One Hundred Dollars vs. Theo's Eye Color

UPDATE: Ella has finally conceded that Theo's eyes aren't blue. Having lost the bet, she's paid $100 to Maggie. Several witnesses saw the crisp bills change hands.

Speaking of Theo, here's documentation of an encounter she had at Multnomah Falls on Sunday's excursion:

Hecticity

I know, Dad, I know. We've been okay, just getting back to all the jobs and trying to find a rhythm and routine. We are persevering. Here's how Ida and Miki are looking today.



They're pretty nice. Perhaps Ida is recovering from days of fury (ear ache?); perhaps MIki will learn to sleep for more than two hours at a stretch. She likes to eat bread. Here's what that looks if it were a movie:

Miki vs. Rice

"Don't Do EnnyFing!"

Some of us don't get quite enough kisses and hugs from Mama before she goes to work.

Ida and Mama, cooking through the ages: a photo essay

2007:


2008:


1/2010

adjustments

We and the Vining/Bradfords have been awaiting the time when we can have a quiet dinner while the girls play together. And perhaps we're getting closer to that. Right now we're at the stage where the girls will play with each other for a while, but they're liable to do a large amount of damage if not kept under some observation. The other night we had a delicious meal--cooked by Ella out of the leftovers of the Thanksgiving turkey--and could hear the girls playing down the hallway in Ida's room. The above is what I saw when I crept down there and shouted "What's going on here?" at them. (Already, Ida is explaining it to me.)

Theo is unloading Ida's closet, while Ida wears three pairs of underwear over her pants. Elsie is getting Baby Matthew dressed. Miki is out in the hallway, grunting, trying to drag her way into the bedroom.

Last Snow of 2009

Back in 2009, we had a surprise snowstorm, and the girls leapt right into it:


ERV wanted to get a snowman started STAT!


And she is one artistic lady.


The snow stuck around for about a day. Here is the next day, at Tumbleweeds!


Soon: returning to 2010, and the return of Elsie/Theo!

Miki Frances in 2010

Miki, in her quest to eat more solid food, has begun to sit in the highchair. She's very proud.


The question of whether Ida is ready to completely give up the chair, which had its tray off and had become her seat of choice, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Miki is going to act as if it's decided.

Christmas, part II / finale

Once we opened all the presents at Jim and Grambees, we headed over to the home of the Holladay Rocks to check out how seriously they scored. Check it out:

(This was right before [Grandpa] Jim poured water on Bonnie Kate's head; this watering was unpopular, but was a consequence of Bonnie pouring water on Margo, I hear.)

Matthew let Ella and Ida play with his cool cars. Also, many people really like this "Mighty Mutts" shirt that Ella wears so well.


They kind of played a trick on us and brought the dogs out after we'd been there a while. "Are they real?" Grambee said.

Again, they're not our dogs. They're named Bode and Killy (misspelled in earlier post), after skiers.


Miki really likes her Uncle Jim.

She even caught the Xmas spirit and warmed up to Jim himself!


This is the only time you'll catch Uncle Jim wearing his new Panama hat. He's quickly getting away. ANd wearing sunglasses not just because he's so cool but because of the Lasik.


A couple pretty photos of Ella and MIki:



Actually, Grambee thinks this photo of her is "all right."


Okay, on to 2010!