My new favorite baby shirt

I've added pictures to these posts: The birthday continues and Victory at last

And because we haven't seen a photo of Evelyn in a while:

She sits!

I was going to wait until I could upload a picture, but you all deserve to know: Lindita can sit. For a while. She still flops over every few minutes, but she can support herself -- and wants to practice all day.

Yesterday, Evelyn plays with Mater (the tow truck) and a My Little Pony. Says the pony to the tow truck: "I'm not a good hooker."

Immigration

This blog is nominally about my children but I'm going to post about politics today. Blame Jaelithe.

The immigration reform debate makes my heart ache. Why are we fighting so hard to keep out people who want to come to this country and work? Why do we want to spend billions making a wall along our border, to keep out a few desperate desert crossers?

What is so bad about a person of Mexican birth benefiting from a job here? Why should American citizenship confer exclusive rights to the jobs available on this soil? No wonder firms are moving jobs outside of this country. We don't want to let the people who want to do the work, do the work. We force people underground, cause them to resent the system we won't let them be part of. They have so much to contribute!

In my own field, programming, we have many foreigners working here. We also have many jobs that go overseas. In some cases offshoring is a bad idea, when clear communication is essential for doing the job. Other times it's efficient. This competition, both here and abroad, has enriched the field. We need to let more intelligent workers in if we want to continue as a world leader in technology. More, not fewer! The immigration caps on some countries (India, China) are far too low. I'm in favor of letting in as many people as want to come, in the long term. Does this lower my salary potential? Probably. But it enhances the opportunities available to my children, because more innovation will happen here.

I don't want what seems best for the American people. I want what is best for the whole world. In the long run, the two are the same.

What are your thoughts?

The birthday continues

Last weekend, Papa-san and Uncle Jason came to visit. Evelyn, Eric, and Jason all got birthday presents. Evelyn enjoyed the company. Lindita enjoyed the trip to the Art Museum.

What are you going to be?

Yesterday as we laid down to take a nap:
Evelyn: What will I be when I'm done being three?
Mama: Next year on your birthday, you'll turn four.
Evelyn: And then five? And then I can drive a sharp yellow car?
Mama: You can drive when you are sixteen.
Evelyn: And eighteen?
Mama: Yes.
Evelyn: When I'm eighteen I'll drive a big yellow car with a steering wheel.
...
Evelyn: What will you be when you're done being a mama?
Mama: I'll always be your mama.
Evelyn: No. What will you turn into after you're done being a mama?
Mama: A grandma!
Evelyn: Yeah! Like Nana.

She agreed that she might be a grandma too some day, maybe. But when she grows up, she wants to be a mermaid. A mermaid, with a green mermaid tail and a green mermaid swimsuit.

Lindita's Big Day

Today Lindita turned 4 months old. She finally rolled over! She rolled from her back to her tummy. She rolled right off her naked butt pad and immediately pooped on the living room rug. Then she puked on it. She is proud of herself. It's repeatable too: she rolled from back to front several times!

Evelyn's big birthday party at Gymboree was a success this afternoon. Thank you to everyone who came. I'll post pictures on Facebook.

Evelyn is three!

Today is Evelyn's birthday. She denies that she is three: "No, I'm still two and a half." She wants me to carry her down the stairs.

This morning she opened her most exciting present, the big one from Nana. Nana bought her two dresses and some toys. Evelyn immediately put on one of the dresses. She quickly got it wet. Good thing Nana bought her two dresses.

She took cupcakes to school today, cupcakes that we decorated last night. She helped. After frosting and squirting and sprinkling the first batch, she began to eat one without using her hands. Frosting on all the nearby cupcakes interacted with her hair. Time for a bath. Good thing the people who'll eat those cupcakes weren't there to see it.

This evening the planned festivities include more presents and a visit from Jorge and Eva. On Saturday is her big party at Gymboree.

Graeme Frontbum - President of the Internet

Just another day

Here are my girls today. I'm working from home because there's a lot of snow on the ground. Evelyn has been sick this week. Her fever is going down but still present, so no snow play for her. Lindita is cheerful.