We spent a full week off (the longest vacation we had all year!) and it was lovely. Allow us to brag about our son who slept until at least 8:00am every morning. We were challenged, however, by finger paints and crayons, but we’ll try the arts and crafts when they’re more developmentally appropriate/ We visited Jeff in Cincinnati, saw a bunch of fish, ate ice cream, and Mommy and Daddy had beer for lunch. Fun! It was a splendid week, and this time with our son was wonderful. Hopefully the New Year will bring much happiness and joy to everyone!
Happy First Birthday, David Evan! With a birthday so close to the holiday, we wanted to make sure we got a chance to celebrate our little Chimichanga’s first year, so we threw a “Feliz NaviDavid” party, served Mexican food, and finally allowed the baby to eat his own piece of cake. Many thanks to Mr. Jeff at KinderCare for making the beautiful cake, and for all of our friends who have been so supportive, generous, and thoughtful as we get the hang of this whole “parent thing”. It was wonderful to have you with us as we watched our little boy grow so big so fast
What a weekend! We gathered in St Louis to remember and memorialize Grandma Eulaine Diekemper, who passed away on November 18th. She was much loved by her family, and she would have enjoyed seeing us all together. There were some tears, but there was much laughter as well. There was also a lot of ice, and very little power at houses, but we managed to stay warm and enjoy the time together. It’s times like this that remind us how important and special our family is. We love you and we miss you, Grandma. I hope you’re waltzing with Grandpa…
Back in Austin for Thanksgiving after a two year absence, we enjoyed phenomenal weather, a wonderful visit with family, and (way too much) delicious food. It was good to be home. We even introduced David to several new experiences: running with Mommy, Whole Foods, brie, eating leaves, warm weather in November, and standing up on his own. We’d be much more excited about that last one if it wasn’t a precursor to walking on his own
Annette came out for a long overdue visit and was kind enough to take some potential Christmas photos. Yes, I did make us put on matching outfits and I drove us to a home and garden shop (thank you, Allisonville Nursery!) to take these shots. Cheesy, yes. But have you seen a family more ready for the front of a mass-mailed Christmas card?
You’d think, from the look of things, that Life At 30 is calm, relaxed, laid-back, and under control. I know, I know. We make it look so easy. Happy Birthday, Christopher darling. I love you, and you are the most wonderful father and husband a family could ask for. And you don’t look a day over 29…
We celebrated the baptism of Stephen Crony (Emily’s second cousin) and combined the happy event with a work-related day at the St Louis Zoo. That’s right, we spent an entire day at the zoo and there isn’t a single photo to show for it. It was rainy and yucky (and Emily was stuck in a day-long workshop on zoo math), but the rest of the weekend was beautiful. We touched a bunch of plants, saw some beautiful glass, spent fun time with family, and enjoyed our baby, as fussy and nap-resistant as he was. He probably didn’t know what to make of the weekend, since for once it wasn’t all about him...