Sixty-four Years Ago....

No Place Like Home

Finally! Photos. No, I am not a photographer (nor a blogger), but at least you'll get the basic idea of our fabulous new home. Getting this home turned out to be much more difficult than we expected. We signed on with a loan broker who, at the very last minute, completely failed us. With just days before we were slated to move out of our home in Eastern Market and Nate still commuting for three hours each day out to work, we had no loan, probably a lost down payment, and, well, no home!! Finally, thanks to essential assistance from several key family members and friends (thank you!!!) we got it sorted out. So...take a look at these photos, and then come for a visit!!

Crepe Night

We have very cool neighbors, Rachel and Jeoffe Wilks. Rachel is starting a crepe business and convinced us to practice on us. We've partaken of her crepe yumminess several times now and look forward to further testing. Rachel is full of all kinds of surprises; she lent us a baby scale to monitor Mayumi's weight. Mayumi continues to be the happiest baby around, doted on by her parents.

Ask not what your country can do for you...

Nate, Mayumi, and I went into the District for Veteran's Day. We expected traffic, crowds, etc., but were pleasantly surprised. Aside from the chill (we were definitely unprepared clothing-wise), everything went smoothly. We stopped into to visit my best bud Heather in Crystal City, parked the car, and metro-ed to Arlington National Cemetary. I hadn't been to the cemetery since visiting with my great friend Steve Orrock in Fall 1998 when I interned with Orrin Hatch. Nate had been years before with family. We enjoyed the fall colors, the pageantry, the solemnity of the setting. We also enjoyed delicious kabobs at our favorite Pakistani restaurant, located hear Heather's house. All in all, a great day. I sure do miss living in D.C. Sigh. Pictures of our new house soon to follow!

Fall cutie

Mayumi may take after her father; she seems to be taking to the cooler weather without a problem. I take her out each day in the jogging stroller, all bundled up and super cute. Thanks to her grandma Rosalie, she has a darling pumpkin hat...that turned into a pumpkin halloween costume. Finally-our pumpkins. Some may say they are self-portraits. You'll notice that I included our pumpkin-portraits from LAST year (after decay and squirrels attacked Nate's). We love that photo!

The Baby-Industrial Complex

Have you noticed how many baby implements there are out there? Humans used to grow from infancy to adulthood without two sticks to rub together and now the average baby has more 'toys' than the average adult. My father, 'you only need two shirts' Roland Johnson,' would probably call this The Baby-Industrial Complex. That's what I like to call it, anyway. I am happy to report that most of Mayumi's toys were handed down to me, but still: her things occupied at least half of the space in our moving truck. Gracious! Several of these items, however, really ARE helpful--no doubt about it. See the "Bumbo" below. I give my mother and Lindsay credit for finding this item. High chair no longer needed--the Bumbo does the trick. Also featured here is Nate, WEARING Mayumi. Yes, babywearing is something I have tried to embrace (no pun intended) and we are making great strides thanks to Karma Baby and Ergo.