Trio

Many hands on the keys makes for interesting music.

Booster Boy

This booster seat usually lives outside for use with the patio set.  It came in when the Twins visited and we needed more seating.  It stayed in to get cleaned.











Edmund loves it now.  He will sit and play with is for half an hour without any interest in anything around him.  I am not sure what holds the fascination, but it is as good as a fort.

Adventures in Pasta

Basil Chicken Pesto Macaroni makes a happy Bear!

Awesome

It was a good day. (Yes, Dad is keeled over in the background, it was not the Bear's fault, thought he gets blamed for many things being on the floor these days.)

Apricots

I was cleaning out some baskets today and found Grandpap's dried apricots & pistachios which got put away while he was here.  I let Edmund try the apricots and he really enjoyed them. 

I got the pistachios.  I tried to share one with him but he did not want it.  More for me.

They were a bit chewy for him, so I got some great faces while he was eating.

Cousins

The kids were waiting quite patiently for the adults to be ready for church.

It was so much fun to have them with us.  Edmund enjoyed having someone else who wanted to play with him.

Consanguenity

We have been enjoying a visit from our cousins from VT. They are on their way to the beach for a week.  Gennett and Edmund have been good friends for quite a while!

Curled Toes

Pony Visit

Jane had us out to visit her pony, Joey. Edmund was not keen to ride.

But he liked petting!  Maybe next year.

Cheese Sticks

Edmund is finally learning to pull apart cheese sticks.  We had to show him several times, and had to keep offering them as food.  At first he just wanted to throw them at us.  But now he seems reconciled to actually eating them.

New Dump Truck

He was having a bad day, so we opened the truck. Did you know how much stuff you can fit in the back of that truck? More than just the blocks that came with it.  Thanks Uncle Caleb and Aunt Jenn for the amazing gift.

Night Traveler

Gummy Bear

Jeff & Alisha had a very neat candy table set up at their reception.  The guests were able to fill little bags with an assortment of candy to take home (or eat immediately) by which to remember the happy couple.  I decided to share one of Jonathan's gummy bears, I had eaten all mine, with Edmund to see if he would like it.  He quickly passed it back to me.  I suppose that aversion to candy is not a flaw in a Little Man.

(Also note, the bib says "Take Me to Your Candy" - fortuitous coincidence.)

Musician

Aunt Beth is awesome and has amazing toys!  Her instruments are miles above the ones in the church nursery.  Happy Boy!

Wedded Bliss

Congratulations and Best Wishes, Jeff & Alisha!

Aunt Beth and the New Book

That title sounds like a new children's book, and maybe some day it will be.  Then for ages afterward people will say, "Oh I love the Aunt Beth books!  Did you read them as a child?  You should, they are great even now."
Reading Brown Bear, which was a birthday present from Aunt Beth is a good way to start a visit.

Sister

Another one!  Did you know there is a younger, geekier Miss T?  We are so blessed!  Little Bear is not totally sure about her though, so she will have to come back and play more.  Just to make sure.

Sun Glasses

Thanks to Auntie Bonnie for an afternoon at the pool.  Her sunglasses caused much delight when Edmund finally realized what they do for the wearer.  It gets darker out.

Crazy Face

  

This is my funny Little Man.  He keeps me smiling and happy.  Even when this get a bit crazy, I still love him to distraction, and I know he loves me!

Perambulation

Nothing is safe.  No place is safe.  No one is safe.  Watch out he is coming to get everything.  Albeit, who does not want to give in to that face?

Phone

Welcome to the future!  Guess who has a cool new "phone"?  Really it is more of a tricorder, but no one call it that yet.  We went over ostensibly to get squash from the garden and ended up doing a little demo... until the Bear got very tired.

Comfort from a Bad Dream

Tonight the Bear woke after being asleep for half an hour soaking wet and emitting hiccupy sobs.  I am not sure he was actually awake, but he was upset.  Nothing like the rocker with Mother while Dad remakes the bed.  It is sweet to be so magical to someone so small.

Peace

I am sure you are all tired of sleeping baby pictures, and Edmund will probably not thank me, but I find him asleep so irresistible.  Maybe it is because that is the only time that he is like that idea of a baby that we all have.  Peaceful.  In reality, awake is messy, awkward, noisy, and fetching.  Asleep is peaceful and charming.  

Private Pool

Auntie Bonnie came over for a dip in Edmund's new backyard pool.  This thing is more like a private pond than a baby pool.  It was a great way to cool off and have fun.  And the deck-side service was better than the community pool.  Thanks to Grandma and Papa for the fun birthday gift.

Nursery

Edmund and Lily had fun this morning at nursery.  They kept trying to seal each other's toys, and then promptly lost interest in the toy once they had acquired it.  That tendency must be part of human nature.  Wanting something is more important than actually having it.  They were both pretty happy through the experience, so that makes them more fun than adults.

Spoon

We are learning to self-feed now.  It is a bit messy, but so was learning to eat, so I suppose it should not be surprising.  The spoon seems more interesting to him than the actual food.  He is enchanted by holding the implement himself.  Baths are not going out of style anytime soon in this family.

Comfortable

I will never get over how Edmund sleeps all over the bed.  Sometimes at the top, sometimes on the side, sometimes at the bottom.  He never seems to be in a really comfortable position, but I suppose he likes it.

Helping with Chores

Vacuums are great for many reasons.  Once you have learned how to climb on things they are so much more fun.

Me & Uncle T

We enjoyed our visit with Uncle T, and hope he comes back soon!  Edmund was glad to have someone around who wanted to play all the time.

Pen Making

TJ took a lesson on the lathe while he was here and made a pen.  He is thinking about giving up his day job and sticking with woodworking for the future.  The man-cave is rather alluring.

Stuff of the Month! - June

Book: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.  Very interesting look at how we build patterns of behavior and what it takes to make changes, with discussions of what advertising attempts to accomplish

Movie (theater): Snow White & The Huntsman. An enjoyable fairy tale interpretation which isn't afraid to dable in realism (e.g., when your cavalry charge a castle, the predictable results actually occur).  Beautiful and fanciful, the film did feel a bit off-pace when introducing the dwarves and other magical creatures midway through the film without preparing for their existence.

Movie (home viewing): Flash Point.  A 2007 Chinese martial arts film about a detective hunting a Vietnamese smuggling gang, the most interesting point to me was the symbolism of the fighting styles (so much as I could pick up) - the Chinese cop had a more western mixed / grappling style similar to BJJ, while the Vietnamese guys fought with more of the quick / circular striking techniques associated with Chinese (especially southern) martial arts.  A message of China needing to adopt western practices to save itself from its enemies who practice China's traditional philosophies?  Or perhaps I am just overanalyzing things after reading Kissenger.

Music: Imaginaerum by Nightwish.  More pounding rock with soaring instrumentals from what is quickly becoming a favorite band.

Household project: In preparation for a family visit, we put up a curtain rod and curtains behind/across the entrance to our (future library) basement nook (future library) to allow a bed to go in there with relative privacy.  Also seems like it could be a good way to square the room up for use as a group meeting area so everyone is within sight of each other.


Low point: The Iron Lady.  Too much of a big picture, didn't really get anything in particular across about Ms. Thatcher.

Other thoughts: 

Popsicle

We decided to go to the pool today, and there was a dreadful line.  They were at capacity and you had to wait until a party your size or larger left in order to gain admittance.  The very nice family in front of us gave Edmund a popsicle to savor while we were waiting.  He enjoyed it very much.  So cold, so sweet, so refreshing.  Almost better than getting into the pool.

Stormy Cleanup

Happy July everyone.  We hope you have power or get it back soon.  We never lost it, and had no damage from the branches that blew down.  David helped get them down from the roofs and TJ helped clear them from the yard.  Yes, he is using an ax in flip flops.  I am trying not to worry about his  toes.