Spider and Moon

It is really, really hard to take a picture involving the moon!

Have you ever tried it? I don't know how to do it with our non-professional digital camera.

Anyway, Erika likes to watch bugs. Who doesn't?

Sci-Fi Anyone?

Erika has been carrying around this book quite a bit recently.

Here she is, fresh from the bath before bed time getting in a little last-minute "reading" on the stairs.

Those of you in the know about this particular book will find it an interesting choice I'm sure!

Erika's First Day of Preschool

Today was an important day for Erika; her first day of preschool. It's a co-op preschool where I (Jackie) go with her one day a week and she goes by herself one day a week. Today was an orientation and she did very well. First, there are three rooms. One is the quiet room with books and puzzles, one is the active room with all sorts of fun toys, and the third is the art room. Here Erika is showing her budding artistic technique. She had so much fun in the art room that Daddy will be given 4 new paintings for his office.

Below is the active room with some of her new friends. Erika found something very special in the cabinet she is opening. Could it be? Yes, it's a . . .

A Cash Register! With plastic coins and laminated money! O Joy! Remember last year's interest in such things? Erika spent a good 15 minutes in the noisy active room playing with it. The active room is very loud so I thought she would just look around and demand to be taken back to the quiet area, but no. I'm sure Daddy will want to comment on this too.

All in all, it was a good first day of school. Erika seemed sad to leave.

Russian Doll or Cupcake?

Lavender-scented and fresh from the bath, Erika wraps up to dry.

This particular evening she insisted on wearing the towel as shown.

Happy Birthday to Daddy

Uncle Mark and Jason in 1972.
Note the blond hair and curls!

Flattering Picture Please

Jason, please post at least one flattering picture of me! Unlike Erika, I no longer look great from every angle.
Your beloved wife.

Picnic at the neighborhod park

This morning our neighborhood held it's anual picnic. Erika was quite interesting in the bouncy thing, but not brave enough to try it all by herself. Jackie spent some time inside there too, just trying to get Erika warmed up a bit. Later, during the sack races, Erika had clearly had enough of the tom-foolery and requested that she and Jackie retire to a safe distance for some peace and quiet. You can barely see them in the sack race picture. (They appear right above the kid with the red shirt.)

Pictures of Erika

So it has been a while since we published. As we are still working on recovering from various colds and sinus ailments, enjoy these random shots of Cupcake as she goes about her day.

This first picture shows Cuppy as she wakes up. What fun to bring all of her blankets and kitties into Mommy and Daddy's bed. She will then pretend go to sleep and wake up at random intervals. Here she is popping awake. Notice that Meow-meow and Tiny Meow are still fast asleep.

This next picture is to remind me that I, Jackie, did contribute half of her genetic material. There is a picture of me about Cupcake's age where I played that I was the 'Jackie in the box'. Cupcake shows that some things are indeed genetic as she plays 'Cuppy in the box' with her clothes hamper.

Next, it is time for some creative expression. Fingerpaints! Nothing is more fun than to make a masterpiece outside on a perfect summer's day. She loves to rub her hands through the paint, make a dramatic pose, and then slam some paint on the paper. Shirts are optional.

Posting delays!

Sorry we have not posted anything in a couple weeks. The weekend before last we and the Hayatsus went to Ocean Shores, WA for some kite flying and digging in the sand. Our camera batteries were dead, so we went with a disposable camera. Erika took all the pictures with it! Now we have to get the film developed as our forefathers used to do. No telling when than will happen.

This weekend we visited Grandma Gladys in Portland. We stayed in a nearby hotel to make things easier on all of us. Anyway, we drove down on Friday morning and it took us over 6 hours to make it the 200 miles. Thanks to all that stupid traffic! Then Jackie ended up with a painful bladder infection, so then we spent quite some time scrambling to find out where to go for treatment. Overall, Erika did the best of all of us.

Erika loves looking at pictures of herself, but when you bring out the camera she has a fit. She will not tolerate her picture being taken if she is in the slightest mood.