Camp Belle & Papa

Nate and I were driving to work today and saw a billboard for Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy. It had a picturesque midwestern lake with a dock and a kid(?) running off the end. It reminded him of a picture - a similar midwest lake scene - that someone had on their desktop in a factory in China. Both made him miss the midwest. I had my moment too, when I glanced at our sidewalk chalk art today and thought, wow - that's going to be there for a long time. I miss the rain. To help us remember our trip to the midwest, here are those Oconomowoc pictures I promised a few posts ago. The trip was quite like a week at your favorite summer (family) camp. Lou loved every minute.

Lou insisted on helping...she must be two

I'm biased, but I think we'd make a better Leinenkugel billboard

Anne, Andrew & Marcia cruise the bay with my Dad in Joy Too

Want milk?

Hoist the sail, Papa!

Can't get this in California

I didn't even throw her off

Parade preparation

Louisa - the smallest MSI General representative

Max and Louisa basking

Getting so brave

Mo! Mo! (more! more!)

Say cheese, Papa!

3 months ago

3 months and 2 days ago, Cora was born. The most common comment I've heard when people meet her is, wow - she doesn't look anything like Louisa. They've also usually said that she doesn't particularly look like Nate, nor does she look like me. It's funny because people have said the same thing about me and my parents. John Paul and Matthew looks loads like my dad and Sarah and my mom are mistaken as sisters. So there we have it! In that sense, Cora "looks" a lot like me. Done.

Louisa at 3 months                                                                      Cora at 3 months

We will survive

I'm pretty sure that anticipation of something difficult in life is usually harder than the something itself. Of course, this battle (Nate's China trip) isn't over yet, but I already feel like we're coasting along just fine. I've been elevating our busy-ness and lowering my expectations. I've also been totally blessed by friends paying extra special attention to us (i.e. invites for dinner and a frozen yogurt drive-by). So now I feel silly for worrying/anticipating so much before Nate's departure.

During a pleasant walk through town tonight, with both girls in the bike trailer/stroller, Cora started to fuss so I asked Louisa to sing her a song. A two-year-old version of ABC's was sung and !POOF! Cora was happy again. Awesome. Back at home, we ate dinner (tasty salad piled with pecans, blueberries, grilled chicken, carrots, cucumbers, dried cranberries and avocado) and then the girlies had a bath together. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that the night wasn't quite perfect: after the bath, Cora cried for 30 minutes while Lou tried to comb her own hair and put her own pajamas on. I walked out of her room during her attempts and when I came back in, she had her swimsuit on instead. Oh Loubear.

In hindsight, Cora's sad spell is all so clear. She just needed to be topped off before going to sleep. I always feel so silly when I try everything else - a new diaper, bouncing, going outside, laying her flat...only to realize that she just wanted to eat...again. Perhaps that's how she keeps her roly-poly figure!

Mom! Don't take pictures, stop her!

Hoping I'd turn the shower on?

Two in April, Two in June

I'm a bit disappointed in my June blogging record. Two posts? Really? So despite the fact that it's already July 11th, I'm going to make an effort to beat last month's correspondence. I can't even blame the fact that we were in Wisconsin because we didn't leave California until June 29.

To kick things off, I sat down tonight to post my favorite pictures from our trip to Madison and Oconomowoc last week. There are too many, so I'll break it down. Today: Madison memories. It was a fantastic trip. Cora and Wren met each other and others for the first time and Louisa picked up right where she left off with her aunts and Oma. I'd even go so far as to say she developed quite an affection for Uncle Andrew, who used to be scary because of his beard. After reading Emote time and time again over the past year and then playing with Auntie Anne's homemade playdough last week, they've bonded.

The picture below of Cora and Emmett is one-fifth of the whole baby story. We met five semi-newborns last week: Zera Cizek, Wren Ooms, Emmett Doran, Cordelia Both and Lennon Hampton. I'd say Madison is a fertile place, but half of the babes, including Cora, were born elsewhere. What a fun time in our lives!

Lou and Aunt Georgia

A da! (What you say when you don't know the word for something)

Recommendation: drink wine while you breastfeed

My favorite part of vacation: lazy mornings and extra diaper help from Nate

Sweet girls

Cora and Emmett

I love our generation of involved fathers