See Penelope pose.

See Penelope paralyzed with fear.

See Penelope follow a dog.

\

See Penelope become a dog.

{The End}

I think so.

They’re a quick-knit, practical, and an opportunity to use whimsical colors. If you don’t know how to knit, this would be a great {way more interesting than a scarf} place to start. Pattern here.

Casey got a banjo.

A coworker had it laying around the house, it belonged to his step-dad, and he sold it to Casey for next to nothing. It needs some new strings, but he’s got the picks, a capo, an instructional binder, a strap, and a case. If you know Casey, you know what a big deal this is– he has been pining after a banjo for years and years. This is an oldie-but-a-goodie. Nothing especially fancy, but it’s a 1976 model, so that’s somehow cool.

Love seeing my guy this happy :)

She was almost equally enamored with the gorillas. Not that I’m drawing a correlation or anything. Because I’m not.

And finally, here’s a  way too long for anyone but grandparents video of the Bear:

He assures me that it is an important part of boyhood.

We’ll just have to see about that.

Arthur seems pretty pleased, at least.

This is the only picture I can offer some explanation for. At the last minute (a few hours before he left) we remembered how helpful it can be to have pictures of your family while overseas, especially when there is a language barrier. This proved to be true in Haiti, also. Here he is showing off his kids, and starting a conversation with some Haitians:

The strange part is the object of her obsession. She loves letters, like I imagine other kids love stuffed animals or dolls. It isn’t unusual for her to ask to sleep with a favorite letter (how do you even do that?), or beg us to scribble one out on a scrap of paper in the car. Oh, and if she ever runs up to you, MagnaDoodle in hand, and screams a letter with a smile on her face… it’s her way of asking you to draw one, please.

I’m hoping it’s a toddler quirk, and not some Rain Man freak show. I guess if it is, we’ll have to sign her up for Wheel of Fortune and enjoy the bounty of her victory.

But I guess that’s a few years down the road.

As I was saying. The kid picks a favorite letter and the obsession sticks around for weeks.

First the letter S was her favorite, now it is definitely the letter M. Imagine her delight when I used M&M’s as bribery during potty-training. We’re not big McDonald’s patrons, so I’m pretty sure she isn’t cheering for their food when she happily points out each one we ever drive by. Ever. One favorite feature of the letter M is that if you happen to encounter a letter W, all you have to do is crane your neck around, and suddenly, an M appears. Just ask Penelope. Or rather, observe her. Any Walgreens, Footwear shop, or website (www.) billboard will do.

Recently she learned how to draw an M (“Up, down, up, down,” she says)… so basically, her joy knows no end.

And really, it is blissful joy. Just look at her face..

Details are slowly trickling out as he adjusts and acclimates. I’m eager to hear more, but understand that it’s a process. Once he’s organized his thoughts a bit better, walked me through the pictures, and we’re rested up, I’ll post a full trip recap.

And guess who couldn’t believe her eyes this morning..

I just can’t believe it.

And he is regularly showing me that his front half is ready to crawl. Scary, no?