Easter dichotomy

PEEEEEEPS!

Portrait.

What are you reading?

The other night Matt asked, “So what are you reading right now?”

“Well,” I said, “I’m trying to decide between two books. A futuristic Cinderella story about a cyborg or a historical fiction novel about Japanese-Americans in 1940′s Seattle.”

“I know what I would pick,” said Matt. Cyborgs, obviously. If you look at my Library [...]

Halloween in Wonderland

If you asked Eva any time in the last month, “What do you want to be for Halloween?” Her answer was, “A queen.” Said with grave solemnity.

Now, Eva did not understand this question at all. She probably still doesn’t know what happened last night, except that our street was filled with kids in costume, [...]

Matt & Eva

This is classic Matt and Eva:

Suburban life

You know that place on the map where the squiggly street lines give way to blank space? That’s where we live now. The last housing tract right before a bunch of farmland. Things have been quiet around here (except in the photo gallery) as we settled into our new house. Here are a few things [...]

Birthday girl

Today is Eva’s birthday. We’d like to introduce you to our two-year-old:

Can you guess what her favorite book is right now?

Today is also the last day in our Alexandria house, and I spent a great deal of time trying to decide what do today. Which special activity would make Eva happiest?

It [...]

Eva meets Santa

A few weeks ago Matt, Eva and I attended Matt’s company holiday party. It was an amazing event – on-site babysitting, catered with a full bar, stockings and wrapped gifts for the kids, and a real live Santa.

Now this wasn’t just any Santa – he was an enthusiastic Santa with loud, aggressive bells [...]

A bug, a cat, and a pirate

This may be Eva’s second Halloween, but it feels like her first. There’s a glint in her eyes when you put on her wings – she knows she’s cute, and she knows she’s dressed as a bug. She knows Mama is a cat or, as she puts it, “Mamaaaaaameow.” And she thinks other kids in [...]

Early debating

Eva pulls her stuffed sheep out of her toy basket.

EVA: Mama.

MATT: Eva, the sheep says, “Baa baa.”

EVA: Mama.

MATT: Baabaabaa.

EVA: Mamama.

MATT: Eva, trust me. I’ve seen sheep. They say, “Baaaaa baa.”

EVA: Mama.

Toddler: 1. Daddy: 0. Mama: Might shed a tear when Eva learns what the sheep really says.

Summer travels: North Carolina

Remember when I mentioned we took a baby to Quebec City? Less than month later we took a toddler – and not just any toddler, one that was teething – to Princeton, North Carolina for the annual Hartley reunion.

The trip was a great opportunity for Eva to spend a few days with her great-grandfather, [...]