Reise Household Happenings

Family fun in the sun

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:31:00 +0000

We just got from a wonderful week vacation with the extended family in Florida. We've been to the Alden Beach Resort at St. Pete Beach twice before with one side of the family. This time we went there with the other side of the family. Last Saturday, we arrived and met the grandparents at the Tampa airport. Late that night, Aunt Sonja and "the cousins" arrived. We had six days of fun and relaxation.

Poor Elaine wasn't used to walking in the outdoors without boots. She refused to walk on the sand, regardless of whether she wore sandals or went barefoot. I had to carry her on the beach and she would only sit down on a blanket. Once there, she loved spooning out sand and sorting sea shells for hours.

Meredith loved building castles, finding shells, and jumping in the ocean--especially with Zach. Meredith spent countless hours in the pool too. Both girls never wanted to leave the pool. Every time Elaine caught sight of the pool she desperately wanted to get in it.

We saw a dolphin. We saw pelicans and fishing hawks and storks and egrets and lizards--all within 100 yards of our room. The week also featured a trip to the zoo in Tampa and a eco-boat ride and an eco-safari adventure involving ziplines. Jen was interviewed by a local television station on the latter one. Meredith fed a giraffe at the zoo (it had a blue tongue!) and allowed a parrot to sit on her head for a bit.

While enjoying the sunset on the beach one evening, we turned around to see the space shuttle taking off on the other side of Florida. Meredith thought that was pretty cool.

The girls were excellent travelers and we dealt with minimal tantrums from kids and adults alike!

All an all, a great, relaxing time. Pictures to be posted soon.

More recent pictures

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Valentine's fun

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 03:15:00 +0000

It's raining a cold, thin rain outside tonight. In Minnesota this is a joyous sign of spring! Here's some of the highlights of what we've been up to in recent weeks:

--Derek has planted his tomato and sunflower seeds in the basement under UV lights, hoping they will get a head start towards our too-short summer. There is a lot of dirt down there, nestled in old sour cream containers.

--We have enjoyed the karoake machine that I got for Christmas! Mer's standby is "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees.

--We had a 612-neighbors progressive Valentine's Day dinner, and the men cooked: Derek did a wonderful tomato-basil soup and assortment of gourmet cheeses; Tim made a mushroom risotto and sea bass with pine nuts and raisins; and Frank did cheesecake with choice of toppings (freshly reduced blueberry sauce, freshly reduced strawberry sauce, or chocolate sauce). We had five couples (Derek's folks and John and Ericka joined), and the six kids rampaged through each house in turn. It was really lovely! Some pics are below. The unofficial 612-neighbors motto: su casa mi casa.

--I am deep in my busy season at work (10-K and proxy season), but am really enjoying being a securities lawyer and the people I work with. And in these tough economic times, I am also glad to have a job. Hopefully that will continue.

--For Martin Luther King Day, Mer and I both had the day off, so we spent all day at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Mer is still fascinated by dinosaurs, but even more by the human body, and she has a quick and deliberative mind for the medical problems posed by one exhibit, in particular. She also enjoyed learning to weave, and after we got home she picked up a beginner sewing project and did a nice job.

--Elly's speech is really taking off, though she still says quite a lot that we don't quite understand. She enjoys pointing out dinosaurs, butterflies, stars and hearts whenever they are present (today's tour of an elementary school was an exciting one for Elly). She is also particular about her food and the arrangement of her blankets at night, which makes us very tired. But, she often says 'tank you!' in such a sweet little voice that it is worth it.

-JRR

milestones

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:12:00 +0000

January's starting off as a month of sickness for our family. Here's to hopes that we have all got our antibodies built up and can go another month or two before it makes the rounds again. But as Derek and I do dishes and blow our noses once again, our little girls are growing up. Here's what they are up to:

Meredith, at 5 years and 3 months, likes to:
--read her Easy Reader books to Derek and I, and "read" much more elaborate books to her sister after bedtime
--do art projects: making an intricate gingerbread house with Grandma was a favorite, as was the Bendaroos (sort of clay pipe cleaners) she received for Christmas
--sing enthusiastically into the mike of our new karoake machine, and make up words if necessary
--wake up very slowly in the mornings.

And she's working on:
--reading! It feels to me like she is on the cusp of being able to really read independently. It's very exciting.
--negotiating social situations with her friends. Cate, Mer and Junior together can explode without warning these days.
--independence. There has been a lot of talking back and demands made in recent weeks.

Elaine, at 21 1/2 months, likes to:
--keep track of all family members, and often asks where people are, including her grandparents (she calls both her grandpas "baba" right now, or even "bubba").
--play with the "big kids," even when they don't want to include her
--pet and follow the cat and dog, and laugh
--imitate her sister in every way she can
--play with her many toys that involve placing a ball in and then it does something interesting, and also sit and read books to herself.

And she's working on:
--eating. She's pretty picky, and just 19 lb still - a little peanut of a child.
--deciding whether tantrums or stubborness are more effective for getting her way
--jumping. She just bends and unbends her knees - no airtime yet.

We were born a travelin' clan

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:00:00 +0000

We've been moving around a lot the last month or so. After a weekend trip to Iowa in mid-November, we spent a week in Green Bay over Thanksgiving and a week in Springfield, Missouri and then Kansas City over Christmas. Before that, we celebrated an early Christmas in Minneapolis with Grandma Cathy, Grandpa Dave, and Uncle Jesse.

The girls are much better travelers, but it's still a hassle to move around so much. Thank goodness they are both pretty patient and well behaved in the car and the plane. No traveling disasters!

It's also been a snowy month. During periods of good health, we've gotten outside. Meredith has been in the joint backyard ice rink exactly once so far this season.

We haven't been writing much here, but at least we've taken some pictures. The highlights:

Saturday morning drama

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:01:00 +0000

I overheard Meredith and Jen from downstairs:

Meredith: ...REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY--
Jen: (calmly and matter-of-factly) That's enough reallys.
Meredith: ...REALLY WANT TO!!!

A few moments later when she comes downstairs I ask Jen what was the fuss about.

Jen: She didn't like the clothes I had set out for the concert and said that she wanted to wear her star outfit because, quote, it's the only outfit I love so much that I kiss it. See!

Christmas and other changes

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:02:00 +0000

Things have been busy here! We had a great week off in Green Bay for Thanksgiving. The girls spent two days with Grandma and Grandpa while Derek and I went up to Door County for some time together. We did childless things like staying up late watching Jon Stewart, eating in a bar where people were smoking on the other side of the room, and seeing the new James Bond movie (I thought it was awesome.) Door County must be much prettier in the summertime, though - it was very cold, grey, wet and empty. Elly has named Grandpa Dave "Baba," for some unknown reason (though it is also her word for banana - connection?). He is quite proud of this sobriquet!

Then, we prepared and had Thanksgiving with Derek's extended family, who were impressed by how much energy our girls have. They were running around the couch with a cousin, first chasing, then chasing by hopping like frogs (though Elly only waved her arms so she could move more quickly), etc. etc.

We got home late Saturday night and sprung into action unpacking, cleaning, and then refilling the house with Christmas stuff. There's a fresh white pine in the living room (sustainably grown), with the straw ornaments mostly on the lower branches, a lit garland on the banister, and Santas and carolers everywhere. Mer really enjoyed decorating with me.

In other news, Derek has secured a new job - the plan is that he'll work three days a week at an area theater as their finance guy. It sounds like a cool job. He hasn't started yet; we're working on finding daycare for Elly and getting ready for this adjustment.

And, I can't believe it's only three weeks to Christmas! I don't know how it sneaks up on me, what with the stores starting the Christmas displays on November 1, but it does. I don't feel ready at all.

-JRR

Elly combines words!

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:34:00 +0000

UPDATE: Pictures!

Big news - Elly's language developments took a big jump forward on Friday and this weekend! Previously she used lots of single words and a few signs, and would occasionally combine the sign for "more" with the word for the food she wanted. She also said a lot of things that we couldn't decipher.

But on Friday, she asked me for "more fish" [for goldfish crackers]! I was so excited that she did it about 15 more times. Since then, she's identified coffee as "Dada drink," asked repeatedly for "more juice," referred to our whole family as "Mama Dada Mdith" and my favorite, called Sadie's collar as "Sadie go walk?" She also slept much of the last part of the trip to my grandparents,' who I call Oma and Papa, and when we woke her at their house she asked me "Oma Papa?"I was so proud of her for listening and remembering where we were going! Mer was really excited, and that set the tone for Elly.

She had a lot to say this weekend - I think Oma and Aunt Jody were a bit taken aback. She has a lot of catching up to her big sister, though! More seriously, though, they were such sweet and friendly girls with Oma and Papa and Jody and Dan. They had a lot of energy, but also patience for all our grownup conversation and care for Oma's many breakable things. I'm so proud of both of them.

-JRR

Fall and Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:24:00 +0000

October was the month of sicknesses. We're all trying to get better. We did manage to have some fun. Halloween was a blast. The girls went trick or treating. Meredith enjoyed getting a big bag of candy booty. We've enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather outside. Elaine has been trying to stretch out the sandbox season for as long as possible. Elaine has also been getting the art bug. She loves to draw and color.

Some recent pictures!

Medical fun

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:06:00 +0000

Having two young kids means a lot of bugs get brought home and shared with the family. I've always been someone who has succumbed to colds and the like fairly easily. In the last couple of years I've been living a more healthy lifestyle, which has improved my disease resistance some, but not entirely. Recently, we've had a nasty bought with illnesses.

Last week, just in time for the visit from Grandma Cathy and Grandpa Dave, Elaine and I got nasty colds. I always seem to get sick around their visits. Some have suggested that it's psychological. I think it's simply a curse. Anyways, by early last week both Elaine and I were improving, but I had this nagging back pain. Elaine was generally irritable. By Friday we seemed well enough to be able to go on our planned weekend trip to Iowa.

Saturday morning I woke up in no condition to go anywhere. I had a fever and severe pain in the middle of my back. We consulted with the family doctor (Jen's dad), who made some predictions and advised a trip to urgent care. We were worried that one possibility was the virus that causes chicken pox, which Elaine hasn't yet been vaccinated against, so she came along on the urgent care visit too.

Turns out it wasn't that virus, but we also learned Elaine had a double ear infection. No wonder she hasn't been her normal, cheery self! After eliminated some possibilities, the doctor recommended I go to the ER, so that they could do further tests on me.

The pain was so great and in such a strange location that the ER doctor was worried enough to do lots of tests. The most likely possibility was a virus of some sort or another, but it was still troubling enough to do bloodwork, get chest x-rays, and call in the MRI guy from his nice fall weekend day to scan my midsection. It was the day of firsts for me. It was my first ER visit since I was 4 years old and had to get a tick pulled out of my head. It was my first chest x-ray. It was my first IV. And it was my first MRI. My fear of needles and enclosed spaces were both put to the tests. I was at the hospital from 10:30 to 5:30. The good news: they eliminated all worse-case scenario possibilities. It really looks like a nasty virus that will hopefully get taken care of in a few days. Also, I got some codeine to finally manage the pain. I am now somewhat functional and coherent--though still quite under the weather.

So, I'm thankful that even though I feel pretty terrible that there is not something seriously wrong with my body. When I get over this bug, I know I'll be even more appreciative of my good health.

Fall pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:12:00 +0000

Some pictures from the last couple of weeks, and a couple from way back in early September. We've been busy going to apple orchards, partying with the neighbors, entertaining grandparents, going to school, going to Sunday matinées, using up green tomatoes, shaking sand out of Elaine's clothes each day, and biking.

Jen and I have also been doing Weight Watchers the last three months. I won't share Jen's accomplishments (she can do that if she wants), but I've now lost 20 pounds. I've found I can still eat lots of great foods--only not in the amounts I could when I was 17.

It's gotten colder in the last day. We've had a lovely fall thus far, but now most of the leaves in our early shedding ash in the backyard are down. The leaves have been blanketed by a cold, wet rain. More cold and rain is expected. Summer is but a distant memory.

Pumpkin goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:57:00 +0000

When I was in my youth, we'd frequently have waffles on the weekends. Sometimes we'd get a special treat, particularly in fall, and have pumpkin waffles. As the days got shorter and colder and it was even more difficult to get out of a warm bed on Saturday morning, the smell of pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg would eventually pull me out of bed. It was a method I much preferred to forcing me up for the day than the one favored in December: Blasting of a Bing Crosby or Ann Murray Christmas album over and over and over again.

*****

We had a full weekend that featured among other things, perfect fall weather. On Saturday, we went to the Augsburg homecoming football game and watched the Auggies (yes, they are really called that) handedly defeat the Oles (from St. Olaf, yes, they are really called that). Meredith and Elaine liked watching the action on the field. Elaine would clap along with the crowd to be part of the excitement. During the fourth quarter the girls got a little antsy and starting playing around with a little ball. Meredith took a swift kick at it and landed it in some poor woman's face 15 feet away. (Apologies were quickly offered.)

From the football game came the ArtiCulture opening. ArtiCulture is a local visual arts education nonprofit. Meredith has taken a couple classes there and celebrated her fourth birthday there. I've been volunteering with them a bit in recent weeks. They have an awesome new space on Franklin Ave which we got to tour.

On Saturday night, Jen went out to party and sing karaoke and eat some fabulous homemade Indian food. She didn't have a drip of alcohol to drink because she had to drive back in forth to Maplewood, but had so much fun she was a little loopy afterwards.

Sunday morning featured pumpkin waffles. Both Meredith and Elaine ate them up quickly; though Elaine seemed to prefer the whip cream topping to the waffle itself. Since I had leftover purred pumpkin I made some pumpkin cookies that I now need to get rid of lest I gain back some weight. After waffles, we packed up and went apple picking in near Jordan with friends. Meredith got a pony ride in too!

In the afternoon, Jen and I drove back to Minneapolis to see a play at the Jungle Theater. It was a Mamet piece, A Life In the Theater. I definitely recommend it for some excellent acting. Afterwards we drove back to the 'burbs to procure the kids. We returned to Minneapolis to have dinner with the neighbors. The only problem was that both Elaine and Meredith had fallen asleep before dinner. Despite multiple sincere efforts, neither one stirred. I eventually gave up and let them sleep. Apparently they both had an active weekend. The two girls proceeded to sleep a full 13 hours! They arose Monday morning no worse for the wear and ready to face the week.

Autumn blues

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:30:00 +0000

The days are getting shorter and cooler. The last full day of summer is reportedly this Sunday. It makes me get preemptorally depressed thinking about the cold winter getting closer and closer each day.

Warm, beautiful fall days are still ahead of us; plus, the changing colors of trees in the next month. I do love fall. But I'm still sad to see the garden start to wither up with each cold night.

This year's growing season was an improvement over the past two years. The biggest reason for improvement: having a dog. Sadie did an excellent job scaring the squirrels away from the garden. Two of the squirrels met unlucky fates. Still, she couldn't be outside all of the time and they did chew up countless tomatoes and just about every zucchini and squash. At least this year we got to eat some of the actual tomatoes ourselves!

I planted a full two dozen tomato plants last spring. We got a good crop, but I should have gotten more. Our garden plot is becoming more shaded each year by the giant ash tree in our backyard as well as neighbor's trees. Next year my plan is to move the garden plot to the side of the house, which gets more sun. I put four tomato plants, some beans, and broccoli there this year to test it out, and everything did pretty well except for the broccoli. I never seem to have success with broccoli, unlike the neighbors who get the most massive broccoli plants that produce enough shade to have a picnic under.

My favorite tomato varieties this year were the Cherokee Purple (heirloom), the Black Cherry, the Persimmon (heirloom), and the Celebrity. The Beeksteak did OK. The Pruden's Purple was good but didn't give much fruit and the Better Boy was the worse of the bunch. The Celebrity and Persimmon tomatoes have been simply delicious, the later being a beautiful golden fruit.

So next year, more of those, plus some more. I'll use manure and compost the plants more heavily. That, with the additional sun, will hopefully mean even more tomatoes in 2009.

Oh, and I'll probably plant some other veggies.

Another birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:04:00 +0000

Today is Meredith's birthday! She is a five year old. Five years ago, almost to the hour, she looked like this:

Of course, now she's in kindergarten! Meredith loves football. She makes all sorts of artistic creations with paper, crayons, glue, tape, and ribbons. She loves learning about weather and animals and dinosaurs. Meredith can skip and dance and do a mean air-guitar. (Sometimes she can do air-guitar at the same time as air-drums and air-trumpet!) Meredith loves playing with her friends and has become a kind and fun big sister to Elaine. She's so much bigger than the 7 pounds, 3 ounces she was five short years ago.

Last night we celebrated Meredith's birthday early with the family. I made her a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and raspberries on top. She unwrapped her presents, which included science books, a light-up globe, a pirate hat, Connect-4, a pretend cell phone, a piggy bank (since we're starting an allowance), and a Meredith-sized broom. Yes, she had asked for a broom.

Next weekend we'll have a party with Meredith's friends and classmates at the Como Zoo. It will be reptile themed per Meredith's request. We'll be sure to take pictures and post them here!

Jen is 30

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:43:00 +0000

Last Saturday we celebrated Jen's birthday party. Believe it or not, she is now a bona fide 30 year old!

We had a nice get together on the Minneapolis Queen paddle boat and a picnic at Boom Island Park afterwards. The weather cooperated perfectly. It wasn't a surprise party, as Jen knew the basic parameters, but I had kept her in the dark on most of the details. At one point during the festivities when we were trying to figure out some small detail Jen exclaimed to me, "You haven't told me enough for me to be helpful!"

The biggest surprise was the arrival of Jen's brother and sister-in-law, David and Olga, from Tulsa. (She was wondering why I had gotten so much steak and corn on the cob for Friday's dinner.) I suspected that it was going to be a worthwhile surprise when she lamented a week before how she had been hoping her brother would call her to tell her they could make it for her birthday.

We also had cake from Jen's favorite bakery, the Franklin Street Bakery. A couple of days after I had ordered the cake, Jen asked if she could count on some cake on her birthday. I said, "Oh, oh, sure. It'll be taken care of. You like chocolate?" The response reportedly did not put her at ease. Latter, she followed up and made helpful suggestions where some good cake could be procured. I simply told her "not to worry about it," which put her at even less ease. Note to readers: It's generally not a good idea to just tell Jen not to worry about anything. Actually, it's probably good not to say that to people in general--and definitely not to Jen.

It probably didn't help a couple days before that I said to her that I'd get around to figuring out some food for her birthday.

In the end, we all had a fun time. Meredith loved running around with her friends at Jen's birthday party. Elaine got lots of good grandparent attention over the weekend and is getting ever more comfortable with people who aren't her mom and dad.

On Sunday, we had a relaxing rainy day. The most exciting thing was Sadie catching a squirrel in the neighbor's front yard at the end of the walk. The dumb animal actually fell out of the tree after successfully getting away from Sadie the first time. Meredith saw the whole thing and wasn't too traumatized. I don't know if I could say the same thing for all of the adults present. Now there are two former squirrels buried in our garden. Here's hoping for a couple more before next spring's planting season!

PICTURES!

Elly's words - and steps!

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Our little Elly turned 17 months on Saturday, and took her first, unsteady steps from Mommy to Daddy! We have waited a long time for that to happen, and I have no good explanation why it happened then. Her confidence increased somewhat - her record is 8 steps - though she is mostly still crawling everywhere. We are very excited.

Elly's speech is also taking off, and we thought it would be fun to record her first words here. (List not in exact order) :

Daddy (dada)
Mommy (mama)
bye-bye (buh buh) (also uses for night-night)
no
ball
fish (ish)
that (da)
down (dow)
water (wa wa) (for drinking water, baths or lakes, etc.)
go
kitty (kih-tay)
up (uh)
baby
book (ook)
Pooh (00h)
Meredith (muh-ith or mer-mer)
Ellen (eh-wen)
Junior (june)
Michelle (Junior's mom) (ju-mama)
cheese (eese)
duck (duh)
Grandma (gra-mama)
whee (for deciding to slide down)
all done (ah-da)
eat (ee)
Sadie (suh-duh)
teeth (eeth)
uh-oh
shoe (shoo)
sock (ock)

signs:

milk
all done
eat
more
bye-bye

-JRR

Counting time

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Meredith likes numbers and counting and other math skills. One morning last week she started reciting her new skill with no warning. Here is a video demonstration. Don't worry, it's not as long as you first may think!

Without interruption of a cameraman, Meredith was able to get down to the mid-70s before getting bored.

First day of kindergarten!

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:58:00 +0000

UPDATED: Below is Meredith's picture in her classroom on her first day of kindergarten. She reported having a fun day that was very "busy." Her bus ride home was long, but she liked looking out the window. They had recess, and snack time, and lunch and she got to see friends from other classrooms. At some point I'm sure there was some learning in there.

This morning the whole family brought Meredith to school for her first day of kindergarten. It is in the same school, just down the hall, that she did pre-kindergarten last year (International School of Minnesota). But it's been a long summer and the excitement that it's kindergarten has made Meredith to be a little apprehensive.

It's understandable. She has new teachers, mostly new classmates, a new classroom. It's all very different for her. It didn't help this morning that she had to go to the bathroom when we got to the school. Fortunately her classroom has its own bathroom right there. She went in, but then had a bit of trouble getting out! It's no fun to be stuck in a tiny bathroom and not knowing how or when you'll emerge. In a quick moment she was helped out, but a little shaken from the experience.

Meredith has been getting over a cold and the bags under her eyes make the fading black eye from earlier in the summer reemerge. But the pictures we took of her are still really cute! (We'll show them here within the next day.)

Meredith's teacher told her all the exciting things they were going to do in kindergarten. With tears, we were able to separate from Meredith and tell her goodbye. We know before long this will all be familiar and she'll love school, just like last year in pre-kindergarten.

This afternoon Meredith will experience another nerve wrecking first: a ride on the school bus! Each day I'll drop her off in the morning and she'll ride home on the bus. We'll have to do a follow-up report on how that goes.

In summation, wow, the girl is growing up!

Pigtails!

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:58:00 +0000

Elaine's hair is just getting long enough for pigtails. She had some in her hair over the weekend. We thought she looked super cute.

Rocket ship art

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Meredith draws lots of pictures. She loves her coloring books. She has an alphabet workbook that has connect the dots and mazes and other similar exercises that she'll sit down for nearly an hour doing. She is especially good at the mazes. Meredith also does a lot of cut paper glued together in two and three-dimensional forms.

Below is just one recent examples of a picture. The lighting isn't very good. But it is Meredith's picture of a rocket ship. On the right is me and on the left is Meredith. I believe the rocket ship has a launch tower/scaffolding, but was unable to confirm that. Above the rocket ship is the Sun, which is where we are apparently going.

Seven years of bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. According to one internet source, it is the wool or copper anniversary!

We celebrated our anniversary a little early during our trip to Missouri this summer. (Incidentally, if you find yourself looking for a good Italian restaurant in Springfield, Missouri, be sure to get in touch with us!)

It's hard to believe it has been so long. It seems like yesterday that we got married in a hastily reconstructed ceremony after being chased indoors by a torrential downpour. Those who were there can attest that ain't no exaggeration!

Since then, we moved to Minneapolis. Got a cat. Got new jobs. Got a house. Got a kid. Got another kid. Got a law degree. Got a new career. Got a dog.

So we've been busy these last seven years.

Does the seventh anniversary mean that we'll have a lucky year? I hope so. Although the last six years have been filled with good fortune too.

My gosh, we look so young!

...and Meredith's milestones

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:41:00 +0000

Meredith at, let's see, six weeks shy of five years old:

Likes to:
--make intricate art creations with cut paper, glue, and crayons and/or markers.
--brush her own hair. (Sometimes she needs help with the back.)
--watch the PBS show "Wordgirl," which features superhero-with-vocab lesson storylines.
--talk about science. Recent questions: Do germs have eyes? How long after the dinosaurs did people live? Why does Daddy have to flip the circuit breaker all the time? (All our air conditioners appear to be on the same circuit in our 100-year-old house.) We continue to play the "animal game," an animal-only version of 20 questions that she is astoundingly good at, usually while I am doing dishes.
--play with the dog, who is remarkably tolerant, especially of being used as an "air guitar."

Is working on:
--swimming! She has recently begun enjoying going underwater and jumping in. She continues to work on actually swimming, i.e., not sinking when she can't touch. Derek and the girls had a chance encounter with Mer's swimming teacher from school at the beach yesterday, who was impressed by how much she's learned this summer!

--helping around the house. She is expected to clear her plate when she's done and help clear the rest of the table.

--her birthday. She is very excited about her party, and friends are immensely important to her right now. I appreciate how much she enjoys and remembers the friends she sees less often, as well as her neighbors, who she sees almost every day.

Derek, any additions?

-JRR

Elly is 16 months old!

noreply@blogger.com (JRR) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:41:00 +0000

Hard to believe Elly is 16 months old. We're still waiting for her to decide to walk, but here's a roundup of the rest:

Elly's favorite things:
--making the sign for "more" - when she's hungry, when she wants something, when she wants something else, and also at other times.
--talking (babbling) to us and to herself, almost non-stop
--pressing buttons, especially the toys that play a song, and also turning the TV on and off. (This makes Meredith VERY frustrated if she's trying to watch her one show a day.)
--climbing stairs when we look away for just a moment
--looking at pictures of her family

Elly is working on:
--her vocab! She has perhaps 15 words and 4 signs.
--walking...she's seemed so close for so long. She stands up by herself, but has yet to realize she can move her feet. She's also not crazy about walking holding onto adult hands - she'd rather drop to her knees and crawl there herself.

Mid-summer pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:53:00 +0000

Below are some highlights from this past month. We traveled to Missouri to visit grandparents. We hosted the other grandparents in Minneapolis. We've had a lot of swimming fun. Meredith did a week of "art camp" in the mornings and Elaine told her first knock-knock joke, sorta.

Swing time!

Meredith's first shiner

noreply@blogger.com (Derek) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Meredith is a tough girl. Like many preschoolers she gets lots of bumps and bruises, but usually doesn't let injuries get in her way of having fun. Sometimes though a spectacular injury occurs.

The below picture was taken the day after Meredith suffered from a football drill gone bad when she collided with her sister who had snuck on to the drill course. Both girls were howling at first, but Elaine calmed down quickly and suffered no visible injury.

Meredith, on the other hand, had part of her face sticking out. After some ice, a consult with the family doctor (Grandpa Kerry), and some rest, the swelling decreased. It will be a while before the black eye disappears. Meredith assures us that she still loves football.