Catsup

So very many wonderful times, so very little blogging time...

May has been a wonderfully busy, exciting time for us. As anybody that crossed paths with Irene on May 5 already knows, Mary turned two. Irene was in a play and a dance recital (no pictures of that), and she finished up her year at Curious Mind. We all got to watch Sierra graduate. Hmmm... seems like I'm forgetting something, but whatever.

Rob had to be out of town the week of Mary's birthday. I tried to keep it special for her, anyway. She wanted to wear nothing but a headband around her neck and eat mac and cheese for breakfast, so that's just what she did.

She wanted to paint later in the day. The girls were so occupied, being so good, and the paint was so out of Mary's reach that I figured I could dash upstairs and take a turbo shower and they would never even know the difference. Eight minutes later, I was hosing them off outside.

Mary loves the "counting kind of money", too.

You see, in Texas the way we celebrate birthdays is like this...

My little Dryad. What would The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe be without them?

Irene strikes her living forest pose. The best, naturally.

The Dryads' mascot peeped in the side door while they waited to go on stage.

During intermission I did, in fact, let my two year old roll around in the aisle with a pen. Ah! the difference between being a first born and being a second born...

Uncle Robert learned the hard way that if you lie with Bishop girls you will stand up with glitter.

That Saturday, we went to Grandma's to celebrate Mary's birthday some more. Irene loves Grandma's "jungle", and Mary loves num-nums, so picking beans was an ideal activity for them.

Mary got some great birthday presents, but what she really wanted was to hear Go, Dog, Go! for the eight hundredth time. GG to the rescue!

Turns out Mary's an icing kind of girl, too.

This is Irene occupying Mary while we got ready for the presentation of the fish (um, yes we got her fish for her birthday).

Irene is pretty good at getting herself dressed. I mean, if I send her upstairs with the directions to get dressed and ready to go, she comes down looking reasonably cute. And sometimes she comes down looking like an aggressive smurf.

This has been included because Irene loves this picture, and I love Irene.

After class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Irene and Mary would often have playtime at the Curious Mind playground. This was the last day of class and we brought homegrown peaches, which were a smashing success.

Though we are not planning on returning next year, I am really glad Irene had the experience. She made some great friends. The CM was an excellent crutch, but now that I feel sufficiently plugged into the homeschooling community (oh, yuk, I hate this kind of use of the word "community"), we can save the money.

Yay, Sierra! The medal on her neck is for graduating in the top 20% of her class.

The happy couple obligingly pose for yet another picture.

I just think this picture of Irene and That Man is so sweet. (We encourage her to call him Uncle James, but all weekend Irene would come up to me and stage whisper, "What do we call That Man?" when she wanted to speak to him.)

International Fest

I-Fest is an annual event. We've been a few times before and let me say, after this year, I have learned my lesson once and for all. Be very, very mindful of the featured country. Last year, it was Ireland. This year it was the Caribbean. One must sacrifice something if one is going to eat delicious Jamaican Jerk instead of whatever it is the Irish eat. That said, we had a blast. Irene is such a joy on adventures like this. She's up for most anything, excited by new experiences, and able to find the fun in anything. Mary is coming into her own, too. She did one of those little pony ride things, and I hope I never forget the look of pure pleasure as she rode. Every time around, she would wave to Rob and Irene, saying, "Hi, Daddy. Hi, Irene. Good-bye, Daddy, good-bye, Irene." She said it with such an air of importance. Heck, I guess if you're on a pony, then that means you're a somebody.

The dancers were encouraging the audience to come on stage and dance with them. Irene didn't need much encouragement to get up there.

I am very ready for those bangs to be grown out.

Do you see what I see...

Lovely angle from which to view the world. And I would know.

When we got home, Mary was fast asleep, so she got put in bed straight from the car. Seeing her like this in the morning, my reaction was to say, "Irene, keep Mary happy - I have to go get the camera!". Irene kept Mary happy by filling her crib with stuffed animals.

There - all better.

Irene Has a Moment

Remember, this kid is fighting some pretty stubborn DNA.