Dear Arianna, January 20, 2013

Dear Arianna,

    Today was a day full of the domestic arts.  Despite my wishes, I was paged out again at 2:00 AM this morning and worked until about 4:30 AM.  As you can imagine, I had a lot of trouble getting back to sleep.  I am only vaguely aware of you and Mommy taking showers this morning, but by 9:30 AM, I decided to drag myself out of bed, too to see if a shower would wake me up.  It didn't, but at least I didn't stink anymore.  We did do our normal Sunday routine of going to church.  You were happy because Phoebe was there today and were upset when you didn't get to play with her after church.  You were happy, however, that your friend Jacob may be coming over soon.  Play date coordination can be hard with all of the parents working and on different schedules, but we are doing our best.  I fell asleep right after we got back int he car, so Mommy went to subway and got a cheese pizza for you, a tuna sub for her, and a buffalo chicken salad for me.
    After we ate, you and Mommy headed to the grocery store and Target, while I stayed up to catch up on some sleep (again).  I had trouble falling asleep, but then I came to that instant cure to insomnia -- football!  I decided to concentrate on just how silly and banal and hyperbolic football announcing is and with Ian and Turlough jumping on the couch next to me, I fell asleep within minutes after turning on the game.
    When you and Mommy came home, I unpacked the groceries while you took a nap on the couch.  Luckily, football is good at making all of us tired!  Then Mommy decoded it was time to clean out our pantry, because we couldn't finds food we actually would eat in there, and it was so packed that we couldn't put anything in.  As we went through the three shelves, we were pulling out pasta, cans, and mixes that had expired as far back as 2008!  It felt like our little pantry is a TARDIS -- certainly much bigger on the inside than the outside.  As Mommy checked dates and pulled stuff out, I was responsible for pouring out the contents of t boxes into the garbage and the cans into the garbage disposal and cleaning up the scans and boxes to put in the recycle bin.  Naturally, all of this excitement woke you from your nap, and fortunately for your Mommy and Daddy, Mommy got you a color-your-own Rainbow Dash Pony from Target, which you painted away on while we cleaned the pantry.  In fact, you are still working on her right now and just had me cut holes in a pony dress made out of a baby wipe.  I love your creativity.
    And now, for today's pictures!  Here you are modeling the new cleaned pantry:

Now with unexpired food! 

    And here are some great pictures of you painting Rainbow Dash:

There's the dress you are making with a baby wipe.

You have the look of "something's not quite right" about the dress.

And here's the dress with the leg holes.

    So today was another domestic kind of day, bu we spent int together as a family.  Mommy has to go to work tomorrow while you and I have the Day off for Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday.  I am going to have to study, so I hope that pager doesn't go off again tonight. You are asking to go up to bed now, so I'll just say that I love you and I'll write again tomorrow.

Love,

Daddy