We are home from our summer vacation that took us through St. Louis to Los Angeles and dropped us in an island in the middle of the Pacific.

In St. Louis we got to catch up with Jacob's sister's family.

We got some quality time with our niece

and nephew

*Commence gushing*

My goddaughter has just the sweetest little temperament. She's a little bit shy, but she took a shine to Jacob and my heart melted every time she snuggled up to his knees.

We got to see Jacob's mom who walked hand in hand with the toddlers to a Waldorf park (so she was in Hog Heaven.)

I emailed my oldest blogging buddy, and we met up at a deserted park. She brought all four kids, donuts, iced lattes, and still posted on her blog that day. (Grace, how do you do all these things?) I didn't even manage to bring shoes for my three year old.

We went to the St. Louis Zoo, and no offense to the uncommon, threatened, very threatened, and endangered animals, and the lone (short) giraffe

but my favorite moment (besides the Dippin Dots) was this little get up:

After three days in St. Louis, we headed west to see Jacob's brother.

Visiting our former stomping grounds in LA had us hopping from old friends to old friends, and between all the great people and the great weather, I almost forgot why we ever left.

We stayed with my old grad school buddy and her family. Every morning she and I got some quality time watching our infants flap their arms at each other while we drank coffee. It was perfect.

I'm bad at corralling people for group pictures, so for all the people visited, we only tried for the group shots once when we were with Jacob's old roommate and his family. You'd think this blog would have turned me in to Mrs. Document That by now, but alas it has not. After about fifty pictures, we had about three with all the kids in focus and looking at the camera and not trying to hide behind someone or hurl themselves on the floor.

Here was the keeper of the huge effort to get a pic of the families.

Visit them here!

More Blogger Fodder: Popes!

We had an afternoon with these buddies and meeting babies and talk talk talking, and it was awesome if woefully underphotographed. (Updated to beg Meg to please PLEASE start a blog so we can have a week by week update of her baby boy's hair because it's magical:)

Fikes!

Blythe and Kirby Leg and dinner at their super awesome firepit, flanked by garden and blossoming tree. No matter what you say, Blythe, your backyard is so awesome. The old high chair camped out by the chicken coop only adds to the charm.

So marks the end of the first leg of travel. The second half of the trip involved more swimsuits, but unfortunately not this one because Lucy June outgrew it before we'd even left St. Louis.

That will have to do for today because it's 2pm and I am only one cup of coffee, three pieces of bacon, and zero unpacked bags into my day. Also. Jake just spilled his smoothie and said "Oh shet!!" and is now slurping it off the table...so I need to go...you know...mother or something.

But it's good to be back. I've missed this little corner of the internet.

Baptized

Lucy June's baptism was all sorts of lovely. The family got to sit in four different parts of the church because we were prompt as usual. At one point during the service I saw my son walking down the side aisle aiming, per his most recent ecclesial obsession, for the kneelers in the front. I had the baby and turned around to glare at my husband four pews back and sent my brother running down to fetch back our wannabe altar boy. I then thought of all the people who had seen the not-so-nice face I'd made at my husband, so I turned back to Jacob and mustered more of a "Kids do the darnedest and I love you" face. Nothing if not genuine over here.

At some point during the homily I started to wonder whether I'd gotten the baptism date wrong. What if today wasn't the right day? What if this wasn't the right Mass time? I was pretty sure, but I haven't been winning at the whole life organization game. I mean last week could alternately be called 7 posts in 7 days or 1 home cooked meal in 7 days. By the prayer of the faithful I was almost in a sweat. My 93 year old grandmother had driven four hours to be here and Jacob had three family members in from three corners of the nation, and I might have told them the wrong thing. So when they asked for our personal intentions I offered up some heartfelt "don't let me actually be this flaky" and "please please please let my daughter get baptized today." 

My prayers were answered, and now baby smells of holy chrism and a new beginning of goodness. 

The family baptismal gown - appropriately size newborn - was a little scandalous on little miss four months already, but at least it showed off her not androgynous diaper cover.

Opie wrangled the toddler during the naptime baptism.

They were both champs.

Jake even - almost - cooperated for the formal photography.

We enjoyed the 100% humidity 78 degree weather  

with Mrs. Bazin Chronicles and her little Miracle Man and lots of others

until a front sent the temps plummeting and blew us all inside.

The godparents did bang up jobs and posed for an awkward number 

of awkward pictures 

with their charge. No, they are not married, and, no, they are not related, and, yes, Jacob and I are fully aware of the general lack of genetic diversity between our families of origin. 

So welcome into the fold little Lucy June. We are so glad you are here with us.

7 Quick Takes

Joining Jen today and adding my mediocre ramblings to the fray of quick takers.

- 1 -

Let's start with the most important thing, shall we? How many chocolate chip banana muffins can a mom eat in one day? Because I'm impressing myself.

- 2 -

Speaking of overeating, let's talk exercise. I went for a walk with my mother-in-law when she was visiting last weekend. Excepting a few rogue sun salutations, it was my first time being exercise-y since #2 came along. And it felt very very foreign. I walked a few times a week while I was pregnant. I also did the occasional exercise video but Jake became mesmerized by the "exercise lady," and it kind of weirded me out. It doesn't take much to opt out of exercising and into couch-surfing in the third trimester.

- 3 -

Now I'm sitting here trying to imagine a routine run with two little people in tow. For the time being while we're living in this little second floor apartment, I will be toting the offspring down some not-so-forgiving stairs and somehow maneuvering a massive jogging stroller out of the trunk of my car while keeping my toddler from dashing into the street and not dropping the baby. We will then make our way to a massive culvert that cuts straight through Houston called "The Bayou" where we will take up entirely more than our fair share of the jogging trail. As I play this over in my head, I'm counting all the potential catastrophes, and it's very daunting.

What is the multiparous jogger to do? Will I go the Grace route and do a daily wrangle with the kids and the ever-expanding stroller? Will I go the Kendra route and wake up before the littles in order to huff and puff in peace?

- 4 -

Photo dump of recent visit by Abu Joanie and Uncle Michael

- 5 -

Jake came out of his room last night holding two round blocks against his chest:

I have some airplane nipples. They're blue. No! They're bird nipples. They're for birds to land on so they can see at night.

Don't worry. My parenting book will be out sometime this spring.

- 6 -

A man and his children:

This was right before Jacob let the slinky go and sent it flinging at his son. He said by way of an apology: "Sorry, Jake, I had to let it go otherwise you were going to let it go and it was going to hit me."

Such a keeper, that man.

- 7 -

This morning at breakfast we asked Jake who all was in our family. He replied: "Baby sister, Papa, Jake, Mama, and her computer."

I will take that as a good enough reason to close the laptop...at least until naptime...

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes and have yourselves a lovely weekend!

Travel Tableau pt. 1

I emerge from the blogging desert with a record of our travels over the last few weeks. At 11pm Sunday night we found ourselves in LAX exhausted from foreign festivities. Over the past three weeks we've been on a glorious jaunt about the country involving relatives and friends and races and breweries and babes and Icelandic chickens and weddings and rainstorms. Below are a few anecdotes from our adventures and much more than a few photos.

Our first leg took the Cub and me to the Ramsay homestead where we reunited with our goat Beatrice and played with puppies and hatched baby guineas and met my Icelandic grandmother's Icelandic chickens. Collectively we were only bit by about 12 mosquitoes and had but one run in with a scorpion.

Soon we found ourselves in the grand Dallas Metroplex where we me up with the Pops, so he and I could become Godparents to the adorable Emma Grace

 

Jake made his Aunt Lily follow him all around the foyer for the entirety of the baptism, but he enjoyed the after party thoroughly.

as did I

And Jacob got to chill with most of his sibs + offspring.

 

After Dallas we parted ways with Jacob and made our way with my family to Seattle for some sightseeing before our Rock'n'Roll run.

The race was great.

Four years ago we ran a marathon in Rome together and decided we liked this whole family reunion/race thing, and Seattle became destination dos. I've been fighting off a running injury, so I scratched as a marathon hopeful and joined up with my sister and the lovely Jordan to do the half. Here is the whole troop at the beginning.

Some of us at mile 6:

 

I wasn't sure I would even finish, but thanks to a little persistence and a lot of 12 minute miles the race was conquered and the old hip seems no worse for the wear. We were only beat by one pregnant woman and were thus riding pretty high.

Alas, photos were not taken of the half marathon finishers, but here's a picture of me nursing five minutes after the race. My kid is patient like that.

Then we went to watch the 26.2ers finish up with Jacob's Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve - some Seattlans who came out to cheer.

Nana and Lily win the trooper awards. Nana for weathering the weather and Lily for finishing her first half marathon with a blood blister the size of Louisiana.

We were stalwart even as the winds blew and the rain came and the temperature dropped way below summer-appropriate levels.

I will unceremoniously leave you on the edges of your seats - and Jordan shivering in the cold - since my blogger is being glitchy. Tune in for some photo finishes soon.