Westcoast Visitors

Jon and Cathy Ward, Jen's brother and sister-in-law,

came all the way out to DC from Portland

to meet Simone.

They were hoping for spring and nearly got snow,

but the weather didn't stop us from taking

in a couple of DC sites.



Cathy and Jon are both very good photographers,

so we posed for a few black and whites with Cathy.

Hope you enjoy.

Simone "Holds Her Head High" in Support of the Ducks!

So, the Laramie Peanut Gallery comes to life. Thanks guys for all the comments; we love reading what you have to say.

Q1: "When does she lift up her head?"

A: "This photo illustrates Simone's newly found neck muscles, which are admittedly hard to see, but they do hold her head up most of the time. We can now sling her over the hip and she will usually monitor her own head."

Q2: "When can she get down to the business of training for that first triathlon?"

A: "It is a little known fact that Simone is already in training for a baby marathon. To train for this, we have her pulling on fingers, grabbing at giraffes and batting elephants. I would like to see H do these things in Jackson (substitute bears and coyotes)."

A with no Q:

A: "Yes, this is Simone cheering for the Oregon Ducks in their gallant effort to make it to the Final Four. Jen's brother and sister-in-law are proud alumna."

Blossoms at the Basin

For those of you concerned that we have gone

"all baby, all of the time",

here are some shots of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

We went out last week to watch the kite-flying event

and tour the Tidal Basin. Lucky we chose that day too,

as cold weather and wind have ripped through DC,

knocking the blossoms from the branches and

the temps below freezing.

What's Going On

My apologies for going silent for a while

and especially for leaving the grandparents

without new pictures.

Some people have wondered what has

happened to Jen and Damon. Well, we are

still here and doing well.

Jen is on maternity leave and has

fallen into a group of new mothers in our

neighborhood. She returns to her job

at the end of April.

I am also doing well, but it seems like life

is mostly about the comfortable and time consuming

rhythms of work and childcare.

Girl in Blue

Here she is in blue, the color of her eyes.

These are the first pictures that really

capture the blue quality.

A Visit from Elise

My sister, Elise, came to DC to get her hands on
the little one last week, as well as to attend
a linguistics conference at George Mason.

Elise is in the dissertation phase of her social

linguistics PhD at the University of Arizona

and will be entering the job market next year.
While at the conference, she presented a
paper from early in her academic career,
hung out with AU alum from her program
and networked with colleagues.

Much to my mother's delight, Elise

displayed excellent maternal skills while

she was here--not that I am advocating

a baby at this time;) That said, Elise

persevered through crying fits

and helped with a bath. She

also hit the town with Jen and Simone,

meeting me for lunch and visiting the

newly renovated Portrait Gallery.

Actual Shots

It was a big week for Simone at the doctor.

She received four more vaccination shots. The

first, she hardly noticed. The second

made her take notice. She caught on by the third

and started to fuss. But, by the fourth, there

was real realization of betrayal.