She can't pull herself up yet, so we're trying to give her some muscle!

Notice the state of her socks...

Pretty Piano Girl!

Victoria loves to be by the piano! She especially likes to lie under the bench while I play. Jason balanced her carefully to take the pictures. My pretty little peanut!

Congratulations Tim and Rhianon!

Grayson Parker Kimmel

From one day old to fifteen months (with Victoria in between at ten months). It is amazing to compare the changes that occur in a relatively short amount of time.

Charlotte's Web

We recenntly attended another great play from the Wild Swan Theater! They did a great job with Charlotte's Web. We have seen several plays by this group, including: The Firebird, Roland the Minstrel Pig, A Christmas Carol, The Cricket in Times Square and Charlotte's Web. They always have great backdrops and great musicians. They do not put on large-scale productions, but the do always put on quality ones. Also, ASL Interpreters are always acting alongside the actors.

In this nasty Michigan economy, as you can imagine, the arts are suffering. If you can show your support to this fine group (by sending donations or going to their plays), please do so!

http://www.wildswantheater.org/

They also have acting camps for kids in the summer. We are hoping to send Colin to it one of these summers. They look like a lot of fun!

This lady always does a great job. She is a co-founder of Wild Swan Theater.

Charlotte

Templeton the Rat

36!

Happy Birthday, Jason! This is the most recent picture I have. I am blessed to have a great husband, who is a great father. I'll have to do a longer post later!
By the way, that is Tim and Rhianon's new baby (more on that later).

Deer

We have eight to ten deer that loiter in the hay field. Anyone want to take a shot at them? Well, I did (with my camera)! They like to kill our trees. I like them (they add to the rusticity of it all), but they keep multiplying!

Grandpa's Kids

I don't think Colin knew this song well.
Victoria did. Just kidding. She enjoyed watching all the little jaws move.

Singing the song backwards!

Cute little choir member.

Watch the video below for your daily chuckle. Everytime Evangelist Bill Hall comes, he has the kids sing in "Grandpa's Kids". They enjoy participating.

BabyYum

Okay, it's official. I have a baby piggy! Victoria loves to eat. I am happy about that, but keeping up with her is expensive! I never made baby food with Colin (though he ate a lot too). Somehow I had more coupons then. Anyway, I decided to start making some baby food, and I have to say it's kind of fun! I love to cook anyway, but the food I make is full of many things that are not so simple to give to a ten-month-old.

A few ice cube trays later, I have some frozen goods! I roasted zucchini with olive oil and pureed it with cannellini beans. I scooped it into the ice cube trays and froze them. Then, I just popped them out and stored it in a Ziploc bag. It was very easy.

What you see below is a delicious mash of carrots and parsnips with olive oil. Look at how much I got in comparison to two (stage two) Gerber foods. The Gerber cost about a dollar. Mine is a lot cheaper (and tastier). I can't wait to try more!!

Ten Months Old!

I have some hair...

Who Is That Masked Man?

Colin came to me one day and asked if he could wear a disguise. I obliged, hoping I could think of something quick. The cowboy hat (curtesy of the Hasijas), the spit rag (curtesy of Victoria-it was clean), and the robe (curtesy of Colin) transformed him into Cowboy Colin!

He liked it and felt very bandit-like.

Stick'em up!

P.S. The clutter is curtesy of Cindi.

Caught on Camera!

I found these this morning as I was cleaning up the house. It rarely happens, so I wanted to be sure to capture it for all digital eternity. Jason has socks on the floor! He's such a tidy fellow that seeing something of his (besides shoes) on the floor is like seeing the Loch Ness Monster. In all fairness, I think he is drying them out. I think.