"Blog-worthy"

It's the newest adjective used to describe photos or comments. My sister-in-law Michelle had these pictures and proclaimed them to be "blog-worthy." I think a few of them look like Carson is posing for senior pictures.

After a few moments, this staring contest was called in favor of the bovine.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great weekend with our good friends the Nashes. Their two older kids were the flower girl and ring bearer in our wedding 6 years ago! Their family has a connection to a really cool cabin near Breitenbush, which is between Salem and Detroit Lake. The cabin is misleading in this picture. It's a one room cabin on the first floor, with a "loft" addition on the top, which you can only access from this upstairs front door. There is no electricity and no running water, but it is only about 75-100 feet from the river. We had great weather, took some great walks, played a lot of Sequence and played a lot outside in the forest and river.I remember when I was little and we were camping, my mom would want me to sit on her lap when she was cold. Now I know why!
Our friend Michelle is such a trooper. She has an above-knee prosthetic leg, and it doesn't slow her down at all! Not to mention, she keeps up with three very busy kids.
We (and by "we" I mean usually Eric and Trent) had to fill buckets with water in the river and bring it back to the cabin to use it for everything from cooking to washing our hands.
This is their youngest, Graydon. He's 3.This was on Sunday, the coldest day. We took a beautiful hike and stopped for a photo shoot.
"WHOA! Mommy's knee just got a lot bigger!"
What a way to travel, huh?

You won't see these in the scrapbook.

I haven't been posting much lately, mainly because I don't have many new pictures. But then I realized I have a handful of recent pictures, but I just didn't think any of them were very good. So, please enjoy "Photo Shoot Gone Wrong." My favorite pic is at the end. Mike, I may need some photo lessons.

Nothing wrong with this face! It's just a little blurry. It's so adorable that he can now smile on cue, but gets a little frustrating when I want to inconspicuously catch him doing something (usually on video) and he rushes over to mug for the camera.

You may not see it in this picture, but I can: Carson has recently begun to show some serious signs of toddler OCD. If he's eating with his fingers (and, come on, he's 1 year old, so if he's eating, it's usually with his fingers), he'll stop every few bites, hold out his hands towards me, and give the most annoying sound in the world: a toddler whine. He wants me to wipe his hands off with a washcloth. Ugh. Now I leave a damp washcloth on his tray and am teaching him to wipe his hands off himself. This resolution came shortly after I thought he was whining and pointing at something in the car, but I soon realized he was whining and holding out A BOOGER FOR ME TO TAKE! Um, I don't think so, dear. Here's a tissue. In this photo, I think he is wiping barkdust off of his hands onto his pants. Hey. Better than asking me to take it.

I swear, I do not have early signs of Parkinson's. I don't know what was up with me that night.

Here he is sporting the infamous Tompkins' closed eye pose.

Nice legs, kid! He's got the same sweet tan his mother has, but fortunately is not wearing socks with his sandals, like his father does.

Carson keeps going up to Roy's room and knocking, saying "Bapah? Bapah?" Our roomie is at his real home this week, and Carson's missing the extra face (and attention!). OK, Jen and Trent miss you too!

"Almost-Summer" Evenings

I can't decide which caption of the "I'm not as innocent as I look" variety to match to this pic.
"Oh! My Mommy's so pretty!"

" Dad, if you are going to keep chatting on the phone, I'll just get going on this engine."

Playing Around

I've been playing around with the video feature on my camera. And by "playing around," I mean "actually using properly for the first time." And by "properly" I really mean "improperly." You see, I'm a dork. I'm not used to taking video on a normal camera (as oppose to camcorder, at which I'm Speilbergesque), and I had just taken a still picture while turning the camera sideways. I do this a lot. And in this vertical image, I thought it called for a camera turn. So...now you all have to turn your heads.



This one is a little bit better. I'm not shooting from a very good angle, but the subject is very entertaining and at least you don't have to contort yourself to view it.

A pretty typical evening...

...in our household: after his turn changing Carson's diaper, Daddy decides that pants (for Carson) are optional fashion accessory. After putting the toys away earlier that day (sometimes more than once), Mommy decides that the overturned bucket is acceptable household decor. After asking for cookies and popsicles and getting rejected several times, Carson decides that goldfish are a delightful snack option.

Just this afternoon...

Hmmmm. Why is my printer not working? I should lift up the lid and see if there is a paper jam. Or if there is just a ball in the mechanism next to the toner cartridges.

Part-Time Roomie

Our part-time roomie (and landlord, actually!) turns out to be pretty useful. :) And as you can see from this pic, he gets a few benefits from the arrangement as well.

For the Boys

I was so inspired by Linz's awesome photo videos, that I was inspired to see what kind of vids I could make from the software on my computer. I'm kind of disappointed in the quality of the pictures, but the idea is there. Here's one dedicated to Carson and the boys. Also, all you children of the 80's, tell me how many seconds it takes you to play "name that tune." Hint: Footloose soundtrack rules!

Siesta

A few months ago, we began the awkward transition between two naps a day to one nap a day. There are times (like today) when Carson just wakes up too early or sleeps too poorly to be awake and in a good mood all morning. But most days, I try to keep him awake until after lunch so he can take one good nap. As you can see, that leads to some half-finished lunches.

Yesterday he didn't even wait for me to finish cutting his food before he was out!

Also, please don't judge me by the foods you see on the tray. I promise we feed him more than quesadillas, mac & cheese, and crackers!

Brush Up Your Shakespeare

My friend, Anti-Blog Man, recently posted that he and his wife are taking swing dance lessons, and he was surprised that the teacher applauded his skill (or was she hitting on him?). But I was not surprised, having performed this very special song and dance number with him during our sophomore year of college. The show was "Kiss Me Kate" and it was a fun time for both of us to spend with Kristi--his future wife and my future best friend. Our character's names were Gangster #1 and Gangster #2. We had actually spent hours in the Ekklesia van practicing our Brooklyn accents, on days that we weren't steaming mad at each other. In fact he and I argued so often, usually me representing the girls and him representing the guys, that on days that we actually agreed on something, we called it All Star day, and laughed and laughed as we handily won any disgreement with the others. Good times, those!