Up to June 2009

Hi all.

We'll be in California from June 20 to July 10, with Cousin Camp right in the middle of that period. Looking forward to seeing Californians then.

I realize now that in the heat of battle I forgot to post my (draft) March letter. Such is parenthood.

I'll put it up at the same time with this one with a few random photos of my parents' April visit, for the historical record.

Funny enough, working half-time hasn't made life any easier or less busy. However, I have to say the quality is improving. So is the sleep, with Zola now definitely holding out for 6:30 a.m. on most days.




Zola started walking in April. The bad reaction she had to a vaccine really set her back ; we found out at her most recent weigh-in that she's scarcely grown since January (when she got sick), and is falling behind on the charts they use to measure such things. Anyhow, speaking as a parent, I'm confident that she's gotten over it now and has resumed thriving. Sadly it looks like she may have some permanent scar tissue in her thigh as a result of all this; time will tell.




Her first clearly defined word will go into the record books as "Aapie," that is, "Aapje," that is, Dutch for "Monkey." Her father's daughter. She imitates lots of sounds, and the Dutch is even more dominant with her than it was with Zeph at the start.

In appearance, she's her father's daughter, no question about it, and that's the remark I get *all the time* on the street. We should have named her Toby Jr.






Sorry sweetie, you can't choose your parents.

Amsterdam crowd: someone also told me in the sandbox this weekend that she looked "small but fast." I had to laugh...


Zephyr is doing great; I'm enjoying him more and more all the time. His imagination is really taking off; he is obsessed with "boy" things such as rockets, Lightning McQueen, Buzz Lightyear, guns, sticks, driving, tent-building ... you name it. Not sports or dinosaurs though, so far.






One thing that caught me by surprise was that I showed him a Tintin comic and he became instantly addicted, asking for nothing else at bedtime. After a while I realized he wasn't really following the plot at all, he just likes the violent parts (pratfalls, chases, etc.). And Snowy the dog.

At age 3.5, he is finally entering his terrible twos, with full scale nuclear meltdowns on at a rate of one every other day or so. So, anyone at Cousin Camp will undoubtedly get to experience it in person.

Hinke is starting to think about looking for a new job, with more hours which _ if she gets a decent-paying job _ would definitely let me cut back even further at AP (and pick up even more with the kids; they are getting easier for one person to take care of now that Zola's on her feet). One problem: Hinke has only vague ideas about what she might want to do. Maybe some soul searching during the "vacation."





As far as me, I'm struggling mightily with my book. It's fun and frustrating at the same time. Even though I'm working half-time, I'm having trouble finding solid blocks of time to put into it, and having trouble working efficiently when I do have the opportunity. Still, it's satisfying just to be attempting it.

Love to all,

Toby & Co.