had made about how her husband, Lewis, had made an acquaintance with a portrait artist.  According to the note, which was written on the back of a series of receipts, the artist painted the portrait of Betty for free in exchange for an unveiling party to publicize his services. The artist died "later the same night" of the party, according to Aunt Betty.  It was also intriguing that Aunt Betty referred to the artist using the title of "count".

I was switching on the lights yesterday evening and got to looking at the artist's signature on the painting.

I decided to do an internet search for "Le Serrec de Kervily" just for fun while I waited for the oven to heat up to bake the frozen pizza.  I may not be a gourmet cook, but I can at least pretend to be an amateur art historian.

I definitely found something!  It looks like this was probably painted by Georges le Serrec de Kervily.  According to one site, the artist was "born in Krakow, Russia on Sept. 27, 1883.  Of noble birth, de Kervily was a count in his native land.  He studied at Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.  By 1933 he had moved to Los Angeles and was active until 1947."  Another site shows an example of his painting that looks a lot like the one we have in both style and subject.

It's hard to see from the photo I took, but the date on the painting is 1952.  Who knows how de Kervily made his way from Los Angeles to San Antonio, Texas (where Betty and Lew lived) or what de Kervily did between 1947 and 1952.  Since none of the references to de Kervily include a date of death, it's probable that Aunt Betty's note is a strong clue to the year of de Kervily's passing.  I doubt de Kervily was accomplished enough to merit much more than a footnote in history, but it sure is a pretty painting with an intriguing story behind it that we are lucky to hang on our wall.  Looks like I might need to do some more research.  Good thing we have both a librarian AND an art teacher in the family to help me!

Beads, beads, and more beads

The obsession continues...