Summer is HERE!

O.K. has been enjoying the increasingly warm days of summer -- he is a busy kid with some great friends (who also happen to have great parents). Here are a few pics of some recent summer fun:

Painting! (Practice for his Father's Day poster.)

 Getting dirty with Daniel -- they ran in it, dug through it, and at one point, Oscar literally rubbed it all over himself.

See?

Enjoying watermelon with Julian at Cedar Park.

Cooking up meals in a new-to-us play kitchen.

On the first day in his new kitchen he made me coffee and fish for breakfast, and later, butter water--oh, yum!

 Playing at the sprinkler park with...

 Sunny!

 Visiting the zoo with his friend, Rose, and her mama, Jemma (not in this picture, obviously).

 Rose and Oscar cooling off in a fountain.

 Giraffes,

 snacks,

and a peacock--so fun!

As far as O.K. is concerned, summer is off to a great start.

Crash

Two days before John's 38th birthday, he was hit by a car while riding home from work at night. It was pouring down rain, and he was hit from behind, causing him to bump up onto the hood of the car, then roll off into the gutter. His bike landed on the sidewalk. The car kept going. It was a long night, and early the next morning, I put Oscar in the car and went to the ER to pick John up. He was pretty banged up, sore, and with some serious road rash. Sore turned into more sore and then stiff, and road rash has been overshadowed by a continuous rainbow of bruises. Here's a pic of his bike that I took before leaving it at the bike shop:

After realizing that John was relatively okay--he didn't bang his head or break any bones--I felt mostly relieved. After a few days of rest, he's managing to bounce back pretty well. Still pretty sore on his side, with some roving stiffness, but he's getting back to himself. And he got his bike back today and rode it to work tonight. I hope something like this never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever happens again, but now that it's mostly behind us I can say: it could have been worse, and I'm so glad it wasn't.

The Law

When John and I first moved to Philadelphia, we used to laugh at the signs posted above traffic lights saying "WAIT FOR GREEN". We thought, "How silly! Shouldn't the red light be enough to tell us not to go?". We also learned that stop signs were "stop-tional" as most people practice more of a pause then a stop. As we ventured out in those first months, I used to obsess about knowing what the speed limit was in different areas so as to avoid getting a ticket, but soon realized that no one drives the posted speed limit pretty much anywhere in the city.

It didn't take long to adapt (when in Rome, right?), though I do maintain a certain level of safety (we don't run red lights while blaring our horn to warn others, for example). Of course, I don't carry these driving habits back to Oregon with us when we go for a visit--or at least I thought I didn't. When Oscar and I were in Oregon this spring, we turned right at a red light without stopping--anyway, that's what the ticket that came in the mail a few weeks later said. I couldn't imagine it--surely I had stopped! Or at least made a healthy pause. And no one was coming anyway, and there was no sign that said you couldn't turn right on red. Unthinkable! I planned to contest it, though this could've been challenging from across the country.

In the meantime, I noticed on the ticket a website through which I could watch a video of the "infraction" for myself. I expected to see the car stopping at the light, maybe too far into the crosswalk, but stopping anyway.  Instead, after watching this evidence, I had no choice but to get out the checkbook. Then I said to Johnny, "You know, they really should have a sign that says you MUST stop at a red light--ridiculous!"

Clearly, we've been living in Philadelphia for too long.

(If you have nothing better to do, you can see me breaking the law here. Just enter citation # 0605711R, license plate 262CSG, and city code SRWDOR.)

Gum and Gus!

Gum and Gus came for a visit a week or so ago.  It was WONDERFUL to have them here.  We saw some sights, ate some food, and in between that we simply hung out together.

(That kid is a little bit ticklish.)

 

Gus and O.K. build a kitchen together.

Gum makes for a perfect book-reading perch.

Not sure this qualifies as quality time, but at least its something we all have in common.

 Gus used some of our "down time" to work on a book she is making for Oscar.

We made it out to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where we saw farms, garage sales, horses, Amish buggies and bikes.  I didn't take enough pictures of all of that.  To see more, check this out.  Here are a few pics I managed to take.

 Outside the Central Market in Lancaster.

 Getting to know the goats behind the restaurant, Good N' Plenty.

O.K. driving the play wagon.

Other days, we ventured to the bio-pond (see more pics here), to Macy's to see the giant organ (again, more pics), and to EAT.

 At Jim's, eating cheese steaks, of course.

At Local 44, celebrating John's birthday a bit early.

And to Capogiro (though no gelato is in this pic, I can't get enough of those post-gelato grins).

They've been safely back in Oregon for a few days now, but we're still talking about their time here.  Today I asked Oscar if he would like to have a friend over to play with him in the sandbox, to which he answered "yes".  When I asked him who, he replied "Gum and Gus!".  So, Gum and Gus, you wanna' stop by for a bit?

A "Real" Haircut

I've been happy to try my hand at cutting O.K.'s hair, and more or less, it has worked out just fine on his baby fine hair.  However, just after his birthday I cut his much fuller, much less "baby" hair, and it didn't turn out so well.  I tried to "fix" it, but of course, we all know how that story ends.  Oscar had a funky crop of "stick up" hair in the back and his bangs were too short in the front.  So I retired the scissors, vowing that when his hair grew back, I'd take him to a professional.  (And I almost kept my promise, except for a modest trimming of a few hairs before our trip back to Oregon.)

The opportunity presented itself last weekend, when we walked past a new shop in our neighborhood, Talking Headz Hair Salon.  We decided to see if they were open to toddler cuts--and if they'd promise not to make him look like a little business man.  The price was right, and they understood my wish that our toddler stay toddler-looking, so we returned post-nap to get O.K. a new 'do.

 Oscar did well sitting in the chair, though he wasn't feeling the cape at first.

 But after the hairs starting sticking to the back of his neck he caved.

 Heather, the stylist, was really patient with Oscar and his two parents who were standing around taking pictures.

 I have been known for crying after even the best of haircuts, but Oscar was quite happy to have his hair out of his eyes. 

 Personally, I think he's looking pretty sharp post-cut, and thankfully, still very much like a two year old.

Where Did April Go?

The last month or so has been a whirlwind of report cards, parent conferences, a visit from a faraway friend, a baby shower, traveling to see family, celebrating the lives of grandparents, family traveling to see us, babies being born, and in between it all, the day-to-day stuff of a busy two year old and house and work and life.  We've been busy.  But I have all these pictures begging to be shared, so--not to be forgotten--here's April in a few photos.

Since report cards and parent conferences don't come with pics, here's Sharon!  She is a friend from "across the pond" that we met during our time in Guatemala.  She and her friend, Jody, came to Philly for a visit.  It was wonderful to get to spend some time together.

 Debbie, the mama-to-be (can't you tell?), at her baby shower!

Then a few days later, O.K. and I hopped on a westward-bound plane, leaving Johnny home alone for almost a week.

There were cute babies to be seen...

like Baby Sage and her dad,

and Baby Sage and her mama.

 

There was family to reminisce with (oh, Big Loader, we loved you),

"Darcy-girl" to play with,

and ice cream to be eaten.

 There was another sweet baby to admire (here with his pretty mama),

 flowers to photograph,

And then quick-as-anything we were back in Philly (well, after nearly 10 hours of night-time travel).  A few days after we got back, Aunt Jane, Susie, David, and Sarah came to see us.

They bought pickles at Reading Terminal Market,

visited the Philadelphia International Art street fair,

and came back out at night to see a French-inspired acrobatic musical event.

And then after a fun-filled time together, they were off.  

Just a couple of days later, something else exciting happened...

Baby Anju was born to Debbie and Dev.  Remember the baby shower at the top of this post?  This is the sweet new baby all that baby-showering was for.

But now I'm getting into a bit of May, so I'll stop here.  And I'm promising myself not to go so long between posts--I've been working on this for the last hour and a half.  Sheesh.

Kazoo in the Kitchen

The kid shows promise, right? : )