A Few More From Christmas

Tilly enjoyed her first Christmas. She got equal parts (1) plastic stuff that I will either spend the next year tripping on or sequester and lock away in a room away from the dog and (2) love. We love her so much. I don't know what I did to deserve such a perfect and beautiful little girl.

A Few From Christmas

We got a ton of snow around Christmas Day. Tilly loved it, like the good little Australian-Minnesotan-American that she is.

Elf

Most fantastic baby in the history of DNA. I don't know what I did to get this lucky.

Leaves

We raked up the leaves in the front yard this weekend. Tilly was hanging out with us, bouncing in her chair, laughing at Pepe our cat as he laid around watching us. She's such a sweet, good kid...she likes trees, dogs, and being outside.

Sushi

We took Tilly to Sakura the other night. She liked the rice, but we didn't try anything more exotic than that with her this time. She was the most popular guest in the house, every wait staff had to come and say hi to her.

All Hallows Eve

Sorry it's been a while since the last post. Tilly had several costume changes yesterday for Halloween. She went to a party at her Uncle Phil's new house, and then stayed over night with her grandma Madeleine so Emma and I could go to the neighborhood party.

As our neighbor Beth says, "Tilly's good for the soul."

Not for the Squeamish...

I tried to fire up the bubbles enough so the emphasis would be on Tilly, not me.

She's so incredibly adorable.

She Daisy

We had a little photo shoot this evening. Here's Tilly in all her girly, pink, flowery, sugary, over-the-top wonderfulness.

Thank God she looks like Emma...if she'd got my looks, not sure that daisy on the headband would be such a winning look.

Big Easy

We were in New Orleans last weekend, where I was photographing a wedding. We had ample time to go exploring. Needless to say, the food and drink were phenomenal. Everyone loved Tilly...she stopped people in the street, left and right, who had to say hi to the adorable little northern girl.

We had a blast...we'd go back.

Amishland, Continued

We had a good time...Tilly will have to go back next year to be fitted for a child's rocker to match mine. The rug lady (we were at that house last year too) told us that she babysits her grandson every night when her daughter helps with farm chorese. We asked his name, but she couldn't remember...she's got 64 grandkids!

Annie also had a bad day on Sunday, when she cut her foot on something. But by this morning, she was chasing the sheep up and down the paddock (from outside the fence) and she seemed really sad to go.

We'll hope to be able to return there, hopefully next year around this same time. These family traditions...like Ely in August, time on the north shore...are wonderful. And now that our family has expanded, they're all the more meaningful.

Amishland, Part 1

Emma, Tilly, Madeleine, me and the dogs spent the weekend in the Driftless Area, that very hilly corner of Wisconsin south of La Crosse where the glaciers never flowed and where erosion has had 700,000 years to work its magic.

We stayed in a very nicely restored old farmhouse on some land with a river, sheep and a llama named Suede. The owners were hard at work all weekend working on other parts of the farm, which was the only distraction.

We walked in the river, went to Amish-land (the area southeast of Cashton Wisconsin where every farm is Amish, and they all are selling something). I got a rocking chair to sit in with Tilly when I read to her. Emma tried to bargain the seller down, but she's got such a soft spot for Amish people that she didn't push very hard. Emma got some rugs, and Madeleine got some spoons--carved by a 7 year old boy.

It was good to be away for a while, and for sure to be away from the Fair traffic. It's always bittersweet coming home...we all want to escape reality, I think, especially in a place so beautiful, peaceful and unique.

It was good to be there with family. We had lots of fun time, and some sad time too, remembering those who weren't there with us in body--but we could imagine their spirits with us.