Fun at the Witheys

We stopped by jeff and Mary's on the way up to Maine. It is always so much fun to see them and Will and Eva wished that could be the vacation. The kids are warming up Will's fishing pole. They didn't catch anything. (Whew!) 

Somehow, we end up at Jeff and Mary's every time we have a baby. Fortunately, that is not a requirement for visiting. I think we have pictures like this of all of the kids with Jeff.

Will caught a crawfish. It took several attempts before he got the guts to grab it. He brought it back to study and then released the poor terrified critter back into the wild. 

One of the things Will wanted to do on the New England trip was go to a "swimming hole." There's a creek near Jeff and Mary's. It was cold! 

Last year, Jeff and Mary took a decent family picture of us and it looks like they did it again! I like that we are standing in front of a family tree. 

Lyra's First Table Food

As you might be able to tell from the picture, Will and Eva are *even more excited* than Lyra to start her on solid food. We gave her some rice cereal and there were serious negotiations about who got to pick out the bib, feed the first bite etc. I had to show them how to do "the yum-yum train" and properly market white goop on a spoon.

Lyra actually likes the white goop. The butternut squash today was not so popular. Smart girlie....it really is better with a bit of butter, brown sugar and nutmeg. 

Eva's Gymnastics Party

Eva has never really had a birthday party with a bunch of friends; we've mostly done small celebrations with her. We were supposed to do a proper party last year but pregnancy-induced nausea and torpor killed my motivation to plan any sort of party. So, a year and two weeks late, Eva has a birthday party with her friends at the gym where she takes gymnastics! It was fun and I do believe a may be a convert to outsourced birthday party entertainment. 

Is it snack time or dress up? Seth and Harrison show that it is possible to be dashing with goatee and without. 

Those cupcakes are everywhere. I am glad we had extra because they were very good, if I do say so myself! 

Eva Makes the Paper

Last weekend was the Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront Festival. One of the attractions was the National Guard climbing wall. Eva tried her first climbing wall in March, and she really loves it. She now goes almost every week to SportRock, an indoor climbing gym in Alexandria, and whenever we are at a festival or amusement park with a portable climbing wall she has to go up it a few times. 

Big Sister Little Sister

Bill asked me to do the writing for him so this post is a joint effort. He took this beautiful picture of Eva holding Lyra yesterday. Lyra doesn't always want Eva to hold her and Eva doesn't often cooperate for posed photos, so this is truly a lucky shot.

Eva's pretty smile reminds me of her Aunt Edie. I am not sure who exactly Lyra looks like. She looks a lot like Will and Eva at the same age, just smaller and with a bit more hair. Wish we could PhotoShop the tag off Lyra's PJs but my photoediting skills are not very sophisticated.

Super Cutie

Lyra is experimenting with her voice a lot more these days. Her little babbles and giggles are so funny! We need to record them somehow but none of the children, so far, have ever cooperated for the microphone.

Lyra is sitting very well now. Here she is in the corner of the couch, very proud of herself for sitting up like a big girl. Everyone was making faces and noises trying to get her to smile, and boy did it ever work.

Lyra & Her Bear

Eva put this bear on top of Lyra and she actually seemed to think it was cool. This is how Will and Eva like to hold Lyra, on their laps with her facing them. Of course the bear fell off right after I took this picture, but Lyra is still too young to be upset over that sort of thing.

Sisterly Love

Eva really gets in Lyra's face sometimes, but she does love her little sister. Lyra is remarkably tolerant of it but we don't expect that to last much longer

Eva Turns Six!

We celebrated last night although today is the actual day. Eva wanted a pumpkin pie instead of a cake. In a couple of weeks, she is having a party with a few friends and I will bake a cake for that one. 

Will insisted on helping Eva open all her presents and Eva was remarkably tolerant. Eva had a very specific list of what she wanted including a pedometer, new sandals, the game Twister, and a dress with puffy sleeves. We didn't come through with the dress but I don't think she noticed. 

I love this picture of Dad and Lyra! 

Patriotism

In over two centuries of US history, citizens have come together in times of crisis to overcome partisanship and act for the good of the nation. The time is long overdue for PATRIOTS in the Republican Party and PATRIOTS in the Democratic Party to join together to expunge the venal and illegitimate tyrant wannabes in the executive branch of our current government. 

Happy Birthday Eva!

Eva turns six on June 12th, and she is sooo excited. She really does have a very mature attitude, and is doing great in her many actvities. We celebrated her family birthday today, but she still has a celebration with her friends to look forward to. 

Bulb Narrative

Look at this fabulous painting by Sheep Jones! It is now hanging in our living room over our sofa and it looks like it was made to be there. We love it! Sheep has a studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria.