I have mixed emotions about this. Oh, I agonized over it for weeks. Should I cut it? Should I let it just grow and grow? See, the problem was, the top part of her hair was long and straight and stringy. The bottom part was beautiful and curly and much, much shorter. So it was uneven and it just looked weird. I mean, you’ve seen it. I hate to be the mom who teaches her daughter to be so concerned with looks….. but at the same time…. I just couldn’t get over how scraggly her hair looked, whether I brushed it or not. After all, it should at least look like I brushed her hair, right? And so, I finally got out the scissors, sat her in front of the TV, and chopped off my daughter’s beautiful hair. It looks so much nicer now, but oh what have I done?!

We have done things in the last 5 months. We’ve even taken pictures of some of them. But we’ve fallen woefully behind on posting photo galleries.

And I know that if I post 72 galleries at once, no one will look at any of them. So we’re just picking up with last weekend… we might go back and post some other things from the past 5 months, or we might not. Keep checking back every 6 hours to stay on top of it (I like to keep you on your toes, Internet!).

Last weekend we went to the Austin Ice Cream Festival. Here’s the thing: it was ridiculously hot, kind of expensive ($7 parking + $2/adult admission + $3-5/ice cream serving), and the ice cream was all melty. And yet, we had a great time! I think it just doesn’t matter what happens, if you’re at an Ice Cream Festival, you are doing something right in life.

I even bought a soy ice cream dog treat for Marty and Hans (Hans is Marty’s brother; we were dog-sitting that weekend) — they weren’t too sure what to do with it at first, but they figured it out.

We saw The Biscuit Brothers, drank some Sweet Leaf Tea, ate a gigantic sausage wrapped in a tiny tortilla, and Kaeta got to ride a pony (don’t miss the pics from that!)… a good time was had by all.

Here’s the gallery.

…and still lives with his parents. Although we know Jonah loves us and still needs his snuggling, we get the impression he wouldn’t mind striking out on his own every once in a while to explore the world. We call him “Curious Jo”, as he is scooting around EVERYwhere and getting into EVERYthing. If he can get his hands on it, he will. And even when he can’t get his hands on it (or so we think), well, that only slows him down a tiny bit. Consequently, Jonah is learning a new word this month (so far it’s his least favorite): NO.

Scooting is still Jonah’s primary mode of transportation, but he is refining his technique and improving his speed. He can get clear across the house now by the time I turn around. He is rocking on his hands and knees a lot, too, getting ready to start crawling. This month he has shown us how well he can pull up on the furniture, usually only to his knees (not yet to his feet, but he’s close!).

Jonah has been very inventive this month, coming up with new games for us to play. His favorite one is his “two-eyed wink” where we basically take turns blinking real big at each other. It sounds simple, but it’s just about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. He and Kaeta are starting to play together now, which they usually both enjoy. It’s clear by the look on his face as he watches her run around that he can’t wait to run around with her. Oh, and he still enjoys waving. Sometimes I catch him waving when someone says “hi” or “bye” even if no one waved at him first.

And the biggest news is: Varsity Football try-outs in 2 WEEKS! Jonah has been VERY busy getting ready. With his speed and mobility, we think he’s got a good shot at making quarterback. He’s practicing calling out plays (”Nah! Nah! Nah! Hut!”), dodging tackles (with an older sister and a playful puppy, he’s getting a LOT of practice with this one), and carrying the ball. Now all he has to do is learn how to throw the ball. And probably learn to walk, I guess.

So it’s been a busy month for Jonah, to say the least. Oh yeah, and his tooth count is up to 6, going on 7.

What does it mean when you come home and find this?

Is the midlife crisis hitting early? No, it’s just the ladies in Karianne’s book club are getting together tonight to show off their wedding photos, and they’re all going to wear their veils, and hey, as long as you’re putting on the veil, why not put on the whole dress and freak your husband out? Totally reasonable.

Here’s Kaeta’s reaction:

[Download Video, 3.2Mb]

So, yes. I should be very worried.

I replaced 2 sprinkler heads in our yard today. One took 10 minutes, the other took over an hour.

And not even in the way you might think. If the first repair took an hour, but I learned something that made the second repair take only 10 minutes, well, I would feel good about that.

But the first repair took 10 minutes, and the second took an hour. The really frustrating thing is, the repairs were identical. They both were simple: dig up the broken sprinkler head, unscrew it from the pipe, and screw in the new one. But the second one didn’t want to screw in. I tried over and over, with no luck. Of course, I couldn’t see what I was doing too well — the hole I dug to reach the pipe was full of muddy water — so eventually I emptied out all the water, getting the last bits with a turkey baster! Still it wouldn’t screw on.

And there was no trick to it. It didn’t work for an hour, and then, suddenly, it worked. The trick was just to keep trying relentlessly. I think this may be the trick to a lot of home repairs, so maybe that’s the skill I need to be working on most!

I’ve been meaning to post this one for a while.  During church a month or so ago, we were waiting for our turn to take communion, and Kaeta was sitting in my lap.  I pointed at the people kneeling at the altar, and I asked, “Kaeta, what are those people doing?”

She thought about it, then said, “Those ladies are eating picks!”

As in guitar picks.  So then I had to explain to her that the communion wafers are not guitar picks.  What in the world must she think we’re doing, going to church to eat picks every week?!

Jonah has been on the move this month. He still isn’t crawling, but he can get where he wants to go by rolling, scooting, and pivoting. It’s not usually a straight line, but he gets there! And he’s pretty fast, too. Most of the time I’ll set him down in one spot and then when I look up a minute later, he’s already clear across the room.

But his new favorite activity is waving. It makes him so happy to wave at you as you’re coming, going, or just haven’t looked his way in a while. Or if you’re looking right at him. He doesn’t need a reason, he just loves to wave. We think he might be trying to say “hi” sometimes, because he often seems to be imitating the “ha” sound as he waves.

In the last month Jonah has acquired his first TWO teeth, and is working on three, four, and five. He also enjoys spitting and trying to do a beatbox with his lips, especially when a spoonful of carrots is on its way to his mouth. He can spray a thin layer of carrots so that it evenly covers his daddy’s entire face!

And just this week, he’s started sitting up by himself. He’s still perfecting this one, but we’ve both found him sitting up in his crib, which is really great!

Kaeta: (pointing out the window at the sky) I got to fly in that sky today!

Daddy: You did?  What did you see up there?

K: Birds.  I got birds on my head!

D: What color?

K: Green and blue and red and green and blue.  And red!  Dofe-tee is a bird.

D: What?

Mommy: (translating) Dorothy.

D: Oh, Dorothy is a bird?

K:  Yeah, Dorothy is a bird.  She’s a bird.  Birds are she.

D: (laughing) She’s a bird, birds are she?  You sound like a pantheist.

K: I like big girl panties!

Whatever your political leanings, you’ve got to laugh at bumper stickers like “Obamanos.” Or my personal favorite, “Barack Me, Obamadeus.”