Fountain Fun

Big Girl Blankie

Erin got to go to a store today to pick out a new big girl blanket for herself. She was excited and we spent a great deal of time choosing. She went back to the display 6 or so times to be certain she picked the right one.

Here is her first test run, just before dinner, after everything had been washed. She was so excited she wanted to go to bed without dinner.

And tonight, she put herself to bed. This is huge, people.

We also picked up a bed rail for when we make the next move - to the big girl bed. But we're taking one thing at a time.

Update: It's nearly 8 AM and she's still sleeping. This is also a first. Although she had a bad dream around 2, the blanket purchase seems to have been an excellent idea. Here's her cuddling her blankets as I type:

Taking Calls At The Office

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Here, Let Me Write A Letter With My Comically-Long Pencil

Dr. A's First Day Of Work

Dr. A had her first day of work last Thursday. Erin came out to see her off.

Breastfeeding

Pool Party!

Dr. A, Erin, and I are just back from the pool. It was sweet!

Instead of creepy people, there were totally normal people. Lots of kids, maybe seven families. We all got to meet people, and Erin liked jumping from the edge of the pool into my arms. I guess that's how we parents roll on Saturday night in Lafayette, yo.

OK, Lafayette, you've won this round.

p.s. Erin pooped twice in two hours while swimming. Twice. Three swim diapers, people.

The McMillers Have Landed

What a crazy few weeks.  Allow me to summarize:

• Graduation
• Packing up house
• Driving truck 13 hours down to Lafayette (the cats travelled admirably well in the cab with me)
• Unpacking all our crap, and I do mean crap -- all of it, with the wonderful help of our families
• Weekend celebration for my Mom's 60th birthday
• Meeting extremely weird people in our apartment complex.  Not the fun weird, either.  Creepy weird.
• Heat wave
• B working remotely
• Dr. A starting work in SF tomorrow
• E being juggled by her parents and extremely kind grandparents until daycare starts in September

Thoughts on Lafayette and California:

• It is extremely hot and dry here in this state.  It goes against my survival instinct to go outside.
• Lafayette is surrounded by hills covered in oaks.  Very pretty.
• There ain't much here here.  Money magazine calls the downtown "manageable".  Humph.
• Not many people between high school age and middle age.  It's sort of weird to see no one with oddly-placed piercings.
• Where the hell are the swings, people!  My child needs to swing!

Lafayette is currently pretty terrifying to me.  I feel the same as at the end of a long travel abroad, when you just want to go home, just want to see something familiar.  For the time being, doing my best to suck it up and ignore the knot in my stomach.  Good thing the apartment has a sweet pool.

Dr. A

After six years of hard work, Ms. A is now a Ph.D. Ms. A, you're a dedicated and successful researcher who touches those around you with your passion for science. I wish you all the best in your career -- I'm very proud of you!







Ms. A in the news:

• Big Dutch Baby
• Life at the condo
• the wagners five
  

An ode to moving

I just spent
$120
on gasoline.
Shit.

Timothy Lake

We escaped the hot temperatures in Portland today to take a hike to Timothy Lake.

We had kept Erin up two hours late last night, and Ms A and I were up at 4 AM due to our kitties crying in the middle of the night due to the fan we had on ("You're fine, kitty, go to bed. Or I'm going to make a hat out of you. I'm serious. Don't make me do it."), so there was a good deal of groggy stumbling, plus napping in the car.

Anywho, we got free Smokey the Bear stuff from the ranger, saw the incredibly clear water of Little Crater Lake, picnicked in the woods, killed many, many mosquitoes, and took a swim in Timothy Lake. The water was perfect -- I haven't heard Erin laugh as hard as I did today swimming with her.

McMiller Rating: Awesome+.

Hi, Liam!

Last weekend we headed up to see David, Linnea, and Liam. This was our first time meeting Liam. He was very cute, very smiley, a very happy kid. Also, pretty farty, so I know we'd get along really well. David and Linnea have a really nice place, in a beautiful neighborhood a few blocks from overlooking Puget Sound. We spent a lot of time outdoors in the sunny weather, eating some great food on their patio.

Saturday was the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon, followed by beer and lounging in the grass. Sunday we headed to the park, then had to head home.

Of course, there were pictures:

Wordless Wednesday #15 - Oh So High