Show Offs and Finished Tile

Bon Jour friends and family,

I translated my friend's French comment and relayed the message to Layla.  She lit up like a light when I told her he sent a message to her.  I couldn't get to Babel Fish for the translation because Layla was tugging on my mousing arm screaming, "what did he say? what did he say?"  It made her day and she said to say, "Thank you" for the compliment.

Individual bath time is a huge adjustment.  Easton soaks and plays with his toy shark and cars indefinitely.  I check on him occasionally to make sure he isn't shoveling bucket-loads of water onto the bathroom floor.  25 minutes later I have to sternly ask him to get out the tub.

Then there's Layla.  Miss social butterfly.  Being alone in the bathtub for any length of time feels like a form of  corporal punishment to her.  No sooner than she dips her toe in the water she asks me to sit on the commode and pretend to be Prince Eric so her Ariel water doll isn't lonely.  She has the time of her life as long as Daddy is there to entertain with silly voices.

Even with my comedic talent, three minutes later she is begging to get out of the tub.  Variety is the spice of life and daily sustenance of parenting twins.

Easton discovered what it means to show off.  In a bit of irony Easton and Layla were invited by the neighborhood boys to play in the "kid's cul-de-sac" one street over.  I agreed to chaperon as the twins branched out beyond our court.  We found ten kids under the age of seven running around the kid's cul-de-sac.  The ironic part is that we are moving neighborhoods next week after living in the same court for nice years!  It was like a circus or zoo or something.  bicycles circling like a WWII dog fight, frisbees whizzing by, and parents socializing while the chaos ensues.

Easton tried to show off and occasionally succeeded.  This was his first attempt at riding with no feet on the peddles.      

He fell more than five times and each time would jump up and proclaim, "I'm OK, Dad.  I'm fine."  This is a stark contrast to how he shed's a tear and has a pity party when this kind of thing happens in our house.  After the quick reassurance he'd be back to his feeble attempts to impress the older girls.  Here is one such older girl.  She was nice enough to take the twins on a front yard adventure bug hunt.  They captured several little critters while Easton and Layla crowded around to inspect each one.

For some reason as I looked at Easton sitting on the step ladder later that evening I saw him as a little boy instead of a toddler.  I'm sure it had to do with his maturing and events of the day.  Anyway, he agreed to pose for a picture as long as I promised to let him review it afterwards.

I would have been out of luck with my 35mm film camera if this were 20 years ago, but luckily technology allows the immediate feedback of reviewing pictures the second after they are taken.  He looked at himself in this picture and said, "Look at the rocket on my shirt!"

The house is coming along slower than molasses.  However, the floor and baseboards are almost completely done.  They look incredible so the slow cadence will be worth it.  Kendra and I are both very impressed and happy with the results.  Here is the final wipe-down as the grout dries.  I'm posting this one because it is easier to see the texture of the tile as it is wet.

This is the great room with the front door in the background.  The paint splotches on the wall are Kendra's test colors.  I can't remember which one she picked.  Frankly, I could care less either.  She is happy.  Therefore, I am happy.  It really is that simple.  I gave her 100% freedom to remodel the house exactly as she wants it from floor to ceiling and everything in between.

She trusted me to choose our first house when we were married and she never saw it until after I bought it.  Then she agreed not to spend any money on the rental house we've been in for over 4 years.  She's been very patient and trusting of my housing plans.  She deserves the chance to do things her way now that we are finally settling into our dream home.

The only trouble is that we are dumping so much money into the house itself we may not have much to spend on stuff to fill it like couches and mirrors and furniture.  Not to worry though.  We both understand we have a lifetime to fill it up with stuff.

For some reason I had in my mind Ouma and Oupa were arriving Thursday.  Tonight Kendra informed me they won't be here until Friday night.  My demeanor changed after hearing the truth.  Now it can be described as: sad face, sigh, angry eyes, pouty bottom lip.  Just GET here already, please!?

See you soon!