Karate Kid

Crazy Cookied

Cookies by Lydia and Papa made with Crayola cookie dough. No school today.

Hop Scotch

The ceiling is being painted in our new house, the electricity is
still out, it's cool outside (87&lsqauo;), a great time for hop scotch.

A Lazy Monday

After day camp fun. Lydia plays in the kiddie pool mama bought for her
yesterday. It seems like very good fun.

10,000 SQFT

Lydia watches our neighbor Roger mow the lawn. It took Roger 20
minutes to mow and it took me three hours to rake and bag the cut grass.

Smart Ass

Yesterday Jennifer had to work late so Lydia and I ate dinner on our own. She had several pieces of chicken, a bunch of corn and Popsicle. Then after some time we began out night-night routine and began getting ready for bed.

At about this time Jennifer came home and started to prepare her dinner, an aromatic smelling Indian dish. Lydia smelling the food, said "mmm, I want that." I tried to tell her that she had already had her dinner and that was Mama's. She was persistent. This is our conversation following her persistence:

Lydia: Papa I'm hungry.

Papa: What do you want?

Lydia: Chicken.

Papa: Are you sure you're going to eat the chicken or are you just jerking my chain?

Lydia: Uhmmm, chain!

Needless to say, she didn't get any chicken.

Lydia's Yogo

Dima was demonstrating some isometric exercises he's been doing. Lydia watched with interest and immediately got up to give it a try. "I want more yogo, Mama!"

Dress Shirt Pants

Jen found a really fantastic pattern for making kid's clothes from old and not so old men's dress shirts. Here are a few photos of her first set of test pants up-cycled from a man's dress shirt. This shirt was bought at a thrift store. Check out the cuffs, how absolutely cool are they! (And what an adorable model.) Jen's inspiration came from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/48667933/4-men-shirt-recycling-projects . For Lydia Violet's next pair, I would like to see a pair of tuxedo shirt pants with cuff links.

My, what a big "E" you are.

Jen bought a massive five foot E on eBay. It pretty cool, painted gray/brown metal and backlit with LED lights. The idea is to hang it on the wall in the foyer of our new house. Welcome to the house of E.

Lets Go Riding

Our friends re-gifted the snowboard, boots, bindings and helmet to Lydia. They told me that they had received the gift for their daughter from a family friend and that they weren't planning on using. "We're not skiers." And since they knew that I am an avid snowboarder they thought it would be a perfect gift for Lydia. Indeed.

Communication

Yesterday, after I picked Lydia Violet up from school, I got a call from my mother saying she had something for me to pick up. Not wanting to get Lydia too excited about the fact that we were going to Dusia and Ded's house, I just told her we need to go some place and pick up something.

On the drive over to my parent's house, Lydia said a number of times that she wanted to go home and wanted water. I in turn told her that I need to go get something and afterward we would go home.

As we drove into my parent's neighborhood, Lydia chimed in from the back seat, "Papa we go Dusia's house?" And I replied that we were. She then said, with a perturbed pitch in her voice, "Papa, you got talk to me!"

I felt bad. Next time I'll just tell here where we are going and why.

Giddy Up

Lydia riding the merry-go-round on the Mall in DC.

Punk Rock Girl

Lydia is ready to tackle the day. We have this pair of very long socks
and a pair of very short pants. Yes, pants. When we first got these
pants they were long enough, but Lydia wasn't nearly fat enough to
keep them up. Now that's she's grown they fit in the waist, but the
inseam is that of a pair of clam-diggers.

Hanging with Дед.

After a wonderful Name's Day dinner at her grandparent's house.

Camouflage

Lydia wearing her Peruvian hand knit poncho in our front yard against
the pretty monochromatic flower bed.

Lydia the Artisté

Concentrating and drawing like a master with her "colors."

Stir, Stir, Stir

Lydia cooks up a scrambled egg and cheese dinner.

Lydia Luge

An awesome work around to not having a suitable sledding hill near us.
So we used our front hill. Good times.

You Go Girl

Lydia opened her Christmas gifts early this year to take full
advantage of the blizzard. She's kicking it like Papa, sporting her
brand new Kamiks.

E.T.