Terrible

I realize that there is a fair amount of catch-up that needs to happen,
like all the events that took place in the month of May, for example.
But lets start with the most important part and then take it from there.
In case you were unaware, Orin has some not-so-insignificant news:

Yes, that's right.
He is officially Terrible.

Shades of Green

Tonight I logged on to the blog for the first time in weeks

and realized that I have gotten so caught up in the end of term
that I have neglected to post anything
about some pretty important events including Easter,
Kristin and Brett's wedding and our trip to eastern Oregon,
and Orin's first school party on Earth Day.
But instead of posting about any of these seemingly
much more important topics,
tonight I offer you only this series of random pictures
of Orin wearing his new sunglasses.

So why, you might ask, after nearly a month of silence, do I post

nothing but these pictures....
the answer is twofold:
number one- are you smiling right now?
That's the most important reason,
but there is also number two-
I didn't actually bring my camera to any
of the previously mentioned events, so this is all I have.
Well, almost all... I also have these.
In case the sunglasses didn't quite do it for you,
maybe a display of true yogurt enthusiasm will suffice.


Smile.
I promise I will do better next month.

Fame

Well, there you have it.
Despite significant odds against them, Duke has won it all...
and, almost as importantly, so have we.
I am referring here to the IdiotsBook bracket challenge.
At the start of the NCAA tournament,
Casey and I spent about 45 seconds clicking on teams that
we thought would win, wanted to win, liked the idea of,
liked the team colors of, etc.
We had Duke going all the way
not because we thought they actually could,
but because it seemed wrong to support
another team in order to try to win the bracket challenge.
But Duke pulled through, and therefore so did we.
Zoubek may be more stoked about winning then we are,
but I wouldn't count on it.
It may just be the closest we will ever come to fame.
And who cares that some of the people we beat in the bracket
were less than two years old,
or the invisible friend of my sister-in-law?
A win is a win.
That is the last I am going to say about basketball for another year.
Aren't you relieved?
Now it is back to pictures of Orin,
more pictures of Orin,
and occasionally pictures of Cali,
whenever she does something this ridiculous.
If only she were just a bit smaller...
or if the lunch box we just a bit bigger....
-sigh-
See you soonish.

Fork Fort

Every night before Orin goes to bed we allow him a little run around

time without his diaper.

For some reason, this diaper-less period always

coincides wave of late night energy.

Last night, instead of allowing him to scream and run around aimlessly,

we decided to build him a fort, thus providing a place to run to

and something to scream while running.

Never mind that he does not have the "t" sound down yet,

he'll get there.

Onward

It has been proven.
Duke didn't need Kyle Singler to make a single field goal
in order to stomp their way through Baylor to the final four...
at least not with the 3's raining down
from Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer.
Next up: West Virginia.

School Pictures

Yesterday, Orin's teacher gave me a thumb drive full of pictures
that she has taken of Orin over the last few months.
I thought I would share with you some of the highlights:

Orin and Miss Jessica...

Sliding at the park...

Feeding seagulls...

Reloading the pitcher of water to water the plants...

Biscuit making...

After snack...

Group art project...

And my favorite... anatomy day

And in other orders of business,
as I write this March Madness rages on.
Although we have fallen slightly behind in the IdiotsBooks bracket,
hope still remains as long as Duke holds on tomorrow against Purdue.
I am feeling pretty confident.

In the doghouse

Casey took this picture a couple of days ago.
Apparently, Orin decided to explore Atlas's abode.

He must have found it to his liking

because he decided to stay in there for quite some time.

It just goes to show that being in the doghouse
isn't always a bad thing...
especially when it is just your size.

Fan Devotion

Although Georgia Tech kept Duke on their toes
throughout the final battle for the ACC Championship,
Duke held strong to the very end.
It may have had to do with the fact that they are just a better team,
or it may have been the extra cheering from
one of their newest fans,
(I tend to go with the second option...
have you ever seen a more passionate baby?)
but either way, step one is over.
Its on to March Madness!

Frog Legs

While we were in North Carolina,

we made two trips to the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium.
While Orin loves all animals,
he seems to have a special place in his heart for everything aquatic.
Turtles, may just be his favorite...

or maybe frogs.
He is only slightly less of a fan of alligators,
whom he thinks should never be trusted
due to their unreasonable number of teeth
and their inability to provide a good piggy back ride.

There were two highlights of our aquarium trips.
One was the touch tank.
There are very few things that are more appealing to a kid
than the opportunity to get soaked
trying to touch slimy rays.

He later requested to touch some of the other animals,
but I thought maybe it was best to stick with the rays.

The second highlight was the otter feeding presentation.

Can you see Orin in this picture?

"Completely engrossed" does not even come close to describing it.

At the end of the tour,

we couldn't resist making Orin pose for the same shot

that I was forced into a couple of years ago.

I think he wears it better...

W

Auntie arrives!

On Tuesday afternoon, we drove to the airport to pick up Auntie Andy.

She had flown in straight from the Dominican Republic
and arrived armed with souvenirs, including this bead drum for Orin.
He mastered the special hand-rolling technique right away
and moved on to the more sophisticated method
of just shaking it back and forth (as demonstrated).
Once he had finished playing the drum,
Orin decided it was time to teach Andy all of his favorite games
(he always jumps at the opportunity to lure in new victims).

First was... can you guess???

Ashes!

After 73 rounds of Ashes it was time to move on to the tunnel game.

Later Andy showed Orin another game, it was called
jump-up-really-high-and-then-fall-down-and-roll-over.
Orin was an instant fan.
After the games, we went on a walk in the conservation area.
Orin walked with Andy for the first half,
and Grandpa for the second.
After the walk, there was just enough time to play in the sand before
Tournament Time.
See you tomorrow.

Faces

Last night, Orin decided that we should have a competition

to see who could make the funniest series of facial expressions.

Can you guess who won?

Sandy feet

We are here!

After our long, relatively uneventful trip

(the red-eye went as well as a 9 hour plane ride

and a 4 hour layover at 3:30am could possibly go)

we have arrived and settled in.

As soon as we walked in the front door, Orin caught a glimpse

of the ocean and was transfixed.

He insisted that we go explore the new frontier right away.

He ran as fast as a 2 1/2 foot person can run through the sand dunes

until he reached the water.

For a split second the waves were

the most captivating thing in the world,

until a seagull landed nearby, causing him to take off in hot pursuit

screaming "bird!" "bird!"

Not surprisingly, the seagull flew off terrified,

but Orin recovered quickly.

So we ventured a little further down the beach.

When he had tired of ocean/beach exploration

we went back to the house to relax a little

and recover from our lack of sleep.

Tomorrow Auntie Andy is arriving...

Yeah!