a museum, a license plate, and a statue

On Saturday we drove to Raleigh to visit the fantastic (and FREE) North Carolina Museum of National Sciences. We spent a couple of hours there, and Isobel loved every moment. It reminded me how much fun it is to experience new things, like floating pterodactyls and dinosaur footprints, through her eyes.


Another exciting thing that happened this week:

Our first ever personalized license plate! If you know what it means, you probably also know that it would have been cooler if I had spelled it properly (kpyto) rather than phonetically. Oh, well. I'm still pretty excited about not having a random spattering of letters and numbers.
And below we have Isobel with a "statue" that she created. I tried to move the magna-doodle out of the frame, but she moved it back and insisted on standing on it. I guess she and it are part of the installation!

Aren't you impressed by all the blogging that's been happening up in here? I think maybe my nesting instinct is coming out in the form of electronic communications. Somebody should write a dissertation on that.

Some of that Sweet, Sweet Carolina BBQ!

As you can probably tell by the wreaths above, this post is a little late in coming. Back in December we took a lunch trip down to Barbecue Center in Lexington to try some authentic North Carolina BBQ. Well, Brooke tried it. As a vegetarian, I'm just going to come right out and tell you that this isn't very appealing to me:

But Brooke LOVED it. And really, it was a successful trip for all because those hush puppies in the right corner of the photo are, like, my dream come true. And the red coleslaw and fries were tasty, too. Isobel even ate a little bit of her grilled-cheese sandwich, and also had fun cavorting with the many pig statues. Just in case you have a tendency to forget which animal you're eating, BBQ Center reminds you thus:

There's something oddly Animal Farm-ish and also cannibalistic about that statue. But again, this is coming from a vegetarian. :) We really did have fun eating some reeeeeeally delicious food, served up by friendly Southerners who doted on Isobel. So if you were looking for an excuse to come and visit... barbecue it is!

Celebrating a Birthday and Hoping for an Eminent Birth Day

A week ago, we celebrated Brooke's birthday with delicious Indian food and one HAPPY two-year old. As you can see, Isobel was much, much more excited about Daddy turning one year older than Daddy himself was.

We had store-bought cupcakes (one for Isobel and one for Mommy, since Brooke doesn't get excited about cupcakes). If you're curious about why we had restaurant food and no homemade cake for Brooke's birthday, see the photo after this one.

Brooke has been working really hard learning the ropes at his new job, and he also recently suffered a terrible and mysterious injury to his lower back. Despite all the stress and pain, he still spoils his fatty wife and demanding daughter. He is the greatest! I'm so glad he made it through the last couple of years to see the good times and exciting happenings of 2010.

Here we are at 38 weeks+1 day. Notice my unamused expression. I'm at the part where I start to think, "oh right, THIS is why women don't enjoy being pregnant." I'd especially like to thank little Babycakes for the recently acquired gestational hypertension, which has caused my feet to swell so much that I'm wearing flip-flops every day even though it's February!


But really, how can I complain when I've got this little honeybunny in my life? She has taken to hugging my ample belly and saying "I LOVE my baby brother!" Let's hope that she keeps thinking that once he's outside the belly.
Anyway, here she is, looking the way you'd look too if someone tried to photograph you in the bath. Actually, I think she looks a lot like Brooke here.

Stop hitting yourself!

Hi there. For all 13 of you who follow this sad attempt at a witty blog, you will notice that this is our first post since Halloween. I pronounce it "hollow-ween" while Christina prefers the "hallow- (rhymes with shallow)ween pronunciation. I sound regal and majestic, whilst Christina sounds like an ill-bred guttersnipe. On an unrelated note, here is Isobel after emerging from a radioactive ooze and demanding cookie upon cookie. This was taken on Thanksgiving and she refused to eat anything else.

Cousins at Thanksgiving.

I spent a week in Calgary for work and had the the good fortune to visit Banff. This was the view outside the hotel where we had a luncheon.

Hersheypark with the Furrs and Co.

Isobel's Christmas dress, our 2009 Christmas tree, and a whole horse-drawn cart-full of non-denominational xmas cheer.

I took this picture in the grassy knoll outside our house; the light was great and Isobel was a very patient, if a bit bossy, model.

While this may appear to be a staged JCrewcuts photo shoot, Isobel has assured me that these fine looking young people were just doing what they do everyday: dressing up in classy clothes and jumping on rocks in the middle of a field.

I think we all can recall a time when this happened to us:

Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeen.

Merry Halloween to all the queens (you know who you are). A title befit for our daughter in the picture you see before your primitive earth-man eyes might be Lady "Shazaaaaam" Stardust Superfly Isobel. She has more sass than a peeved Simon Cowell. So THERE!


A pensive Isobel brandishes a stick with which to "learn all them po white trash, like that Emmie Slattery, an' hit that Rhett so hard, he gonna think that Ashley done wholloped him wif a ho'shoe!"

click on this picture to see a bigger version if you want to check out Isobel's TWILIGHT EYES!!!!!!

Lady #1 "Ugh, who is that awful man with Isobel?"
Lady #2 "Isn't that Pierce Brosnan's son, Froken?"
Lady #1 "No, Froken has better abs"


We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of....OMG IT'S STEPHANIE FROM LAZY TOWN!!1!11!1!!


And I think that lion just turned into sweet, sweet version of GRENDEL.


Isobel is very proud of her teeth (that she will have all of on her seventh birthday, we hope). We trick or treated on this All Hallows' Eve and then celebrated by lighting a bonfire and casting the bones of slaughtered livestock into the fire. It's all great fun!

Baby Melchior is on his way!

Hello loyal subjects and serfs. Due to the recent downturn in the economy, we have decided to have another baby to prove that we are tougher than everyone said we were. So there. Oh and it's a boy, thank you very much, because daddy made it so. Here is little Melchior snuggling up to the placenta (as we are all oft wont to do now and again). He looks JUST like Isobel! ... and just like every other baby in a 3-d ultrasound photo.

Regard, the royal foot and leg:

Melchior, or just 'Chior as I like to call him, is due February 28th. Quoth he: "I can't wait to meet all y'all and try on all of the very manly outfits you bought me at Janie and Jack and Gap Kids.
And to Isobel, you best watch out girl, 'cause Melchy's 'bout to take your place as MACITSFIMHOLOL (Most Adorable Child in the Shiffler Family in my Humble Opinion. LOL.). Peace."

Isobel is two years old.

Christina and Isobel frequent the park across the verge as they will take any opportunity they can to get away from me. Here is Isobel at the baseball diamond wondering if mommy's hand signals are indicating for her to steal home or charge the mound.

The North Carolina zoo is chock-full of animals of all sizes and means. Here are some animals who, lured by the offers of Mr. Dark to live out their secret fantasies, have become bound in service to the carnival (or zoo in this case) as beasts of burden. Christina suggested riding the carousel backwards, but I know (as do many of you) what would happen if they were to do that. Shucks, y'all! Next picture!

Bruce and Judy came to visit because they heard Glen Beck was in town passing out autographed hate mail for the small price of everlasting and unwavering allegiance to him. It was great. Anyway, this is in Old Salem where people churned butter and stuff. Overall though, it was a pretty fun place.

A farmer offered us a hay ride and we took it. Isobel enjoyed the ducks by the eerie green bog.

On her second birthday Isobel was buried in gifts of all makes and models. She liked all of them except one. None of you shall ever know which one that is. Cute!

Chocolate monster likes her desserts rich and her toys unbreakable.