Nina's Dedication

Wow, what a day! Nina is 2 1/2 months old and we didn’t want to waste any time in dedicating her... so here we all are in church this morning. Thank goodness Nina didn’t spit up on Pastor Rob’s shirt! Ian is quite rambunctious, however, and was a challenge to keep occupied for the entire 4 minutes we were up on stage. Four minutes to a toddler is an eternity! We are so thankful for our loving family and friends to share this special day with us.

There's No Place Like Home

Tom, Ian, Nina and I had the chance to take a trip to visit my parents in the Black Hills this past week. It was therapeutic to visit my roots and unwind! We were able to see some beautiful parts of the hills and also just separate ourselves from technology for a bit. Not that SD isn’t technologically savvy, but we did spent a few days at Jeff’s cabin up in the backwoods. This photo is taken at the Needles, quite close to Mount Rushmore.

My Birthday

At time it just hits me. Yeah, I don’t have a modeling contract or a six figure income (unbelievable, I know), a BMW or a cabin on Lake Tahoe. But I am RICH!! This year I got the best birthday present ever... a beautiful daughter. What a life!

Ian's All Grown Up

Okay, I’ll admit that Ian has always been a bit of a mama’s boy. It wasn’t intentional on anybody’s part, least of all mine... it was just natural, as mine was the face he beheld the most! So having Nina shook Ian’s world a bit. I was no longer at his disposal any time he pleased, and although he despised that initially (and maybe still does from time to time), he has wisely chosen to find other sources of solace and nurturing. Most notably is his father! He and Tom have had some quality moments together lately, as this photo displays. As reluctantly as I let Ian go a bit, it is the natural course of things and of course the most healthy for all involved. Now I’m just practicing the emotional release for when Ian heads to college someday!

Tom's 29th

We celebrated Tom’s 29th birthday with fanfare and lots of fun! Nina and I took him to partake of “the best fish & chips” (in his own words) at Brit’s Pub downtown. And we’d like to get back in the summer months to try their lawn bowling.

Some say that once you hit 30, life is over. The bloom fades and loses its vibrance... or so I’ve heard. It does seem, however, that time is more forgiving to the male gender. A man’s advancing years can “season” him.It’s like a bottle of wine that only gets better as it ages. And for my husband that is definitely the case!

Little Nina

Here is our beauty, three weeks old already. And what a blessing she is! As I enjoy my last week before going back to work, I admit I usually have a daily photo shoot with her. I remember torturing Ian through a similar string of events when he was a baby, but who can blame a doting mother such as I? These are days that are meant to be soaked up and savored (amidst the sleep deprivation of course)!!

Nina is sleeping well at night, dozing for three or four (sometimes five) hours at a time before waking up to eat. So... I am slowly but surely approaching the desired full night’s sleep. Despite the joys of parenting, what I miss most about my pre-parenting days is sleeping in. To those of you that are single, unattached, or just without children, please don’t take a full night’s sleep for granted, because someday it may be snatched from your innocent little life... never to be experienced again until your children are grown!

Out of the House

Having a baby really wears a lady out. That’s why I can count on one hand the places I’ve been in the two weeks since Nina entered our family. For instance, the brief jaunt to Target with Ian was much more exciting than it should have been. The grocery store with Carol... and of course Trader Joe’s. I hope you’ve had the pleasure of visiting this natural foods palace! Ian adores the free balloons, Tom loves their Arnie Palmer mix, and I could walk circles for hours and be happily occupied. And Nina? She just sleeps through it all.