How can it be August?

The heat index definitely points to August, but we're scratching our heads wondering how it is that this summer is flying by so quickly. Just a quick posting...thought the world should see Gboo in this cute little Bamagramma number. Sorry the pics are a tad blurry....she's on the move and it's hard to get her to stay still long enough to capture a cute shot! Towel, toothbrush and potty are new this week in G's vocab (mommy is encouraged by all the potty talk! We even have a little potty sitting going on....woohoo!!).

Stay tuned...next week the family is going camping for a few days for our vacation! Some hilarity is bound to crop up on our first camping trip with munchkin baby. Plus we have visits from my Aunt & Uncle and friends from Atlanta happening towards the end of the month too. We're going to get the MOST out of August.

PS You'll notice we've made another attempt to tame the mullet....we'll see how long this haircut lasts!

It's official: she's 18 months old

...and already acting like a 2 year old! Woa, is she chatty...walrus and seahorse are the new words d'jour. And she's also opinionated. Very opinionated. Sometimes it is cute. Often it is not. We are dabbling with tantrums....oh man, tell me this means we're starting early and we'll end early as far as tantrums are concerned! Otherwise I find this stage very fun. Truly. Gboo gives hugs and kisses spontaneously, she's curious about the world around her and she's making some hysterical expressive faces (which look strangely like her father's, of course). We'll try to capture some on film for your enjoyment.

We went to the doctor for G's 18 month old check up and her stats are:

height: 31 1/2 inches tall (42 percentile...maybe mom's genes are present here!)

weight: 25 lbs 8 oz (66%)

head circ: 47 cm (62%....the 90 something % from our last check up was a mistake)

G's Dr is pleased with her progress and this of course pleases the preacher and his wife immensely!

We've had a few fun adventures over the past 2 weeks. We spent a weekend at our friends' cabin with a whole crew from church. There were kidlets everywhere, including Greta's pal J. from daycare. Greta also cozied up to our hosts' dog Vegas...she's much snugglier and more patient than Jerz! Here are a few pics from our weekend "up north" (a strange turn of phrase for our southern readership- if you still exist- who no doubt think everything above the Mason Dixon line is "up north"! This is the phrase people use to refer to their lake cabins around here...). This last weekend we went on a nice long family bike ride and we heard the preacher do his thing at the Lake Harriet bandshell. Pretty cool. We're still unpacking, but I think some before and after house shots will be posted soon for those who are curious about our new digs. More soon!

July 4th

Mommy wasn't there....but she's gotten ahold of some footage from a july 4th picnic (thanks aunt kebbie) and wanted to share them with you.

Where did June go?

I know, I know....we have been totally falling down on our postings over the last 2 months. I'll give you the short run down and then get on with the business of posting a few new cute pics from the last 2 months!

In May: we put an offer in on our first house and it was accepted. We'll post before and after pictures soon...we have a little more settling in to do before we are ready to release images of the new house to the PD fans. As well, Ty and me went to a friend's wedding in the Hamptons, helped Tyler's sister and her husband move into their new house, and attended Tyler's other sister's college graduation in Iowa. Intense! Thus...you'll note....there are very few pics from the 2nd half of May/1st half of June.

In June: we closed on our house and Eleanor began working more or less full time hours to try and get it into shape. Ty helped when work allowed. Greta spent the month bouncing around from daycare to family members' care all month. So you'll notice...not alot of pics from June. A June bright spot: cousin Evelyn's baptism in mid-June! Luckily Uncle Dan took some pics of the girls together in Alabama.

And July....really....is it July? We moved in the last weekend in June and 1 week later Eleanor took off for Kentucky to work at an ASP sight with the Lake Harriet Youth. Great fun, but it made for a nutty week for the Preacher back here at home who kept Greta all week (yay daddy!). So here we are. We'll catch up eventually.....

A few Greta firsts over the last few months: her vocabulary has literally exploded. Everything has a name- from watermelon to airplane to her yellow crocs to mommy's lap. She's even venturing into verbs like walk, eat, jump ("bump"...but the context helps us out!). It's totally amazing to watch. She's beginning to count and loves it when you give her a countdown to go down her slide in the backyard. Gboo LOVES Elmo...and will drop everything at the sound of his voice. She's fairly agile now and runs everywhere, loves to spin "round and around", climbs on EVERYTHING...she's generally fearless which is both awesome and scarey for G's mommy! She is very into other kiddos and loves to follow big kids around (daycare is great for this!). Gboo also is making her preferences known...she names the books she wants to read before bedtime, she insists on particular shoes (the crocs are the current favorite), and of course there are some foods that fly and some that don't but now she vocalizes her distaste/enjoyment which is a real hoot. Gboo also is much more prone to give lovies (an extended hug more or less) without being asked and gives kisses too (before they were mostly "blown kisses"). We have ventured into tantrum land, which is less fun. However, the new stuff that 18 months has brought generally outweigh the challenges of this age so we are cool with it.

The Preacher and his wife are tired and ready to feel settled into the new place, but we're making it and excited that the light is at the end of the tunnel. We are already enjoying backyard barbeques (like every night because our kitchen is torn up!) and evenings spent on our back patio...and Jerz is thrilled with his backyard too! So all in all we are doing well and promise to get back to regular blogging soon! Thanks for being patient with us and now enjoy a few photos!

New videos of Gboo

Just thought I'd post 2 quick videos of our girl. The first is a clip from the zoo....she loved it...but we of course missed many of the great moments of excitement! The 2nd is of her reading one of her favorite doggie books. She's really getting into making animal noises (dog, cow, sheep...).
Hope all is well with you!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4et4X1OgG4E
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bQhNqHojqhA

How the Preacher spent his 30th birthday

With his girls at the park! We had a nice picnic lunch at a park by Lake Harriet. After scarfing down some noodles, daddy and Gboo went wild at the park. Enjoy the photos of the birthday boy and his daughter! It's hard to tell who was having the better time...

Spring in Mt Vernon (Iowa, in case you were wondering)

Today we roadtripped down to Aunt Jayne's college campus to see her senior art exhibit entitled "Tonalities." Luckily, Aunt Kebbie decided to go with us so Greta had a constant companion in the backseat, making the trip a bit easier. It's a long way down to Cornell College, but our short visit with Aunt Jayne was really fun. Spring had definitely arrived in Mt Vernon, which made the campus tour a real treat. The highlight of the day was seeing Jayne's artwork (charcoal pieces with a musical theme) and, of course, the artist herself! Greta also enjoyed the dandelions and asked the preacher if we could please plant some in our new yard. Enjoy a few photos from the day...