On Monday and Tuesday, we spent a 1.125-day vacation in St. James, Mo. where we visited my brother Justin and his family. His youngest son Keaton was celebrating birthday Numero Uno.
Softball season bites the dust
Today I finally got to play the elusive doubleheader that had been rained out twice before. It was a good day for me personally. I went 3-for-4 with 1 RBI in the two games. But my team, the Roid Ragers, still lost both games. We ended the season unvictorious.
Yoli and the girls came out for the first game. It seemed like they enjoyed it. Jadzia really got into the “picnic” aspect of it. We brought a little food she and Ludi to snack on and a blanket for the girls to sit on. It was nice to be able to come over and say hi to them between innings. Jadzia also got into the spirit of the game, yelling whenever she would hear the players yelling something. (Of course her father was probably one of the biggest yellers on the field)
But out in the field it was hot! The high temperature for the day was 99° according to the Post-Dispatch. Thankfully there were breezes much of the time, and a lot of shade behind the benches. But those same breezes kicked up a lot of dust. I was a muddy mess later in the evening when I hit the showers.
Between games I had to shuttle Yoli and the girls back home to take their naps. I had just enough time to eat a bit of peach pie before heading back to play in Game Two.
All in all I enjoyed the season. I wish it had rained less so that we wouldn’t have had such an erratic schedule. I probably would have played better. But I feel like I made a lot of progress in the last few weeks: I ended the season on a 6-for-10 tear (if you count a practice game we played one of the Sundays we got rained out).
Most of all it was fun to hang out with friends, and, gasp, have some physical activity.
I can’t believe I just wrote that last phrase.
Foodies
The differences between siblings are a source of neverending amazement and bewilderment. Jadzia has been picky for quite some time. But Ludi? She eats almost anything. These days she is eating a ton … probably a growth spurt.
She can be picky in her own way. If we have oatmeal for her to eat, and we are eating dinner (say, sweet and sour chicken with rice), she won’t eat the oatmeal. She wants to share in whatever we’re taking off our plates and putting into our mouths.
I have to point out, this fills her mom with joy.
Fourth of July weekend
Parades, markets, softball games … It’s been an eventful weekend here in the Renaud Empire.
Springfield, ho!
My friend Casey got married Saturday out in Waverly, Illinois. Since it was okay for us to take the girls to the reception, Yoli and I thought we might as well make a whole day trip out of it.
We packed up the girls and set out around 8:40 a.m. Saturday for the distant city of Springfield.
Papá = problem-solver
Daddies are nothing if not problem-solvers. So it was that I faced a dilemma on Friday …
Goal: Mow the yard on Friday afternoon before work, since I won’t have another chance to do it until Tuesday.
Problem: Ludi is awake, but Yoli is at work, so I can’t leave Ludi alone.
Solution: Mow the lawn with Ludi in the baby carrier!
Keep reading to find out how it went.
Ludi speaks — and the world listens
Last week Ludi said her first word. It was “Pa.”
But if I hadn’t been there to hear it myself, I don’t know if that’s how it would have gone down in the record books. 🙂
See, not long after she said “Pa,” she started saying “pa” and “ma” and “mama” all together. Yoli and I were both there are she made these babbling noises. Truth be told, she probably said “ma” a lot more. But the very *first* word was “Pa.”
I am very pleased.
Swimsuits in April
Ludi tries a cracker. She doesn’t really have the knack of it yet. But she has come to love eating cheerios.
Click the link below for more photos.
Revenge of the baby-sat
Any “Calvin and Hobbes” fans out there? Some of my favorite storylines in that comic involve Calvin’s battles with his babysitter, Rosalyn.
I bring this up because we are fast-approaching a major milestone … For the first time, leaving our girls with a non-family-member babysitter.
It almost goes without saying that I have been looking forward to this for a long time.
I have loved my beautiful baby girls from the day Jadzia first arrived. But I lost a lot of freedom that day. I’ll never be like I was before, that’s certain. But I am really looking forward to being able to take out Yoli for a date every once in a while.
I’m just hoping my girls don’t act like Calvin while we’re away.
Push-ups
Yes, Ludi can do push-ups. Better than me, too.