Toddler Chic

I was in those last frantic minutes trying to get out the door for Church - gathering diapers, bottles, sippies, scriptures, and snacks. "I'm ready for Church, Mom," she said. I turned around and saw this:Here she is waiting patiently to go to the zoo:


And waiting to go to the park:


And dancing in her Cinderella costume from Grammie:


And cheering for the Buckeyes:

And today, sporting her new tall boots:

The Skeleton and the Pink Kitty Cat

Halloween 2008. Have you ever seen cuter kiddos? Ellie's trick or treat back was her Little Mermaid purse - a gift from Daddy's trip to New York last month. She was pretty much the hit of the neighborhood. Once she figured out that everyone gave her candy, she kept saying and signing, "More, Mom, more houses." In our neighborhood, everyone sits out on the driveway to observe the crowds and chat across lawns. The night was a balmy 60 degrees, making it even more pleasant. Upon approaching each neighbor with a candy bowl, Ellie reached out for the candy, put her purse down on the ground, reached down to open it, put the candy inside, and picked it up again. We caught it a few times on video, fortunately. Rob stayed home with Matt to hand out candy to the trick or treaters, and Marc and Sarah came over to join the fun. We topped of the evening by trick or treating at Nana and Papa's house, where Nana had a special chocolate covered Oreo treat for Ellie in the trick or treat bowl. Nana fed us roasted butternut squash soup, a delicious salad, and a magnificent apple cake dessert. What a glorious night!

Trick or Treat!

iRumor Turns to iWish Come True!

Many, many months ago, chatter about a new MacBook began appearing on the numerous geek blogs Rob follows. And I say "geek" with all the appropriate respect. Rob started dreaming, but tried to keep his hopes from soaring. After all, it was only an iRumor. And we'd just purchased my iMac with the intent that we were not buying him a new computer any time soon. Soon after the rumors started, however, Rob's computer started making suspicious groaning noises. Other things seemed to go awry as well. I took a deep breath and realized that his computer was on the verge of falling apart.

In our family, we don't share computers. It's one way we maintain a happy marriage.

Conveniently, our friendly US government decided to send us an economic stimulus check just about this time. I voiced the idea of putting it into savings. The computer groans seemed to get more intense, and the computer seemed even closer to absolute collapse. Convenient, indeed. I took a deep breath again and realized that there was no getting out of it - President Bush wanted us to spend that check, and Rob wanted it to be spent at the Apple store. So then the waiting began.

There were rumblings on the blogs about an early August release of the new MacBook. Rob dreamed of opening up a new MacBook for his birthday. Then as July approached, the rumors started to point to September. Well, that would be okay, Rob thought - he'd get a new computer with his new baby. But September came without an announcement from Steve Jobs. Finally, one glorious day in October, Apple confirmed that changes were coming in the MacBook, and that the formal announcement would be on October 14 at 1:00 p.m.

October 14 started early for Rob. He woke up at 6:00 a.m., giddy as a little boy on Christmas morning. Unable to get back to sleep, he went into work at 6:30. About 2:00, as Ellie and I were at the zoo with Monica and Pratt, Rob called. Good news - the new MacBook was going to be incredible. Bad news - it wouldn't be in stores until the following day. Rob asked me to call the Apple store and ask if the computers were in, just in case. They were not.

October 15 started even earlier for Rob. He woke up at 5:00 a.m., knowing that today was the day his iWish would come true. Unable to get back to sleep again, he went into work. Arrived at his desk at 5:45 a.m. Still unable to let reality sink in, Rob asked me to call again to make sure our Apple store had received the shipment of shiny new MacBooks. They had.

At 3:30 p.m. Rob called me again. He couldn't wait, he was leaving work immediately and heading to the Apple store, and did we want to meet him for the big moment. We did. So I piled both kiddos in the car and off we went. The Apple store only had one new MacBook on display, and Rob started to panic a bit. We found Steve the Salesman, who confirmed that the 13 inch MacBooks were in stock, but they had sold out of the higher end model earlier in the day. Good thing our economic stimulus check only allowed us to buy the cheaper model, or it would have been a pretty sad day! Steve the Salesman started selling, not realizing that he was speaking to a geek blog follower who knew more about the computer than he did. Finally, Steve brought out the gorgeous box and rang us up. And out we went. There's just no feeling in the world quite like carrying a new Mac out of the Apple store. Buyer's remorse is just not possible.

So life is pretty great around here. Yesterday, Rob sat in the family room watching the Buckeyes destroy Michigan State while he played on his MacBook. Can you think of a more perfect day? Just look at his face in this picture, taken upon our arrival home from the Apple store - talk about all your dreams coming true and living happily ever after!

Congrats, Rob. You deserve it!

"I do yoga," she said

Sometimes bedtime takes awhile to accomplish at our house. Ellie is good at stalling: "I need milk and water," "Want to read Cinderella," "Want one more song."

One evening this week she found a new tactic: do something bloggable. After jammies and a song or two, she suddenly announced, "I do yoga," and pulled herself into a down dog. How could we resist a few minutes of bedtime yoga?

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Shenandoah Costume GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Do you ever check Grosgrain? As a person who can't thread a needle, to say nothing of sewing on a button, I'm constantly amazed at what she creates. I'm dreaming of Ellie wearing this gorgeous southern antebellum dress. Isn't it amazing? Crossing my fingers that I win, although winning the Citrus giveaway and the Grosgrain give away in the same month would be a truly amazing stroke of luck!

This Week's Adventures

Here are a few more pictures of Matt from the past couple weeks. So cute!







And here are some of Ellie's recent adventures:


Yes, adventures with the highlighter. I was out of my office for no more than three minutes. When I came back, Ellie had climbed up on my desk, found the blue highlighter at the very back of it, and taken it to the floor for some experimentation.

The pool picture is Ellie and Claire Jensen. I finally captured a few photos of these pool buddies. Dani and I have been taking her twins and Ellie to the pool every week all summer, and we just realized that we don't have any pictures of these cute kiddos swimming in Nana's pool! We're always in the pool with them! So on a warm September evening when Mom was in town, and the Jensens were wonderful enough to have us for dinner and swimming, I captured a few photos to represent our favorite part of summer.

And here's how some tired parents spent part of General Conference. As has become tradition, we had Monica and Jon Gibson over for the weekend. Six months ago we both had toddlers. Now we have a toddler and newborn, and the Gibsons have a toddler and one in utero. So, yeah, fatigue is pretty much the standard these days. I snuck a photo of Rob while he was sleeping, and he retaliated by getting a photo of the rest of us later. Good thing we recorded all the sessions!

Matthew Bryant

He's here! Our little Matthew Bryant arrived on Friday, September 12. 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and 19 inches long (for those of you who require that level of detail). We are mostly grateful that he wasn't born in the car, because it was a pretty close call. Labor started at 6:00 a.m., we left for the hospital at 7:15, arrived at 7:30 or so, and Matt popped out at 7:49. So it was rather amusing, even for me.

While I insisted that we might have to pull over, Rob sped through wooded residential areas, taking sharp corners at 50 mph and running stop signs. My OB met us at the emergency room entrance with a wheelchair. I hopped in, and Rob began to wheel me down the hall. After a minute or so, my OB said, "You could push her a little faster. Actually, why don't you let me push her." And so Rob had to run behind while our doctor sped toward the labor & delivery room.

One of the frantic nurses started the triage process - as I was pushing. After Rob couldn't come up with my social security number, our doctor calmly said, "You know, let's do that part later. Right now we're going to deliver this baby." I think I actually laughed.

Now, Rob tends to panic a little bit about the whole labor process. At his request, I made him a labor & delivery binder: phone numbers, the plan for getting someone over to the house quickly to care for Ellie, where to go when we arrived at the hospital, and all the information triage would need (including my social security number, a copy of our insurance card, and our birth plan). The rest of the binder was full of prompts that Rob was supposed to give me at certain stages of labor. You know - relaxation affirmations and the like.

He left the binder in the car. With the lights on, unlocked, wallet and phone visible, blocking the emergency room entrance.

Rob wishes me to tell you that if I hadn't told him to make cookies for the nurses, delaying our departure by 15 minutes, we would have made it to the hospital in plenty of time. He also left the cookies in the car.

In any event, he's here and he's wonderful!

Creminelli Fine Meats Are Coming Your Way!

Your life is about to change dramatically. Three cheers for my brother-in-law Chris Bowler! Until recently, one had to travel to Italy to find the best sausage and salami on the planet. Now, Chris has brought it to us. Cristiano Creminelli and his family have been making sausage and salami for more than a century, and the man truly has a passion. Rob and I toured the salami curing center in Salt Lake several months ago, where Cristiano pretty much lives. Turns out the salamis have to have exact humidity and temperature levels, and Cristiano checks on them at regular intervals throughout the day and night. It's an absolute labor of love. Every time we're in Utah, we try to eat our fill of Creminelli fine meats to last us until the next time we're able to visit. Well, Chris has convinced Williams-Sonoma to change all that. Now you can order Creminelli sausage right out of the Williams-Sonoma catalog! So put some on your Thanksgiving or Christmas list (or "I must eat it now" list) and prepare for your life to change for the better. Also check out the Creminelli website, where you can order the salami as well as the sausage, read Cristiano's blog, and get recipe ideas.

http://www.creminelli.com/
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/fd530/index.cfm?pkey=cmeat-poultry&ckey=meat-poultry

(Thank you, Williams-Sonoma, for the beautiful picture)

We Must Be Doing Something Right...

So, today in the car on the way to the grocery store I popped in Paul Simon's 1991 Concert in the Park. I've been obsessed with this concert since Dad's recent blog about it. The drums of The Obvious Child began, and Ellie started smiling. A few lines into the first verse, she declared, "I like this." "I'm so glad," I responded, "it's Paul Simon." A few songs later, she told me, "I like Paul Simon. I want more Paul Simon." Oh, what beautiful words from the mouth of my child!

Adventures in New York

On June 26, my friend Monica and I bravely boarded a plane with two toddlers in tow, bound for New York City. Hurrah! For five days, we played and exhausted ourselves and our little ones. Ellie and I stayed with Lizzie and JT in Battery Park. Ellie loved the City, and kept asking to see the boats, ride in a taxi, and ride on the subway. I have to say that traversing the City with a stroller and a two year old and a baby in utero is challenging. Of course, being a visitor in the City is always harder than being a resident. Residents know which subway stations have elevators. Residents in Battery Park don't explore Chinatown, SoHo, and Rockefeller Center all in one day. Residents in Battery Park don't spend the afternoon at the Central Park Zoo and Carousel and the evening having dinner in Union Square. Only tourists push themselves to that level of exhaustion - and we did! Thanks, Bess and JT, for being tourists in your town for a few days.

As I look back at our pictures, it seems we ate our way through the City. A few of our favorites?
Pinkberry
Jacques Torres
Max Brenner (Chocolate by the Bald Man)
Gram Gelato
Lombardi's Pizza
Shake Shack

In between eating, we went to the Central Park Zoo, rode the Central Park Carousel, played on the playground by Shake Shack, ate a perfect Sunday dinner at our friend Brad's house, played at the Children's Museum on the Upper West Side, watched the boats and the waterfalls at South Street Seaport, went to the amazing Union Square ward, and shopped 'til we dropped. Ooooooh, I absolutely LOVE New York!



Dinner at Brad's. Ellie particularly loved the freshly shaved Parmesan cheese in the salad, as well as singing Bear in the Woods with Lisa P.

A girl in a red Maclaren needs a red bag!

Sunny day at the Children's Museum

A Frozen Wicked at Jacques Torres. Try it - it will change your life! (I've posted this one purely to demonstrate the deliciousness of the Frozen Wicked. I am not particularly pleased to have pics of a 30 week pregnant me out there in cyberworld...)

Chocolate bears from Jacques Torres will also change your life.



Chocolate by the Bald Man - Chocolate Mess and Chocolate Pizza. Ellie started giggling and pointing when she saw the chocolate pizza and said, "I want to eat that!" So we ordered it, and she dove in with both hands.

It's been a long, long day!

Are You Up To The Challenge?

My friend Monica just started a fantastic website, sure to become your new pastime:

http://www.ingredientchallenge.com/

Each week on Ingredient Challenge, Monica presents a particular food. The first week, it was limes. This week, it's summer squash. Next week? You'll have to tune in! Cook something delicious with the ingredient, and post the recipe. You may even win a prize!

Uncle E Comes to Cincinnati!

My brother Spencer came to visit Cincinnati recently, and we had a grand time. He was making the tour of nieces - you can check out The Bowler blog for pics of him in D.C. Our favorite spots were the Reds v. Red Sox game and the famed Cincinnati Zoo. Thanks, Uncle Spence, for coming to play!

Shame, Shame, Shame

Okay, now it's June 1 and we're coming up on six months since the last blog update. Shameful. And not for lack of news! Life has been pretty busy this year so far, so I think this blog will be just a quick catch-up with associated pictures.



In the travel log:

We went to Salt Lake at the end of January for Grandpa Hinckley's funeral. We miss him more than words can express, but are glad that he and Grandma are together. The week was filled with peace and wonderful experiences.

In April, we flew to Phoenix for a friend's wedding - Rob's first time in my hometown! We had so much fun visiting family and friends, and enjoying the desert. There's simply nothing like it. The wedding was beautiful, and we had a great time. We swam in Uncle Tom and Aunt Sylvia's pool. We wandered Tortilla Flat and took a boat ride through breathtaking Canyon Lake in the Superstitions. We visited all the Arizona Hansen cousins and got to give them big hugs and have lots of catch up chatting.



We drove past our old house in Scottsdale. We wandered Old Town Scottsdale. We had a magical time!





Memorial Day weekend took us to Red River Gorge in Kentucky with Jared and Dani Jensen, and Matt and Camie Christensen. Altogether, we had 4 two-year-olds and big sister Lydia Christensen (age 5). Ellie was very taken with Jacob and Claire Jensen and Lydia and Clayton Christensen, and she popped out of bed each morning saying, "Want play kiddos!" We hiked Natural Bridge and a few other gorgeous trails, took the canoe and paddleboat around the lake, played games on the deck of the cabin, and roasted s'mores by the campfire.









This week, we got to play with Grammie and Pops Hinckley right here in Middle America! The day they arrived, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. like it was Christmas morning. We did all kinds of important Cincinnati things: Montgomery Inn pulled pork and Graeter's black raspberry chip ice cream, Harriet Beecher Stowe house, Joseph Beth Booksellers (one of the great independent booksellers), Greenacres Farm (a pilgrimage for any sustainable agriculture fan), the zoo, Germano's Italian Restaurant, and the Loveland Bike Trail. Ellie cried and cried at the airport when we had to say good-bye - it was a pretty pitiful sight! It was so, so fun to have them here. We talked non-stop the whole time, and it still didn't feel like we talked enough!








I think that completes the travel log. Other life news? teamLesan has a baby boy arriving at the end of September! The day we found out, Rob ate a double bacon barbecue cheeseburger from Cheesecake Factory in celebration. We're not sure that Ellie entirely understands what is about to happen, but she is kind enough to offer sips of milk and fruit leather to my tummy, saying "Want share baby."

Well, I won't make an absolute promise to shorten the delay between blog entries. As Mary Poppins says, "That's a pie crust promise: easily made, easily broken." But I do hope to not engage in shameful blog neglect in the near future.

PS: The iMac is everything it's cracked up to be, and Rob has talked me into buying him a MacBook for his birthday in August. We'll never be PC people again!