Perfecting my kick flip

We are still mostly homebound here in the cold and dreary place known as Columbus-in-winter, so are finding ever more creative ways to entertain ourselves. mtw pulled out his skateboard, and throwing caution to the wind, placed eaw on it and sent him for a ride. Turns out, eaw loves it! We found him a little skater outfit and are helping him perfect his kickflip and halfpipe technique.

We had a busy weekend - mdw attended to final work duties at Princeton, rented a minivan, and drove a bunch more stuff from the Philly residence to Columbus. The roads were clear, and the drive was good, providing much reflection for the various transitions in our lives right now. The house is getting closer and closer to being put on the market so send us your real estate vibes - it's a tricky market right now. Regardless, we will be grateful if we can break even. At least, we will stop hemorrhaging money trying to keep up two households. We are sad to leave Philly, and our incredible Philly community, but we are embracing the opportunities that lie ahead. mtw and eaw had a great dad-and-me weekend, and will get to enjoy another one this weekend as mdw returns to Philadelphia to clean and finish final projects on the house. They have plans to go to a drumming performance and a playdate with a little girl about eaw's age. Reports to follow.

mdw and eaw had a very productive and surprisingly efficient day yesterday, beginning with our movement class which included a parachute, hula hoops, and assisted backwards rolls this week. We then ventured to the Social Security office to apply for eaw's number, followed by a visit to the Franklin County probate court to initiate the stateside logistics for finalizing (finally) our process. eaw was unaware that most people in the courthouse were grumpy or irritated, and set about flirting, smiling, and waving at every person we passed. I hope he stays that way in the face of adversity in the future. Our afternoons always include a walk with the dogs, and we continue to be very grateful for the back pack from the mfd, khd, and ghd3!

This evening, we ventured out in the snow for our weekly family-night-out at a local restaurant. We are trying a different restaurant every week, and keeping eaw comfortable with being out and about. This week, mtw chose an Italian restaurant named Spagio's - the food was good, but not as good as it was pricey. eaw enjoyed buttery mash potatoes and the huge painting of the chef next to our table. So far, Champps has been the best all-around for family night (price, food quality, ambiance, service, family-friendly), followed by Red Door tavern for a close second, with Hoggy's B-B-Q third, and Spagios bringing in the rear. We'll keep you posted as we find some treasures - we're still searching for some good sushi!

Six ideas to beat the winter blahs...

So we here at Wall Central have succumbed to the dreary winter doldrums, hoping every day for just a spot of sunshine...mdw has been particularly hard hit and is even considering buying one of those artificial light systems to combat the winter blues. While mtw was away this weekend (in Philadelphia working on the house), eaw offered the following suggestions for beating the winter blahs:

1. Gaze out the window and ponder the coming of spring:









2. Pull every toy down from the the shelf for maximum enjoyment:









3. Play dress up with the dogs:









4. Discover names and places of body parts on said dogs:










5. Make some music (notice the tambourine mid-air!):









and finally...
6. Play it cool, winter might freeze your tush, but it can't freeze your spirit! Peace out, all!

Cupid's Arrow

We continue to celebrate the love of all those that brought eaw to us - and wanted to highlight the most recent official love match in the family. mtw's older brother was married January 19th - the weekend we returned to the states with eaw. In all of the frenzy, we never posted an official announcement/congratulations to him and his new bride. The picture below is the happy couple, and the one above is from the wedding with eaw and his Grandparent's Ballis!

Happy Belated Valentine's to you all. We decided to go out as a family on Valentine's Eve, and thoroughly enjoyed the smaller crowds and lower dinner prices. eaw continues to be a champ at restaurants - mostly flirting with nearby ladies, sometimes eating, and reaching for the napkin holders and sugar packets. We ventured to a local sports bar/restaurant called, coincidentally, Champps, and ended up seated in the family corner - with several other families who had the same idea. We were in good company. On the 14th, mtw made a delicious meal - salmon and risotto, with strawberry muffins to boot. eaw definitely has a sweet tooth and enjoyed the muffins immensely over the next few days. We hope you each took time to love yourselves on V'tines.

Grandparents Durham!

G'ma and G'pa Durham arrived last Wednesday evening to meet their new grandson. mtw woke him up so they could meet him despite a late arrival. eaw especially loves G'ma (he is still warming up to men, in general), but had a good time with G'pa on Thursday afternoon while everyone else was away. The visit was full and productive. cmd enacted her "force of nature" talents while ghd2 performed many assembly duties, and we have a beautiful new nursery to prove it. They were very generous with their time, affection, resources and care (setting us up with all sorts of new toys and clothes - thanks jdt and jbt; baby gear, hand blenders, and welcome advice). Thanks also to mfd for the gorgeous blanket she bought eaw nearly a year ago - he loves it, and we are so glad both he and the blanket are here!

We were able to get some stories out of cmd and ghd2 about their early days as parents. It was really fun. ghd2 joined us for eaw's big visit at the Children's Hospital. It was reassuring to have him there. eaw's health and development seems really good. G'ma and G'pa also babysat for us so that we could enjoy not 1, but 2 evenings out (one for pleasure, one for work). mtw and ghd2 attended a broadcast of the funeral for Gordon B. Hinkley, and cmd arranged a lovely dinner out with some family friends who live in the area (notice eaw holding court with their charming girls - he was fully enchanted). We also enjoyed many meals out at restaurants - fortunately eaw is a social bug and loves being out and about.

It was sad to see them go today, and we hope to be out in Utah in March to introduce eaw to the entire clan!

GO GIANTS!

So even though mdw spent 4 years of her life in Boston, we are thrilled with the win by the NY Giants! Believe me, that's as enthusiastic as Odin gets these days...if only eaw was as good a sleeper. Thanks Chuck for the football - it is getting much use between eaw and the pups.