Lauren's First Flight

Hooray for little Lauren! She survived her first foray into air travel with flying colors. After six hours on the plane, we expected fussiness and tears, but this angel baby was all smiles. Here's the picture to prove it. She's simply amazing.

Daddy's girl

This morning, before church, I asked Jon to dress little L while I got ready. He put her in this gorgeous embroidered cable knit ensemble that instantly made her the envy of all baby girls everywhere. I was lucky enough to capture the father-daughter moment on film just before my camera battery gave out. Priceless.

Nurturing Jack's Creative Side

Jack loves to paint, color, and draw, but I've been reluctant to give him the tools necessary to craft his masterpieces out of fear that doing so might mean the irreparable destruction of clothes, carpet, walls, and the like. Last week, however, I came across a set of markers billed as "The World's Most Washable Washable Markers." Although skeptical at first, I decided to give it a go. Here's a photo of Jack putting the world's most washable washable markers to the test. After covering his entire body in purple, blue, and orange, we dunked him in the tub sans washcloth to see what would happen. To my total delight, the body art disappeared completely within a matter of seconds with no scrubbing and no visible traces of color. So it looks like Jack has the greenlight to tap into his inner Vermeer (or should I say Pollack?) after all. Somewhere, Mimi -- Jack's great-grandmother and an exceptional artist in her own right -- is smiling.

Dazzlin'

The first time I set eyes on a dazzleband(tm), I knew I wanted a baby girl next. So when a surprise package of these to-die-for hair accessories arrived this weekend from the dazzlebands creator herself, it was all smiles for Lauren and me both. Here's little L. modeling the goods. Thank you so much, Tarah! We love them!

At the Pumpkin Patch

We spotted this cute little pumpkin patch off the side of the road yesterday and pulled over to explore. It was especially brisk out and getting colder by the minute, but we managed to snap a few pics before the kids started shivering. Here's a look:

Steeler Mania

It's no secret that my dad is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan. It turns out that little J shares the same passion for the team (is there a gene for that?): he insisted on wearing this jersey for three straight days and nights after it arrived in the mail. I thought he'd never let us wash it! Go Steelers!

We're Back!

Hello again to all of our family and friends! We were on a forced internet fast for more than a month thanks to a major delay in moving to our new place, hence the long hiatus from the blogosphere. It's a long story, but in short, the apartment's previous tenant and rumored pro-athlete hadn't exactly left everything spic and span on move-out day. In fact, the leasing office personnel characterized the apt's condition as "The worst we've ever seen." So we camped out in the city for a few more weeks, everything boxed up, while walls were patched and painted, carpet replaced, etc. It was worth the wait. We're here now and thrilled to finally be roaming the pretty and preppy Metro-West 'burbs. And with so many lovely little spots for picture-taking nearby, we promise to be posting photos galore. Here's a quick one of little L to start.