Dinner with family

Last night we had a last dinner with M's parents before they take off to do some biking in Italy (lucky stiffs!) I think they needed a dose of QiuQiu before they left. They also wanted to share with us some of the fresh-caught salmon that grandpa brought back from Alaska. What a treat!

I think QQ takes as much pleasure in her grandparents as they take in her.

Oh, we also took the opportunity to return the dubious favor that NaiNai Susan did us when she brought us a handful of gourds last Thanksgiving. When M. fatefully tossed them into the mulch heap, he started a chain of events that lead to what I can only describe as a plethora of gourds. So many gourds that as many as we give away, the buckets just keep refilling themselves. It's like something out of a fairytale. So we figured the least we could do was return a bushel or so of them to grandma's house from whence they came!

Unbelievable as it may seem, QQ's birthday is still dragging on...and she had a few more bags of presents to open when we arrived! A particular favorite was the bathtub frog that came from the ingenious aunt Colleen in Minnesota. Colleen understands kids! This frog looks like a regular frog, until you put it in the tub, and then it lights up and starts to sing! It has three different songs. You can also make it sing by closing the circuit between its two electrical points with your fingers...which our brilliant daughter figured out how to do in about ten seconds! Smart cookie.

Awestruck.

Grandpa Tom is always good for some standing practice...Flynn's favorite activity.

Performing a little countertop jig to the tunes of her froggy!

A napkin ring with a daisy on it became an object of fascination when slipped around QQ's tiny ankle.


Look at that grandpa love! I can't even tell you how it warms the heart to see this.

In spite of the ceramic tiles, QQ had to show off her new crawling skillz.



This one's for you, aunt Colleen!

Kissing her frog. I think she's already figured this one out.