After the Party

Here are a few pics of Delilah playing on the bed in her party dress after the wedding. It's pretty cute trying to watch her crawl on big soft beds...she just sort of sinks and slithers everywhere and thinks it's great fun.

Congratulations, Allison!

One of my dearest friends from college, Allison (Maze) Sullivan, is expecting her first child in March. She and her husband live in Minnesota, but I was lucky to be able to attend a shower for her in Houston this past weekend. It was a beautiful shower...the perfect mix of fun from seeing old friends and quiet grace from the enormity of this blessing.

Allison, me, and Lila. Isn't she the most gorgeous pregnant woman ever?!

Kristen (our friend and lovely hostess), Delilah & me, Allison, and Dawn (another dear friend from college)
Congrats Allison and Seth...can't wait to meet the little one!!!

Fun with Cousins!

My sister, Jenny, has 3 boys...all of whom love Delilah and fight over who gets to play with her and even feed her. There were even a few times when it was a choice between playing Wii and playing with Delilah and she won!

Brenden feeding Delilah

Say cheese (or say sweet potatoes)!
Cameron getting her on the belly!
Doesn't it look like they all just got caught doing something? I'm sure it's a preview of times to come...
Brenden and Ashton entertaining Lila
So great seeing everyone...can't wait to do it again at Thanksgiving!!!

Budding Photographer

While Delilah and I were in Houston this past week, my 9 year old nephew, Cameron, asked if he could borrow my camera. Here are a few of the shots he took...I was quite impressed!

Little miss trying to crawl
Cameron's brother Ashton. Isn't he adorable?
Closeup of the angel

Thanks, Cameron, for being our in-house specialist! Love you!

Baby Food!

I made baby food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I baked sweet potatoes and boiled apples, then threw them in the food processor (separately), poured them into ice cube trays so that I could freeze smaller serving sizes and voila! Homemade, organic food is served!

Applesauce

Sweet Potatoes

Anyone else think the need to sew Halloween costumes and make baby food from scratch is my sad way of assuaging the guilt from being a working mom? I'm pretty sure it is... :)

2 Things I Didn't Know:

1. I didn't know that I'm supposed to be embarrassed about having a mommy blog. Lately I've come across articles in magazines where women sheepishly 'admit' that they have a mommy blog and I've been around women who hesitate to say out loud that they have one. I guess it's viewed as dorky (btw, how dorky is the word "dorky"?!...love it!) or something, but I don't get it. Despite her inability to do much besides roll over, giggle, eat, and chew toys, my daughter evokes an inordinate amount of pride in me and I am glad to have a place to show her off. I was going to ask if any of the mommy bloggers who read this have ever felt embarrassed, but I don't want to know...what if you convince me to feel the same way?! :)

2. I didn't know that part of me would hate the Lilypie ticker. Seriously, it sits there and silently taunts me, "Delilah is a day older. And a day older. And now a week older. And now a week and a day older." But I keep it up there b/c I know how much I like being able to see it on other people's sites. So, for now, it stays. But if you come back one day and it's missing, know that Lilypie had it coming...

Yes We Can

Most of you reading this know us well enough to know who we voted for. So yes, our guy won. Yes, that makes us happy. But that happiness is not the shallow happiness of beating an opponent; it is the deep, profound happiness that comes from seeing a nation's citizens unafraid to let light and hope shine unapologetically in their eyes. That's all I can say without getting choked up...below are the words Chris was able to find.

Forty years after the below photo was taken, thousands of people assembled in Chicago's Grant Park to celebrate the election of Barack Obama. It was a piece of history that I know all of us, Republicans and Democrats, can step back and recognize.

The great experiment that is America, with all of our various races, religions, and points of view finally turned a corner. We turned the corner of fear and hate towards those who are not quite like us. We turned the corner of apathy regarding a broken, corrupt, inept federal government. We turned the corner of divisive, scare-tactic, rally-the-base politics and said we can do better.

So regardless of what you think of the new president elect, we must all realize that our country and our world won’t ever be the same after November 4th 2008. In case you weren’t watching, the below is from Obama’s victory speech on Tuesday. The images from this time around in Chicago were a little different than last time, and I, for one, think that it is a change that could only be for the better.

“America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.
This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.”

Si se puede. And we did.