Evan's First Birthday Party

Evan turned one. Hopefully he'll be old enough to understand by the time he reads this. It was a second-child affair through and through. Evan shared the stage with Michelle who turned forty. We invited family and neighbors. That morning we woke up and realized that we had everything still left to do for the party. And we went to Town Lake for a walk followed by a leisurely breakfast.

Evan needed a bath after eating his cake. The bath was administered in the kitchen sink. And then he spent the rest of his birthday wandering around in diapers. Yes - all very second-child-ish.

Feathered Friends in the Morning

We got home from DC last night after 1am. So this morning Vivian was less than ready to jump out of bed, but she did manage to get up and get dressed. Last week the high in Austin was 97 degrees. This morning it was 49 degrees. We ran a bit, walked a bit, and hung with the birds a bit.

Evan was in particularly great spirits. The boy likes to be back in his town.

Happy Birthday Jo

In two minutes it will be May 3 and Jo's birthday.

Jo usually likes material stuff. Gadgets, jewelry - that sort of stuff. This year she asked for experiential stuff. She's getting an afternoon at Milk + Honey, and a sleep-in at dawn.

The sleep-in is big. It's the first time in just over a whole year that she won't have to jump up when Evan squaks. Tomorrow morning I'll do that instead. Which has some pretty big implications for the boy. Evan - can you say "Weaned"?!

Dear Jo - wish you all the very best for the coming year, and may this truly be the best yet.

DC

We went to DC to see Aaron get promoted to Lt. Col and celebrate his 40th. The ceremony was somber. The rest of the stay was loud - five boisterous kids in one place. Vivian and Evan loved every bit of it. Evan wrestled with Gauge. Vivian played endlessly with Gauge and Logan. Peyton dressed Vivian up and did her nails, and taught Evan how to high-five. One evening Aaron and I cooked a modified "Chopped" (reality TV cooking show) dinner using everything in a shopping basket that the women brought home (Italian sausage, tilapia fillets, Nilla wafers, eggplant, poblano pepper, broccolini, coke, artichoke, shallots).  The comments of our judges ranged from "I can't eat this", to "Not bad".

We drove around a bit. During that time, Vivian asked us about a lot of different things. Like how cement worked, what did jelly fishes do with their tentacles, and why tornados kill people.

On the way back to the airport, I stopped to fill gas. As I stepped out of the car, I hear Vivian asking:

"Grandma, do you think god is real?"

Grandma: "Different people believe different things". 

Vivian: "But Grandma, do you think that God is real?"

Grandma "Yes I do".

Vivian "You are religious - just like me".

Jo filled me in the portions that I missed.

Vivian "Not like my parents. My Mommy thinks that the world created itself".

At four, this girl has almost outstripped our ability to answer her questions. God help us...:-)

On the flight back, there was this kid that was hysterical. Literally. Screamed like it was all over for about 15 minutes during take-off and about the same before landing. His mother looked very shell-shocked.  Jo got some well-meaning nods of thanks when the passengers saw her walk out of the airplane carrying Evan who slept through it all.