Emmeline goes for a swim

We've had a lovely weekend of outdoor activities including Emmeline's first time in a park swing and first time in a big pool. She loved both although she cried each time Adam went under water.  Somehow she looks 10 years old here in this picture with her hat and shoes on.

To Ponder:

8 Months

Spending some special time with our dear friend Marshall Taylor

Darling Girl,
Emmeline- Happy 8 months! You are growing up so fast! This is a sweet season of your baby life and we cherish each discovery you make.

You're probably around 17 lbs now and you are tall- probably 27 inches long. You took your first step at 7 months, but you're content to speed crawl throughout the house.  You are SO musical and turn your head and crawl in the direction of music. You take our hands to "play" the piano with them and clap and sing whenever someone is singing.  You also love books and will "read" your books for 25 minutes or so, quietly turning pages and studying the pictures.  You love to tear our books too. Right now you enjoy taking things in and out- shoes out of the shoe basket, clothes out of drawers. You still have a fascination with circles.

You're back to sleeping through the night and we're all so much happier- your teeth must have been bothering you. You have two teeth and we're waiting on the top ones to pop through.  You are very social and love going to the store, or to visit friends.  You've sat through concerts, rehearsals and sit through church most weeks.

One of the sweetest moments is watching you discover the world around you- you love looking up at tree branches, or listening to the rain fall. You like to touch bark and cat fur, to scratch the screen and feel a lemon.  Smelling is still a mystery to you- you tried to eat the lavender plant we put in front of you. You love to eat and though you nurse as normal you've tried all sorts of food, disliking only peas and yellow squash.

You are gentle and contemplative but also fearless and joyful.  You are a marvel and we love you dearly. These 8 months have been some of the best of our lives.

A Man Ought to be Able to Fix his Stuff

(Adam here)

Over the last two years or so I have taken to learning how to fix our stuff.  This all began when the lawn tractor broke and I was stuck driving in a circle.  While I could guarantee a nicely manicured circle of grass out in the yard, the remaining acre-and-three-quarters (or so) would become something of an accidental nature preserve.  As much as I would enjoy this, the landlord likes it better if the grass is regularly trimmed.  Thus, I had to fix one of my machines (read: toys).  Something that inspired me in this direction is a book my friend Erik gave me, entitled Shop Class as Soulcraft.

Then I realized I could probably manage changing the oil in the cars, which eventually progressed to changing brakes (yes, pads and rotors, too - if you've never done this, let me assure you it is not difficult at all). My next foray into automotive repairs was when the radiator on our beloved van "Bessie" went the way of all the Earth.  Thankfully our neighbor Doug is an expert at automotive repair, while also being uncommonly generous with his time.

Bessie

She's actually not a truck, but she doesn't know that...

"There's a radiator-shaped hole in my heart," said Bessie.

Doug helps me move the fittings from the old radiator to the new one

For my next trick, I decided I was tired of driving around with my hand applying slight clockwise pressure to the key in the ignition switch so that the engine wouldn't stall whilst driving.  In other words, like so many other first-generation Odyssey vans, Bessie needed a new ignition switch.

In case you ever wondered what the inside of the dashboard looks like on a '95 Odyssey...

My most recent patients have been our computers.  For Jenny's birthday, she received (among other things, I assure you) 4GB of RAM for her MacBook Pro, which has greatly increased its overall speed.  Installing was ridiculously easy.  You just take the case off the back of the computer, and the RAM slots are pretty much staring you right in the face, next to the battery.

However, the real test came when the hard drive in my iMac bit the dust (or, more aptly, started tasting the dust, and I didn't feel like waiting for it to turn into an all-out emergency), in the midst of some frantic work on my research.  Replacing the drive was a bit of a job - not difficult, per se, but more involved.

That big thing I'm holding up is actually the screen.

In case you ever wondered what the inside of an iMac looked like...

Hooray!  I didn't blow up my computer!

Let's see, what can I fix next?
In my new job I'll be fixing all kinds of things, but you'll just have to wait and hear more about that later.

Now I'm off to "fix" my chapter, so I can get on the next stage of my research!

Busy summer days

   Our summer is starting off in a whirlwind as we begin of season of change in our home: a new job, a house search, many new firsts for Emmeline, Phd deadlines etc.  But in the middle of it all many things remain the same.  We always spend time looking for Papa, watching the trucks go by, reading books, making the scrunch-the-nose cheesy smile that is Emmie's 7 month speciality. And these are precious days.  Emmeline is trying so hard to walk. She's a speedy crawler now and thats just fine with us.  Here's to a wonderful summer as a family of 3.

Emmie's first summer

It's so much fun sharing the beginning of summer with Emmie. Here are a few shots of swimming, eating outside, swinging and then Emmie's discovery of toilet paper. We're in trouble now!