5 months old!

(we took your suggestions and put him in clothes this month :-)

Oh Yeah, it's Friday.

Friday's are usually a time of great merriment in our house. We're glad to be done with a week of work, and look forward to weekend of family time and fun. There's even a song and dance we use to celebrate ("Oh yeah, it's Friiiiiiiiiiiiday and it's the weeeeeeekend!").

But not today. No celebrating. Today's Friday marks the end of a whole week of family time and fun. Mike's between jobs, and we took the week to go North to the Wisconsin Dells for some R and R (a wise friend suggested Mike take a vacation from himself :-) We arrived home late last night and were greeted with a driveway full of snow that needed shoveling, bills that need paying, groceries that need to be shopped for... So I just can't celebrate. We have a busy weekend of work and social engagements ahead of us to make up for the time away, and I'm loosing that relaxed feeling already.

But it's still Friday, and a leap year Friday at that, so I'll choose a positive attitude and look forward to the new adventures ahead. And for you, my bloggy friends, I'll share one photo of our week (more to come later) to help me remember the fun we had. Oh yeah, it's Friday.

Aaron's excellent adventure (in our own backyard)

I haven't been sledding in ages. We live in Illinois, and it's pretty flat. But as a child, sledding was one of the best activities the dreary winter months had to offer. And living in Ohio, in the "city of seven hills," we had some primo hills to scoot down. In fact, we didn't have to look much further than the hill on the side of our house to find sledding satisfaction. I have many fond memories of racing the neighbor kids down the hill and building ramps to launch our sleds from.

This winter has been exceptionally cold and snowy. Having a new baby, it's been a good excuse to stay indoors most of the time. But we're feeling a little couped up. Sledding seemed the perfect medicine. And the little hill in our backyard was just the right size for Aaron. First was a ride down with Mom:

Then Dad wanted in on the action:

Then it was time for his first solo flight:

He loved it! We may have a future Olympic bobsledder on our hands :-)

Happy Valentines Day!

Breakfast with Dad...on Thursday!

It's Thursday, and dad is usually at the office by the time we wake up for breakfast. But not this morning. Today daddy is home with us! Aaron is very happy to have some bonus time with him - and mom is happy that there's someone else around to help with diaper duty!

Jude Clark

Jude was born on January 3, but I just got updated photos from his mom, Gretchen, and can't stop smiling. Seems like just yesterday Gretch and I were college students together, playing "sleeping bag wars," throwing cereal at each other in the hallway outside Gamma 10, or listening to Over The Rhine cds over and over. But that was ten years ago. We're not 19 anymore, we're 30 (technically, I'm still 29 for a few more months :-). What a blessing that the sisterhood we shared all those years ago has remained and grown. Now we share in the sorority of motherhood.

I'm getting a glimpse of how quickly life is going to pass. I think it only gets faster now that there are children to mark time with.

Four month portraits

Better late than never, right?