Siblings

We love Sugar!



This is what happens to babies who have siblings with a sense of humor.

Smile

My mom and I Skype often. She has yet to see Sugar smile. So, here she is in all her glory!

This is what mom usually sees...


Coming...


Oh, yeah! There it is.


And open the mouth.

Bounty

Guess what we have been making?

Aren't those jalapenos beautiful! We have one plant that is positively prolific. We pick pounds of peppers from our prolificly producing plant. Peter Piper probably would puff up with pride if he could pick from our prolific plant. Ha!



We grew so many Roma tomatoes this year. They have been wonderful for salsa. Jon slaved away over the stove and the smell was wonderful. He has somehow contented himself with using that little food processor that I use for making baby food. I told him that we probably need to upgrade to a full size.

I could make a wonderful marinara, but the inspiration hasn't hit yet. And in order to peel enough tomatoes for thee cups (Romas, mind you) you have to be inspired. In the meantime, I'll enjoy a tomato sandwich or just grab a chip and taste test to see if we need more jalapenos and red onions.

Visitors

My roommate from college, Sarah, came to visit this week. And I finally got to meet her daughter, Rebecca! Here they are jumping on the trampoline.



Rebecca is a beautiful, joyful toddler. We went to the park where our arms almost fell off before the little ones got off the swings.





Shakespeare can't keep to conventional playground use--must reach the highest heights.

Dressed for Success

Jon has taken up wearing clogs to work. With the everyday polo and dress pants it's not too distracting, but this????...



These are his shoe of choice. Forget dress shoes. Not even loafers are good enough for him.



He must have the versatility of being able to garden and hold a meeting. Yes, he actually went to work like that--even after I made fun of him. At least he didn't wear the white ones.

Arrrrrrrrrr! Roaming the 7 C's

The 7 C's de Popcorn
1. Conscientious. If he had his own room it would be in perfect order.
2. Cantankerous. If you bump into him he cries like he's been shot.
3. Cute
4. Cuddly -- but only on his terms
5. Coordinated -- clothing, not necessarily athletic ability
6. Concise. He says it like it is.
7. Confoundit, he's just a great little pirate!

Missing: A Gold Tooth

That's right! The "gold tooth" fell out yesterday. I did a little party dance. Yea! My son doesn't look horrid anymore. He has been parading his tooth around and scaring Popcorn with it. He is also leaving it all over the place. Sinatra refused to sit at the table because the gold tooth was sitting next to his place. The tooth fairy will have to get ahold of it tonight.

Being Three

The thrills of being three years old are many. Here are just a few:

Playing trains at Mr. Charley's house.



A drink from a water fountain at the park.



A trip down the curly slide.



Eating the entire bowl of ice cream in a huge bite.



Playing with Daddy.



Done for the day.

Welcome, Claire!

My brother and his wife just had their first child. Claire Lorraine was born on June 30, at 5pm, 8lbs. 5oz, 20 and a half inches long. Welcome, Claire!!! Congratulations, Mark and Lori!

Gold Tooth

I took Shakespeare to the dentist last month to address a concern I had with his front tooth. It had been loose for about two months and he had been wiggling it constantly with little progress. One day he asked me to wiggle his tooth to see how loose it was and I noticed something: his adult tooth was coming in behind the baby tooth.

The dentist says that his bite will push the adult tooth forward and that Shakespeare should just continue to wiggle that front tooth until it comes out.



Shakespeare has never been a tooth puller. He will hardly let anyone touch a loose tooth let alone pull it. So his dead, yellowed, hanging-by-a-thread baby tooth sits in his mouth, pushed forward and pointing threateningly at anyone who dares to even think about yanking.

I think it makes him look like he belongs on a dilapitated front porch in a back Kentucky woods, alongside an old washer and dryer and maybe a rusting car on blocks. But if you ask Shakespeare about the tooth, he'll shoot you a big smile and tell you that it's his gold tooth.