Pinewood Derby

Another car on the shelf marks the passing of another Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. Penn placed 2nd out of the Wolves and 15th out of the 52 total entries! Not too shabby. 

The cars race four heats. Below is a videoed race where Penn came in first. He's looking around at the end for his friend, Eddie (pictured above) to celebrate.

Lucy: Three Months

Lucy is three months old! She laughed this month. The first time on the changing table while I talked about her cute "bunsie wunsies." The second time when I repeated the punchline to a joke Penn was telling while leaning on the bed. "Pupperoni!"

Her red hair is still red. In the sunlight it is extravagant. A shiny decadent red. It's growing longer and it's all coming in red. Passers by will comment and friends want to know where it comes from. It is a force and, as far as we know, she's the only red head in either of our families. Sure, maybe Cousin So and So was kind of red or Daniel has a red beard, but this! This is different. Exceptional.

I don't want to talk about our beloved Margot in posts about Lucy. I don't want to spend too much time comparing, even though I know, for at least a year, we will compare. As Lucy grows and her cheeks fill out and her thighs gain an extra roll, she looks more and more like her sister.  She makes expressions or looks at me and they are the spitting image of one another. Except for the hair. So sometimes I think that crazy red hair is a wonderful force that lets Lucy be herself.

Happy Birthday Daniel

Today is Daniel's birthday. Penn made a hilarious card and we got him a burr coffee grinder. My brother sent some of his own roasted coffee beans. I made truffle macaroni and cheese and swiss chard from the garden with balsamic vinegar and little carrot cakes with cream cheese icing for desert. Friends spontaneously came over and beer and cigars were had. Lucy showed everyone her bottom lip and crocodile tears.

I love Daniel's birthday. I love every year I get to celebrate his arrival here. I love all 11 months of racking my brain for what we should do and eat and what to get him. I love watching the years go by and thinking back on all of his accomplishments and wondering what he'll build in the years to come. He is an extraordinary human and husband and father and I am ever so happy to be by his side.

Here's to today, and to so many more days to come.

It's also my sister's birthday! Happy birthday, sweet sister.

Spring Break 2012: The rest of it

This week was one of my favorite Spring Breaks. We started off with the mini vacation to Oklahoma. The rest of the week we just hung out. Penn rode his bike. He played a lot with his friend Isaac. It made me wish for the country a bit. These two almost never look to a tv/ipad/wii/ds for fun.  They play outside more than any of Penn's friends and I wished I had more outside to give them.

We ate lunch at the food trucks and went to the Dallas Museum of Art with friends and made collages and robots and had snacks in the cafe.

We went to the Museum of Nature and Science and the shark exhibit. This was a highlight for me. I don't get enough time with Penn anymore. On this trip, Lucy was enamored with the surroundings and not so cute as to be very distracting. (Tough!) So Penn and I walked and talked and enjoyed one another without interruption.

We got some plants in the garden.

But mostly we slept. We stayed up too late and we slept in too late and it was glorious.

Spring Break in Oklahoma

We went to Oklahoma for a Spring Break weekend. Daniel flew my brother down from Michigan, rented a van and we loaded up the kids and dogs. I didn't take my camera, so I made do with the iPhone. 

Daniel blogged about it here.

Photographing Haile Wossen

Haile Wossen is all the rage in Dallas. His flower designs are exquisite. It was a pleasure to meet him and photograph his work for Dallas Brides Magazine.

Second Grade Science Fair

We grow mung bean and alfalfa sprouts at home. My mung beans sprout great, but the texture is a little tougher than store bought sprouts. I've experimented with growing them in the dark, or on the counter where they see a little bit of sun. This turned into Penn's science experiment: Mung Bean Sprouts vs. Light and Dark. He discovered that they grow TWICE as fast in the dark!

He was disappointed that he did not place this year. But I'm glad that's an achievement he desires.

What Love is to Me

What love is to me.
Love is a beatifal thing that everyone can do. You know when you love someone when you are embaressed and you want to wet your pant. [sic] 

--Penn, age 8