Fajitas and Diligence

Today, Jane and I met my parents at my Dad's office for lunch. This was no ordinary lunch; no sir. When they have Pappasito's come out to the office and grill you some fajitas right then and there, you are in for a pretty darn good feast.

The reason for this deliciousness was to celebrate a few people's anniversaries with the company. Dad had been there the longest, at 25 years, so Mom and I wanted to be there since they'd be honoring him. They talked about what the company looked like 25 years ago and the fact that Dad was pretty much the only one who knew what was going on at the time! (If anything, he is organized!) The guy doing the talking also said something that could not be more true: that Dad is extraordinarily diligent and hard working. If my dad is nothing else, he is that. I honestly do not know another person who is as diligent and hard working as Dale Williams. Although I did inherit a bit of this from him, I didn't inherit it in as concentrated a form or something, because really, no one can compete with his work ethic.

In fact, it is a running joke that Dad works so hard and so constantly that whenever he sits down, this happens:

Y'all, that is not far from the truth! Just watch a movie with him after dark, and wait about 20 minutes; about that time, you'll start hearing funny noises from the floor, where he has settled down with a pillow to watch the movie. But he's not watching; he's falling asleep. And when you poke him and say, "Dad, you're falling asleep," he'll jerk his eyes open and say, "No, I'm not." But give him about another two minutes, and you'll start hearing the funny going-to-sleep noises again. :) He works so hard that it's only rarely that he will stay awake for a movie. (Put the History Channel on, though, and he's hooked.) I'd have to say, though, that the fruits of Dad's diligence and work ethic are definitely worth a few funny noises coming from the floor whenever we watch a movie together.

And, obviously, we are not the only ones who recognize it and benefit from it.

Congratulations on a job well done, Dad!

There's Only One Thing to Do

When you're wearing both a ball cap and a sombrero, there's really only one thing to do:
DANCE!

Photographic Progress

On occasion, we let Noah use our camera to take a few pictures. What two year old can resist seeing themselves on the little screen, after all? However, until now, he's suffered from a fatal photographic flaw: he points the camera backwards, at himself rather than at his subject. Poor kid couldn't figure it out. So we ended up with a whole lot of photos like these:

Consternation.
You have to remember that he thought he was taking the picture of something else in each of those photos.

But just the other day, he finally got it!

Hooray!

Here we go:

Progress!

Toes!

I took this picture of Noah when he was about four and a half months old:

For a while, now, I've been trying to get a similar picture of Jane, and I finally got it the other day!

Caught in the act!
Cutie pies.

And here are some other recent pictures of Jane in all her cuteness.

Noah's First Haircut!

About two weeks ago, Noah got his very first haircut. Yes, he was two years, seven months, and a couple of weeks old before he had enough hair to have a haircut. But let's just remember where he was only a year ago:

See? We have come a long way!
(Isn't it amazing how much they grow in a year?!)

Anyway, we decided to take him in for this momentous occasion because he had some super long locks in the back.


The curls were sweet and babyish, but let's face it: he's a big boy now. And that long strand was just getting to be a little much. So off for a haircut we went!

He was a little anxious about the whole thing. I think he didn't quite know what to make of the shop.


But look how long and unmanageable that hair is! It was definitely time.

After they wet his hair down:
He pretty much maintained that expression the whole time.

But you know you've got it good when you get to sit in a fire engine and watch Toy Story.


"Lady, seriously! What are you doing?!"

His haircut turned out great. He looks like such a big boy now, and I love it. As it turned out, it was Nathan that felt the most sentimental about losing those curls, even though I was the one who made the lady save some for me. She put them in a little baggie made for just that purpose. And that was that! Quite a momentous day.

Six Months Old!

Miss Jane is six months old today!

We celebrated Jane's half birthday in Waco this weekend. It was fun to make her a cake, just as I did for Noah on his six month birthday. And Jane wasn't complaining; although she didn't get to taste the cake, she did enjoy it when everyone sang to her (her brother did a particularly wonderful version of "Happy Birthday").

About my girl:
~She's reaching for everything and putting it in her mouth.
~Everyone comments on how sweet and happy she is and about what a wonderful smile she has. I also often hear that she looks just like a doll.
~She loves to eat. Solid foods have been a success. (Although she's not that crazy about avocado.) Bananas and good old rice cereal are her favorites.
~She has some serious baby thighs. When I try to lift her out of the Bumbo, the Bumbo comes with her because her legs don't just slip out. I always have to tug it off! Ha! To be fair, though, the same thing was true of Noah for a while.
~I love to hear her crow and coo. She loves to "talk" to you or "sing" with you.
~She is reaching for things more regularly. Most notably her mama when she wakes up and is hungry, and her sippy cup, with which she is enthralled.
~She is just always so happy!

Love that Janey Beth!

My Favorite Birthday Gift So Far

Okay, so it's my only birthday gift so far. But that doesn't mean I'm not totally excited about this:
Okay, I might be a little corny, but I am so pumped! I can't wait to use my Texas-shaped waffle maker! April knew I wanted one and sent it to me as an early birthday gift!

This part of the label cracks me up:

Okay, "Texas shaped" is obvious. "Texas sized" is a totally common phrase. But "Texas powered"? Alright; they're stretching it on the whole "Texas sized" thing, but I'll go with them there. But then they just go downhill with "Texas owned," and I'm kind of done with their non-cleverness at this point. Yet I'm still somehow kind of tickled that they tried to be cute.

Anyway, I just might have done a little happy dance in the kitchen when I opened the box. :)