Here is a rarity: a Photo of the Day for which I was not the photographer and in fact not even present at all! This is my brother Rusty reading to my daughter Beatrice, taken by my sister Megan… While I was at work. Rusty normally hails from the other side of the States, so it's nice to have him nearby for a few days.

One of the things that almost always makes Samuel smile is being placed on this little mat that has butterflies and toys dangling for him to admire. A few of the toys are within his reach, but most are too far and he often grows agitated after a few minutes when he cannot reach the one he wants.

Here are two photos of our very own Samuelpants. The first is representative of the state in which we often find him when he is supposed to be napping: just smiling up a storm in his bassinet instead. Bea likes to peek in when we go together to investigate the source of the suspicious Baby Samuel noises.

This is the dinner Kelly and I made tonight!  Chicken parmesan with salad and broccoli and homemade ciabatta bread. It was really good. Here is a tip from my kitchen to yours: when you have a little extra breading, just dump it into the skillet with the chicken and fry it up until it's golden brown. Spoon the crunchy stuff over the chicken and sauce before broiling. Yummers.

Coming home from work is one of the best parts of my day. Beatrice often expresses her delight at her father's return by climbing on his back, leg, or any other limb that gets too close to her. She can be pretty contrary these days but it's hard to be upset with her for long.

Beatrice graduated from toddler school today! She received this fine certificate.

Patrick and Katherine came over for dinner tonight, and we have finally had them over often enough that Beatrice no longer associates them with our imminent departure. She was happy to see them, even if she did hide behind my leg a little bit.

We had a mini date night at home this evening and tried this delicious log of goat cheese that Kelly found at trader joes. It has honey in it! It's almost a dessert. I am a sucker for goat cheese to begin with but mix it with honey and serve it with salty crackers and I am basically helpless.

Here are our adorable children! We have been enjoying the out of doors with a warm spell in May: playing in the yard, making mint tea, reading stories in summer pajamas. Some other highlights of the week include a trip to the home depot, in which Beatrice clutched a burned out light bulb the entire time and asked to get up upon the pile of rugs.