The Glorious Middle

thankful tuesday

2011-03-22T10:09:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for:

-Good food (and great people to share it with!). A couple weeks ago, we did Restaurant Week at The Fort with Mom and Dad- SO FUN.

-The stage Burke is in right now. He's sort of ornery, but if you can get past that, his curiosity (and vocab!) are hilarious!

-Sleep! Piper Jane has a lot going for (her cuteness, for example), but sleep is not one of those things (she's only slept through the night a few times)... However, we've had a couple nights of uninterrupted sleep in the last couple weeks. Those nights are glorious.

-Dallas! We're here for Spring Break- woohoo! We're catching up with friends, loving having time with Aaron, Leslie and Hannah, and filling our days with fun 'field trips' (YAY for Ikea!). I'm so thankful for time off!

SPRING!

2011-03-19T10:00:00.000-06:00

If you love cold weather (ahem, Jord), I don't know if you can fully appreciate the feeling of sheer delight that comes with the beginning of Spring. It's like the feeling on Friday afternoon with the work week behind you and the entire weekend stretched out in front of you.

And even though I'm certain we have some chilly weather still coming to us, it's been gorgeous in Denver lately. We've been soaking up the sunshine and spending all sorts of time outside.

I sort of forgot how dirty Burke gets when he digs around in the garden all day long. In case you're wondering, it's pretty dirty.

sista sista

2011-03-16T09:59:00.000-06:00

The highlight of this last couple weeks? A day with Keje and Easton (they were for just over 24 hours in route to Lubbock- so fun!)! WOOHOO!

Little East and his rooster hair were quite the hit around here (though, Burke did say to me, "I thought Easton was littler than Piper Jane" hahahaha!). What a cute little man- and so fun to see my sis as his mama. Burke can't stop talking about him- I love it that there's another boy cousin for him to team up with.

One of my favorite conversations consisted of Keje and I lamenting our joint inability to say no to people. She suggested we take a course in Boundaries. I mostly love having someone to commiserate with about this (Adam, being oh-so un-people-pleaser-y, does not quite understand my tendency to fill my plate to overflowing all in the name of not disappointing people).

I love having the chance to hang out with my siblings- even if it's just for a day. Love those guys.

ps- Two funny sidenotes- notice how Burke is sort of an adventure to take pictures of right now (including how he's trying to escape from mom and dad- haha!). Also, Piper Jane needs to get some hair. Stat.

thankful tuesday

2011-03-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's March 1st. Thank the Lord. Seriously, I couldn't be more excited for Spring/Summer.

Also, I love Frontier Ranch...

....but not as much as I love having time with some of my favorite girls in the world. A weekend of good food and a cozy fire and great conversation (plus my stomach still hurts from laughing so hard) was just what the doctor ordered.

Thankful is the word of the week- I am thankful for Spring coming, thankful for my husband keeping the kiddos last weekend, thankful for girl time, thankful that Piper Jane took a bottle for Adam (it was touch and go there for a bit), just thankful.

leggies

2011-02-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

Two glories of having a baby girl- dresses and accessories! And Piper Jane rocks the leggies. :)

tuesday catch up

2011-02-22T07:44:00.014-07:00

Burke got his hair cut Monday! I LOVE his long blonde curls, but they were a bit out of control. I have to be honest, I miss the wildness. But it'll grow back, right?

We had the perfect 'family night' the other evening- we rented a movie, had a Chick Fil A picnic, lounged in our jammies. Fabulous... Though, we also have had a serious case of the Terrible Twos running around. It's definitely not all Cozy Picnics around here.

We were guests on MADE on Friday. I love that blog, so it's so fun to be Dana's guest!

I made a bunch of other versions of the tea wreath this week (for a couple of submission projects) and now have four tea wreaths at my house. Anyone need one?

Little Miss Priss is right on the brink of crawling. I kind of would rather that she'd just stay still- haha! I might have to start vacuuming and mopping more often.

Seeing Burke and Piper love each other is the highlight of my day... he reads to her and she giggles at him (and grabs his hair- haha!). I know it won't always be like this, but it is so. darn. sweet.

Loved watching the boys at Wings-and-Poker night... too funny!

Headed here this weekend with some girlies... counting down the hours!

out of the doghouse

2011-02-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

The other day, we were having a bit of a rough morning around here. Burke was just being a stinker. I was more than a little frustrated with him.

And then, as I was making lunch, I heard Burke's voice coming from Piper Jane's room. I walked in to this:

Burke: Piper Jane, that's John the Baptist. Pretty cool, right?

Hahahaha! Melts my heart, that one.

tuesday catch up

2011-02-15T00:31:00.007-07:00

1. I got to go to Lubbock last week to meet Teeny Evie and hang out with the rest of the Remkes. I never cease to be amazed at the miraculousness of babies being born, families growing, seeing my sister in action as the best mama to her girls. I have to admit, I am a bit jealous that she has three girls- oh the sister goodness!

2. I LOVED hanging out with Keadryn and Sayla during my trip. It was so fun to have the chance to give them my ~~undivided~~ less-divided attention (funny how much energy Burke takes!). We had a "Cozy Picnic" with cocoa and popcorn and baked cookies and played beauty shop (you can kind of see the plethora of clips/bows in my hair in the picture above- I'd say at any given point, I was walking around with 30+ accessories adorning my hair). I adore those girls.

3. The Little Miss got her first tooth!

4. We got kicked off Project Run and Play last week with our Vintage Vail entry. It's ok with me. :)

4. Burke calls Zaccheus (the tax collector from the New Testament) Yo-kius! I hear him sing, "Yokius was a wee little man and a wee little man was he... " and laugh every time (the pics have nothing to do with "Yokius," but I love that they show how expressive Burke is right now- hahaha!).

5. Adam washed/cleaned/vacuumed the car for an awesome Valentines Day present (no pic of the car, sorry! One of the gifts I gave Adam was a love-note-on-a-string, pictured above). I got a couple other little gifts from him, too (including a work out DVD I've been wanting and a promise to run with me on my short runs, which, if you know Adam involves GREAT sacrifice), but the clean car was my favorite. Has all of this time with Adam turned my love language to Gifts of Service?

my ~~heavy~~ sweet running partners

6. Speaking of 'short runs,' I'm getting back in running shape so mama and I can do a half marathon in May. It feels simultaneously great and absolutely terrible. It feels so great to be running again, but getting in running shape is awful. Plus, pushing the stroller, Burke and Piper Jane must add at least fifty pounds of resistance. Whew!

tuesday catch up

2011-02-01T10:31:00.002-07:00

Our bits of big news right now:

1- Piper Jane is eating 'real' food. I should rephrase- she's tried rice cereal twice. But since she won't take a bottle, moving onto other variations of sustenance is good news for me.

2- Burke loves brownie batter. Who doesn't, right? I love it that in this picture he's still in his jammies. That means that either we were doing a little early morning baking or we stayed in our jammies all day. Both are feasible options.

3- I hate February. Winter in general is not my favorite and February signifies that it has already been cold for, well, for too long. And yet, it still will be cold for, well, for too long. Ugh. Can I go back to the beach for a month and meet you back here in March when there's a glimmer of hope for Spring?

monday catch up!

2011-01-23T22:30:00.000-07:00

At my sweet sister's request, I finally put together a little catchup post. And I actually have a list of ten for today... I mean, it has been a month, but whatever works, right?

1. Christmas was fabulous... we celebrated at Evette's (sorry, no pics!)...

2. ...at our house...

3. ... and with my parents/siblings (don't you love that picture of the boys?). Burke's not going to know what to do when we have just one "Christmas."

4. This year's family ornament exchange was the best one to date. The two merman were hits (Adam stole the one Kiji's holding ["Dr. Fish"], so I am now the proud owner of that one... Adam told me it'll be the crown jewel of our tree next year). Hilarious.

5. Along those lines, this year's Ludwig Family Drink Competition was amazing as well. Keje and Pat pulled out all the stops (coordinating attire, dry ice, THE WORKS) and won with their "Grinch" entry. Adam and I were the runners-up. Again. Have I told y'all how many times we've gotten second place in this darn contest? I'm not bitter or anything.

6. Jord and I are doing another craft competition- Project Run and Play (like Project Runway, for kids). It's fun, but super nerve wracking. Our goal was to make it to Week 2 (and we did- that little dress on Piper Jane was our entry for Week 1...). The other designers are crazy talented... So fun!

7. Joanie was our model for this week's dress. Isn't she a doll?

8. Jordi made all of these sweet headbands for Piper Jane for Christmas. I LOVE them. Between the headbands and the shoes Aaron and Leslie gave her, all I have to do is find a basic dress or shirt and pants combo and she's good to go (and well accessorized at that).

9. Burke says "W-ery" instead of "very" right now. My favorite is when he says, "Mama, that's wery amazing!" That's him with his Wery Amazing whale puzzle from the Carpenters.

10. After our trip to the zoo last week (and a rare treat of feeding the larikeets), Burke keeps telling us, "That Piper Jane- she's chirpin' like a larikeet." Hahaha!

tuesday catch up

2010-12-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Since I'm pretty sure I'll never have a list of 10, I'll just call this little feature Tuesday catch up, ok?

It's been SO fun to have Adam home this last week... Things have been crazy around here, but a fun kind of full- mostly hanging out with friends (which I don't ever take pictures of- bummer). Here are the things I do have pictures of-

1- The Denver Aquarium! My dad took the day off to join us and Burke LOVED it. Seriously, for a little while there, we couldn't get him to slow down enough to actually look at the exhibits because he was giddily running to and fro. I think his highlight was petting the manta rays, but every time I ask him what his favorite part of the aquarium was, he tells me something different.

2- Zoo Lights. Again, Burke was lovin' life. Lita and Papa came with us... a little hot cocoa, a little Christmas music, winter bundling all around, so fun.

3- Leslie's 30th Birthday Surprise Party. I am so thankful for this girl and so glad we had a chance to celebrate her. :)

tuesday catch up

2010-12-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as predicted, I don't have a list of 10. :) But I do have a little catch up for today-

Dental School prom (round 3) was last weekend… dinner and dancing and even a photo booth! Unfortunately, we didn’t get a single not-blurry picture of the two of us (bummer!). But we had a blast hanging out with friends from dental school and celebrating the end of the semester. 5 down, 3 to go.

Still crafting and crafting and crafting around here. This wreath was yesterday's installment.

LOVE Piper Jane’s green ballet flats (seriously, could they be any cuter?)! I keep planning outfits around them. Thanks Aunt Leslie and Uncle Aaron.

Our Anthro-inspired Knot Quilt won the finale of SYTYC! YAY! And double yay that SYTYC is finished!

Adam being off means trips to the zoo and dinner with friends at Tocabe (if you live in Denver and haven't eaten here, try it!) and working on the house and renting movies and Chinese take-out. No pictures of any of that, but, trust me, it's been glorious. :)

ten on tuesdays? or something?

2010-12-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hey friends. Jordi just posted about how she's going to do lists on Tuesdays as a way to play catch up (and be more consistent) with her blog. I don't know if I can commit to every Tuesday, or to having a list of 10 things (I might change my goal to two or three on tuesdays- haha!), but I'm going to try. :) I definitely beat Jord in the Terrible Blogger contest. But you already know that if you're reading this. :)

Today's list (I realized it's Wednesday... just so you know):

1. I know I said awhile back I feel like we're emerging from the newborn fog a little. And that's true. But our life still feels absolutely chaotically crazy. Hence the lack of blog posts. Sorry. The eight parties/showers I've helped with over the last month is part of the craziness... as are Adam's final exams... and actually, the rest of this list is a picture of the chaos as well. :)

2. I went up to Idaho to meet my nephew Easton last month. SO COOL. He's such a mellow baby. And I think one of the coolest things in life is to watch people transition into a new season. Seeing my baby sis and her hubs as parents was amazing. Easton is a lucky little guy. I also got to stay at my brother and sister-in-law's house while I was there and am so thankful that I got to spend some time with them.

3. Piper Jane is really coming into her own. That's fun to watch. She is definitely not as low-key as Burke was, but her little full-body smile lights up the room. She's even slept through the night a couple times this week (YAY! YAY! YAY!).

our project for the SYTYC finale- an Anthropologie inspired quilt

4. Did I tell y'all about So You Think You're Crafty? It's a craft blog competition, sort of like Survivor, that Jordi and I have been a part of for the last couple of months. This week is finale (we made it to the end! hooray!). If you have a few minutes, you should go check it out. Crafting for SYTYC has taken a ton of time these last couple months, and I'd be lying if I said that I'm not ready for it to be done. But it was fun and we made some great friends as well.

5. We went to Dallas for Thanksgiving. I didn't take nearly enough pictures. It was so fantastic to have some time to hang out with Aaron, Leslie, Hannah and the Dallas crew. SO fantastic.

6. On that note, Little Miss Hannah (our niece) is stinkin' adorable. Those cheeks... I just can't get enough of them. I love it that Piper Jane is so close in age to Hannah- what fun.

me and jord at baby evie's shower/bbq

7. Burke, Piper and I took a little detour to Lubbock on the way home from Dallas to hang out with the Remke's. I wish I could describe Burke's love for his cousins (Hannah and Easton included, even though they aren't in Lubbock). I love watching that.

8. Burke asks for 'more snuggles please' whenever I put him down for his nap. I love that kid.

9. I have been crafting like a banshee. I should've taken a picture of the stack of 24 (yep, twenty four) packages of stationary that I printed out the other night. Goodness. And my sewing machine has been earning its keep as well (partly because of the quilt I made for the finale of So You Think You're Crafty, partly because of the Christmas gifts I need to ~~start~~ finish up).

10. If I could describe myself in a word right now, it'd be 'frazzled.' I am absolutely at the opposite end of the Having It All Together spectrum. In fact, currently, I'd take it to have one thing together. Tell me I'm not the only one having trouble adjusting to adding another baby to the mix?

trick or treating with nana

2010-11-10T12:10:00.001-07:00

Burke was all about trick or treating this year- moreso when he figured out that he'd get candy at every single house! And he kept telling people that he was a "force" and Piper Jane was his cowgirl- love this kid.

smart like dave party

2010-10-31T05:30:00.000-06:00

One of our best friends finished up his PhD in new testament this summer (he's been working on it for seven years!). We're SO excited for him, so, of course, a kickin' party was an order. ;)

Add in the fact that every party is better with costumes and the fact that we could double up with Halloween and our Smart Like Dave costume party was born (people dressed up as characters from literature and history- well, in theory... I think most people figured out their tie to history/a book at the party itself, which made for some super funny conversations- haha!). Congrats, Rev. Dr. Morlan- we're so proud of you!

dave and renee- aka the Old Man and the Sea

of course, we set up the photo booth (LOVE the fabulous costumes!)

piper jane, errr, annie oakley, was a huge attraction... you should've seen caroline, alissa and burke all kissing her feet- hahaha!

YAY!

2010-10-23T16:55:00.001-06:00

I have a NEPHEW!

We're SO EXCITED for Kiji and Patrick! Welcome to the family, Easton James!!!

Also, Jordi may be in Denver December 2-5, which is great news for those of you who've asked about her possibly taking your picture! She's running a Christmas photography deal where she'll take your family pictures AND make your digital Christmas card design for $100 (you even get a cd of pictures from your session to print as you please!). She only has four or five spots open, so let me know ASAP if you're interested.

A few of my favorite pictures she's taken lately:

Fun stuff around here! :)

emerging from the fog

2010-10-21T16:57:00.000-06:00

To be honest, these last couple months have kind of been a fog. I think adjusting to two little ones, doing the no-sleep newborn stage and trying to figure out what was making Piper Jane cry all the time kind of buried me.

The great news is that in the last week or two, we've turned a corner around here. It feels like some semblance of 'normal' has returned, like we're getting into a routine, re-entering the world and finding our groove as a family of four. Burke is still naughty as can be, but I'm going to blame that on him being two... And, it turns out that Piper Jane is quite the content little sweetheart when she's not in pain. She's smiling all the time, which just melts our hearts.

Oh how I've missed you, normal life (well, normal-ish life)... it's nice to be back.

ps- If I've dropped the ball on something I was supposed to do for you, or if you've gotten in touch and I haven't gotten back to you, I am so sorry! I probably should've been making a to-do list along the way, but I didn't, so if you still need something from me, please let me know!

the 'small' festival

2010-10-13T22:19:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, we met up with the Fischers and mom and dad at the Botanic Garden's fall festival... Every 'fall-ish' attraction was available (pumpkin patch, hay rides, tractors, trick-or-treating, fall crafts, etc.) and Burke LOVED it! Even better, he keeps calling it the "Small Festival," hahaha!

for the aunts

2010-10-08T14:54:00.000-06:00

Instead of trying to explain Piper Jane's chubby(er) cheeks, little budha belly and recent shift to a cheerier disposition to Aunt Jordi, Aunt Kiji and Aunt Trish, I thought I'd just take some pics of the happy girl herself. :)

ps- The white-onesie-with-the-ruffled-skirt-and-fun-accessories combo was Trish's suggestion... good idea, right?

'presents'

2010-10-02T20:37:00.000-06:00

Burke loves Piper Jane. Like, seriously, LOVES her... He especially loves to give her kisses (that deserves its own post, actually) and to bring her little gifts while she's sitting in her chair. Usually, he brings her toys. Yesterday, while we were playing outside, he brought her grass. She looks super interested, huh?

the most magical place on earth

2010-09-29T20:29:00.001-06:00

Nope, not disneyland. For our little family, it's Buena Vista.

We went up to BV this weekend. Piper Jane met Grandpa Jim (my dad's dad) and Uncle Gary, Burke hung out with the llamas, the leaves in the mountains were gorgeous, we got to hang out at Frontier Ranch (the Young Life camp where Adam was on summer staff during college)... It was so terrific to get away for the weekend as a family!

a couple things...

2010-09-22T14:01:00.000-06:00

1. Still working on getting Miss Piper Jane's acid reflux (or whatever is wrong) under control. Poor baby girl! She sure is cute, even when she's crying. :)

2. Jordi and I got to guest at Made (our favorite craft blog) yesterday with the teacher bag we made for mama! So fun!

3. Summer is officially over tomorrow. I hate that. Maybe this winter won't be as bad as last year?

the highlight of going downtown

2010-09-19T18:05:00.000-06:00

If you asked Burke what we did last night, I bet he wouldn't be able to tell you what we ate for our celebratory Adam/Mom birthday dinner (I take that back- he might be able to tell you about the ice cream they brought out for dessert...). But he would tell you over and over (and over) again about riding the train to get to dinner; he has a serious passion for riding the train downtown. Good thing mom and dad live so close to a train station and indulge his wish to ride the train as often as possible. :) Aren't grandparents great?

two birthdays

2010-09-18T04:55:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday mama!

Happy birthday (a day late), love of my life.

That boy picture from this summer makes me smile, by the way.

cupcakes and cousins!

2010-09-13T23:04:00.001-06:00

our cupcake contest entry- the magnolia bakery vanilla cupcakes (adam's favorite)

the hostesses with the mostest-es

burke wrestling with the cousins

autumn and cody with miss piper- they were so sweet with her!

more sweet girls- check out Piper's deer-in-the-headlights eyes- haha!

cupcake scoring- serious business

My dad's family is so cool! They are fun and funny and creative and terrific at caring for each other. I love hanging out with them and am so thankful that lots of them live nearby...

This weekend, one of my dad's sisters (my aunt Chrissy) and her daughter (my cousin Autumn) put together a Cupcake Competition. So fun! Burke loved hanging out with the cousins, we loved having the chance to catch up with everyone, and the eleven different kinds of yummy cupcakes were an added bonus. I love these guys!

of course...

2010-09-09T23:20:00.000-06:00

I go and write on the internet that things seem to be looking up and Little Miss Priss screams. all. day. long. She showed me who's boss... just the first of many times, I am sure.

Please pray that we get this figured out- holding a screaming baby all day long is a bit rough.

good news

2010-09-08T12:38:00.001-06:00

Adam jokes that Piper Jane only has four modes- sleeping, spitting, screaming and snuggling (she'll calm down if she's being held upright). But that picture above marks the beginning of a new era for us- see that baby girl? She is by herself, not asleep, and not crying! YAY! I think the acid reflux meds are working... thank the Lord. :)

Also, I love this picture of Burke and Piper. Oh how he loves her. :)

what a week

2010-09-03T12:10:00.003-06:00

So in the last week or so, Adam's red scooter was stolen, our car had to have $700 of work done, we found out Little Miss Piper has acid reflux (which means she's in pain most of the time... which also means she's fussing most of the time), Mark's 59th birthday would've been yesterday (though, I should say that normal, everyday stuff has been much more difficult for us than 'big' days like Father's Day and Mark's birthday), Burke got a cold (pray with us that he doesn't give that to Piper)... Add all of that to far-too-little sleep lately and it's kind of a mess around here.

love this picture of the two of them- LOVE it

A couple things to be thankful for-
1. I know the Lord will take care of us financially; He's shown us that over and over again.
2. Burke LOVES his baby sister. Adores her, really. Kisses her all the time (see our prayer request that he doesn't get her sick). Just loves her.
3. Our families are so fantastic. I am so thankful for them.
4. We have such great friends. I don't think I've made a meal in a month (and still have a couple weeks before I'll need to!).

Cheers to a long weekend ahead! And maybe there's a week to come that's a little less stressful than this one has been. :)

our first days with the little miss- a list

2010-08-20T15:31:00.001-06:00

What have we been up to these last couple weeks?

Thanking God for his graciousness... Miss Piper is a champ eater, a pretty good sleeper (well, by newborn-baby standards) and quite the cuddle bug. Maybe it's because we had super low expectations going in, but Having A Newborn Round 2 has been way less of a shock to the system than Round 1 was.

Trying to soak in Piper's little new baby smell, her still-too-small-for-all-her-clothes teeny-ness and the way she still scrunches into a ball at every chance.

Missing Burke (he's been in Lubbock with Jord and her fam this week)... he is having a blast with his cousins and doesn't miss us nearly as much as we miss him!

Laughing at the funny faces of Piper Jane.

Happy Hour!

Trying, unsuccessfully, to whittle my to-do list. I think I crossed off four items this week (even without Burke around). The first two items on the list were "Rest" (after a serious talking to from my mama) and "Get Piper's days and nights switched back." I definitely accomplished those two and am going to count that as success for the week.

It's a GIRL

2010-08-11T12:39:00.000-06:00

Miss Piper Jane, born at 3:31 am on Sunday. 6 lbs. 14 oz, 19 inches long. We are completely smitten!

ps- Her labor and delivery were so. much. less. traumatic than Burke's! I'll put together a complete rundown sometime soon, but thought y'all should know that their arrival stories are at totally different ends of the spectrum. :)

the little pool

2010-07-19T17:33:00.000-06:00

My mama is on a mission to ensure that Burke doesn't hate swimming... Last week, after hearing about Burke's aversion to the 'big pool' at the Jewish Community Center, she showed up with a little pool for him to practice in in our backyard. He prefers to swim in the nude at this point, but we're not being picky. At least he's getting in the water...

Next step? An actual, big pool with a bathing suit and cold water (his little pool's water warms up pretty quick, which is part of the draw I think). We'll let you know how that goes.

horchata recipe

2010-07-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

In case you were wanting to try out Ben & Heidi's winning cocktail recipe:

The "Javier Bardem"

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked long grain rice

2 quarts warm water

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 cups milk

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup rum, or to taste (optional)

16 cubes ice

Directions

1. Mix the rice and warm water together in a bowl, and let stand for 1/2 hour. Reserving the water, drain, and place the rice in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cinnamon and process until a paste forms. Return the rice to the water and let stand at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally as the water turns milky white.

2. Strain the rice through a fine sieve into a bowl or pitcher. Stir in the milk, condensed milk, vanilla, and rum, if desired, until evenly blended. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. To serve, divide the ice cubes between four glasses, and pour the chilled horchata over the ice.

cocktails & mocktails 2.0

2010-07-12T16:31:00.000-06:00

As Adam and I were washing wine glasses and martini glasses and margarita glasses on Saturday night, we made a decision- THIS is our party. We love Cocktails and Mocktails, y'all. We love watching people go. to. town. in their drink prep and presentation (the Kims had a whole marshmallow roasting station set up to accompany their S'more Martini, and the Anglins had fried pickles and bacon scewers set out with their Spiked Sweet Tea... and those were just a couple of the fabulous set-ups), we love the laid back vibe, we love a whole night of just grown ups, we love all the yummy concoctions (as an added bonus, since everyone brings an appetizer or dessert to share, we end up with all sorts of delicious food to accompany the drinks!), we love having a party that we throw every year (the prep this year was alarmingly easy as well, which helps!), we just love it.

Ben and Heidi won (again!) with their "Javier Bardem" (horchata) entry. I'd be happier for them if they didn't beat out our Mango Peach Sangria by a mere 2.5 points. But, I have to say, their drink was darn good (at least the mocktail version that I tried). I wish I'd taken more pics, but I was busy chatting with friends and sampling mocktails, so these'll have to do for now... Can't wait for next year!

ahhhh summer

2010-07-02T23:08:00.000-06:00

Everything you need to beat the heat around here- a popsicle and a bee float. Too bad Burke won't use the bee float in an actual pool. We're working on that.

a list for june

2010-06-28T09:54:00.000-06:00

A list for June:

burke climbing on our now-blue entertainment center... I'll have to get some pics of it all finished and put back together- it looks great!

burke's almost-ready new headboard (I still have to add buttons)

1. My husband is a saint. Y'all would be absolutely floored by the amount of physical labor Adam has done this month- first building the garage, now painting our house, painting furniture for me, building furniture for me... Let's just say he's been sleeping very soundly each night and deserves about 10 massages to undo the soreness that accompanies this amount of work.

2. We love strawberries! One of the highlights of Burke's evenings right now is a trip to the garden to pick strawberries. We have a bumper crop this year (thanks to the cover Adam and my dad crafted to keep the squirrels and birds away) and have been loving the fresh-picked goodness... And, since our rhubarb is still producing as well, there has been some seriously delicious strawberry rhubarb pie in our life lately.

Papa reading to Burke in the back of the truck at ECM... this is a good representation of how helpful we were that day

3. Extreme Community Makeover Round 2 is done. Burke and I were the least helpful helpers in the history of ECM, but my mama did a fantastic job coordinating (again) and the other volunteers from our church got a ton done!

4. I love summer! Even 33 weeks pregnant, I still just love this season, y'all. Popsicles and sprinklers and backyard goodness and grilling out and late sunsets... glory.

5. It's craft central around here. Between projects for Babycakes #2, projects for the house and other projects, it's a mess of paper and fabric around here. I feel a little silly for exactly how excited I am about this, but luvinthemommyhood asked us to be a part of their babyhood bonanza. They're featuring the crib bumper I made for Kiji's nursery today.... like I said, the level of excitement is probably uncalled for.

belly pics

2010-06-19T14:12:00.000-06:00

I didn't do that great of a job taking belly pictures while I was pregnant with Burke, but this round, my efforts have been absolutely pathetic (before this little photo shoot, I have one picture to show for myself, in Mexico, when I was 20 weeks pregnant and you still could possibly mistake my 'bump' for donut flab).

Anyhow, Jordi took some pregnancy pictures while she was here (you might've seen these at the kojo blog)... Her pictures always make me look cuter than I actually am- love that. :) And now I can prove that I was, in fact, pregnant twice. Love that, too.

8 weeks to go, y'all. Love that best of all.

how to help

2010-06-17T15:49:00.003-06:00

I think that one of the trickiest part about watching someone else lose a loved one is wanting to feel useful and helpful, but not quite knowing how to do that.

Having just lost Adam's dad, and having had the best support and encouragement we could've imagined through it, I thought I'd put together a little list of how people cared for us this last month or so... maybe it'll help you in a similar situation?

1. People just took the reigns and did something, anything! Because we often didn't know what would be helpful or what to ask for, I LOVED it that people just took the initiative themselves. One couple brought cupcakes over, another friend mowed our yard, a group of girls cleaned our house to get it ready for guests, some people stocked our fridge with basics. My mind was so all-over-the-place that I never could really answer the, "How can we help?" question... but when people just did things, it came across as such a gesture of support and encouragement.

2. They asked someone else what might be helpful. It was easy for me to see things that would be helpful for Evette (Adam's mom) the week after Mark died, but not nearly as easy for her to see for herself. Similarly, my own mom did SUCH a great job of seeing needs and coordinating help for us in the super-crazy aftermath of Mark's death. Between things that I mentioned to her that might be helpful and things she saw on her own, she had a list of ideas on hand when people asked how to help. By asking her, people got a tangible answer of a way to help that we maybe couldn't clearly see or communicate ourselves.

3. People sent cards... Our mailbox (and email inboxes) were flooded with messages of support and encouragement. What a tremendous blessing those notes were! We were especially touched when people included something special they remembered about Mark in their notes. We got a card from some of Adam's dad's best friends last week that had a whole list of specific things they will miss about Mark. It's hanging on our bulletin board. We love knowing that other people are missing the same things that we are missing- it's comforting somehow.

4. ...and they sent gift cards. I know this sounds silly, but the fast food and gas gift cards that people gave us were a lifesaver that week of the funeral. It seemed like we were constantly driving back and forth to the airport or dashing through a drive through. The gift of being able to set the budget aside for a week was such a weight off our shoulders.

Y'all would be amazed at the thoughtfulness of our community of friends and family. We have been absolutely overwhelmed by people's care and encouragement. Hopefully this little list will be helpful as you take care of other people who face something similar...

whew!

2010-06-12T15:21:00.001-06:00

I kind of don't know where to start in the world of catching up... The last few weeks have felt chaotic, to be honest. And exhausting. And different than we thought. For something that we knew was coming (Mark's death, that is), it is still such a shock to have him gone. Sounds funny, I know.

And in the meantime, there have been cousins and aunts and uncles in town (which means outings and ice cream and gardening)

and a more-than-I-could've-asked-for baby shower

and a garage raising (when we're all the way done, I'll post before and after pictures... it's amazing)

and a mini-trip to Lake City

and an AWFUL return of pregnancy sickness (did you even know the vomiting could go away and then come back? Well, I am here to tell you- it can!) and a tremendous outpouring of support and care from the people around us. I actually am going to write a whole blog post about how to care for people well in the middle of rough stuff because people have done such a great job of supporting and encouraging us. Sometime soon, I hope.

It feels like so much has happened in the last few weeks and that I should do a better job of capturing it all. But that is more than a bit overwhelming to my still-so-tired self. So this will have to do for now. :)

for trish...

2010-06-09T11:33:00.001-06:00

...a couple of pics of Burke's summer 'do.

stoops and juice pops...

2010-06-01T19:14:00.000-06:00

...and cousins. Burke is in heaven.

the wild rumpus!

2010-05-27T15:26:00.000-06:00

The combined 2nd birthday party for Annie, Burke and Addison was quite the rumpus indeed (our theme was "Where the Wild Things Are"). Between the little red boats, moon pinata and Max crowns that the Egy's made and the delicious food (can't take credit there either- it was all Kimiko and Jenny), Paul's reading of Where the Wild Things Are, and of course, FABULOUS company, we had a terrific night! The photo booth that Adam made was also a hit- sure to be back at Cocktails and Mocktails. :) I love birthdays!

happy birthday burke-y baby!

2010-05-18T15:47:00.000-06:00

bringing Burke home from the hospital 2 years ago

I woke up this morning thinking, "How can Burke be 2 already? How can that be?" But he is! Funny things I want to remember about our now 2 year old:
-He's in a sort of naughty stage right now... and if he isn't pleased with you, he'll throw whatever he's holding or hit whatever is near him. This never fails to get him in trouble, but he seems to think it's worth the consequences. Also, I love the way subs out "n" for "t" in the word naughty so it sounds like "Nonny."
-He loves to know what people are up to. He's constantly asking, "What doin', Mama? What doin', Dada? What doin', Ern (Aaron)?" usually with his head cocked to the side and sometimes with his hand on his hip.
-Because of the Mercer Mayer book, "There's an Alligator Under my Bed," he associates the word 'garage' with alligators. If he hears the word garage (which is pretty frequent right now because Adam is building a garage later this month), he bares his teeth and chomps his hands like an alligator jaw.
-He loves Chick Fil A. Wonder where that came from.
-He makes everything into a shark- staplers, sticks, my craft punches... He uses these 'sharks' to attack anything in close proximity. All boy, I tell you.

-His undying affection for books. The kid loves. to. read. He begins most interactions with a book in hand and this demand, "Read it, mama (or dada, nana, lita, papa, etc.)!" No "please," just "read it!" Also, he has favorite authors and series' (Kevin Henkes, Robert Munsch, Mercer Mayer, the Berenstein bears books, and Curious George books) and LOVES Where the Wild Things Are.

-Other current passions include: gardening, his boots, trucks/cars/things that move, Toy Story, the sesame street characters, certain types of monkeys (he loves gibbons, gorillas and orangutans), Sonic, Toby (Evette's dog who does not return his affections), whales and his extended family (especially his cousins, "Heenah," "Kead," and "Saya).
-He adores his 'Bawble' (the Jesus Storybook Bible that we read each night) and loves to pray with us. Sweet boy.
-He chose sprinkle cupcakes with sprinkle frosting for his birthday cake.

Happy birthday, Burke!

sad sad day

2010-05-16T21:06:00.000-06:00

Many of you have heard this already, but Adam's dad died Saturday morning. We are so thankful that he isn't suffering anymore, but can't tell you how much we'll miss him.

If you're local, the funeral is at 2:00 on Friday at Village 7 Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. We'll have a little party at the Gentry's afterwards. We'd love to see you at either one.

what a face!

2010-05-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

Aji!

2010-05-12T14:38:00.000-06:00

When my brother told me he was coming into town at the beginning of May for a 'golf weekend,' I was elated! I love any chance to see my siblings- and Burke has a special affection for all of his uncles (he's a boy's boy to be sure). Between dad and Aji's four (yes, four) rounds of golf, we squeezed in a steak-artichoke-german chocolate cake birthday dinner, a tour of Bass Pro Shop (Burke loves the Big! Fish!), some gardening (the boys seriously planted the whole garden on Saturday... I'm thinking of it as a supersweet Mother's Day present), a Rockies game (where Aj cheered for the Phillies), and as much hanging out as possible.

When I tried to explain to Burke that Aji had to go home again to see Aunt Trish, he told me emphatically, "Nope!" Hahahaha!

That's how I feel, too, buddy... that's how I feel, too.

ummm.... yep

2010-05-07T15:30:00.000-06:00

This is the result of my sweet husband getting our son dressed to go to Lowe's. And I didn't change him.

our pint-sized gardener

2010-05-04T15:37:00.000-06:00

Despite all indications otherwise, it seems that Burke has, in fact, inherited a few Ludwig genes... a love for plants and growing things being one of them. He can tell you which plants are which, he knows how to water the garlic, rhubarb and 'salad' (lettuce), and he is delighted by the mere sight of the rototiller being wheeled towards our patch of mostly-dirt-with-a-few-heartier-plants/soon-to-be-garden.

Yesterday, when he was 'helping' my dad and Adam spread some compost, he told me, "Burkey lucky!" Hahahaha!

fixin' it

2010-04-30T08:22:00.006-06:00

"I fixin' it, Mama," is Burke's favorite phrase lately. His definition of tools is rather loose (tonight he fixed his toy truck with scissors, and then with a hot glue stick), but his passion for tinkering is clear. Or maybe he just likes hanging out with his dad, who always seems to be fixing scooters or motorcycles or something around the house. :)

ps- I know many of you keep up with Adam's dad's health stuff through their caringbridge site... if you hadn't heard, though, things have been pretty rough these last couple weeks. We sure do appreciate your prayers...

a cowboy in his heart

2010-04-15T09:41:00.002-06:00

Burke's friend Elijah has these light up Toy Story boots. Burke loves those boots. So, imagine Burke's sheer delight on Easter Sunday when Elijah gave Burke a package containing his very own pair of The Boots. Seriously, y'all, I wish you could've seen Burke's face.

And now, Burke would wear those boots every minute of the day (and night!) if I let him. I walked in the kitchen to find The Boots paired with his plaid shorts and polo shirt the other morning; Burke had put them on to replace my ever-conservative shoe choice (brown sandals). And when Lita and Papa babysat the other night, Burke was wearing his boots over his pj's when we arrived to pick him up. Best of all, when he wears them out in public, he is constantly tugging on someone's pants leg and sticking out his foot to show them his boots. Like I said loves those boots. He's a cowboy in his heart?

look how far they've come...

2010-04-12T19:20:00.000-06:00

Today we hung out with our friends Heidi, Owen and new baby Henry; Burke adores Owen (loves him!). So, when we got home, Burke and I found a couple of pictures of them as brand new babies (Heid and I were due just a few days apart) and then as little guys (maybe 7 or 8 months old-ish).

I kind of can't believe how big they are now... And seriously, how fantastic is that top picture of them a week or so old- hahahahaha!

birds!

2010-04-08T09:59:00.000-06:00

During Lita's spring break last week, we headed over to the zoo together. Given Burke's affection for seagulls, it should be no surprise that the highlight of this little outing was feeding the lorikeets. Oh goodness, y'all. He kept saying, "I'm excited!" and chasing the poor creatures around the exhibit. And, more than a week later, we're still talking about giving the birds their 'juice.' Funny kid.

happy easter!

2010-04-04T19:08:00.000-06:00

He is risen indeed! Happy Easter, friends!

yay for spring break!

2010-03-30T16:30:00.000-06:00

Between Adam's Craziest Semester Ever at dental school, my constant state of vomit, Mark's ever-looming (and unforunately, ever worsening) cancer and more snowy, freezing days than I care to recount, this winter has a been more than a bit rough around here. Especially when it comes to family time. We just haven't had any. Yuck.

Enter our little spring break jaunt to Mexico last week.... "Ahhhhh," pretty much sums it up. Time as a family, warm weather, a beautiful beach. Sheer glory, I tell you. Burke's highlights were the seagulls (yep, he loves them... LOVES them), the hermit crabs/live shells, the pool, the 'broken light' (there was one burned out lantern-type light on the path to our room and, for whatever reason, Burke was fascinated by it... there's a picture of him sitting on it at the bottom of the page), and his little girlfriend Aliya who kept trying to kiss him (I should clarify that, while he definitely loved Aliya, he was less than amused by the public displays of affection- haha!). Good times for the whole family.

cabana boy

2010-03-21T22:06:00.001-06:00

It's a rough life this week... Burke's day today consisted of:

Lounging in his cabana with his toys...

Eating fruit snacks...

Venturing to the beach for a little stroll...

And back poolside for a refreshing drink of juice...

Like I said, rough. His parents might be enjoying themselves just as much.... :)

sweet hannah!

2010-03-15T11:34:00.001-06:00

We got to meet Aaron and Leslie's new daughter, Hannah, this weekend... what a sweet baby! I just continue to be amazed at the miracle of their adoption story! And Burke ADORES his new cousin... y'all should see it, really. We're so thankful to have Hannah as part of our family.

project 365: week 2

2010-03-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

Even though I wouldn't say the pictures themselves are anything stellar (hopefully I get better, right?), I love the way taking pictures of the 'normal stuff' is helping me chronicle our every day life... At the end of this year, if I still take average-ish pictures, I'll still be glad to have the record of our days. :)

let the fridge cleaning begin...

2010-03-08T15:40:00.001-07:00

For weeks, I've been writing a blog post in my head (do y'all do that?) about how bad I suck at being pregnant.

I'm sure we can all think of someone who actually does this pregnancy thing well (I think my own mom might be one of these individuals, actually... anyone who "really enjoyed" being pregnant is in a different category than me)- all glow-y and cute and full of creative energy.

My pregnancy-defective body, on the other hand, rejects all food that is given to it for the first, well 18-weeks-and-counting. And then, at the end, my organs threaten to explode unless given the Devil Drug (I guess we can't count on that happening again, at this point, though).

Also, I don't like the feeling of being out of control, and that is precisely what pregnancy is- having a little sweet potato-sized dictator that makes your body unpredictable and chaotic.

And I don't like the fact that pregnancy gives a free-for-all license for people to comment on your size using words like, "bigger," "pooch," "basketball," and "popped out," even if they wrap things up by saying, "It's just so cute." There's nothing cute about it. I am well aware of both the rapidly changing, pooch-y state of affairs and also the lack of cuteness involved.

However, despite how bad I suck at pregnancy, I had the thought today that I am so thankful for my life just the way it is right now. This is notable considering my terrible attitude lately. These are the reasons things aren't that bad:

1. I. love. staying. home. with. Burke. Love it. I love the stage he's in right now, all hilarious chatter and energy and teasing and laughter. I love spending my days with him, hearing the things he comes up with, reading and coloring and dancing and playing and even spending time doing much more menial things together (like cleaning). I wouldn't trade this for a classroom if you paid me a hundred grand a year.

2. I currently have the energy to tackle all sorts of house projects. You should see our closets (well, the ones I've gotten to). And today marked my first oh-so-thorough fridge cleaning (when I was pregnant with burke, I had this weird weekly urge to scrub down our fridge... It's back). It's a beautiful thing.

3. The weather is turning. We spend just about every afternoon lately running around outside. I love spring. Love it.

4. I can't be certain, but I think I've felt the Little Bean kick a couple times. Just the fact that there's going to be another small fry in 22-ish weeks is something to celebrate.

5. Adam's in dental school. He got in. He doesn't have to work at Talk To Chuck anymore. That's brilliant news for our little family, and something to continually be thankful for.

6. Spring break is in 11 days. Burke and I talk about what we're going to do at the beach all day every day right now. Excited is a monumental understatement.

Ok, that's all for now. For those of you who've put up with my constant bickering for the last couple months, I'm sorry... I think I'm turning a corner. Just don't say anything like, "Look how big/pooch-y/popped out/pregnant you look!" and we're good.

study partner

2010-03-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

Burke is super helpful to have around in weeks like these when Adam has 7 tests in 7 days... Though, he probably fits more in the categories of "study break," or "crazy distraction," than "study partner."

23 nesting projects.

2010-03-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

I seem to have a problem with nesting even when I'm not pregnant. Every week, possibly every day, I find big projects or weird things that I'd like to be more organized. That doesn't mean that I actually pursue these projects (life feels a little too busy for that), but that I think about them, that things not being clean/organized really bugs me and that I find great joy in actually completing these random organizational/cleaning tasks when I have a chance.

When I AM pregnant, however, I am a regular nesting tornado. It is like all of the things that I wish I could put on to-do lists in my normal life suddenly become way more urgent and make the cut.

So, today I started making a list of 23 Nesting Projects I'd like to complete before babycakes #2's arrival in August. I have 23 weeks left until my due date and figure I can try to do a project a week. I had a friend who did this with 6 weeks left (6 projects in 6 weeks)... Brilliant, right?

When I have my final list of 23 projects, I'll share them with you... right now the problem is not coming up with 23 projects, but prioritizing and whittling my list of about 50 projects down to 23. I told you... I'm a nesting wreck. Until then, I'm off to reorganize the closet in my craft room as part of Project #1.

7 down, 358 to go

2010-03-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday (alternate title could be Best. Outfit. Ever... more on this later)

Monday

welcome to our family, baby hannah!

2010-03-01T10:09:00.005-07:00

Through the craziest string of events EVER (including a birth mom that didn't even know she was pregnant until she was at the hospital in labor), my sweet brother-in-law, Aaron, and sister-in-law, Leslie, are now the proud parents of Miss Hannah Katherine Gentry. She's six days old, absolutely adorable, and, best of all, their daughter!

It has been quite the long and twisty and prayer-filled road for them to get this baby girl and we are more thrilled than I can even tell you. I have been teary all morning just thinking about how long we've been praying for this and what a beautiful answer God has given them... what a miracle!

Aaron and Leslie were made to be parents, and I can't wait to watch and grow with them... welcome to our family, baby Hannah!

the word of the day: vomit

2010-02-24T20:25:00.003-07:00

Today I cleaned up vomit. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

In that picture above, Burke is watching Toy Story 2 and wearing the first of 8 different outfits. I had to change that many times, too, because he mostly threw up on me and then made me throw up too... You should see my current fashionista combo of spandex-y capri yoga pants, high fuzzy socks and one of Adam's sweatshirts; the pickings are slim around here until the laundry finishes up.

It was a rough day. I hate it when he's sick.

not quite jord...

2010-02-23T13:36:00.005-07:00

So, y'all know that my sister has quite the eye for taking pictures. I do not. However, I am going to join her in doing the 365 Project for the next year (you take a picture a day for a year).

My goals:
- get better at taking pictures of everyday life, especially people
-have 365 pictures to document the next year (I should say, I love this part!)
-put the pictures on here at least once a week (I changed my mind- I think I'll just put them on here... :)

Should be fun. And funny. And if you want to see pictures taken by someone that actually has an eye for this stuff, you should go see Jordi's 365 Project blog.

Care to join me?

no. more. february. please.

2010-02-19T12:26:00.003-07:00

Usually February is a long month for me. The combination of gray and snow and the fact that it just isn't March yet (nor is March coming quickly enough) does me in. This February has been especially rough. For whatever reason, I had a particularly short tolerance for snow and cold this year. Pair that with an early cold spell (October), way more snow than usual, and a notable lack of our fabulous 60 degree weeks that we can usually expect (in Denver) to punctuate the frigid weather, and you have one very cold, miserable girl.

However, four weeks from today, we are headed on a family vacation to the beach. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to this. Burke and I looked at pictures of our resort/town online all morning (now he knows the word, "beach"). Then we went to Target and found him some little beach buckets and a surf shirt to protect his fair little skin from the hot hot sun. That's what I'm holding onto y'all, the hot hot sunshine. 28 days. I can make it, right?

***For those of you who live in rougher climates than Denver's mildness, I'm sorry for complaining. I have a new friend that just moved here from Philly and said yesterday, "You guys are SO spoiled!" And she's right, we are. But that's the thing, I think that whatever you're used to becomes your standard, and so my standard for snowy, cold winters is set alarmingly low.

family time part 3

2010-02-17T09:39:00.007-07:00

burke LOVES aji and trish!

pausing to take a picture in front of burke's absolute favorite- the walruses at the museum of nature and science... he talked all morning about showing aji, trish, and papa the walrus (lita's already seen it- probably more times than she cares to remember)

having dinner with trish's good friends liz and brooke (both came to denver to see trish, cute, huh?)

how aji and trish spent most of their time in denver (too bad I didn't get a picture of burke and trish reading together as well!)

more museum of nature and science

I had to include this one, just because I wonder how a picture could turn out so awkwardly... what's on burke's eye? and what is aji doing? I should note that trish knew that it'd be bad as we were taking it. unfortunate all around.

We've been so lucky this last couple months to see all of my siblings and their families. I've especially loved the fact that we've had the chance to see them all separately and spend some actual time with them (though, it always goes too fast still!).

To wrap up the Family Time Tour, Aji and Trish came to Denver for four days last week! We loved spending time with them, going downtown, checking out the museum of nature and science, watching the olympics, and just generally having a chance to hang out with them. Burke ADORES these two, and they added all sorts of fuel to that fire by spoiling him rotten and reading to him for hours while they were here (a little tip- if you want burke to love you, read to him. It never fails!).

There's going to be a day in a couple weeks where Burke wakes up and wonders why we aren't hanging out with either Jordi, Drew and the girls, Aji and Trish, or Kiji and Pat. Right now, he still talks about them all the time like they're just across town, so it hasn't sunk in that they don't, in fact, live here. Hopefully I don't have that realization for a couple of weeks either, because it'll be a sad, sad day when I look at the calendar and realize that the next time I'm going to see these lovelies is months away... For now, I'm just celebrating their visits and how fantastic they are. We sure do love those guys.

gifts we've received lately...

2010-02-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

I mean, we won't be able to use them until, oh, August 16th or so. But aren't they adorable???

ps- Jordi, I know that us waiting to find out if it's a boy or a girl Eats. Your. Lunch. Still, you have to admit, those little elephant onesies from Aji and Trish are too cute, even in their gender-neutralness!

oh albuquerque airport

2010-02-11T23:11:00.005-07:00

On our way home from Lubbock, Burke and I had a layover in the Albuquerque airport. As we walked toward the flight observation deck to watch planes land and take off, I had all sorts of funny stories to tell Burke. Maybe it's the emotional quotient, but I have a strange attachment to the Albuquerque airport and the memories it brings back for me.

See, Albuquerque is the closest (bigger) airport to my hometown, so I've done a lot of flying out of that airport. And since most of those flights were pre-9-11, I also have a lot of stories (with lots of emotions) associated with those flights and that place.

Burke and I walked past the gate where dad and I left for Grove City College in August of my freshman year, and where I bid oh-so-tearful goodbyes to my family many times following that (did I emphasize oh-so-tearful? I was usually still crying in the St. Louis airport, which is where I usually flew through on the way back to school).

I showed Burke the gate where we waited and waited and waited for Jordi's homecoming from her year as an exchange student in Argentina. There was a whole party of us and a huge, glittery, yellow "Welcome Home," sign. Unfortunately, she missed her flight from Miami, but we didn't know it (oh the days before cell phones), so we were waiting for her for hours. And how sweet it was when she finally appeared at the door...

One year, we took our Ludwig family picture on the flight observation deck. Jordi was leaving for Argentina that very afternoon, so it was sort of a teary picture. I should find it for y'all. And we welcomed our exchange student, Ivannia, from Costa Rica at the Albuquerque airport that same day. Whew. Like I said, emotional.

Anyhow, while Burke and I were watching the planes, I snapped a couple of pictures of the flight observation deck (above)... Funny stories, funny place, funny that I love it so much.

what to do on a rainy day...

2010-02-10T09:20:00.005-07:00

Put together the snack time of champions (a fort + dress up clothes + cheetos and fruit snacks)! There are more pictures at Jordi's blog... :)

airplane survival plan

2010-02-09T20:53:00.001-07:00

Travelling on airplanes is not a new thing to Burke and I... However, last week's trip to Lubbock was the first flight we've taken in 6 months or so and I had a feeling I might need to be a bit more, mmm, prepared for Burke-as-a-traveller than I've had to be in the past. Motivated by the knowledge of Burke's limited ability to stay put, especially for 6 hours in a row, I had a many pronged airplane survival plan.

Part 1- A dvd player (paired with Praisebaby [do your kids love this like burke does?] and Toy Story 2). Adam had an amazon gift card and we put it to good use.Part 2- New stuff. An Elmo magnet book, a Toy Story dry erase board and new felt shapes for his felt book... I made him shapes of things that he loves currently (a walrus, a hippo, a gorilla, an octopus to replace his old one that he tore all of the legs off of, even a little elmo). They were a hit.

Part 3- Snacks. Cheezeits, fruit leather, fruit snacks, goldfish, pretzels... you name it, we had it. Oh, and I got him a new Toy Story snack bowl from the dollar bin at Target to hold said snacks.

Part 4- Other reading material. Y'all know about Burke's fond, fond affection for books. I hid some of his favorite books a week before we went to Lubbock and brought them out on the plane. Delight, I tell you.

And, I have to say, the flights weren't that bad. I was absolutely exhausted at the end of them, but the flights themselves went relatively well. Victory!

If only I could figure out how to get my family to live close enough that I wouldn't need an airplane to see them. If you have any tips for me in this regard, I'm all ears. :)

gems

2010-02-06T20:57:00.008-07:00

Y'all know what happens when I see Jordi... I end up with a treasure trove of fantastic photos. Here's a little taste:Wait until you see the pictures of dress up and the fort... Burke was dressed in an owl vest, a cowboy hat, indian princess pants and a feather boa (there's a notable lack of boy-themed dress up clothes in Keadryn and Sayla's stash). Jordi's still editing, but the pictures are fabulous! I can't wait to show you...

lubbock!

2010-02-04T13:22:00.007-07:00

Oh how it does my heart good to be here with Jord, Drew and the girls... We haven't been 'doing' all that much, actually. Little outings to Target and the awesome kids consignment store that they have here and to their family's small group, but nothing 'big' per say. It's kind of nice to just hang around, get some kojo stuff done (though that was all Day 1- there has been very little productivity since), do some baking (magnolia cupcakes topped with Jordi's amazing frosting... mmmm...), watch the cousins delight in being together, and, actually, to feel a similar delight myself.

Life has been a little crazy lately and it is such a reprieve to slow down and just be around people that I love! We still have 4 days here... I'm excited to soak it in.

fun finds?

2010-02-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! This is just for those of you who have blogs... we're doing a Friday Fun Finds where anyone can participate at the kojo blog tomorrow (well, every friday, really, but tomorrow is the next one).

You can link to a recipe, something you made, something you saw that someone else made, a product you love, anything that's fun that you found lately. We'd love love love it if y'all would participate. :)

Thanks guys!

foam weapons

2010-01-27T16:36:00.001-07:00

Burke and I found these foam gems (a sword and an axe) in Target's dollar bin (Adam, obviously, was not with us or we wouldn't have been browsing through the dollar bin... he hates it... but I love it... he might like it more after this find). As I put the foam weaponry in our cart, I told Burke, "You can use these to hit the floor or to hit furniture, but you can't use them to hit people."Fast forward to our arrival at home. Within 15 seconds of us walking in the door, Adam had discovered the foam sword and foam axe in our bounty, tossed the foam sword to Burke, grabbed the foam axe for himself, and the two of them simultaneously started making sword-and-axe fighting sound effects that I can't make (the sound effect ability must be a boys-only thing... Burke seems to have been born with an innate ability to "crash," "bang," "buzz," and "zoom") and jousting in the kitchen.

So much for the "no using these weapons to hit people" rule.

Later I was sitting on the floor of the kitchen holding the foam axe. Burke ran over to me, took the axe from me, handed it to Adam and looked at me like, "What are you thinking, mom?" Point taken, buddy.

As a side note for those of you who have little boys and a Target nearby- it was two dollars well spent.

two side notes

2010-01-25T14:48:00.003-07:00

Ok, I know I already showed you pictures of Kiji and Pat's trip to Denver last week. But there are two, sort of important things that I didn't mention.

1. This picture really should have it's own post. It shows BurkeyBaby absolutely crushing Keje at the mindball game at the museum of nature and science. You try to use your brainwaves to push the ball in the other person's direction. Let's just say that the ball never ventured onto Burke's side of the table. And I love how hard Kiji is concentrating, too. It didn't work out so well for her.

2. On this trip, I learned about Kiji's infatuation with Kenny G. I believe she used the term, "sex god," to describe him at one point. In front of my mom no less. Oh, and she thinks people generally confuse Kenny G and Fabio. Anyone out there able to confirm or deny this claim? I'm pretty sure Troy Polamalu got pulled into this unfortunate comparison at one point too (because of the long hair), so I'm including a picture of him as well, you know, just to be fair.

After these little gems, don't you wish you spent the week with us? Seriously good times, people.

***EDITED TO ADD: If you aren't keeping up with the comments to this one, you should take a minute to read them. For those of you who don't have that minute, I'm going to publish Kiji's defense to this post below. I should warn you, it's funnier than the post itself.

KIJI'S DEFENSE:
OK PEOPLE FIRST OFF LET ME SAY: I am NOT "infatuated" with Kenny G...I think he looks like the sex god for band campers (which I am not) nor have I EVER thought of Kenny as anything more than just the annoying music I have to listen to every Christmas- My point was more to say that men with long hair (enter Fabio) have this "sex god-ish"persona about them but If I remember correctly I did EXCLUDE Pallamolu due to his good character and not sneaky eyes....And onto the brain game- it wasn't a "mind game" guys- it was a test to see who could RELAX their mind and the ball was attracted to the person whose brain waves were going faster- so REALLY good thing I beat a 2 year old..it's all mush up there while I have just SO MUCH information in my noggin I can't turn off my brain to relax mode.

The End :)

aunt didi & uncle pat

2010-01-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm in that "missing my family funk" that comes when you put your little sister and her hubs back on planes to idaho and realize that, even though you wish with all your heart that them being here was everyday life, it just isn't. I hate that realization each time it comes upon me.

But I love, and I mean love, the time that we got to spend with Kiji and Pat this last week! Between the museum of nature and science (twice), some retail therapy at anthropologie and forever 21 (that's a funny statement now that I reread it), more presents for burke than he knows what to do with, meeting friends at our church, book reading and restaurant going and white coat ceremony attending and bass pro shop exploring and tattered cover relaxing, and laughing until we cried (literally), well, it was a good, full trip. In fact, you know a visit was really terrific when you hate the idea of your sweet family leaving as much as I hate that thought today.

Burke love. love. LOVES Kiji and Pat. In fact, his first words the last few mornings when I walk into his room in the morning are, "Kiji? Pat?" Today, he keeps showing me the books Kiji gave him, putting his head down in defeat and saying, "Bye bye Didi, bye bye."

Thanks for coming guys! We miss you already!

white coated!

2010-01-20T20:35:00.010-07:00

Adam's white coat ceremony was this afternoon... It was so fun to see him up on stage, looking all official and doctor-y. Mark and Evette came up for the festivities... and mom and Kiji joined us as well (so fun that keje was in town for this!). We're so proud of him!

***I get questions about this a lot, so I thought I'd answer this on here- dental school is 4 years (of which, Adam is in the middle of year 2, so still 2 and a half years left just of the school part). Then, residencies can last between 1 and 5 years. We will not be opting for a 5 year residency program (oral surgery). Adam is still up in the air about other specialties, though it seems like he's leaning towards general dentistry. Yep, that's the scoop, you know, just in case you were wondering.

haiti fundraiser at kojo

2010-01-18T22:42:00.002-07:00

Hey all! Just wanted to let you know that this Thursday, January 21st, Jordi and I are using the kojo etsy shop to do a fundraiser for the relief efforts in Haiti. On that day, 100% of our earnings on stationary and valentines will be donated to organizations working in Haiti (probably Compassion International or World Vision). If you've been meaning to get some cards for yourself or a friend, or if you need a valentine, Thursday is the day for you!

mark's going away party

2010-01-15T15:33:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week, Burke and I headed down the Springs to attend Mark's (adam's dad's) retirement party at the Young Life Service Center. I didn't take many pictures, but was so blessed to be there and thought I'd try to articulate a bit about why.

His friends and colleagues put together such a special, heartfelt, "Mark"-ish send off... they catered lunch from El Taco Rey (oh how he loves that place) and gave him thoughtful notes and gifts. Oh, and they got a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. Burke said, "Wow," with every bite.

My favorite part, though, was when they opened the floor for people to share stories and memories and things they appreciate about Mark. People told funny stories about him winning the annual ping pong championship, they shared how they'd been impacted by his perseverance and faith in the midst of trial, they talked about how, as part of his work in the camping department, Mark has implemented various tools over the last 10+ years that will continue to impact Young Life camps for years to come, I heard about his integrity many (many!) times... It was such a sweet thing to be a part of.

I mean, we know how super Mark is, but it was so clear at this going away party that his friends and colleagues have a similar love for him and appreciation for the way he's lived his life that we do. That is such a special thing! I'm thankful for the people who are supporting the Gentry's, and even more thankful for the legacy of faith that Mark is building.

big day

2010-01-13T15:24:00.003-07:00

Adam sees his first patient solo today (he's been assisting in the clinic since last year, but today is the first time he sees a patient all by himself)! He was super excited... and maybe a little nervous. :) He doesn't get his white coat until next week, and he still has two and a half years left, but this transition from 'mostly academic work' to 'mostly clinic work' is a step in the right direction. YAY Adam!

new 'do

2010-01-11T12:13:00.004-07:00

The blonde locks have been getting wilder and wilder... Today was the day for taming, thanks to Maria at Great Clips!

before

during

after

Doesn't he look like such a big kid now? It's funny what a difference a haircut can make!

snow snow go away

2010-01-05T15:25:00.007-07:00

i love this one of us girls in the middleeast... isn't jordi cute when she's pregnant?

So, I know that compared to any of you who live on the east coast, or in the northwest (or really anywhere besides kara in az and megan in ca) our measly little mild winters in Denver seem downright balmy. And I know that I don't have a ton of room to complain when I compare my winters (even this winter) to yours.

However, I think that stuff like weather has a lot to do with what you're used to. And here in Denver, we're used to a few dustings of snow that melt off quickly, followed by a week of 60 degree weather. Even in January.

That being said, this winter with the snow and more snow and cold and more cold has been r.o.u.g.h. on my sunshine loving heart.

So I spent the afternoon looking at pictures of tropical locales that are potential spring break destinations (as well as old beach pics!). I should say that this is not the activity for you if you won't be beachbound for spring break. It might push your already cold and gloomy heart right over the edge (maybe your heart isn't gloomy and cold. Mine is, though.). However, if there's a chance that the forecast for you this spring is "sandy warmth with a chance of poolside daiquiris" than I cannot recommend this activity any more highly. I feel warmer just glancing through these pictures. Ahhh, March, please come quickly.

so, so thankful

2010-01-04T17:20:00.004-07:00

Today I've been thinking and thinking about how dang thankful I am for my boys.

Burke is such a little man right now- talking up a storm (his rapidly expanding vocab astounds me daily!), learning his colors (he has "yellow" down), showing off his dance moves (and they are awesome... seriously, awesome). He gets so excited about seeing his friends and his grandparents (especially his best buddy, Luca, who he calls "Duca"), tells me that he misses his cousins about 20 times a day, and has a passion for reading. Today is one of those days when I just can't believe what a little kid he's becoming and how lucky we are to have him in our family.

I've been so thankful for Adam, too, today. If you're single and you're reading this, I have some advice for you- always (ALWAYS) choose someone with a selfless heart over someone with grand romantic gestures. The behind the scenes little stuff impacts your daily life so. very. much. And when you end up with someone who is great at that not-as-grandiose stuff (like I did), you'll be continually amazed and thankful at how very grand romantic gesture-y the little stuff ends up being when it adds up.

happy new year!

2010-01-01T16:32:00.004-07:00

I posted the whole story of our family's fabulous New Year's Eve traditions over at the kojo blog, so I won't go through all of it again. But this picture of December 31st, 1992 is just too fabulous not to share. Check it out, y'all.

Highlights? Kiji's cuteness, Aji's bangs, Dad's facial expression, dear gracious- MY facial expression (I had a generally happy childhood, so the bad attitude is just uncalled for), the belt that I chose to wear over my pajama pants (are those pajama pants? gosh let's hope so, right?). My favorite part, though, is the fact that my parents continued our family traditions even through high school and college, no matter how too-cool we were for them. And I love, LOVE, the way we spent New Year's Eve together.

Happy 2010, y'all!

hat

2009-12-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

I forgot to show you burke's little get-up for church on Christmas Eve. He even (mostly) kept the hat on! Funny kid.

christmas

2009-12-28T09:38:00.008-07:00

burke's favorite gifts- books... oh, and aunt leslie's presents

Can you believe that it's already December 28th? December always passes in some sort of whirlwind for me... I can't believe Christmas has come and gone already!

Despite an inordinate number of fabulous and thoughtful gifts, Burke was just not really into Christmas morning this year. I would bet that I will never write those words again. But I think he could've stopped after opening three presents and been perfectly content (in fact, we have all of our gifts for burke still wrapped and under our tree... we're going to spread them out over the next month or so).

Us grown-ups, however, have developed the stamina required for the present opening and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Y'all will never guess what Adam got me... well, unless you read the kojo blog. He got me a legit, computerized, programmable, monogramming sewing machine. He spent about ten times his budget, but also came up with a complex plan to fund his purchase including selling things on ebay, using budget from elsewhere and chipping in some money he'd put aside. Weasel. Sweet, thoughtful weasel. I'd never even think to ask for such a gift, so to say I was surprised is putting things mildly.

Adam's big gift was a Wii and Rock Band, so our last few days have been full of me reading the sewing machine manual and practicing on scrap fabric and Adam and Aaron playing Rock Band. More of that to come I'm sure.

Hope y'all had a fantastic Christmas!

***I forgot to tell y'all about the kojo blog giveaway this month... as I write this, there are only about 40 entries (including all the new blog followers and blog writeups), so you have a pretty good chance of winning! And you'll win personalized medallion stationary that you could make into much needed thank you notes, or just personalized stationary. Anyway, head on over and enter before new year's eve!!!

dental school prom

2009-12-18T13:02:00.006-07:00

You know that feeling when finals are over? It's glorious, right? Pair that euphoric feeling with 200 or so dental school students who study. all. the. time. and you have a scenario ripe for a huge celebration at the end of the semester.

Enter dental school prom. There are beautiful people all dolled up and tons of dancing and plates of delicious food. And finals are over. It's fantastic.

staying in

2009-12-08T10:16:00.002-07:00

Snowy backdrop. Hot tea. Christmas music. Comfy lounge clothes. My favorite 1 year old. Sitting in the living room, looking at the Christmas tree. Adam finishes up his finals this afternoon.

I love today.

surprise birthday party!

2009-12-06T18:31:00.012-07:00

I know I told you that our friends went all out on this party, but let me elaborate:

-the decor was gorgeous (martha stewart pom pom flowers, a couple of banners, paper poppies... just gorgeous). Even better, I got to keep all of the stuff they made... the pom pom flowers are currently hanging above my couch. Burke loves them more than I can tell y'all- more about that later.

-the food was fantastic! they made all my favorites (using mostly recipes from the kojo blog- I love it!)

-the drinks deserve their own mention (brandy slush with pomegranates, limeade, pomegranate sparkling cider, eggnog delight, all sorts of hot tea, dark chocolate hot cocoa, coke zero... y'all know how I love drinks and they did it up right!)

-they made favors (paper poppies and bags of chocolate covered blueberries... they even tucked little kirstin quotes in the favor bags!)

-there were pomegranates EVERYWHERE. Glorious.

-the theme was 'hostess with the mostest' and I got to KEEP all of the servingware- platters and cake stands and monogrammed gems and pitchers and tablecloths...

-they had a flower folding station where people could make paper flowers that kimiko is going to fold into a garland I've been wanting... maybe one of my favorite parts of the night was looking at the flower folding station to see both ben and paul folding flowers- classic! :)

Seriously, I can't tell y'all how loved and cared for I felt... if you have anyone in your life that loves to throw parties and showers like I do, have one of these parties for them! I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday!

surprised and spoiled!

2009-12-04T17:35:00.002-07:00

I can't wait to show y'all pictures from the amazingly thoughtful surprise party our friends threw for my birthday... Let's just say that they went. all. out. and that my birthday memories of our foray into winter camping in the ChickFilA parking lot are fading fast. Spoiled- very spoiled! Here's a quick preview-

More to come...

we survived

2009-12-03T11:05:00.007-07:00

Thanks to my husband's genius purchase of a tent heater that kept us toasty warm despite subzero temperatures (ok, to be fair, the actual temp got down to 7, but the "feels like" feature dropped us below zero), our First 100 Round 2 at ChickFilA went swimmingly. We didn't sleep much (not because of the cold but because of the people chatting outside our tent through the night), but we got these:

Fabulous, just fabulous!

Also, for my willingness to venture into the wild world of winter camping, Adam has promised a beach vacation and that he (and I quote) "owes me for the rest of his life." I feel like those things might be as valuable as the free chicken. :)

what am I thinking?

2009-12-01T18:14:00.005-07:00

Remember when we camped out at Chickfila in April? We got a bunch of free Chickfila, met some new friends, and (this will be crucial in a minute) the weather was gorgeous, seriously gorgeous. Note the t-shirts and shorts and sunshine involved.

Tomorrow, we embark on an adventure that is a little the same and a little different than that little camp out... You see, there is a Chickfila opening down the street from our house. We've known this for awhile and been planning the grand opening as our The First 100 Round 2. However, if you check weather.com, you'll see that the high tomorrow in Denver is 22 degrees. Yes, twenty two. That's below zero in Celsius. And at night it'll be 12 degrees (another gem from weather.com? It says "feels like 7" under the 12 degrees...7!?!?!). If you know me well (or at all, actually), you know of my less-than-cordial attitude towards cold weather. I am a sunshine girl, through and through. Oh yeah, and did I mention that this little winter camping experience occurs on my birthday of all days? Seriously, could life be more ironic???

But I love my husband... and he thinks this going to be quite the adventure. And there is a decent amount of free food involved. And my mama and dad have outfitted me with Yellowknife-approved gear, which is a definite bonus in this case. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

lessons from Up

2009-11-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

I know that y'all probably saw the movie Up ages ago... but I am just getting on that bandwagon now and so you get to hear my musings months after you've thought this through.

This is what I'm thinking now:
1. I want Adam and I to be that cute and in love when we're old. Heck, I want us to be that cute and in love now.

2. I don't want to spend so much time bogged down in life that we don't live. We have no shortage of grand plans (ok, mostly I have no shortage of grand plans). I don't want to get to the end of our life and wish we'd actually gone out and done some of them. There will always (ALWAYS) be something to save for, something to plan ahead for, some reason that the dreams don't make sense. The nature of grand plans is inconvenient and incompatible with normal life. I know that the rearranging and sacrifice is worth it- I hope we can keep that in mind and see that as we allocate our time and resources.

3. On the flip side, I want to stop and see the adventures we're having right here and now. So much of life happens in the mundane, the everyday, the 'glorious middle.' There are chances for really miraculous stuff in my daily life- taking the opportunity to read with burke and really be present with him, giving up sleep to stay up late to create something that is just on the fringes of my imagination, taking a minute to kiss my husband, using my conversations to speak life and encouragement to my friends and family. These are the things that make life well lived. I hope I can see that too and not just always be waiting for the grand plans to come to fruition.

I'll leave y'all with a cute picture that Jordi took of us... the glorious middle indeed. ;)

thanksgiving goodness

2009-11-26T21:37:00.014-07:00

I know y'all already know this... but it bears repeating: I. love. my. family. Also, I love thanksgiving. Delicious food and time with mom and dad and jordi, drew and the girls this week has been pretty darn great. If only kiji, aj, trish and patrick were here.

Yesterday was a grand conglomeration of food (everyone's favorite recipes mashed into a thanksgiving feast o' glory), lots of fun people (gpa & judith, cody & the kids, jess & matt along with our fam), thanksgiving-ish decor (y'all know how jordi and I love doing that stuff together), a mini photo shoot (check out those family pics! I always feel like there should be a disclaimer on jordi's pictures: 'subjects in photos are not as cute as they appear') and football. Fabulous.

Mama and dad even kept all three babies overnight so we could do the black friday thing this morning. Again- fabulous.

I hope y'all had a terrific thanksgiving as well!

ps- Just a quick reminder that if you want to take advantage of jordi's photo christmas card deal (the one where you get 100 free cards and envelopes when you order), the deadline is the 29th (Sunday). I wouldn't want you to miss it... She's working on ours today- I'll show y'all when she finishes it. :)

rocks-giving

2009-11-25T10:06:00.008-07:00

Yep, my supersmart hubs thought of that title. And it's the perfect way to sum up our pre-turkey Thanksgiving festivities. There were costumes (don't you love Jordi and Drew as School of Rock? and Adam's and Burke's gold "G" chains? and the Anglins as Billy Idol and Cyndi Lauper?) and music and food and lots of laughter. I think this may need to become an annual affair!

naughty squared

2009-11-22T13:09:00.006-07:00

the pictures were taken AFTER I scrubbed him... ink stains EVERYTHING (even skin)- imagine that

Hmmm... well, even after burke's before-bed resolution to reduce the naughtiness factor around here, we are still in knee deep.

The latest and greatest? Pouring out our ink reserves on the floor (cleanable, no problem), the down comforter (bleachable, no problem), my cashmere sweater (not so cleanable- a big problem), that blue shirt he's wearing (again, not cleanable... and I LOVE that one... and it's not even ours!) and himself. At least the fits have died down a bit- those are the part that eat my lunch. Can terrible two's start at eighteen months, by the way?

Weasel. Weasel. Weasel.

***Also, if you're planning on ordering Christmas cards from Jordi, our printer just raised their shipping prices, so the shipping will cost $6.00. Just FYI.

photo card superdiscount

2009-11-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

Sorry there's been so much kojo stuff on here lately... you'll want to hear this, though! Jordi is offering a deal to her friends that she said I can extend it to y’all as well.

If you order one of her digital jpg Christmas cards before November 29, you’ll get 100 printed 5x7 photo cards (and envelopes to send them in) FREE! The jpgs are $15.00, so you could feasibly get all of your Christmas cards for just $15.

Here are the details:

*Choose a photo card on the etsy shop (www.kojodesigns.etsy.com)

*Order from the etsy shop and follow her directions (you need to send her the picture(s) you want her to use)

*In the “notes to the seller” let her know that you’re ordering the cards as part of the friends & family deal…

*Be sure to include your email address (it’s required to set up your photo account) and your mailing address

*Wait a couple of days and get your oh-so-fabulous super-deal cards in the mail!

Just thought I’d let you know. :)

naughty

2009-11-19T00:36:00.005-07:00

If Burke's day had a title yesterday it would be, "More Trouble Please." It was just one of those. He's pretty funny right now. Except for yesterday. Yesterday he was just naughty, not funny-naughty, bad-naughty. I was cuddling him before bed and I asked him, "Was today a rough day?" He nodded vigorously- "aahhh" (yeah). "Will tomorrow be better?" More nodding. "Aahhh." Hopefully so.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple of funny pictures. The first one is of him dumping out cereal (again with the pictures... I know, I should put the camera down and stop him, but I just can't resist documenting his naughtiness as it occurs). The second is just of him being cute. He's sort of hard to stay mad at. Weasel. Naughty, cute weasel.

congrats renee!

2009-11-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

jenny, renee, katie, bree

julie, my mama, jess, linda, kimiko, kim

kimiko, me & jen

Having your third boy = a gift-card-and-undies baby shower at the Uptown Tavern. We're more thrilled than I can say to welcome little Beckett to the world. Congrats Renee & Dave!

burke's first date...

2009-11-14T12:38:00.002-07:00

...with the lovely Miss Avery Houle (an older woman). Love her, love her family- I see a promising future for this little couple.

dada's biggest fan

2009-11-11T09:03:00.001-07:00

Burke loves (LOVES!) going to watch Adam play volleyball on Monday nights... He cheers for Adam's team (he knows some of their names, but most notably will chant, "Dody! Dody!" to cheer on our friend Cody), throws things on the court, and dashes from game to game (and sometimes onto a court, but usually I stop him before he gets there). It's a riot to watch!