Sebie is 1 !

This weekend Sebie had his first birthday party.  To prepare for the excitement Emmeline had a nap in the car.

When we got there we freshened up her ponytails and after some initial shyness Emma enjoyed some playtime in the bouncy castle.

She was joined by some of Sebie's friends from daycare.  Emma looks a little concerned at first.

But playing was fun.

Until it wasn't.

Luckily it wasn't too long until TJ and Michelle brought out the cake and pinata and good times were here again.

Check out the super cool birthday cake.

And there is the birthday boy.  He's looking all grown up with his haircut.

After the cake cutting Emma found some fun balloons with tasty ribbon to play with.

And she got a nibble of the birthday cake.

And a lick of frosting.

And best of all; a fork!

We even got to catch up with Titi Rosie for a bit.

See This Show

Last night we went to see Patrick Link's latest show and it was great!  In his latest work Patrick talks about something that not a lot of people want to talk about: the clear link between America's favorite sport and life-ending injuries.  One of the best things about the show is that it articulates and addresses all the reasons why this is hard to talk about.  I have some experience with football from managing a high school team, but even if you don't like football you should see this show.  It deals with issues that are far bigger than just football, like living with family, dealing with memory loss, and the various ways that we all find to deal with death.

The acting was superb last night and definitely includes some faces you would recognize. There were clearly some West Wing fans in the audience last night who were excited to see Ron Canada in such an intimate venue. He portrays an old bear who seems to have escaped the effects of a long NFL career and has to reconcile his love of football and the inescapable facts of the dangers of the sport. His is the standout performance, but the cast of four is universally strong. And the Ensemble Theatre is great venue for cozy, living room feel of the set. It's small and friendly and there are no seats without a great view. Plus they have a terrific track record of hosting some of the best off-Broadway shows we've seen. It's always a great experience.

Nedra McClyde & Ron Canada in Headstrong (from the ensemble theater website).

Lounge Lizard

Last night we went to see a great show written by a friend of ours.  While we were out Emma was having a great time with Grandma Betty.  Emma woke up when we showed up to pick her up (evidently catching a second wind) and then was lounging on the couch with Grandma while we told her about the show.  She was all super relaxed and cuddly.  We left our camera at a party we went to in the afternoon so this picture we took with the iPhone doesn't really capture the moment.  Perhaps she has been taking lessons from Griffin aka Liquid Kitty.

Herb and Salad Garden

I love planting things.  There is something extremely satisfying about taking a seed or bulb or little plant and covering it over with dirt and then having it flourish.  It is a bonus when what you're growing is edible.

If this isn't flourishing, I don't know what is!

Two weekends ago when my parents were here my mom helped me plant seeds in all of these peat moss pods and nearly all of them are bursting with plants.  Looks like they'll be ready to go when we build our raised garden and plant them next weekend.

Wheeee!