Babies and Bug-Vacuums

We have a new niece!

In May, our sister and brother-in-law Betsy and Loren welcomed a new little girl into their family. We’re delighted to introduce Lydia:

(She’s pleased to meet you.)

In case you’re new to this blog, Lydia is baby sister to Brooke

(I swear we did not pose her. This is just what she does in front of a camera.)

…and Ethan.

Brooke and Ethan are loving this adorable new addition to their family. Specifically, when Wendy asked Ethan what he enjoyed most about his new sister he replied, “I like it when she’s awake and isn’t crying.” (I imagine that’s a sentiment a lot of new parents can identify with, too.)

As far as we can tell, so far Lydia’s favorite things are eating, her brother and sister (Teachers, feel free to use this sentence as an example of the importance of proper comma placement.), and the bass line to Chic’s 1979 hit “Good Times”.

You might also recognize that as the bass line from The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”, but Wendy went with the closest approximation with which she was familiar: Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust”. (On that alone I nominate her for coolest and, simultaneously, most kid-inappropriate aunt.)

Obviously, we had to get some photos of our precious new niece.

Wendy also just finished painting a series of canvases for Lydia’s room to, I guess, remind her parents which kid lives in there. Wendy constantly amazes me; despite not having painted in years, she picked up her acrylics and brought these little faeries to life. (I’m a big fan of the one with the ‘A’.)

While we were visiting, we also gave Brooke and Ethan one of the coolest toys I’ve seen: hand-held bug-vacuums. (Don’t worry, folks, no bugs were harmed in the making of this blog post (well, maybe a couple of mosquitoes), and all the fireflies were released.) Basically, they’re clear plastic tubes with a gentle vacuum attached that pulls bugs in and then lets you observe them up close through a magnifying glass. The kids loved them. They also caught a lot of fireflies.

     

Yes, Wendy actually captured an illuminated firefly sitting on Brooke’s fingers. Also, Brooke poses like a champ.

Keep and eye out for more photos of Lydia (and Brooke and Ethan, of course), as we predict years of escalating cuteness!