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 . . .

Evangeline Lucille's Greatest Hits

I got Kaia and Evie Lu off to the airport and Kaia called me from her seat on the plane. They still have four more hours of travelling to do as of the writing of this post, so I'm still on pins and needles.

I thought I'd post a few pictures showing how much my little girl has grown. As I looked through the old photos I was blown away. Was she ever that small? Can she really be that big now? By the time Kaia and Evie Lu get back the two top teeth that have been causing trouble might be all the way in. Wow, she's growing up fast.

Only one week old


Six and a half months old


To go from having no personality to the Evie Lu I know and love and to go from being our orange jaundiced baby to being as pale as Kaia and I is ridiculous. You could almost argue that I'd taken pictures of two different babies. I'll keep my favorites coming this week while I miss my wife, the love of my life, and the little girl who has me wrapped around her finger.

They're Leaving On A Jet Plane

Kaia and Evie Lu are flying out in just a couple of hours and I'm already a wreck. What will I do without them? I'll keep you posted on Evie Lu news from this front, but you'll have to wait until Kaia gets back for the full meal deal. Sigh.

A New Routine

Oh, it is over now! I see you and I see that you see me and me seeing you see me means it is play time!

All last week Kaia, Evie Lu, and I were out the door and into the day an hour to an hour and a half earlier than our usual schedule. Our darling daughter responded well to the the change by getting sleepy earlier, but we now have a problem. She isn't shifting back to the old schedule. In fact she seems to be wanting to get up earlier by about fifteen minutes.

Thankfully Evangeline is a happy baby and will coo at her mobile or her hands. I'm hoping and praying she doesn't take to Minnesota time this week. A 5:45 am baby is one thing, but a 3:45 am baby would be too much for me. If we keep on this trajectory, our little family will be completely nocturnal by February.

You can turn me back over, but I'm waving goodbye to your night of sleep.

Catching Up

They say time flies when you're having fun, but it also flies when you are ridiculously busy. Evie Lu managed to survive her first Vacation Bible School experience at the church. She didn't participate so much as hang out with me while I was the designated song leader for the week. Evie Lu also handled being the center of attention quite well. I was afraid she'd freak out as wave after wave of kids and adults came up to see her, but Evangeline took it all in stride.

I've tried not to think about it too much, but Kaia and Evie Lu leave for Minnesota on Wednesday morning and I'm staying home. What am I going to do without the bright shining faces of the women I love and need to see everyday? If there were an Old Chicago out here I might be able to take solace in a Double Deckeroni, but oh well.

The picture below is from our first try at giving Evie Lu peas. Do you think she likes them?

Birthday Month Or Bi-Annual Birthday

I brought my drink, where's yours?

For years now I've been celebrating Bithday Month. For me it starts July 19 and concludes August 19. It is fantastic and I've been trying to spread the word about Birthday Month to anyone who will listen, but I've got a dilemma when it comes to little Evie Lu.

Being a New Years Eve baby do we celebrate from December 31 to January 31 or do we give her the option of having a family birthday party in the winter and a summer invite all your friends over birthday party? If I were Evie Lu I'd go with the twice a year birthday. I'd make it part of my Birthday Month and at least for a few years it would be a great Father/Daughter time of fun. (After a while she'd want Kaia and I to be as far away from her parties as possible.)

Rings & Things With Mom

Oh, is that how you do it?

Now that Evie Lu is sitting up it is a lot of fun to place things in front of her and watch her go to town. The stacking rings toy, which was an Easter basket gift, has been a constant source of entertainment. Although, I'm anticipating the day she grabs the base and uses it like a hammer.

Hey, that's not fair I only have two teeth!


Kaia and Evie Lu spent quite a while playing with the rings. It was remarkable to watch Evie Lu copy Kaia and seemlingly try to communicate. What was she communicating? I haven't the foggiest, but it was really important to little miss Evie Lu.

Mom, you crack me up!


Evie Lu has lots of toys and no matter how advanced toys get there are classics that will never go away. Rings and blocks are the coolest if you ask me. I can't wait to catch Evie Lu pretending to have tea or building some great structure that exists only in her imagination.

Mom, the yellow one tastes like drool, what does yours taste like?

I Eat Everything

On Sunday Kaia was diligently studying and Evie Lu was playing with her toys. Kaia had a stack of papers on the floor next to her and everything was going swimmingly well. Kaia took a very quick trip to the bathroom and upon her return found the picture you see above.

Evie Lu had left her toys and moved to investigate Kaia's work. Apparently scientific research papers taste great. The picture gives you a small sense of how mobile our little girl is now. She started out in the center of that pink blanket behind her. She has figured out the continuous roll, the scoot back, the military belly crawl, and a funny concentric circle move. Nothing is safe anymore. Well nothing on the floor anyway.