Sweetened and Condensed

Lately, I have been watching Evie and have been in wonder at how much she has changed.

Here she is at 18 months.  I had just shown her the rocking chair I picked up at a yard sale.  This was August, 2008.  Such sweetness flowing like a gentle river out of her.

Here she is at 3 and 1/2 years old, June 2010.

Same sweetness, just condensed into intense, dynamic bursts of electric sugar.

I Would Rather Have Another Baby

We have moved and the things we have unpacked are finally outnumbered by the items still in boxes.  I am still, however, trying to locate some extra bathtowels, and cannot seem to find them yet…

The process of moving was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced.  Yes, really, The Most Difficult Thing I Have Ever Experienced.  That includes having TWO BABIES NATURALLY.  WITHOUT ANY DRUGS.

Prunes!

Isaac has started solids, with gusto I might add.  For a few weeks before we started him, he would watch us eating food, and start to make chewing motions with his mouth.  If we were holding him close enough to the table, he would start to grab at plates and pull them toward him.  His desire to eat solids was becoming deadly.

Right before he turned 6 months old, we gave in.  Here is a picture of his first bite.  You can see that he quickly took over the situation, taking the spoon from me and chewing on it with desperation.

A few days later, he becomes a pro.  Prunes are his favorite food, and his favorite face paint.

"Where is the rest of that food?!  You there, give me my vittles!"

Tim, Evie and I are satisfied: the Dalton trait of enthusiastic eating will be carried on in this young one, as well.

Un-Ace of Cakes

I am not ashamed to say that I am not a domestic goddess.  My house is not immaculate, I do not possess the lovely art of arranging furniture in a comfortable way to accommodate pleasing conversation, and I am not versed in matching accent colors.  I feel good about the house if it is cluttered but not dirty, the the creatures in the house are fed and wearing clean clothes, and nothing stinks.  So it shouldn't be surprising that I do not possess any supernatural talent when it comes to baking cakes.

Tim's parents were coming up for a short visit at the beginning of June.  The day before their arrival was their anniversary.  Being the over-ambitious achiever that I am, I decided that on top of the packing of the house, daily child care routines, and cleaning the house for my in-laws' arrival, that I would bake them a cake for their anniversary.  In my severely compromised oven that bakes unevenly so one side will burn and the other side will remain close to raw.  Why, oh why.

The Evening "Itis"

When it is late afternoon, and the heat of the day begins to truly sink in, you may find yourself very drowsy.  You may even find yourself succumbing to an unplanned nap on your couch or in your chair.  Once, I woke up with my face on my keyboard; I had fallen asleep at work in front of my computer.  Good times.

A Visit from Dad

During my father's whirlwind tour of the USA, he was able to visit the East Coast for a few days at the end of May.  However, because of my denomination's Annual Conference, we would only be in town to see him for ONE DAY.

So Dad came through Philly for a record-breaking 24 hours!  He came in by train on Sunday night, and left by train on Monday evening.  Somehow through all of his travels, he made it safely to LAX by Tuesday at 1p.m. to catch his connection back to Hong Kong.  Wow!  So we are very thankful we were able to spend a little bit of time with him.

What any normal person would do

I am backtracking in posts, but this story is too hilarious not to tell.

Around the end of May, we had a mini-family vacation.  I had to attend my denomination's Annual Conference in Lancaster so the whole family came along.  We spent two nights and three days at the brand-new Marriott in downtown Lancaster.  Tim and Evie had a wonderful time: swimming in the pool, going to see Peter Pan at a marionette theater, visiting many fountains, and eating out.  Isaac accompanied me to many many many meetings.  He and I did not have so much fun, oh well.  In the evenings, when the kids somehow fell asleep despite the distraction of everyone being in one room, Tim would go down to the conference's bookstore and raid the bookstore offerings.  He was in heaven.