Progress

Baby Jeneric has moved beyond rice cereal. Huzzah!
Can you guess the food?

She wore an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weenie, blue flowered bikini

We're back and boy, do I miss Florida. Mom and Dad never made me wear socks and in my board book, it doesn't get any better than that.

Here I am checking out Grandpa. He's tall, but not as tall as my Daddy.

We went to the beach several times. The Gulf of Mexico is big and a little chilly this time of year. Here I am with Mom and Dad on my first beach. See how tall I am? Mom told me that big drop-off is because of beach erosion. If it keeps going, the beach could disappear completely and then where would I make sand castles?
First, I explored the sand... and my feet. Aren't they the coolest? I've got two of them, you know and they're very useful for standing on or covering with sand.
Dad took me into the water. Here, I'm just dipping my toes in. The water is a little cool and the waves tickle when they crash over my toes.

Look how far I went! Dad held me tight and took me even further, but I didn't really like that.

The three of us having fun in the sun.

One night we got dinner from the Firehouse Sub shop. They've got fantastic sandwiches and chili. Don't I look great in red?

My crazy Uncle and his fiancee came for a visit, too. See how much fun my Uncle had with me? He took me to Whataburger (but Mom didn't have a Whataburger, she had some Whatachicken). I got to play with the table number sign. Very tasty for being so 1970s.

Our last day there, we went to the Botanical Gardens. So many plants! And a lot of signs telling me to not molest the alligators. Silly 'gators.

Here I am with Dad and a very pretty shrub, covered in purple flowers.

Mom and I posed by a little water garden. I really liked listening to the water and pulling on the plants (shh! Don't tell the gardener!).

Peaking out from behind yet another palm tree.

A family shot - in the Wedding garden. You really can get married here but my Uncle says I have to wait until I'm at least 21 before I can date, so it could be a while for me!

This photo is for my Midwest Grandma. This is a wood duck nesting box. Did you know they can nest 30 feet or more above the ground?

This picture is for my East Coast Grandpa - Grandpa, do you think you could grow this banana tree in your yard? It's called 'Ice Cream Banana' and I think it would be quite tasty.

All that fun in the sun leaves a girl tired. Good thing I have my Dad to carry me home!

Postcard #1

Having a great time! Wish you were here!

Irony

Our house is old. Built in 1928, this house was filled with galvanized pipes. When Baby Jeneric became a reality, Eric decided to tackle the plumbing, installing shiny new copper pipes that were free of the rust and gunk that could interfere with Baby Jeneric's growth and development. But really, it was a good excuse for Eric to play with pipe cutters, torches and water.

Fast forward to Friday when we reached the final stage of this project: cutting out the old pipes to install the new ones. Scary! (please note that Eric originally planned to do this on the Saturday night before Easter. Yes, Easter, when most plumbers would charge enough to fund their grandchildren's college education). Needless to say, chemical engineers really are nothing more than glorified plumbers. Eric's work was nearly flawless (the only minor drip came from a threaded joint that, on further inspection, was dented). Woo hoo!

Then why did our basement flood Sunday afternoon?

It may have had something to do with the terrific nor'easter that slammed the east coast. Final estimates aren't in just yet, but we easily got 5 inches of rain, if not 8. It's mind boggling - if that had come as snow, our roof would have collapsed. Instead, it came as rain that filled the ground water table past capacity, such that about 3 or so inches of water decided to take up residence in our basement.

I wish I'd taken a photo, but it was too horrible to document. With the help of some amazing friends (who called and offered to help not once, not twice but three times), their power washer (used in reverse) and their aquarium filter (Thanks to Speedy the Turtle), and two shop vacs, we prevented the water level from becoming any deeper. By morning, the flood had receded and today we're left sopping up the puddles that remain.

We'll be purchasing a sump pump when they're back in stock at the local hardware.

And now, we're off for a much-needed vacation. Baby Jeneric's going to meet the Atlantic Ocean!

Getting to know you

Getting to know about solid food! Ah, yes. It had to happen eventually. Baby Jeneric had her first taste of solid food on Friday, the 13th. While she may be physically ready for solids, psychologically, she's a few weeks away.


'Hmm. What's this? Does it roll, squeak or sing?"


'Oh, I don't know about this.'


'No. Definitely no.'


'Daddy, do you see what she's doing?'


'And your going to let her continue?!'


'Oh, please, no. I promise I'll start taking naps. I'll sleep until 8. I'll limit the pooping! Noooo!'


'Where's child protective services when you need them, hmm?'

Knock, knock!

Who's there?
Esther!
Esther who?
The Esther Bunny!!

Baby Jeneric had a fine Easter. This little lamb was patiently waiting her arrival. Baaah!

Eric took on Baby Jeneric's 13-year-old cousin at boxing (note that Eric is multitasking in this image - boxing and trying on an in-progress hat).
Baby Jeneric helped with egg coloring (although this image is reminiscent of Airplane!, no?)
She played with her cousin, who proclaimed, "She still doesn't do anything!"

And Baby makes 4.

Road Trip!

This weekend, we piled into our trusty steed (Henriette, the Honda) and sallied forth to parts unknown and known (Annapolis, MD).

Baby Jeneric loves car rides. No, really. She does.

Baby Jeneric, with the help of some college friends, discovers her own Roots.

Baby Jeneric took this photo from the vantage point of her stroller. Nice composition for a 4.5 month old.

Baby Jeneric was prevented from entering the Maryland State House. Her servants were found to be in possession of a weapon (oo! a mini-leatherman. Please don't file me!).

These folks were waiting outside the State House. Wonder what 'weapon' they were trying to sneak in.