And it was Emma's Birthday Too!

I just wanted to post the video of Desmond opening the dirt bike(previous post), but that's not to take anything away from how excited we were for Emma to turn one. Indeed, she got to be a princess for the day...
There were a lot of generous people at the joint Emma/Desmond Birthday party as is evidenced by the amount of gifts which surround Emma. Emma is still at the point where she is mostly excited about the presents' wrapping paper, and the contents are a bonus to be considered later. This was the case as she opened her gifts until a pair of ballerina shoes was unwrapped.


For some reason she really took to them and even got a little upset when they were taken away from her. It seems a bit early to be that excited about shoes. We counted Emma's shoes the other day and she has over twenty pairs! Yeah, some are hand-me-downs from Desmond, and some are way too big for her now, but twenty pairs of shoes...Diva!

But really, Emma and Desmond both love all of their new gifts. Thanks for everyone who could come to the party, and also to those who couldn't but sent gifts anyway.

Here is a funny picture of Desmond coming to terms with the wait that was before him until he could dig into his cake.


And here is one of Desmond coming to terms with the fact that gravity is sometimes unreliable.

Eventually there was time to eat cake. Emma got her own to smash which she did with unexpected efficiency.


After the party, but before the sugar could wear off, we went outside to play. The temp was on the chilly side, but the prospect of a new big wheel was enough to keep us warm for a half hour or so.


Finally some news for those who have not heard: The ax fell at Cessna for layoffs last week. Pop's neck made it through intact. A relief to be sure. There were a lot of folks who lost their jobs here; 4000 of 12000 people in Wichita. The first "wave" of cuts (500) was announced around Thanksgiving time. The second wave of notices (2000) came out on Jan. 29 The same day they announced an additional 2000, 1500 of which were already, unexpectedly (to the workforce) given out. Confusing, yes, but ultimately 500 cuts remained. I know, the numbers (4000 vs 4500) don't add up...500 were at locations outside Wichita. Anyway, we had a month to sweat as the final list was generated. In the end Pops was safe, but the couple months of anxiety probably took as many years off of his life. We have never been this grateful for the status quo, and don't plan to take it for granted any time soon.

A final, menacing, shot of Diamond D as he wields his cordless drill...