Speaking of shoes

Babies love shoes. Erin has the shoe thing down pat. I took her to get her new shoes about a month ago and she knew exactly what to do. She still eagerly sticks out her foot every time she gets a glimpse of her shoes. Now it's expanded to nearly all shoes. Here she is trying on Mom's shoes:
And here she is last weekend. She wanted to put on her white patten leather shoes so much she couldn't wait for clothes. They are still a tad too big but she didn't mind:

Addendum: adults love shoes, too. 

Goodbye, Brave Soldier

A few weeks ago, we said goodbye to a close friend, Soap Bottle.



Not to get overly dramatic, but this single bottle of soap kept my child clean for one year. For an entire year, people.

This bottle cleaned all the curly red hair on Erin's head, even before it was curly. It cleaned all the gook around her neck. It cleaned her nearly spherical belly. It cleaned her teeny hands, her teeny feet, and her private bits.

Every night for a year.

Apparently that works out to 77/1000 of an ounce of soap per night. Hm. Well, either this is some sort of divine miracle, and we need to create a new holiday, or, more likely, maybe I didn't use quite enough soap.

Happy Friday!

Video of gratuitous cuteness. Highlighted here: an Erin-style conversation, careful dismount from toy box, finishing with camera-grabby hands (as usual).
Enjoy!

Letters!

Well, it's Thursday, which of course is the day we read your letters! Let's go to the mailbox, shall we?


Dear Daniel Craig,

Lighten up!

Warmly,
Brian


Dear The Economist,

I already subscribe to your damned magazine. Please don't include the little subscription cards! They just end up falling in or near the toilet.

Cheers,
Brian


Dear Gwen Ifill,

You are totally awesome.

Respectfully,
Brian

Mom 1: Stairs 0

McMillers were at IKEA this weekend, doing a little updating to Erin's play area.  Erin was chillin' in the Ergo, close to Mom, Brian was on the stairs below.  Mom's footing got loose, and in slow motion Erin and Mom started a tumble-trajectory down the stairs.  Some innate, primal survival mechanism kicked in and Mom hurled herself backwards, crumpling her body on the stairs, pulling Erin safely atop her belly. While minimal damage occured, both Erin and Mom were shaken and quiet for the next 20 minutes.  Three days later, just a few marks on Mom's leg linger to tell the tale. 

Human bodies are quite resilient. 

Wordless Wednesday #2 - blue and white

Clear as a muddy cuppa joe

I can see why science, particularly biomedical research, can be confusing for most people.  Do I drink coffee because of this or do I not drink it because of this?

Here is a friendlier read.