Croquet with Grandpa

Emily and Papa this summer. I think that I secretly thought that this is what being a parent would look like everyday: the sweet child in a flowing sundress playing calmly with her grandfather. Mmm, not so much.

Who needs the animals?

Kate enjoying Claudia enjoying the zoo in Omaha.

Daddy has a head

Emily recently started drawing recognizable human figures. Well, recognizable as humans, not as specific people. Granted they are a little top-heavy with only arms and legs attached to a center head, but on the plus side they are quite svelte. This one is Daddy.

And yes, every picture we take of Emily has that smile.

The Belmond gang

Krista, Kyle, and Emily taking in lunch at Pizza Ranch.

Emily and Daddy working on the car

I love this picture. There is Em in her overalls helping Daddy fix the Saab. Lucky for me (or maybe not) we drive cars that require work on a regular basis.

Claudia and Claudia

This is my Claudia with her namesake. The older Claudia is a sweet girl from Minnesota that I once nannied for and the reason, I'm sure, that Claudia was such an attractive name for us.

Halloween, just developed

Life without a digital camera. Just got the Halloween pictures developed. The top one is all the cousins together. From left to right: Erin (3 years), Emily (3 years), Evan (13 months), Ryan (9 years), Claudia (6 months), Kyle (5 years).

The bottom one is Emily, wide-eyed as Dorothy, and Claudia, as a very cowardly lion. Looks a lot like the visit to Santa.

The Spirit of Christmas

Claudia has all of the Christmas that she can take this year.

Christmas Pictures, Take 3

I'm afraid this might be the best we can do this year.

Christmas Pictures, Take 2

Um, better, but still not Christmas card material.

Our new house... in the dark

I know, I know, most people take pictures of their homes in the light of day. Not us. Here is how are new house would look if you drove by it at night. Don't ask.



This is the north side of the house showing the living room on the main floor and one window from each of the girl's rooms upstairs. The far left, on the main floor, is the office and the far right is the enclosed front porch.

This is the south side. The big window on the main floor is the dining room. The one to the right of that is the kitchen.

This is the south side again but taken a little more to the west. It is the dining room window and the enclosed front porch.

Now you should all be able to come see us and have no problem finding the house... as long as it is dark.

We got the house!

I think that says it all. We will be moving the first part of the new year. Yea us!

Christmas Pictures, Take 1

Today, I thought, would be the perfect day to take pictures for the Christmas card. I did all my shopping for St. Nicholas Day (December 6) yesterday in Pella with Megan and I am now in full holiday mode.

So, a little quiz: Who was NOT in their finest holiday-picture-taking mood?

A) Claudia (shown here with Uncle Brant) or

B) The world's grumpiest ballerina... I mean Emily?

I'm not sure this Christmas card picture thing is going to work out after all.

A Thanksgiving Thought

For those who didn't hear it, there was a wonderful "This I Believe" segment by Penn Jillette on NPR's Morning Edition on November 21. I hope that people will read and/ or listen to it. He said, and said quite well, a lot of what I feel everyday. And while I agree wholeheartedly with the entire essay, I will just quote a little of it here in honor of what I am thankful for today.

"I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.

Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around."

I would like to make one small addition to it though, given that the family that raised me has been gone for so long: I am thankful for the family that I have found by design and by luck, and for the family that has found me. I am thankful that while almost fifteen years ago I thought that I had lost everything when I lost my mother, it turns out that there was a whole different everything to be found. Marriage, true friends, and especially motherhood have been more than I could have ever hoped for and are far more than I deserve. So, I am thankful that while life is sometimes unfair against me, it sometimes rewards beyond merit too.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Penn Jillette on Morning Edition http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557

Cross those fingers!

Could everyone do a collective crossing o' the fingers? We put a bid in on a house today at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME as someone else and we are hoping that Christmas comes on Thanksgiving for us this year and we get the call that the house is ours.

If we do get the house consider this an open invitation to anyone who would like to come and visit the cultural mecca that is Belmond, IA. We would love to have you!

The world's most uncomfortable three-year-old

Emily having her three year portrait taken. Clearly she is hating every minute of it. Even though it's an awful picture I love her feet in this one. Everything about it says that she would rather be doing ANYTHING but this.

Looking and looking and looking at houses

Emily after looking at house after house after house. She is clearly thrilled.

Notice the lovely flooring in the background.

Emily turns three

Emily at her birthday party.

Just for the record the image on the cake is Olivia from the book of the same name and she is MOVING the cat.

Claudia hits the big three (months)

Despite our best efforts she seems to be turning out pretty well.

A polka dot party

Here the girls are celebrating all things polka dot while hanging out in the crib that Emily no longer sleeps in but that she just can't let Claudia have yet. This week Emily is comfortable having Claudia in the crib with her, but not on her own. We hope that by the time Emily goes to college she will be able to part with it.

Fourth of July with Grandpa

Emily and Grandpa Mike (in the Quad Cities over fourth of July weekend) enjoying an REO Speedwagon concert.

Claudia starts to smile!

Claudia is now two months old and while she has been smiling for a little while I have been unable to catch it on film until now.

But all that smiling, and avoiding being caught by the paparazzi, can wear even the happiest kid out.

A visit to Okoboji

We headed up north for Eric's Spring Iowa County Attorney's Conference. Fun for the girls and I who get to goof off all day. Not a whole lot of fun for Eric who has to sit in meetings every day. Here Emily was having a great time jumping off at rocks at the park.

All the things there are to do in Lake Okoboji, and she wanted to jump off rocks.

And here is Emily looking quite cool on the car ride home.

How we are adjusting. Are we adjusting?

There is a whole lot of kissing going on. This may not end well.

Already she is judging how I choose to dress her.

The Arrival of Claudia Gray!

Claudia enjoying a few (very few) moments of quiet at home.

Claudia with big sister Emily, the reason there are so few quiet moments at our house.