Care to join us for dinner?

My mom pointed out that we spend a lot of our time feeding Ivy, thinking about what she's going to eat, preparing her delectable dishes and cleaning up after mealtimes.  And, as always, Mom is absolutely right.  Ivy enjoys food and happily tries everything we offer her.  Thanks to Jeanne-Jeanne Jumping Bean, we have the best bibs on the planet and her shirts stay nice and clean.  Ivy likes sitting in the booster seat that Cheryl gave her and, when she's not eating, she likes to play with the rainforest-scape that fits in her tray.  A lot of growth and development happens at mealtimes; she practices language and new words and often is very, very silly.  We have a baby dinner theater comedian in our house and we couldn't be happier.  This is how I get my amusement these days:

Grandma & Grandpa's visit

The weather warmed up last week and Grandma & Grandpa B. spent a few days with us in Madison. We always love it when my parents visit because Dad helps us with house projects and Mom leaves us with a well-stocked refrigerator. Ivy spent most her waking time on warm, snug laps and showed everyone that she is "sooooo big" and that she enjoys her mealtimes. Her grandpa installed a lightweight C-PVC bar over grates in the radiator cover/window seat in our living room and Ivy constantly uses it to practice standing and as the world's largest teething device. We had a great time and were sad to see them leave at the end of the week. We can't wait until our next visit!

Yes we did!

Kevin took today off from work so we could spend this special day together as a family.  Happiness abounds for us in 2009 and today we showed Ivy that we actually own a TV and she even had her lunch during President Obama's Inauguration ceremony.  I think that Ivy's avocados perfectly match the color of the gloves that Michelle Obama wore today.

We turned off the TV shortly after noon and sat in the warm sunshine of the porch.  It was a bright, sun-shiney day.

First pig tails

Pig tails add so much joy to life.  

Burrrrr-aka

It's the 3rd day of sub-zero temperatures and Ivy and I haven't left the house in ages.  But I have fond memories of last weekend when we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Buraka, before the cold weather hit.  Buraka is an Ethiopian restaurant that grew from a food cart on Library Mall to a full-fledged restaurant with tables and very friendly waitstaff.  We toasted our dear friends, Asa, Amy and Gary, with whom we've shared many Ethiopian meals, and Kimi and Mimi who take us to Buraka every time they're in Madison.  Ivy loves to go out to eat and she munched on injera while Kevin and I enjoyed our luscious lunch.  We were still feeling social after our meal, so we crossed the street and had coffee at the Fair Trade Coffeehouse.  We sat down in cozy chairs, Ivy looked at books for a few minutes and then, right after our coffees arrived, she immediately fell asleep.  Kevin and I wrapped her back up into her snowsuit, quietly buckled her into her car seat and drove around for 30 minutes until she woke up from her nap.  

We're all looking forward to tomorrow, when the forecast calls for a heat wave and temperatures in the mid-20s.  We might even try leaving the house!

Phooey, this cold weather

(Ivy is once again taking over the blog to deliver this short message about this week's weather report.)

27 degrees below zero?  Are you kidding me?  I'm never going to see the outdoors again.  It looks like I'm stuck inside with the cats, who don't seem to mind sleeping and occasionally waking up to bathe and eat.  But I'm a baby on the move.  I've got to experience life!  There's a whole frozen world out there that I'm itching to explore.  Oh, and if the news about the weather isn't bad enough, I just learned that the sub-zero temperatures have forced my Grandma and Grandpa B. to cancel their trip to see me.  Well that's just GREAT.  Wah!!

Brrr... o.k. - I get it.  I just stood next to the window and have decided that I'd rather put on my white velour cupcake track suit, snuggle under an afghan and read Kit Allen's books all day.  Mother, will you please bring my warm bottle and avocado chunks to me here in the living room?  I just can't bear to leave the warmth of my blankets today.

Speedy delivery

Brinnan from SCLS delivery sends messages out to all our libraries a couple of times a year sweetly informing us that our fantastic delivery office needs red bins and asks library staffers to send as many empty ones back to her as possible. I've often wondered how these red bins are used and now I have the answer: librarians put adorable babies in them.

I must petition Phyllis and Bruce to name Ivy the official SCLS Delivery Service Baby and suggest that we screen this photo on every van and truck in our fleet.   Who's willing to sign on to my very reasonable request?

Happy Birthday, Auntie Kersten!

Let's get together to read books and pound on things for your birthday, Auntie Kersten!  You always know how to make me smile.

Happy New Year!

May 2009 bring you moments of peaceful contemplation...

... balanced with a healthy dose of hollerin'.