Pepper Carlor

Ladies and gentlemen, we present the improvisational song stylings of Esme… Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas (and Hanukkah) in Colorado: December 2011

We’re a bit delayed in posting this, but it’s partially because we had to go through the 1000+ photos from a fantastic week in Colorado. Other than almost missing the flight from St. Louis, the week went pretty seamlessly. The day after we arrived we were blessed with ~8 inches of snow, which stayed on the ground until the day we left.

But more noteworthy than the travel and weather was the company. We had a wonderful time with MiMi and PaPa, and GiGi and Grandpa came to visit for a few days too, so it was a grandparent onslaught. Brynn had been slightly toddling before our arrival, though during the week in the high elevation she was soon walking easily across the room on a regular basis.

It was hard to whittle down the pictures to just a small set, but we picked the 100+ best ones for your enjoyment.

If you’re reading this in your email, you might want to view this post on the web site for easier viewing of the images. You can always go to the SmugMug gallery to download the photos or order prints. Read the rest of this entry »

Random Photos: December 2011

We round out the year with Brynn’s first trip to see Santa, holiday lights, birthday parties, and, as always, dress-up around the house.

If you’re reading this in your email, you might want to view this post on the web site for easier viewing of the images. You can always go to the SmugMug gallery to download the photos or order prints. Read the rest of this entry »

Esme sings about the Gingerbread house family

On the way home the other day, Esme broke out in song. We had to try really hard to not let our laughing get in the way of the song she made up about the gingerbread family…
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Movember 2011

During the month of November, Jeff took part in Movember, an annual moustache-growing fundraiser for Men’s health. It’s a good opportunity to raise awareness of men’s health issues (e.g. prostate cancer), but more importantly, a good excuse to grow a moustache.

Leslie was not a fan. Esme seemed to go back and forth on whether she liked it. Brynn really seemed to enjoy grabbing on to it. Now that the month is over, and Jeff is clean shaven again, we present this nearly day-by-day retrospective on Jeff’s Movember 2011. What do you think?

If you’re reading this in your email, you might want to view this post on the web site for easier viewing of the images. You can always go to the SmugMug gallery to download the photos or order prints. Read the rest of this entry »

Random Photos: November 2011

In this month’s installment — Jeff’s birthday; trips to Lone Elk Park, the Wild Bird Sanctuary and the Zoo with Andrew and Reis; and fun around the house.

If you’re reading this in your email, you might want to view this post on the web site for easier viewing of the images. You can always go to the SmugMug gallery to download the photos or order prints. Read the rest of this entry »

Fakesgiving 2011

It’s hard to believe that we’ve been holding Fakesgiving (our annual pre-Thanksgiving get-together for friends) for seven years now. Though much has changed over the years — different house, some different guests, the addition of a lot of kids (just look at 2010 and 2009 for comparison) — the concept has remained. The Saturday before Thanksgiving we once again pulled out the nice china, crystal, and favorite recipes and opened our house to a great group of guests.

One funny story from this year — all the kids went upstairs to play in Esme’s room at some point. They came down, and then at one point later one of the parents told me the kids were asking if they could play “in the bouncy house.” Bouncy house? Apparently when we thought they were in Esme’s room, they were in fact in the extra bedroom across the hall, jumping on the inflatible air mattress which had been there since we had company over the summer. Esme has rarely been in that room, and the door had been closed, so not sure who figured out to go in there and start playing around, but by that point there were a half dozen kids waiting at the top of the stairs to play on the bouncy house. What to do? That room is way too small (and messy) to have a bunch of toddlers jumping around in it without someone ending up injured; but if we were to tell them no, we would have had an angry pack of kids on our hands. So… thanks to Dad’s quick thinking, we brought the mattress downstairs and let them on it in a (controlled) fashion, which was probably the best solution of all. The kids were entertained and corralled, the parents were mostly free to enjoy their conversation, no one got hurt, and we’re pretty sure most of the kids slept well that night after all the jumping around. The video below shows what the “bouncy house” was like. (By the way, we’re trying something new with how we include the video on the site, so hopefully it works just as well — if not better — than before. Let us know what you think.)

If you’re reading this in your email, you might want to view this post on the web site for easier viewing of the images. You can always go to the SmugMug gallery to download the photos or order prints. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanksgiving 2011

This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Washington DC to be with Jeff’s sister Stephanie and her family. This was the first time we’ve done it in DC, and we had a great time. The weather mostly cooperated, and it was great to have some good quality time for Esme and Cousin Ian to hang out together. This was also likely the last visit we’ll have before Kilpatrick Baby #2 arrives — three little kids in one house for Thanksgiving was quite a handful, so we’ll just have to wait to see what 4 is like!

If you’re reading this in your email, you might want to view this post on the web site for easier viewing of the images. You can always go to the SmugMug gallery to download the photos or order prints. Read the rest of this entry »

Brynn at 9 months

Brynn had her 9 month checkup last week — let’s do a quick recap and see where she stands now:

• Birth; Tuesday, February 22, 2011: 7lbs, 15oz. 20″
• Hospital discharge; Saturday, February 26, 2011: 7lbs, 10oz. (it’s normal for babies to lose some weight in their first few days)
• One week checkup; Friday, March 4, 2011: 8lbs, 8oz. and 21″ on what was scheduled to be her official due date
• One month checkup; Thursday, March 24, 2011: 11lbs, 8oz. and 21.5″
• Two month checkup; Tuesday, April 26, 2011: 14lbs, 2 oz; 23.5″
• Four month checkup; Sunday, June 24, 2011: 17lbs, 11oz.; 25″
• Six month checkup: Monday, August 22, 2011: 19lbs, 11oz [forgot to write down her height]
• Nine month checkup: Thursday, November 17, 2011: 22lbs, 4oz (90th percentile); 28.5″ (75th percentile)

Now, comparing to where Esme was at 9 months, you can see that Brynn is a half inch taller and a few pounds heavier. She’s a big girl!

Esme has a jumping problem

On Saturday, we took Esme to her first soccer practice. “Practice” is a bit of a loose term — more like 45 minutes where a high school kid attempts to corral a bunch of hyperactive 3-4 year-olds on an indoor soccer field while throngs of parents scream at their children to pay attention and/or pose for pictures.

Esme has been looking forward to this ever since we told her we were signing her up a few weeks ago. “I’m going to win my soccer team” and “I’m going to teach Joanna [her friend who is also in the same "class"] how to play soccer” she repeated over and over — lack of confidence is not a problem in this one. However, as the video below shows (she’s in the yellow shirt and rainbow striped pants), actual skills might be. But hey, she had a great time, she didn’t let her jumping problem phase her, and she’s excited about going back next week.