Folklife Festival

Here's a picture from a cooking demonstration in one of the Northern Ireland tents at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. I didn't take the picture, but I found it on Flickr. We forgot a camera, so you'll just have to take my word for it that we were there.

Ali took the kids down there yesterday afternoon and I met them after work for dinner. This year, the Festival has exhibits from the Mekong River, Jamestown and Northern Ireland. The theme is, "Places that have had some Troubles, but would now like to increase Tourism."

By the time I met them on the Mall, the temperature was about 135 degrees in the shade (which does not exist on the Mall). They must have decided to make the museums free in Washington so that people might actually come here in the summer. We cooled off with some Mekong River specialties, crisp Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp and spicy Larb Gai. Jake and I practiced saying "Larb Gai" and when we got to the front of the line and he actually ordered it, all the Thai ladies were giggling and asking him what else he could order from the menu. He froze up, but a lot of what he says sounds like he's reading from a Thai menu, so he probably could have pulled it off if he'd tried. "Gap Bai! Prat Doh!"

Jake's Two Year checkup

We took Jake into the doc for his two-year checkup this morning. We barely made it there because Sadie didn't sleep well between the hours of about 12:00 and 6:00 a.m., but then she did sleep well after that, and so did we. And Jake decided to sleep in later than normal, and we haven't set an alarm clock in about two years, so we finally woke up at 7:40 and somehow got everyone (including Mr. Potato Head who goes everywhere with us now) ready and out the door and to Jake's 8:00 a.m. appointment on time. I'm not sure everyone had pants on, but we were there.

Jake had a great checkup and the doc says he's doing very well with his fine motor skills, his vocabulary, and his social interactions. And he's off the charts for height-- although he wasn't crazy about getting measured and we first had to measure Mr. Potato Head who is still holding steady at 6 inches. Jake, on the other hand, broke through the yard barrier and came in at 37 1/2 inches! That's two inches taller than I was at his age (see chart below). He weighs just over 29 pounds, and that bumped him up a bit in the percentile range from the 50's, where he's always been, to the 65th percentile.

He did have to get a shot, but it's his last one until Kindergarten, and he got a Wyle E. Coyote band-aid, so that helped some. We had a nice day with Jake today, and it's pretty neat to think about how much he's grown in the last two years. We went on our family walk after dinner and he just seemed so grown up walking with us. He was chatty and inquisitive and funny and he made Ali and I smile, thinking about the little boy he's turning into.

Oh, and just so this post is a little balanced, Sadie is doing great also! She is the happiest, smiliest baby I've ever seen. I've really only been around two babies, including Sadie and Jake, but I can't imagine there are many as happy as she is. I got to spend some extra time with her today since I took the day off and she just loves to bounce and to look at people and to smile. And she's starting to giggle when Jake makes faces at her, which is the cutest thing ever.

Birthday Party!

We had SO much fun at Jake's birthday party today! Some of my favorite moments:

Jake smiling while we all sang "Happy Birthday" and then getting up and nonchalantly walking away instead of blowing out his candles.

Danny eating his age in chicken wings (he's nine).

Jake getting reunited with his daycare buddies, Rachel and Jocelyn.

All the kids' water sprinkler toys mean I don't have to water the lawn tomorrow.

Antfarm!

And finally, you can always tell a good party when half the guests run around with their pants and shirts off.

It was great to see everyone today - Jake had a blast!

Click the birthday party link over to the right or here for more pictures.