Happy 4th!

We had a busy busy weekend, the four of us here at the house of StL HD.  Friday evening we hosted a game night. Friends came, bearing food for a pot luck, and it wasn't until Juliette went to bed that people began acknowledging the fact that there were other people besides a baby around. After dinner, Kathy and I (and nine other people) busted out The Game of Things which, if you've never played, you need to. It kept us entertained for hours and hours. Amethyst, meanwhile, hid in our room.

Saturday, we played all morning. After lunch and a nap, we picked up some flowers for our new backyard garden. After dinner, Amethyst slept on our bed, and we put Juliette to bed and planted the flowers, finishing just as the light faded completely. This is all a part of the basement project that happened in April; the workers took out the sidewalk which ran from our driveway to our backyard patio, regraded soil so it sloped away from the house and also installed a sump-pump in the basement to keep it from flooding, a problem we've had for a few years but which got much worse this year. The garden we're putting in will help keep the soil sloped the right direction and also provide a little help against water entering the basement.

Good thing, too, considering our Sunday. We went over to Granny and Poppy's house in the morning for waffles. Auntie Mo showed up with cousins Madeline and Lydia and we played for a little bit until Jules started getting sleepy. Our plan was to go home and put her down for a nap while one of us picked up some mulch for the garden, but since she fell asleep in the car, we decided to just take her with. She slept through about half of our trip to the store, and when we got home we ate lunch and went down for a nap. While she napped, Kathy and I considered planting the extra plants we had picked up with the mulch. I consulted the weather and together, we decided better to get them in the ground before a giant rain storm than after it; we finished just in time before a storm blew in.

The storm put a tiny kink in our plans, because we were supposed to have a cookout with some of the families from Kathy's MoBap Mom's group. Fortunately, Jet's mom (he is the baby who hosted the event) sent out an e-mail telling everyone she had a big finished basement and we could still all come over. So, we huddled under our giant umbrella and rushed to the car with a fruit pizza in tow and made the cross-town trek. So. Many. Babies. Jet took his first steps while everyone was watching! Not to be outdone, Nolan (recently turned one) took his first steps. Jules was watching and, I assure you, taking notes. When we got home, Amethyst was laying on the living room rug.

This morning, we woke up and checked the weather; it looked like it was going to hold, and stay somewhat cool, so we went to the Webster Groves parade. This parade is special for me because I participated in the parade at least five times. Once as a Cub Scout, riding my bicycle behind a truck (loaded with a giant super-soaker) and four times as a member of the WGHS Marching Statesmen Drumline. Yes, I was a band geek. Granted, it's been ten years (yikes) since I graduated from high school, but I still like to see the band. Also, some people I hadn't seen in years said they would be there, and some of them have kiddos just about Juliette's age, so I figured she might like to meet some new friends.

So there we were, waiting for the parade to start.

My First Parade!

Jules was excited and so well behaved! She kept looking around, watching all the people walking by. We kept telling her every time a police officer would ride by on a motorcycle "that's the parade! That's all!" She wasn't buying it.

Quit Joking, Mom and Dad!

We had to wait a while for the parade to start.

Let me smudge the lens!

So long, in fact, that it started raining. Hard. But only for a little bit. Lucky for us, Kathy remembered the big umbrella.

Sure, we're dry, but what about the people in the parade?

We had to wait a long time.

There is going to be a parade today, right? Because Daddy's going back to work tomorrow.

Finally, the parade started, and that's when Juliette really let her patriotic side show.

Watch me wave this flag: I'm so good at it!

There were marching bands, Girl Scouts on horses, Boy Scouts on bicycles, fire trucks, Corvettes, Mustangs, more Corvettes, gymnasts, Lions Clubs, County Executive Charlie Dooley, and three girls riding shovels while  a fourth walked behind them banging two halves of coconuts together.

After the parade, we took a short walk to find our friends. For some unfathomable reason, we didn't take any pictures of Juliette with baby Claire or baby Stella. However, Stella's mom Amy (whom I have known since I was thirteen), took a few pictures of the family, including this one.

Thanks Amy for the Photo!

That's Nicole, Claire's mom, with her back to us, and behind her is Claire and her dad Josh. In the middle is my old friend and my 2000 Senior Prom date Jackie. Jules is looking awful hot and tired at this point, and shortly after this was taken, she fell asleep in Kathy's arms. So, we headed back to the car and to home.

Once we got home, we put Juliette to bed and once again set to work in the garden, this time laying the mulch down in our front tree ring. A sweaty hour later, I took my fourth shower of the weekend and, all refreshed, got Jules up from her nap and played with her for the rest of the day! Until Granny and Poppy came over for dinner, then she was all about playing with them. Not that I'm complaining; it's awesome that Juliette gets to have this time with her grandparents. And my parents are very good at being grandparents, so Jules loves spending time with them.

After dinner (and a little bit more playing), it was bed time. Those of us still awake retired to the basement to watch Up, which my parents hadn't seen. And can you believe that neither of them shed a tear during that first eleven minutes? I know what's going to happen, and still, every time, waterworks. Even Amethyst, watching from the stairs, cried a little.

It was a busy weekend, and sadly devoid of fireworks. However, since our neighbors all seem to love shooting off their own fireworks, we get a kind of panoramic amateur display every year. I'm happy to report that Juliette has been sleeping through the fireworks all weekend, including tonight's escalations. Good thing, too, since Amethyst seems to be going crazy.

Happy 4th every body!

Valentine's Day...A Little Late

I had a very very very long day today. I knew it was going to be a long day, with a departure time of about 3:45am for me (for work), so Juliette and I hatched part of our Valentine's Day plan on Saturday Morning. Then again on Sunday Morning.

This happened two mornings in a row

Mom was surprised and very happy.

We spent most of the day Sunday out and about. Even though there was still a ton of snow on the ground, the quick rise in temperatures meant we could be out without jackets!

We're not neglectful, the snow is misleading; it really was about 60 degrees

But today, I had to get out of the house long before Jules was up, and didn't get home until just about bedtime. In fact, Kathy cheated a little and kept Juliette up so that I could read her a story or two before she went to sleep.

But the best part about coming home was my Valentine's Day present was waiting for me on the table:

It says "Thank You Thank You Daddy Love Jules Kathy & [Amethyst]" Amethyst didn't actually put her paw print in icing on the cookie, I am told.

So, though I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with my family on Valentine's Day, it was still a pretty good day. Kathy's getting the remainder of her present on Saturday (it was supposed to be this past Saturday, but she had a lot of work that had to be done before today, so I postponed it for a week) so I'll let you all know how that goes.

Valentine's Day 2011

New Year, New Posts. No, Seriously.

It's been a while, as Jules informed me today.

Seriously.

A lot happened. I went out of town for the weekend of December 17th to go to a friend's wedding. When I got back, I found Kathy had thrown herself down the stairs in despair.

Not really, but she did fall down the stairs while I was eating way too much Indian Food, drinking White Russians with my high school buddies and dancing to a never ending avalanche of music. Trust me, it sounds more fun than it really was. But I was glad to get back home. I was worried that Jules would find someone or something else to replace me as her favorite non-mom thing.

Like a ceiling fan.

Or a seahorse glow worm, courtesy of Jake and Melinda

I was also worried that I may have missed too much, and that she would have grown a tremendous amount in my absence.

She either went to college or was practicing for solid foods. Thanks Aunt Kari for the U of M Onesie

But all was well. She smiled, she laughed, and then she got quiet and read some interesting tourism literature.

"I want to go to there. They have a giant cherry on a more giant spoon." Thanks Uncle Paul and Aunt Jen for the book!

And then came that magical night, which I will never forget.

Christmas Eve, 2010. Jules' first Christmas is a White Christmas

I don't think I could have asked for a better Christmas present for myself than to be snuggled in with my family on a snowy, wintry beautiful White Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, this will just make all future Green, Blue, Brown and slightly orange colored Christmases pale in comparison. Which, when you think of it, is kind of counter-intuitive if you're somebody who studies their colors.

Seriously Dad?

Christmas day we woke up and opened presents.

Kathy and I have matching PJs, for any who wondered why I own such lovely jammas.

Of course, it was slightly bittersweet. Even though this is our first Christmas with an adorable little girl, we very much missed Acrodyl (he was our cat to whom we had to say goodbye last April) as this was the first Christmas since 2004 without him. He was always so good at playing with his (unopened) presents and then falling asleep on the spent paper.

Acrodyl, 12/25/2007

But Amethyst got all confused and thought we were celebrating Amethystmas.

"You got me this tree with all these dangly bits and wires to chew on, and now presents? How awesome to have a whole season devoted to me!"

Oh, and remember earlier when Jules was sitting in the high chair? That was practice for this moment on Christmas Day.

Rice cereal. "Solid" food, after a fashion.

And since then, she's moved on to green beans, squash, and sweet peas. Videos to come later, trust me.

My best friend Zach stopped by with a bag. This seems inconsequential, so let me go back to the trip I took (during which, as I mentioned, Kathy also took a small trip).

Dad. Seriously.

Sorry.

So, I shared a hotel room with Zach and there was a shopping bag which he instructed me not to look at, under penalty of being left behind in New Jersey. This was a serious threat, mind, because he was the one who had reserved the rental car for our return trip, so though I had every intention of fronting some money for the trip, he was still the one metaphorically in the driver's seat. So I didn't look.

Some of you may remember, months ago I posted the story about Juliette's baptism. I posted a picture of her with my parents and said I would tell you about the bib later.

Nobody ever asked for bib follow-up.

The bib came from Zach as a "Welcome to the World" gift. His friend Annie made it. And,he said, there was more of the present to come but Annie had broken her arm, so it might be a while.

Well, it turns out that she got it finished in time for the holiday season. And that is what was in the forbidden bag of mystery from the hotel room, which was the same bag Zach brought with him when he came to visit our house! And in it, we found this:

Photo does not do the quilt justice. Will get better picture later. Thanks Josh and Ning for the outfit!

So, with Christmas behind us and now New Year's Eve (thanks Auntie Mo and Uncle Kevin for hosting, and thanks Cousin Lydia for letting Jules use your crib while you were at your grandparents' house), we've taken the tree down and are settling into a winter routine. Which involves lots of this:

Rice Cereal, Green Beans, Squash, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish bib to match my shirt.

Stay tuned, I'm going to get back into the habit of blogging. I've got videos of Christmas morning and videos of Jules eating solid foods which I find entertaining. Plus, as always, more pictures and more stories. I hope everyone had a safe, happy and warm (you know, spiritually and emotionally if not meteorologically) holiday season and have a prosperous 2011!

Thanksgiving and Decorating Granny & Poppy's House

Well, I hate to tell everybody this, but...we didn't get ANY pictures of Thanksgiving. We were just having such a good time, and we stuffed ourselves so much...we just straight up forgot.

But, never fear! Juliette's first Thanksgiving was a success. She was thrilled with the people and the music (including "Alice's Restaurant" and "The Turkey Song") and had a very good time hanging out in front of the fire. She loved looking a her great uncle Marty ("Goofy Mary" as cousin Madeline likes to call him) and had a good time being passed around the assembled guests. We had a fairly good crowd at my parents' house this year, which included the aforementioned Marty and his wife, my mom's sister Bridget and their two boys Ryan (of Pokey Lafarge and the South City Three fame) and Alan, my uncle Dan (Kathy's boss), his wife Tina and their three kids Maggie, Connor and Colleen, my Grandma (Ma, as she is now known) and, after dinner, Maureen, Kevin, Maddy and Lydia showed up. We ate way too much turkey and pie and drank our fair share of beer and wine.

Side note about the beer; I brought Blue Moon but no oranges, so instead I poured half a shot of Blue Curacoa into a pint glass and then poured the beer on top of it, which had almost the same flavor that I was going for but turned the beer a swampy greenish color which became quite a nice conversation piece.

But the biggest conversation piece was, of course, Juliette, and how awesomely cute she is!

The day after Thanksgiving, instead of hitting the ridiculous sales and facing possible trampling death, we went back to Granny and Poppy's for breakfast and to help them decorate their house for Christmas. I love my parents' house at Christmas, it's so pretty and awesome. Here's a taste:

I look awkward, Christmas 2009, photo by Lori Weier

But making a house look this good takes a lot of work. And a lot of child labor.

Maddy tries on the new tree skirt, which is more of a tree poncho on her.

Juliette gets drafted to fluff the garland.

Jules worked hard, and finally got so tired she had to relax a little.

Jules gets cozy for a nap.

Best napping spot EVER.

As good as that nap was, she found another spot that was just as good.

Or, this is the best napping spot ever.

It was a fun time, as you can see.

Every day should be like today!

We had such a good time, that before we knew it, we had eaten all three of our meals of the day there. Granted, Mo and I ran to Target once to pick up some replacement lights for some of the garland, and then my dad and I had to run back again for more lights as well as to rectify a shortage of chocolate, so our Black Friday wasn't entirely void of shopping, but we didn't stand in line all night like some crazy peoples.

So, we kicked off our holiday season with a couple of fun days, and we can't wait for all the season has to bring! We've got a cookie exchange party, a fancy party, and plenty of family traditions to enjoy! Years ago, when I worked in retail, this was my least favorite time of year. I'm glad that feeling has disappeared, to be replaced by all this happiness and happy anticipation!