So the prodigal son turned two on April 18th and has been working hard over the last several months to emotionally prepare us for the onslaught. I thought I would share some of the choicer incidents:

The scene... a cluttered dinner table at 6:30 p.m. Cayden has finished all the food I made and the couple pretzels I gave him.

C: More?
J: More what?
C: More pretzels.
J (looking for a please): How do we ask?
C (pointing imperiously to the kitchen): Mommy, GO GET THE PRETZELS!


The scene... a hectic morning around 7 a.m. as I attempt to get my son dressed in our living room

J: Cayden can I put on your pants please?
C: No pants! No pants!
J: All right, you can eat breakfast without pants. But you have to put them on before we go to school. (stands up and walks to kitchen to make said breakfast)
C: Pants! Pants!
J: If you really want your pants on, stand up and bring them to me in the kitchen. Then I will believe you and put your pants on.
C (stands up and brings his pants into the kitchen)
J (puts pants on Cayden)
C (falls to the floor and starts writhing): TAKE IT OFF!!!! TAKE IT OFF!!!!!

Following In His Cousins' Footsteps

We pulled out the train track Cayden's cousins bequeathed him for the first time today. An hour later Tyson found this on the table.

That's a drawback?

And I repeat, "Warning, this mattress may not soak up vomit"

Sprayberries at the Old Pueblo

Our visit to sunny Tucson was as much fun as we had anticipated. Nay, more. We spent a couple of days reclining in the hills with JP&D on their lovely veranda, surrounded by lemons, stopping my son from completely destroying their very non-2yr-old-safe environment. It was very relaxing and very beautiful and David and I both sustained Wii related injuries from our Boom Blox marathon.

For the last few days of our stay we moved to J&K's house who made us feel so comfortable it was like we had never left. The night we got there was J's bday party and oddly enough a few of his guests also have blond 2 yr old boys. My kid was completely enamored with this development and they all ran around and caused havoc for hours.

Other highlights include:

• Got some work done on the rental house.

• Picked up a sunburn from 90 minutes spent outside.

• Saw a formation of 4 FA-18s land at DM.

• Took the boys swimming.

Back in the desert

Quote of the Day

"Daddy makes Cayden happy"

Monkey in the sky

C: that's my monkey
T: yes it is
C: that monkey is watching you

Night time routine

You are witnessing a rare event... Cayden brushing his teeth without screaming.

Pulpit Rock

In an effort get out of Allentown and into the surrounding woods we went on a hike today. About an hour out of town you can get onto the Appalachian Trail and, if you are so inclined, hike to Georgia or Maine. We both have to teach tomorrow though and Cayden's trailcraft isn't up to the journey so we opted for a quick hike up to Pulpit Rock instead.

The trail is very well blazed and we had a nice morning hike up with some lunch and a view at the top and then an all downhill return to the car. Overall I'd give it a 9 out of 10 for a local 1/2 day hike.

The AT in all its glory

Our new friends Mike and Beth came hiking with us

The sleeping hood on the Ergo is very well designed and we love it

All the way up at 1580 feet of elevation we command a view of Lehigh County

Afternoon Snuggles

Macro Lens

There are some things that absolutely beg to be shot with a Macro Lens. In my mind these things are:
1) Mold and Fungi
2) Insects
3) Open Wounds

In the spirit of Mold and Fungi I took a couple of pictures of something that managed to elude us during the move and actually made it from the old house's fridge to the new house's fridge intact. I take this as evidence of its independent intelligence and ability to exert mind control over non-hyphae based organisms.

Cayden redistributes Verizon's propaganda

New Games

The other day I found Cayden wedged in between the sink and the toilet. When I asked him what he was doing he whispered "I hiding". Now he likes to duck into all sorts of unlikely places, then jump out and shout "there he is!". Two seems like a lot of fun...

Cayden loves Roland

A little too much

Mobile Posting

Tar interweb is a social commentary

Doing a google image search for 'dead dry newt' does not bring up pictures of amphibians that have been lost from aquaria, only to be found under the couch three months later. It pulls up many many head shots of Newt Gingrich.

Technology Rules?

In theory, blogger will create posts from emails. If this works, we may actually start keeping this blog updated. I have been pretty  annoyed at myself for letting it slide, since it is the only journal we keep of our lives. Although these days my life consists of sleeping, eating, writing lectures, and calmly explaining to an almost-two year old that asking me to put your pants will almost always result in you WEARING PANTS.