Our holy ritual of getting the "make"

London and I (Marcus) do love our special time of getting the mail. We get it pretty much every day. That used to be a chore -- something we could easily forget -- but with our special time, it's definitely a highlight of both of our days.

It started out with my carrying infant London to the mailbox when he was a wee, immobile lad, out of convenience. Then, when he got a little older, I let him hold the keys. Then, older still, he started walking and was able to stick our key in other people's boxes.

These days, our ritual goes as follows:
- "London, do you want to get the mail?"
- "Make!" (he calls it "make" for some reason... thinking he may combine "mail" with "key")
- He motions to the door. "Keys?"
- I grab the keys, then grab the boy. We walk along the parking lot as he points out cars.
- We approach a sign that says "NO Skateboarding, Bike Riding, etc." He has learned to point to it and say, "NO!!!!" Already reading, eh?
- We get closer to the mailbox and he says, "Hi, Make!"
- I grab the keys and he watches as I get our actual mail.
- Then I set him down and he attempts to open everyone else's boxes.
- When a car goes by, he'll point at it and say "CAR!" or "UH-COCK" (his word for "TRUCK") and as it passes he says, "BYE-BYEEE!"
- He basically does the same thing for any bicyclists or passersby. It's interesting to see who responds to him and who pretends not to notice. If they pretend not to notice, I either say, "They can't hear you," while in earshot, or just address them and say, "Hey, he's saying hi to you!"
- Nowadays I entertain London by jumping off the retaining wall onto the sidewalk nearby. He counts before I jump: "TWO... TWO... TWO!"
- Eventually he gets bored and we go back to the apartment.

This is a constantly evolving thing, and it's really one of the more special times of my day :-)

London just saw an old guy who was portly and had white hair and a beard and started shouting,"Ho Ho Ho!" We died laughing.

Will we move this weekend? Who knows!

Father's Day

I (Marcus) am so thankful to be a dad. London and Liberty are what I'm most proud of in my life, and I couldn't be happier to be their father. God has filled my cup indeed!

Today was a great, busy day. It started with Fatherfest at East Hill, where I took pictures for the archives and had fun talking with friends. Then it was off to Flying Pie, where we got our usual pizza meal deal. Then we scurried downtown and Savannah and I sat and talked in a Smart Park while the kids slept in the car. When they woke up, we walked around Pioneer Place and got some yummy buffalo wings at Buffalo Wild Wings (I'd never been there before). Then we saw "UP," which was a challenge given our two tired children, but it was a great movie nonetheless.

A great day. I have to say, it doesn't compare to last year, though, when we found out Savannah was pregnant with a baby who ended up being Liberty. I had given her a dollar store pregnancy test as a joke last year, and forced her to take it. Boy, were we surprised when it came out positive!

Similarly, this year, our good friends Josh and Angela found out THIS Father's Day that they are having their second baby! What a special day to receive such special news!

One quick, funny story from today: London was dipping celery in ranch dressing at Buffalo Wild Wings, when all of the sudden, he plunged his hands into the ramekin and started spreading the dressing all over his hands and arms. We were wondering what he was doing, but Savannah figured it out quickly: He thought the Ranch was sunscreen! Let's just hope he doesn't start eating SPF-50!

June 4th and She is already 4 months old!

Make a Smilebox photobook