Note to the Little Man: If you're really serious about falling asleep easily, there are a number of things you have to do. Many of them don't impact you: lower stress, get some exercise, eat well, etc. However, there is one basic step you could do that would dramatic increase your chances of falling asleep quickly: stop moving around!!!
general
Crackers and Blocks
Having a one-year-old means finding a plastic block at the bottom of the animal crackers' box...
Fitting the Pieces
Dear E,
I wish I could tell you that life is like the puzzle you struggled with today, that there are a few missing parts and with a little trial and error, you can figure out where they fit. Life is a puzzle, but it's more like the puzzle "Dalmatains," with a mass of similarly patterened pieces that seem almost impossibly random.

You'll struggle at times to make the slightest bit of progress, only to find yourself wondering if perhaps you didn't force a piece here or there after all. "Maybe they don't fit quite that snuggly," you'll say to yourself as you plod off to bed one night.

But rest assured, there is a bigger picture, it is accessible (if not difficult), and it is beautiful.
Your Dad
Leaving
Saturday at the Pool
Our first day at the pool this year as a family, but alas, the Boy, still recovering from some upper respitory infection, cannot get into the water.

Instead, he stays with Nana and Papa, forever pointing to the pool, forever needing distracting. It's so unfair, so inexplicable: everyone else takes turns in the water, and the poor Boy is stuck.

For the Girl, it's a continuation from last year: more development, more courage -- diving, diving, forever diving. With a new set of flippers, she's able to get deeper faster.
"But Tata, it hurts my ears to go that deep."

She also adds a new trick or two, like diving into the water through the ring.

"Perhaps I could try that," I suggest.
"I've got to get the camera for that," K replies.

"I didn't think you'd make it," she replies with a smile.
Views from the Pool
Lipnica Sunset
Theme Changes
Switched to the new Twenty-Thirteen default theme. Not sure I like it, but with the various post-types, it makes me think of content in a new way, as a potential design element, and I like that fresh thinking.
Peep
L’s favorite cartoon of late, Peep and the Big Wide World. I have to say, I enjoy it too: simple animation that focuses on the story, with real-life applications afterward.






