Visiting Grandpa on the Fourth

 After running a 10K for the first time in probably a decade, Mister John rested for a few hours before heading eastward with Miss Jill and the two girls to visit his sister's house.  There Mary Jane and Betsy Jo got to spend some time with cousins Garrett, Trevor, and Manny (the eldest of the whole cousin brood).  There was also an Aunt Jo and Uncle Jose sighting which is good for Mary Jane as she quite the memory and it makes it all the easier for her to look at pictures and point at them with the proper names.

In this picture, it's Aunt Pat, Daddy, Betsy, and Aunt Jo.  Alas, Mary Jane was already in her car seat when this impromptu picture was taken.  Pat and Jo were talking about sibling rivalry and how sisters bicker about certain things... perfect to know before Mary Jane and Betsy Jo get older.  Then again Mommy also had an older sister so she knows all about that.

Double Baptism Photos!

Yes, I am considerably behind on my blogging.  So sorry... with two young girls, it's difficult to find time to find photos and write.  But here are a few photos from our double baptism at St. Joan of Arc on Feb. 10.  It wasn't a large gathering... heck, most of those who know us think that Mary Jane and Betsy Jo have already been baptized   Well, the wonders of adoption and paperwork slowed us a bit but here are some photos of the grand day.

Right here to the left is the christening of Betsy.  Look at that photo as everyone intently watches the action.  Even Mary Jane turns in to look as she wonders what is next.

 Alas, Betsy didn't take too kindly to having cold water placed on her forehead.  Mommy is there to provide consolation.

Betsy still seems a bit distraught but Mommy is there to save the day.  Not only that but Brent and Pat, her godparents, are there to make sure that she's OK.

 With Father Jim in the background, Betsy and Mary Jane form a triangle of white in this photo.  There's Betsy's hair typically flying free while Mary Jane's hair stays flat as a pancake.  Hmm... pancakes.

 Mary Jane standing before Fr. Jim.  She calls him "Fadda Jim" which is pretty darn good for a two year old.  Note: way in the background is the statue of St. Joan of Arc looking over the parish and our two girls.  May they have the same ferocity about life and faith as Joan of Arc did... but hopefully live a longer life.

Someone has their baptism candle!  Now please don't use that as a weapon... especially on your sister.  That's just bad form.

Betsy is celebrating form!  Either that or she's telling the parish that she's caught a fish THIS big.

 Aunt Pat gives the candle to Betsy with Daddy watching.  Mary Jane readies to stick her candle in Daddy's ear.

Ah, the group photo!  Dad (aka Grampa Erb) is to the far left with Pat, Brent, Daddy, Betsy, Fr. Jim, Mary Jane, Mommy, Brendan, and Stephanie to the far right.  Happy day for all!

Waffles and Other Things

 So Fathers Day has come and passed but not before Daddy busted out some tasty waffles for the big day.  Somehow the Erb tradition started when Aunt Pat coerced Grampa to fix waffles many years ago on a June Sunday morning.  Gramma said it wasn't right as he's supposed to have the day off but Pat posited that was the day he needed to prove his "Dad-ness."

Deep in the Heart of El Segundo

Many years later hopefully Daddy has proved his "Dad-ness" as well.  Of course everyone would need to ask Mary Jane and Betsy Jo but they really don't have much of a say yet.  Not to say that Mary Jane can't talk (oh, she can!) but she doesn't have the profundity yet to question Daddy's role in the great holiday known as Fathers Day. 

The Prophet

Sometimes you might have to go to an outside source... say... a mule deer in Grand Canyon Park.  He seemed innocent enough.  Of course this picture was taken before the births of Mary Jane and Betsy Jo but what you don't see in this picture is the deer saying, "What's up there, Daddy-O?"  Foretelling the future?  Hmm... methinks so.

Anyway, Daddy is looking forward to a roadtrip next week.  Many pics to come.

Girls Visit Aunt Pat and Grampa Erb

Mary Jane and Betsy Jo went out to visit Aunt Pat and Grampa yesterday.  Well, Daddy drove them out there technically.  The two girls don't quite have the savvy yet to take the Expo Line to the Gold Line yet.  Maybe some day... but not yet.

Clearly Aunt Pat put Mary Jane to hard work as she's collecting weeds in the picture to the left.  What she really did was get some weeds and put them in the bucket and them pull them back out only to them back in again.  Good repetitive work!

 Mary Jane also tried to use Garrett or Trevor's old tricycle.  It didn't work out so well for her as her legs are still a bit short but she does have the right idea.  She drove it Flintstones-like before just giving up on and asking Daddy, "Up?"  This time it truly meant, "Pick me up from this bike which doesn't work, Daddy."

Betsy Jo frolicked in the backyard grass, just running her fingers through the grass.  No leaves to eat so she was content with mere idling.  Grampa came over to keep an eye on her.  Ah, good ol' Grampa. 

Afterward the girls were both tired from their ride out to Monterey Park and briefly napped on their ride home.

Family Visit for MJ and the Bunnies

Mary Jane was visited by Aunt Pat, Uncle Brent, Grampa, and her cousins Garrett and Trevor this evening. Nothing quite like the giggling bundle of energy that Mary Jane has become. She is soooo close to crawling. Right now it's more of a slow scoot followed by fits and starts to get in a particular direction. She's also close to sitting up by herself but she still needs a bit of help as the picture on the right can attest. Not to worry, Mary Jane will be quite strong soon enough to do all the sitting up and crawling that she needs. Of course that means that Mommy and Daddy will have to be on major alert for all of that.

The bunnies were also visited as Chip was quickly collected in the back yard and brought in for pictures. Garrett is holding Chip while Daddy (aka Mister John) holds Mary Jane. She was a tad bit grumpy but after the whole family took a walk around the block -- people must have thought we were a religious group -- Mary Jane calmed down a bit and was her typically cheery self. While MJ has seen Aunt Pat many times, it has been a while and that precious little girl is quite leery of anyone other than Mommy, Daddy, or the nanny Maggie from holding her.

Later on the family celebrated the evening with Tito's Tacos. Later on Garrett and Trevor fought over the hammock. Quite a typical occurrence as they seem to fight over everything. Alas, neither of them did their share in rounding up the rabbits this evening. Cherry Bugg was not amused by them. Then again not much amuses Cherry Bugg so that will be left alone.

Finally, Daddy aka Mister John had a picture taken with his father. It was a good head shot of the two of them and thus makes the blog post. Mary Jane fell asleep by 7pm and it's onto the next day.