Building Blocks

Kaia and I have been talking about what developmental toys to get little miss Evie Lu and we realized she did not have any blocks. I went to Target and picked out some fine squeaky blocks with numbers and animals on them. Good for teething? Check!



Evangeline likes them quite a lot, but she's not so sure about the sqeaking. Which brings me to a funny story from this week. I was singing "Old McDonald" to her and sang "has a cow" when I remembered we have a little toy that makes a cow sound. I thought it would be perfect and used it instead of singing a cow sound.



This was not a good idea. Evangeline was deathly afraid of this sound. She gave me the giant bottom lip and pleaded with her eyes for me to make the bad sound stop. Maybe it is a good thing there are no cows on her grandpa's farm anymore.

Aunt Robin's Big Day

Here comes the bride

We gathered last Sunday morning at Tumalo State Park to celebrate with Robin and Kurt. It was a gorgeous day and an amazing setting. Kaia got to meet even more of my family and I met some family as well.

By this point Evie Lu was asleep


If there is one thing you need to know as a pastor, it is how to say the important stuff and then stop talking. When you preach at a wedding you know the focus in on the couple and your best hope is to bring the understanding that it is through God's love we have come to this day.

The beautiful couple


Unfortunately we could not stay very long at the reception as the drive home loomed large ahead of us. Evangeline was great on the drive and we have already made plans to come back. Maybe Evie Lu can convince her Aunt Kaitlin to come along to ride horses with her and her Great Aunt Jody.

Evie Lu loves her Great Aunt Jody

Preparing For The Wedding

Cousin Indigo plays with Evie Lu while I write a wedding sermon

Sunday morning found us getting ready for the ceremony and enjoying each other's company. Indigo had a great time playing with Evangeline and Yvonne put out a massive breakfast spread which fueled us up very well. The only bad thing was we needed to jump back in the car right after the ceremony to drive home.

The tight time frame led to the picture you see below. We are packing up and Evie Lu decides it is nap time. She was sacked out like that for quite a while.

Did we pack everything?


Tomorrow I'll give you the pictures for the ceremony and a super cute shot of Evie Lu with her Great Aunt Jody. How's that for a teaser?

Where Did We Go Last Weekend?

Welcome to the first of probably three posts documenting what we did last Saturday and Sunday. We had quite the adventure. The occasion was my Aunt Robin's wedding and it involved a 330 mile drive south.

Great Aunt Jody tends to a horse Evie Lu may ride someday

We have seen Evie Lu's "go with the flow" attitude toward flying and I was glad to see it extend car trips. We only stopped twice during the six hour ride and Evie Lu took two great big naps. This meant she was well rested when we arrived to see my family. Evie Lu played for ages and loved seeing her Great Aunt Jody, Grandma Yvonne, and Cousins Ruby and Indigo.

Grandma Yvonne, my cousin Ruby, and Evie Lu have fun


I've often joked that the reason my family gets along so well is because we hardly ever see one another, but having Evie Lu has changed me. I want Evangeline to know my side of the family because they are really wonderful. And with all the complaining I've done about being far away from family I should remember just 330 miles away I've got flesh and blood.

Tune in Wednesday for details on the wedding and yours truly as the pastor.

Sunlight on the pasture

Evie Lu Meets Brady!

A different kind of Grand Slam breakfast

One of my oldest and dearest friends was in town with his dad Bruce for a hot rod show, so Evie Lu and I drove down to meet them for the day. Brady has a little girl of his own that Kaia and I met at our friend Erik's wedding over a year ago. Brady's girl was nine months old at the time and Kaia was three months pregnant. It was great for us to see two wonderful parents in action and get a sense of what life would be like in the year ahead. Brady had been anxious to meet Evie Lu for quite a while and the look on his face when he saw us pull up was priceless.

Bruce has the coffee, Erik has Mabel, Evie Lu has the best seat, and random pot bellied guy walks by


Brady and his lovely wife have given us so many gifts in anticipation of Evie Lu's arrival and we cannot begin to thank them enough. From the car seat she rides around in, to the set of "What To Expect" books, to a brand new gift of the Fridge DJ we've been well taken care of by our good friends.

Love from Brady and Erik cracks up


Evie Lu has now met all three of the Erik, Josh, Brady triumvirate. There was a time when parents were warning their children to stay away from the four of us, but two of us have human children and the other two have puppies. I can't tell you how weird it is for me to look back on high school and college days and compare then with now. Brady has a kid. I have a kid. Wow, they'll let anyone have them.

Evie Lu laughing

A Tour Of The Farm With Family

Rudy patrols the grounds

As Evie Lu develops a personality it is a crack up to see how she responds to different situations. For example, she now loves small animals. Ambush the crazy cat was a favorite of Evie Lu's while she was in Minnesota. Rudy the big dog scared her even though Kaia is convinced he was trying to be protective. I'm going to have to work on Evie Lu to love the big dogs. I'm going to need her help in a few years if we're going to get that Akita or Saint Bernard.


Great Aunt Bev


It is a good thing our little Evangeline is so easy going because we tend to throw her into new social settings all the time. I think due to church and family gatherings we are going to end up with a grade A extrovert. Now that I think about it, there are a couple of extroverts in her close family. (I'm looking at you Becky and Megan.)

Great Aunt Darlene


Making eyes

Wedding Dance & Dinner

Do you think they like each other?

Last Saturday Kaia's second cousing got married and Evie Lu went to her third wedding. (I'm guessing as a pastor's kid she'll be going to more than most people.) She got dressed up and had a great time with family and friends.

Sharon, why isn't the guy next to us smiling?


As I heard the story, sweet potatoes were a highlight of the evening. Evie Lu does love them. She's not so thrilled with carrots, peas, or pears, but serve up sweet potatoes and she goes crazy.

I hope everyone else gets sweet potatoes too.


My only question is, where are the dancing photos? This was a wedding in Kaia's family and there is always great dancing. Although, I think our wedding was the only one which didn't feature John Denver's "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" and that was because the band didn't know it. Darn you Full Tilt, darn you.

Aww, don't tease me!

Great People

Evie Lu, you are looking the wrong way!

On any trip home there are people you need to go see. Great Grandparents and Great Aunts are at the top of that list. After all, they give you cookies and other treats. I'm excited for Evangeline to get to know her Great Grandparents and Great Aunt and Uncle because my memories of mine are so wonderful. It was my Great Uncle Willie who taught me the value of a good nap.

Front Porch Fun


There are fewer things more rewarding than great conversation and the company of family. Looking at these pictures I can pretend I am right there. Beautiful day, beautiful people.

Now that's a Great Aunt!

Reaction Shots

Warning: the photo below was blatantly stolen from another blog.


Now back to our regularly scheduled blog . . .



When Kaia and Evie Lu were back in Minnesota they went to my little girl's first county fair. I never really experienced a fair until I fell in love with Kaia. I thought they were all games you can't win and rickety rides, but in fact there is a lot more to a fair. (Like Ned Beatty if you went back with Kaia and Evangeline.) You can see in the background of these shots this is probably the 4H building. If I remember correctly the 4 H's are Honesty, Helpfulness, Hubrislessness, and Hooray Cubs!

At the 4H building Evie Lu met one of Aunt Megan's oldest friends and the giver of Evie Lu's beloved floppy headed rabbit toy. Our digital camera sometimes misses the faces Evie Lu makes, but does capture the reactions she gets and these are great. Take a look at Evie Lu and she's wondering, "Now is this one of the friends of my Aunt Megan who does the crazy camping trips and the Chinese food on Thanksgiving? I was warned about them."

Mmmm . . . socks

Wait for it . . .

Every morning when we dress Evie Lu she starts out wearing socks. Sounds normal right? What's funny is this never lasts long. At a baby shower for Kaia and I I talked to the father of a girl who was six months old at the time and he warned me of the temporary nature of socks. I watched him repeatedly put socks on his little girl only to watch her then discard them. "Get used to this" he said.

Since Evangeline can put her toes in her mouth, her preferred method of sock removal is with her new teeth. She does this while on her back and then flips over to show you she has indeed removed one or both socks. Who says we need a puppy when we have Evie Lu?

Ta Da!


At the writing of this post I heard news of the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. Our prayers go out for the people caught in this tragedy and their families. St. Paul still feels a bit like home after the years we spent there, so our hearts are in Minnesota right now.

The Floorshow

No grandpa, this is how your hand needs to be.


As a son-in-law I am blessed. I married into a wonderful family and they have dealt with a long haired (although not so long these days), guitar playing, goofball who has a job far away from Kaia's hometown. As tough as it was for me to say goodbye to Kaia and Evangeline last week, I knew what joy Kaia's family would get from the visit. A big part of my sadness was not being able to go myself.

Resting together


I thought these pictures of Evie Lu and her Grandpa Wayne were too cool. Kaia and Wayne both said there was a period of adjustment for Evie Lu to get familiar with her grandpa again. (I wonder if it is the beard as she doesn't see any men with beards in her normal routine.) After they got reacquainted it was a blast for everyone as you'll see in later posts. I am blessed.

A look of love

Grandma Love

Hey everybody, look at my grandma!


Kaia came home with a great big stack of photos from Minnesota, well a great big digital stack anyway. It is wild to think it was just three months ago that Evie Lu was in Minnesota for her Aunt Kaitlin's graduation. How she has changed!

First off Evie Lu is eating food from a spoon and drinking from a sippy cup. To be fed by grandma you need to sit in a highchair and this highcair was Kaia's once upon a time. It sits in the same spot as high chairs have sat in the farmhouse for ages. Different highchairs, different babies, but the same spot. How cool is that?

Um, that's not the way my mom does it.

Safe At Home

The plane arrived on time last night and I was thrilled to see Kaia and Evie Lu. Kaia was just as beautiful as always and Evangeline looked to me like she'd grown so much. When you see your baby everyday you don't see huge changes, but I was certain I could see more personality in her face.

Of course that extra personality could be the fact she was exhausted and desperately needed a diaper change. My fears of a Minnesota time zone baby were somewhat delivered as Evie Lu woke up at 5am and needed attention. Here's to hoping a couple of days will get her back on the west coast schedule. (And Aunt Megan, Evie Lu is a really good sleeper. There is no guarantee your child/children will let you sleep at all. Makes you excited for little ones doesn't it?)

I'll get the stories from Kaia and we'll keep you entertained this week with our version of Prairie Home Companion.

Coming Home!

How excited am I for Kaia and Evie Lu to come home today? Take all the joy you see in the picture above and you get an idea of how I feel. I can't wait!

You Put Me In What?

Is there a point where you aren't dressing your child for warmth and safety, but instead for your own amusement? Kaia has accused me of that a few times, so I thought I'd bring out the pictures of the outfits only babies can wear and look good. Of course 16 year old Evangeline will probably disagree with me . . .

The bear suit was a staple of the January and February wardrobe. This picture from the second week of Evie Lu's life makes it look huge on her.


The pink sweater was made especially for Evie Lu by Aunt Megan's mother in law. The crack up with this was the pointy top. When we'd carry her in the Baby Bjorn all you could see was what looked like a pink antenna. Classic!


I'm realizing all these pictures are the same first three weeks vintage and this was my attempt to show off Evie Lu's Cobber shirt and the awesome Cobber mascot Jenny made. It was way too big, but I thought if I put it on over her onesie the shirt might look okay. Boy was I wrong. Hey everyone, it is the Michelin baby!


All you need to know is I was dying to know how much Evangeline weighed so I thought a mixing bowl and the kitchen scale might work. How did she ever put up with me?


This was done for Aunt Megan's Miss America withdrawl, but I'm certain this will come back to haunt me in the future. "Dad, I know you don't want to let me take the car, but did I ever put a tin foil crown on you?"

Bath Time

I'm a sucker for baby bath time photos. I always thought they were cute and now that it is my baby in the pictures, they just kill me. Evie Lu has always been a good bath taker. There have been elements of the bathing experience she's not enjoyed, but for the most part she really like the bath. These days all Kaia has to do is take Evangeline near the tub and we get a wild display of flailing arms and legs as our little girl gets excited for the bath.

Kaia is the main bath giver. Part of this is because I'm a chicken and part of this is because Kaia enjoys it so much. Early on in pregnancy someone told me it was necessary to have several good hooded towels and I couldn't imagine then how right they were.

Things I Put In My Mouth

Kaia and Evie Lu made it safely into the arms of Grandma Bev and Grandpa Wayne. The flight was fairly smooth and teething only caused minor turbulence. The days ahead will see the county fair, a wedding, and plenty of quality family time.
So, back to the greatest hits . . .

Is there a nutrition label for this thing?

I could not resist putting the nose picture up again. Evie Lu was in her fourth week of life and was desperately hungry, but Kaia needed to grab a burp cloth so I was keeping Evangeline distracted. I brought her close to my face and before I knew what was going on Evie Lu had latched onto my nose.

There is no more nose latching these days as Evie Lu is far more discerning about what she eats. She's getting picky too. It probably doesn't help that I make faces about the smell of peas and carrots as Kaia is trying to feed Evangeline. I'll stop, I promise. I'm still hoping to give her some pickles when they get back.

Too much good food, must zone out . . .