2.4 or, How much is too much?

Dear Miriam,

July was busy and fun.  The whole Thorne/Spencer side of the family came to visit, which was great.  You had never met Uncle Scott, and we had never met Cousin Sebastian.  So at least we all managed to finally get in the same room.  We got to do some fun things while they were here.  We all went up to the Tar Pits, and down to Cabrillo Aquarium.  We went swimming in the hotel pool, and had big family dinners.  It was very nice to see them all.  I hope we're able to do that at least once a year.

You grew noticeably this month, which means that you've actually outgrown some of your shorts.  I realized the other day that Corbin has been wearing the same shorts for three years now, partly because he stopped wearing diapers during that time, which effectively shrunk his waistline.  I wonder if the same thing will happen with your wardrobe, too.  I also realized that neither of you has worn a pair of long pants for months, either, except on your trip to WI and MI.  I guess that's life in CA for you.

We gave up on barrettes for your hair and tried head bands.  Then we gave up on those and went with the top knot.  We'll claim it's because of your Asian heritage.

Your camping trip left you with predictably terrible bed time habits.  You think it's perfectly reasonable that we should just hang out in your room with you all night.  One night, at 2:30am, you tried to convince me that I should just sleep on your floor.  We had just started to get you back into a good routine when you went down to San Diego for a few nights.  So it goes.

We got a new slide this month, which you really like.  As soon as I walk in the door from work, you give me a big hug and then say, "Can we play outside on the playground?"  You climb all over it, and have great fun telling me which hole to peek through while you're inside.  Your animals climb all over it, too, which is funny.

We had this conversation this month:

Me: [singing] "How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie's for sale."
You: How much is that kitty in the window.
Me: [sings kitty version]
You: How much is that fish in the window.
Me: [sings fish version]
You: How much is that floor lamp in the window.
Me: ....Let's go outside and play.

Love,
Mom

The thumb nail coming off:

Your new hair style:

Helping Grandpa do the dishes:

Helping Dad fix the computer:

5.5 or, Would you like strawberries with that?

Dear Corbin,

July was an eventful month!  It started with a visit from the Thorne/Spencer side of the family.  Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Erin and Uncle Scott and all the cousins came out for almost a week.  It was so nice to see them all.  We had never even met Cousin Sebastian yet, and Uncle Scott hadn't met Miriam, either.  All of you had fun playing together, which was nice.

They stayed at a near-by hotel, so we were able to go swimming in the hotel pool a couple of times.  We took them up to the La Brea Tar Pits and down to the Cabrillo Aquarium and beach.  We had big dinners at the house, and one dinner out.  The Spencers went down to San Diego for an overnight visit with some of Uncle Scott's relatives.  Overall, it was really good, and I hope we're able to do it again soon.  With all of you kids being close in age, it makes for a fun time.

Over that same time period, we closed on the sale of our house in Minneapolis.  The adults were really, really happy to have that happen, but I didn't want to talk about it very much.  You have said several times that you missed our house and wanted to go live in it again.  I felt like making too much of the sale might actually be a sad point for you.  I wonder how much you'll remember of our life in Minneapolis when you're grown.  I wonder if you'll ever live in the Midwest again and find it all strangely familiar.

What was definitely familiar is the little slide that we bought from a neighbor.  We left our with some neighbors in Minneapolis, but Miriam needed something to monkey around on.  You are too big for it, really, but it will be all right until we get into a house with a bigger back yard and can get something better.  Like a parkour course, maybe.

I found you some new books this month.  I'm trying to upgrade the level of non-fiction in your library, to something past 1979 and 1980.  I've found one used bookstore near us, and it's not a very good one, but they did happen to have a couple of the more recent Eyewitness encyclopedia books.  I bought the ones about the Seashore and Mammals.  I did not buy the one about Forensic Science.  A few more years of not dissecting things would be fine with me.

Dad did some electronic and automotive dissecting this month.  He put a new drive in the living room computer, and tracked down a short in the wiring harness of the motorcycle.  You are always interested in that kind of thing, so I usually try to make sure you can get in on the fun.  Even if it's just reading the display on the volt meter.  I want you to grow up to be willing to take things apart and see how they work.  Hopefully you'll learn to put them together again.

You put together your own sandwich one day.  It was salami and provolone with mayo and strawberries.

And then you ate it.

The whole thing.

*shudder*

The last week of the month, you took a short trip to San Diego.  You went down with Grandma and Grandpa Lam and stayed in a hotel with a Lazy River swimming pool.  You thought floating around was great fun, until you got doused by one of the waterfalls.  You tried to swim around it, but instead you went right under.  You also got to visit Uncle Alex's house and see the chickens, which you thought was pretty neat.  And, while you were gone, I saw a house that I liked, which was a nice way to end the month.

Love,
Mom

Helping Dad fix the computer:

At the aquarium with Charlotte and Family:

At the park with Carter and Family:

Helping Dad work on the motorcycle: