Get out of the Kitchen

It has been unbearably hot here in Richmond for the past week, with a projected high temperature of 311° K on Sunday. As per Newton’s third law, Alixa went out and got us a pool membership so she could go swimming to beat the heat. There is a nice outdoor pool at a YMCA about 25 minutes from our house, and if I were a betting snake I would wager that you’ll be able to find Jenna and Lixi over there several times a week all summer long.

Jenna still roots for the Tennessee Vols

Jenna has been gaining more and more confidence with her walking, which is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is fun for her to be more independent, and she will walk in circles around the house, picking things up and bringing them to you until you strap her into her high chair or put her to bed. It is great fun to watch, and she loves it. On the other hand, now that she is able to walk pretty well on her own, Jarom and Lix no longer feel the need to supervise her as she meanders. And no matter how good you get at walking, sometimes the snipers get you. Jenna’s first big fall came as her mom stuck her foot out and tripped her, sending her face first into the corner of the closet in her room. This led to the black eye that I mentioned in the last post. Yesterday, she upped the ante, falling pretty hard two more times, landing on a stool leg and our coffee table. But Jenna seems to have mastered the art of falling on her left eye, so there is only one spot on her that is bruised. Unfortunately, her one-year birthday pictures might have to be postponed a week or two to allow her to heal.

"You should see the other baby!"

This is the Tutu that Jenna gets to wear on her birthday. It's no illusion, it is actually that big.

For Christmas this past year Alixa asked for a sewing machine, which her parents got for her. It has been in a box until this week, when she opened it up and began making stuff. Her first projects have been carseat covers for a few people’s babies, which have gone well enough to encourage her to continue with this new hobby. She very much loves her sewing machine and has grand plans (far grander than Jarom would like) about future projects.



Jarom had a humorous retard moment this week as he was doing some minor repairs on Alixa’s newly purchased authentic Hawaiian jewelry puzzle box, which broke a little bit on the way back from the islands. He got out the superglue to reattach the wooden pieces, but having never used superglue before, did not display the appropriate level of respect for the adhesive powers of said product. The glue came out of the container a little faster than he thought it would, and a few seconds later he was calling to Alixa for a little help. She entered the room to see him holding his hands up, with two pieces of wood attached to the fingers of his left hand (but not attached to each other) and the tube of super glue attached to his right hand. He did catch a lucky break because the area of the tube that contained instructions on how to detach the super glue was facing up, and Lix happened to have some nail polish remover on hand. After a few minutes in the acetone, Jarom got his fingers back, and was much more cautious on the second repair attempt, which was successful.

Much like her parents, Jenna enjoys the weekly Sports Illustrated, although for slightly different reasons

And congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers on their victory over the Boston Celtics. As Lakers fans, both Jarom and Alixa were happy to see them win, but probably not nearly as happy as they were to see Boston lose, especially Paul “Super Baby” Pierce. Another championship for him would have just been insufferable.