Birthday sweaters

Olivia turned one year old last week! Unfortunately, I didn't make it to Doug and Karyl's house for the big celebration. (Read all about it and see pictures on the Smith Family Blog, linked on right panel of our main page.)

Here's a picture that Rebecca sent of Olivia in her new sweater. Peggy gave me the gorgeous yarn, and I restarted the project about four times.


This is a picture of Ava from March, 2006 with her birthday sweater.

Both girls are so beautiful, and they are very smart and well-behaved. Rebecca and Bryan are so lucky!

Another ultrasound image

It doesn't look comfortable to me, but you can see that the legs are flipped up in front of the face. A nascent backflip, if you will.


He or she must share my propensity for being upside down and doing gymnastics. (--LL)

Baby's first photo

Liana and I went in to the doctor so that she could get an ultrasound. I can already see the resemblence. Everything looked healthy and the size is in the 49th percentile.

Thanksgiving

The newlyweds Chris and Jen hosted thanksgiving this year. Preparation of the thanksgiving meal can be stressful. Fortunately Jen was able to deal with the stress in a positive way.

The evening turned tragic when Shaun was attacked by three Shih Tzus. Jen's mom Barb bravely rushed in to pull off a rabid one that had dug it's razor-sharp claws into Shaun's chest.

Fortunately he recovered in time to advise on the cutting of the turkey.


Unfortunately, the photos of the actual devouring of the food were too explicit for the internet.

Halloween '08

We've enjoyed perfect weather for the past few days: sunny, clear, and unseasonably warm.

Coca allowed me to dress her up for a few minutes before growing tired of the costume. I didn't buy it especially for her because I am not that odd. She wore my old bee costume that I've used many times myself, such as on State Street years ago with Erik, Jason, Allison, and Stacia...


Lots of trick-or-treaters came by, and everyone was out in the neighborhood. Maria hosted a lovely impromptu party in her front yard. We gave out candy from our two houses to the kids and had wine and cheese for the adults. Maybe next year we'll give out shots too? Verne, Callie, and Chloe (dressed as a spider) stopped by, and so did Rob and Tony.


I ran the Turkey Trot 5k on Saturday morning. My pace was quite a bit slower than in the past, but I was trying to keep my heart rate under 155 bpm. As suggested by Arrietta and Sterling, I purchased a monitor with an alarm to help me stay in the correct range.

Claire and Corday hosted their annual halloween party on Saturday night. Scott dressed as Santa Clause, and I dressed up as Sarah Palin. Erin won the best costume when she dressed as Corday, including shaving her head and giving her hair to Locks of Love. Jannea dressed as Amy Winehouse, and she really looked like her. Lisa cleverly dressed as Rosie the Riviter. Claire, Henry, and Corday dressed as Orphan Annie, the dog, and Daddy Warbucks.

(Pictures to come later from Lisa's camera.)

Scott bought the Santa costume because "it will be useful in the future" and he found the belly to be both useful and annoying. I think it also developed empathy for my growing belly... for example, Scott could not drive because it was in his way, and he found it a useful shelf for his beer bottle.