Tonight we enjoyed a rare treat - a visit with Cortney's cousin, Marshall, and his family. This was a rare and special treat because Marshall and Jenny live in San Diego and had not been back to Ann Arbor since their daughter, Iris, was born in January (on Cortney's birthday, the 24th, to be exact) so we had not yet been able to meet her. We had a wonderful time for lots of reasons. It was, first of all, just plain great to see them, although we can't say we did a lot of catching up because most of the talk focused around the babies. It was also great to connect with another couple with an infant and to gab a bit about routines, toys, and gear. Additionally, it was great for Calvin to connect with another baby - it is absolutely true that babies love other babies. It was very interesting to watch the two second cousins interact! Even more interesting than that, though, was watching Iris do all the things that she can do now as a seven month old, knowing that it is a little like a sneak preview. She was just a riot: she rolls around and sits by herself; she grabs toys, puts them in her mouth, and throws them; she plays peak-a-boo; and she makes a wonderful and endearing squealing noise that we just loved! What was crazier than that, though, was watching Jenny's sister's son (can you keep that straight?) who is eleven months old - now that's scary! He was walking around, pushing chairs, and babbling. We even got to observe his solid food eating habits - something we hope Calvin did not witness and commit to memory - all we have to say is: the tarp under the high chair was necessary.