Happy Easter- Don't hate for being late

I seem to have some kind of innate inability to post pictures of events as they happen. So here are Easter pictures a week late!

As a side note, I am baking chocolate chip cookies right now. I thought putting these pictures up would be a good project while they bake! Mmmmm....

Anyway, here are some pictures from our adventure out east! Josie's first trip to Pennsylvania since she was 6 months old. And the first flight since the debacle in January. Yikes!

Josie was very excited about wearing her new Easter dress! And she wore the hat all day, everywhere she went. Even in her car seat. It was a struggle to get her to take it off for her nap!

Dressed and ready to go to Church! The whole pack of half-sisters, quarter-sisters and husbands packed in to see Sharon play violin during the Church program. Josie was blown away by this mega-Church and the rock concert they put on for Easter. There were even girls dressed as angels dancing at the end- probably the most exciting moment of Josie's life. She is still talking about it and showing us their moves!

After Church we hunted for Easter eggs! Josie found her basket with a new pair of shades, courtesy Auntie Heather/Easter bunny.

On the hunt for eggs! Quarter-Auntie McKenzie and her baby, Felix, joined the party as did amateur videographer, Auntie Heather.

Hmmm... If I were a two-year old, where would I be able to find Easter eggs? How about just laying randomly in the grass? Auntie Heather and Mom (aka Easter Bunnies) didn't do a lot of actual hiding...

Assessing the Easter spoils! Sharon (Kim and Heather's Mom), Kim and I help Josie figure out which jelly beans to eat and which to give to Dad.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Kiss me, I'm Irish!

Another Day, Another Collection of Weird Emails from My Parents

This morning I started my work day with an interesting email in my inbox. My Dad had sent me a letter to the editor from the Minneapolis newspaper. See below:

Letter of the day: Supportive wives need to get a little mad
Star Tribune

What's wrong with the wronged wives of politicians, allowing themselves to be dragged out in front of the cameras to be further humiliated by their betraying husbands?

Can't they say, "No way, pig"?

And, if the stated intention of the news conference is for the politician to resign, and he doesn't, wifey should grab his buttocks and dig in her nails, whispering in his ear, "Resign, stupid, before I grab some other part of your anatomy and hurt you real bad in front of all these nice people."
If they are not tough enough to do that, then they should just stay home. Please! And take their phony "support" with them.

N. BAKER, ST. LOUIS PARK

As I read I was thinking "This woman has an interesting point. Not sure why my Dad emailed this to me, though." Then I saw the name at the bottom and threw up in my mouth. Holy Hell, that's my mother. ACK!

To lighten the mood I returned my Dad's email with a stupid forward about aging. It had pictures of movie stars in their prime coupled with considerably less flattering photos of them today. Hardy Har. Schwartzenegger's got man boobs. Everyone's laughing, right? This was my Dad's response:

"Getting older is just plain unkind! You'll get yours, unless you die prematurely."

Unless I DIE PREMATURELY? What kind of cauldren was he stirring when he wrote that? I guess all the hilarious comebacks I was expecting got sidelined on that one. And thanks for the alternative-- that if I don't die prematurely, at least I will "get mine."

Here's to the Cleavers!

Bye-Bye Ba-Ba

This past weekend I suddenly realized I was officially the mother of a little girl. Josie, Russ and I had a very full weekend of family activities that we all enjoyed. On Saturday we went to the Nature Museum and Josie was in the mix with the big kids, having fun playing with all of the interactive exhibits. Then on Sunday we spent the morning outside while Josie marched through puddles in her rain boots. In the afternoon Josie and I made chocolate chip cookies together. I had so much fun with her! But, I have to admit that I got a little emotional about my best buddy Josie. The baby part of her is drifting so quickly into the past.

I was reminded of a time when I was little and doing some clothes shopping with my Mom. I was in a pink stage (not really out of that yet) and picked out a pink sweatshirt with little gems on it. It had taken me years to learn the real word for those gems- I used to pronounce it “grindstones.” Cognizant of trying to speak right, I said “I like this one with the rhinestones.” I thought my Mom would be impressed that I’d gotten it right, but instead she got teary and said “oh no! The last of your baby words is gone!”

I had the same feeling this weekend when I noticed Josie give up a mainstay of babyhood- no longer acknowledging animal names by their sounds, but by the real words. No more “ba-ba” but the real “Sheep” instead. Also gone were “neigh-neigh”, “meow-meow,” and my personal favorite for bunny, “hop-hop.” I am proud of her for talking like a big girl, but sad to see those cute baby favorites go away!