So very civilized

Juniper: (urgently) I need to pee!!!
Sally: (enthusiastically) Ok, then let's go to the potty!
J: (sullenly) I don't want to.
S: (inquisitively) But if you don't pee on the potty, then where are you going to pee? You don't want to go back to wearing diapers, do you?

pause

J: (seriously) No, that would be uncouth.

Before and after

C'mon out, Huckleberry. It's pretty good out here. I think you'll like it; I do.



I've checked out your mom, and she's very good at snuggling. I'm quite sure you'll approve. See you soon.

January in Atlanta

Aaron is away on a work trip to Ft. Wayne, Indiana for the Dungeons & Dragons Experience. (When I mentioned this to a friend who doesn't know what Aaron does, she initially thought I was kidding about the work part. Nope, he really does get paid to attend nerdy gaming conventions.)

While he is in chilly, snowy Ft. Wayne, we enjoyed one of those unseasonably warm days that Atlanta always offers up in the middle of winter.

A fun fall day

Aaron recently uploaded a bunch of old photos from his phone to his computer. They're not current, but still fun.



Wheee!!! Errands are fun when you get to coast along in the big cart. Water bottle for Dad - check. Sunglasses for Juniper - check.



Sittin' on the front porch on an autumn afternoon
In my flowery shades, I'm leaned against the stairs.
Watchin' Captain Planet moralize and save the day,
And chase the bad guys back to their mountain cave.

In my Clarkston city home
Life is as peaceful as a baby's sigh.
In my Clarkston city home
Crickets sing in the yard near by.

(With many apologies to Dolly Parton)

When life gives you lemons...

Juniper, while holding half of a wooden lemon:

And in this hand I have some nade. Add the lemon, and then you have lemonade.

Shifty eyes

You just wait; it won't be long till those keys are mine. If only I could control my hands...

Thanks, DeeDee

Credits:

Dress....................DeeDee
Photography........Aaron
Cute......................Juniper

Hello, bright eyes

Hazel had her two month checkup a few days ago. 15 pounds, and 24.8 inches. We're grateful for our big, healthy girl.

Summertime

Just a few more months...

Grier, Hazel, and Ukulele

Who knew that a yellow ukulele would make such a popular photo prop?

Stone Mountain

There can be no movement from this spot until all sticks are in the bowl. The bowl is next to a forest full of sticks. Solve. Full credit for a solution that does not involve physically moving the child. Extra credit for a solution that involves no tears.



A walking stick! Full credit, but no extra credit on this one.



At the base of the Stone Mountain walk up trail, there is a visitors' center with a great little museum-style exhibit about the geology of the mountain. When Juniper saw this model of the earth's core, she delightedly ran up to it and yelled, "the sun!" When Aaron explained what it is and suggested looking closer at it, she replied that she couldn't because the core of the earth is too hot to touch. Once he clarified that it's just a model of the earth's core, and thus not too hot, she enjoyed playing around it.

Everybody loves a fat baby

I'm not sure which is more remarkable:


her cheeks...




...or her chins.

Snow!

We just wrapped up the snowiest week I've experienced in Atlanta. We got several inches of snow plus a little ice, which melted and refroze into compacted snow covered by a thick sheet of ice. Schools were closed for the entire week, and we had all sorts of snowy adventures in our yard.



One of Juniper's favorite activities our first day out was "blorping" leaves. Before the ice got too thick, pushing leaves with a stick made them disappear into the snow.



We made a snow tent, which seemed like a great idea on day 1. Unfortunately, it was a little too successful. It stayed up the whole week, and sitting inside the tent telling stories became Juniper's favorite outside activity. That doesn't sound like a bad thing, but we desperately wanted her to run around and burn off some of her boundless two-year old energy. "Juniper, it's too cold to sit in the snow tent and tell stories all morning. I'll tell you one more Johnny Storm story, and then let's go run around and blorp some leaves."



By day 3, the ice was thick enough that Juniper could walk across it elf-like, not breaking the surface. We tried sledding on a cookie sheet.



It went pretty fast, and Juniper was only interested in two runs down our sloping front yard. After the second run, she said that she wanted to go into the back yard. As we made our slippery way to the snow tent, she said, "I'm really excited about sledding."

"Do you want to sled again?"

"No, I was excited about sledding twice."



As a kid, on those rare occasions when we got enough snow to make snow cream, I never felt like I got as much as I wanted. So I helped Juniper fill up a mixing bowl with snow, and we added a bit of sugar and vanilla to make a big batch of snow cream. Juniper loved it, and we all got to eat as much as we wanted.



On day 4, the ice was thick enough that even Aaron could walk across the top of it. He had the great idea to try a large, broken-down cardboard box for a sled. I went down alone, and then Juniper and I went together. It wasn't quite so fast and slippery as the cookie sheet, and after one run with me, she was happy to go down by herself.

Sally & Hazel

Family math

1 awesome godfather + 1 excellent uncle + 1 fantastic dad = 3 lucky kids = 1 Aaron

1 naked superhero + 1 clothed superhero = 2 best friends

all of the above + 1 smirking baby = a whole mess of fun

No Bad Guys

Juniper's devotion to comics and superheroes far surpasses that of the average obsessive fangirl or fanboy, but her understanding of the genre and its conventions is pretty warped. She often requests to hear "a Fantastic Four story, but with no bad guys." Whenever possible, we try to get her to trade us story for story. Frequently, she just repeats stories she's heard from one of us, but when we're lucky we get a Juniper original:

"Then Dr. Doom knocked on their door, but they said they wanted some space and privacy in their own house, so Dr. Doom went back to the bad guy surface."

Grinch Bowl

Jason strives for glory in the Grinch Bowl, an annual New Year's flag football game organized by Cheryl's brother-in-law Rick.



Some people might take it easy when guarding their father-in-law, but not Jason. (And Dzadzi wouldn't want him to.)



Juniper's loyalties were unquestionably to the yellow team: her favorite color and Jason's team. She did a great job of cheering, "Go Jason!" as loud as possible.



During the game, Juniper and I spent some time on a nearby baseball field, where I explained how baseball works. (Well, a simplified, toddler version of baseball.) She liked standing on the pitcher's mound while I pretended to hit a ball...



...and she really liked running around all the bases.

Merry Christmas

For more holiday photos, check out Aaron's website.

She smiles!

If babies could talk...

Hazel: What're you lookin' at?
Luke: Must lick more cloth...

Or perhaps they would both just ask for some milk, or a clean diaper, or for someone to be carrying them, or for us to get out of the way so that they can see the ceiling fan. It's hard to imagine what's going on in the mind of a little baby.


p.s. Happy New Year! Holiday photos to come soon.