Two Js and an S

The two Js were here for a few days, with Mr. Sinjin in tow. It was our first visit with all six of us together. Julie came out when Allison Clare was born without Dr. B; technically, Mr. Sinjin was present for that visit, but we didn't hear much from him. Then AC and I went up to Connecticut in March to visit JS and Mr. Sinjin, but we left Sam at home (and Dr. B was in Scotland for a conference). Anyway, we all had a great time.

Julie and I had always expected that Sam and Dr. B would get along very well. They both love gadgets, and on this visit, they had Sam's new TV and accoutrements to ooh and aah over. Julie and I could hear snippets of their conversation: "going to hack it to set it up so we can [do something unintelligible]" and ". . . been reading about exactly that unit online!" Hours later, they were still talking about it--not only describing thoroughly what they each owned or planned to own, but in equally tedious detail what they each had considered and ruled out. For Julie and me, the technology-related part of the conversation would have been something like, "Did you get a new TV?" "Yeah."

We had set up the jumper, and Mr. Sinjin spent almost the whole visit joyfully jumping, occasionally so overcome with delight that he would burst forth with a roar. Allison Clare stood in front of the jumper, holding onto it and leaning in to kiss him, or pat him, or (less successfully) honk his nose. Once, during a visit to Barnes and Noble, he cried when she yanked a handful of his curly hair, so different from her own, but mostly, he tolerated her advances and even gave her some of his sunshiny smiles. Julie and I discovered that we have a newfound appreciation for the advantages of arranged marriages and began scheming not only about our offsprings' futures, but also about how stealthy we would have to be with our intentions.

Allison Clare signed "baby" almost as soon as she saw Mr. Sinjin. She also loved the stuffed cow they brought her from Hershey because she has a stuffed puppy, kitty, sheep, duck, and bear, and has been learning the sounds they all make. From a picture in her book, she has also been learning to say "moo" (sounds like "brrrr"), but she did not have an actual stuffed cow. It was an inspired gift. :)