Eagle Eyes

While prepping for our latest trip, I palmed a couple of chocolate bars and slipped them into the cooler, trying to avoid eagle eyes E as I organized ingredients for S'mores. I thought I was slick. There was no way she saw.

E: Hey! What was that?!
Me: Nothing much. A surprise for later when we are camping. You'll see!
E: I don't want a surprise. I want my chocolate now!

Applause

If you look over at our archives, we've been doing a crap job of using the blog as a real record of milestones. So just a short note on Andrew.

He claps! It started this weekend. He's been big on banging his hands down on the table, and he's always clasped his hands together in a very cute way. I first saw him quietly clap his hands on Saturday morning, but I wasn't sure it was intentional. By Sunday, he was definitely clapping happily. Yeah Andrew, we cheer, and he'll grin his wide grin and so gently clap his hands together. Must get it on video, but for now marking the date.

As for moving - he's trying. He can scootch himself around a little bit when he's sitting, then he'll topple over on his side and get on his stomach, and try and reach for things. But he can't coordinate his hands, and has no idea what to do with his legs. Usually he ends up pushing himself backwards, and getting frustrated as the object that was just out reach gets further away! He's making such an effort, why is it further?! Sometimes he does manage to get on his knees, and he's been rocking back and forth on hands and knees for about two weeks. And sometimes he'll push himself up off his knees so he's sort of in a cross between plank position and downward facing dog (sort of a pushup, but his butt is up). Then he really doesn't know what to do next. But on Sunday morning he managed to get on hands and knees and took two faltering little mvements with his hands - crawling is just around the bend. These easy days of planting the baby in one place and having him stay there are soon to be over. He's ready to explore the world.

Recipe

35+ years of friendship on one side
21+ years of friendship on another
6 adults/3 couples who all get along individually
5 girls ages 3.75-5.5 years
3 boys ages 7 mo-13 mo
2 generous parents who hosted the whole group several times
2 islands
1 house

Add dash of perfect weather, a sprinkling of wild ponies, top off with ice cream, blue crabs and fireworks.

Yield: a great vacation

Note: 3 sick babies entirely optional. Adds complexity. Not recommended.

Bonus: 1 black skimmer (my favorite bird) seen on the last night

(group picture to come soon)

--
It was indeed a great vacation. We spent our first night in a hotel in Pocomoke, then moved into the rental place on Chincoteague. The night before we left we drove out to the beach to say goodbye to the ocean, and talked to Elizabeth about us leaving. No, she said, we can't leave.

We got the house all packed up Monday morning, everyone in the car to go, except Elizabeth, who stood on the steps of the house crying. Yes, come on, we have to go turn in the keys, Elizabeth! No, I don't want to go to our home! Can't we stay in our little hotel room tonight?

She watched a DVD much of the way home. When we pulled up in front of our house, she looked around, realized where we were, and wailed, no, not here!

Tuesday morning she crawled into bed for a snuggle. Mommy? Can't we go back? Back to vacation?

New Zealand Rugby World Cup 2011 here we come! (oh, yeah, plus a weekend trip to Pocomoke before the G's leave the continent.)

Happy Birthday Uncle Marc!

Birthday wishes to Uncle Marc from Chincoteague Island!


Getting this in under the wire. Had some trouble with the sign. A certain grabby 7-month old little boy kept trying to snatch it from big sister. He was moderately successful with the exception of this photo.

- Rich

You should see the other guy

OK, well, the pictures make it all look more dramatic than it really was. That plus her obsession with bandaids. My sister (who was visiting this past weekend) started calling her Nelly. (the rapper) (the one that wears a bandaid on his cheek?) (it's getting hot in herre?)

Anyway, so she's been riding her trike and her pedal-less bike (the Target brand fake "like-a-bike") for a while now and we decided it was time she started wearing a helmet. Like every other kid on the block (we're great parents, if I haven't mentioned that lately). The day she gets the helmet, she fell for the first time in a long while. Turns out the helmet does nothing if you fall directly on the side of your face. She had a pretty good scrape under her eye, a smaller scrape you can barely see above her lip, and an egg on her forehead. (me, the next day: how's your bruise? Her: bruise? Me: On your forehead? Her: That's not a bruise, that's an egg.)

And how did she fall, you might ask? Well, she was wearing a skirt, which caught on the bike seat, as she attempted to lift the bike onto a row of bricks outlining a planting box. Yep, she was trying to ride the bike along her 'balance beam.' So really, we probably got off easy - a fall just from the bike versus one in motion along a higher, less stable surface.

Things You Don't Want Your Neighbors to Know

#143. Sometimes, you don't pay your parking tickets.


(and since the neighbors now know, why not the internets?)

So, yep, I've (and yes, it's all me) acquired a few parking tickets in the Subaru. But over the past two years or so. Just yesterday parking enforcement was driving through the neighborhood and Rich asked what was on their car and I told him they have cameras now on the roof, and they drive slowly along taping all the plate numbers and looking up info about the cars. And here's the evidence today of how well that system works - I got snagged. And look, you can't live in a crowded city without getting tickets every once in a while. You should, however, pay the few you get promptly. That's my deficiency.

The city used to be incredibly efficient when it came to tickets - it was the only part of the city that worked. But over the past years as the city has improved, parking enforcement hasn't been as important, but they are ramping back up operations. I was pleased to see, on the notice, that unlike the last time I was booted (in 1994! I don't make a habit of getting booted), instead of treking to the DMV, you can now pay your ticket online or by phone, according to the handy dandy info included with the boot. So I walked inside and pulled up the website - except it couldn't be found. The form had the wrong website address! After searching around a bit I found enough info to suggest you could not pay online. But there was a phone number! So I called, and went through an incredibly detailed menu, paid the outstanding tickets, and the boot was removed within the two hour window as promised.

Again, I was booted back in the day - 1994, I think. I had gone to the Eastern Shore for some reason and stayed over, then got up early and drove straight to work, parking on the street. Came out to feed the meter and found the boot, with detailed instructions of how to get to the one place you had to go to pay the fine, which was not conveniently located. A Metro ride, a bus transfer, and a long walk later, the fine was paid and I was free to go. I remember the actually pretty nice woman had told me the boot would be off before I made it back to the car. So after backtracking the tedious route, got back to the car exhausted, ready to just get home after a too-long day - to find I had gotten a ticket inbetween the time the boot was removed and I arrived back at the car! Ticket writers back in the day were ferocious. So I'm standing there, feeling sorry for myself, after the long trek, early morning, and now an additional ticket to add insult to injury, and I look through the paperwork and they actually had a section that said if you were ticketed after the boot was removed you were not liable, but had to appeal by going in person to the same inaccessible office in some 5-minute window on a Thursday that fell on a full moon or some other such hoop jumping instructions.

So I just paid the fine. By mail. On time.

3rd Aunt Jen is the Charm

Happy (belated) Birthday, Aunt Jen W!

Ok, we're not as on top of things as we need to be. Yesterday was E & A's Aunt Jen's birthday. Yes indeed, the Dynamic Duo has three, count them, three, Aunts Jen! What's even crazier is that their birthdays are all in a row - no other family members in between - over a 3 week period in May/June.

Aunt Jen is my brother's wife, and mother of my little niece, Samantha, who is exactly 9 months older than E. Out of respect for Jen, I will not reveal her age relative to the other Aunts Jen. ;)

Uhhh, I wasn't trying to eat the note. Honest!

Sweetpea being oh so cooperative.

We weren't entirely successful in getting the two of them together. Sometimes certain diminutive members of this household have other ideas of what they should do at a given moment in time. Regardless of how much Mommy & Daddy cajole/scold them.

And a Happy Anniversary today to my brother and Jen. Congrats on 9 yrs guys.

- Rich