Everything Is Bigger In Texas

It's true, actually, even their Walmarts. But I digress...

Hey! Remember us? We had a blog, once upon a time, and we even updated it now and then! Forgive us for our absenteeism, we have no excuse. But be excited, we've hired new management, revamped the blogging protocols, and sacked all of the consultants the led us down such a dark empty blog path before.

Ahem.

So we went to Dallas, Texas! For a day! And saw Kelly! Woohoo!

The lethal combination of Jeff having airline credits to use, flight deals to Dallas, Kelly being available to be a tour guide, and Allison needing just one more flight for Platinum status next year, all came together for a whirlwind adventure down south.

Highlights included:

• Eating tacos, outside, in December weather! Texans have it so good in the winter, they have no idea.
• Driving around Fort Worth (our first time there)
• Touring Cowboys Stadium (yes, it's impressive, seriously)
• Seeing Kelly's campus and home.
• Watching Emerson practice her usual custom of making at least a dozen friends while buzzing around the DFW airport.
• Enjoying some daddy-daughter nap time on the plane.
  
• Laughing at the local hospital pregnancy clinic's advertisement, which was standing directly in front of the "Condoms To Go" store. Seriously.
  

Despite being a VERY long day, it was a great experience we were blessed to be able to do.

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Big Butt Duck!

Say that five times as fast as you can...

Halloween 2010 was a huge success last weekend. Emerson had a wonderful time chewing on the Jack-O-Lanterns we made, trying to keep up with her cousin and friends, chewing on candy wrappers, and falling on her overly wide butt many many times.

It was a great time filled with pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, playing board games, hanging with friends & family, and overall enjoying lots of fall activities and community.

Walking On The Big Wall

Last week we got back from another one of our whirlwind trips across the globe. This time, it was to the home of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing, China. Why China? It had always been on Jeff's list of places to visit, and when Allison heard about the idea of walking on the Great Wall she jumped at the idea. And no, triple miles bonuses and a great fare sale had nothing to do with it either, how silly.

Some stuff we saw:

• Tienanmen Square
• Forbidden City
• Jengshin Park
• Beihai Park
• Hou Hai Lakes region
• Lots of hutongs (historical Chinese alleys filled with shops and restaurants)
• The Great Wall @ Mutianyu
• Temple of Heaven Park
• The Summer Palace
• Old people dancing to weird music in the park
  
• Authentic Chinese Opera

And most surprisingly, we saw...one pigeon. One! I don't get it. But I will say the poultry dishes in the country were quite good. Hmm.

It was a quick, but wonderful introduction to China. Especially since one of Jeff's former classmates at Kellogg, Lexon Li, just moved back to Beijing and was kind enough to host us for an entire day. We are grateful to have made the journey, and reiterate what a blessing it is that world travel is possible. And thank you to everyone who helped out with little E back home!

WARNING: Graphic Nudity - Part II

Walking Version...
This is the highlight of my day.

The Park!

We've been taking advantage of the wonderful weather to go to the park near our house in the late afternoon / evenings as much as possible. A certain someone, who shall remain unnamed, absolutely loves the park, specifically the swing set. Her complete disregard for heights and/or railings makes the playground equipment a little more challenging to leave her on. But praise the Lord for Indian Summers!

Ambulatory At Last

So little E has been cruising and taking a couple steps here and there for a while, but we have been watching and waiting for a definitive time where she's "walking" on her own. And about a week ago, our little explorer decided she had enough of being cautious and it was time to set out on her own. We weren't able to capture the first steps, but here's a quick sample since then. What's next, cartwheels? Sheesh!

Birthday Cousin

We celebrated Emerson's cousin, Alexa, last weekend for her first birthday party! As we have noted before on this space, one year olds make off like bandits at their birthday parties. And giant cupcakes are awesome.

Nine Months!

Once again, we have no idea what Emerson's stats were at nine months, since there was no doctor's visit, but we still know she's cute, she's active, and she will only stay still on the blanket for a photo for a few seconds.

And we're back...

...sorry for the intermission. We have no excuse. We have a camera loaded full of pictures and an endless internet palette awaiting us. Let's see if we can start catching up.

A couple weeks back we conducted our ninth annual trip to the Jonamac Apple Orchard with the Riddles, Haugens, and Lennox families. It was a grand time watching all the kiddos gorge themselves on apples and practice throwing them at each other. Our little gummy girl needed help getting a bite taken out of the apple, but had no desire to let go of it once it was in her mouth.

Other highlights:

• Ben & Paul climbing the tractor
• Paul losing a shoe
• Autumn losing her jacket
• Donuts
• Emerson taste testing the leaves on the ground

A great trip, a great time. We hope to have you join us next year.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. To celebrate we went out for a yummy dinner. And by yummy, I mean, I ate black truffle mac-n-cheese with gnocchi (I know, not really mac-n-cheese. So shoot me).

Emerson was a complete peach, and stayed up almost two hours past her bed time! She ate a TON of food and had a blast. She is now sleeping soundly.

I wanted to share this cute video of Nana and Em to honor her on her b-day.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Eight Months!

Someone turned eight months old a few days ago, and we made a doctor's office visit to get her checked out. Bottom line: she's doing great on all fronts, and progressing way ahead of schedule. We are grateful for that. Now if only she'd slow down once in a while...

Weight: 21.8 (97%! Yikes!!!)
Height: 27.5 (75%)
Head: 95%

Talky Talky

As we've noted, someone really likes to talk these days. We have also found that someone clams up quietly when we walk up with the camera. It's incredibly hard catching her talking on film! Here's a little footage that doesn't do it justice, but is the best we can do after many attempts.

Gunslingin'

Keli Swierzcek had never been shooting before, and the activity was on her bucket list. So we grabbed fellow shooting novice, Andy Tucker, and headed to the range. Yeehaw! Sling them six shooters! Dance monkey! Dance!

Oh, and no they weren't shooting on their sides, I just held the camera the wrong way.

WARNING: Graphic Nudity!

Someone gets so excited about bath time she crawls from her bedroom to the bathtub without having been trained to do so. So far our carpet has remained dry.

Ravinia!

We FINALLY got to Ravinia this year. How sad that it took this long! But we got to enjoy it with some of our dear friends, have a great night chatting, celebrating, and hear...someone play. That's right, even now, I have no idea who we "saw" perform at Ravinia. But I know he was a pianist. And I promise I didn't giggle typing that last sentence.

Pianist.

Hangin' in Cheese Land

Doug turned thirty last month, and now knows the innumerable joys and splendor of old age *cough*. We went up to celebrate with him and hang out together as families. Naturally, as one would expect, the two little ladies stole the show. Happy birthday Doug. Looking forward to many more years of watching our little girls grow up together.

Seven Months

We are a week late again, but Emerson hit seven months old. No doctor visit this month so we don't have stats, but we can say that she's bigger, faster, and louder than she was last month. Her sole purpose at present seems to involve being on the move, making noise, and being cute. She seems to succeed quite well at all three.

On The Move...

That's right, she crawls, she stands, she cruises, she refuses to sit still for very long. Oh how long ago were the days where she would lie on her back and chew on a toy for hours!

Blake and Laura Smith!

Last weekend we saw two of our favorite people come together and get hitched. That's right people, Blake and Laura Smith are on the scene! We had a wonderful time eating, drinking, dancing, making general merriment, and celebrating this new chapter in their lives. It's been a privilege and honor to know them for all these years in their dating relationship, and we are endlessly excited to see their story unfold as a married couple.

B&L, don't forget to bring back that monkey you promised us as you chill in the jungles of Costa Rica ;)

More Cuteness

It just keeps coming at you...

Someone is a terror of locomotion. Crawling, standing, cruising, trying to stand without help (failing), bonking her head, standing in her crib instead of sleeping, getting into stuff she isn't supposed to, playing with spoons and pink feather boas (okay, her mom helped with that one), chasing the dogs, and overall being very cute and very hard to keep up with!

Did we mention we think she's cute?

West Coast Wedding

We went west this past weekend, enjoying a four day sojourn into that sunny hinterland known as California. No we did not want to see firsthand one of the few states crumbling into fiscal oblivion even more than Illinois. We went to see Jeff's college friend and hallmate, Dave Nguyen, get married to his kind and wonderful fiance, Mengting.

It was a picturesque day (heck, the whole time we were there was picturesque, it is California weather after all), and we had a wonderful time. We also got to wander off into Sonoma for a day of wine tasting and picnicking.

Oh, did we mention this whole trip was sans-Emerson? It was good to get away and remember what it was like for our first thirty one years of life and enjoy some beauty (and fermented grapes). But it was also great to get home to the little Squeaker, she's found a place in our hearts.

And did we mention Allison flew ORD-MCI-ORD-CLE-ORD-DFW-SJC-ORD all within a six day span?

The Little Apple

Forget the Big Apple, we decided to check out its Plain State little brother this past weekend. We loaded up Emerson for her dozenth plane trip and headed to Manhattan, Kansas to spend the Fourth of July weekend together with Allison's side of the family and to celebrate her sisters' twins first birthday party.

Her kids, Ryan and Evan, are cute, energetic, and clearly make our little girl wish she was more mobile than she is. Thanks to the endless rain, we had a lot of time to hang out and chase kiddos around. It was enjoyable time, semi-relaxing (if we had been smart enough to go to bed earlier), and great to see how the Littles are doing in their new corner of the world.

Six Months

We are a couple weeks late on this one, but Emerson recently hit six months. I forget all the specific stats, but I know she was: 90% percentile weight / 50% height / 75% head / 100% cuteness.

Oh Brothers Let's Go Down To The River To Pray

Maybe it wasn't a river, more of a lake, but brother Blake got baptized this past Sunday. Woohoo! It's a big step, it's good stuff. Thank you Lord for the work being done in Blake, may it only grow as the years roll onward. Life is made up of a lot of things, not the least of which are milestones of spiritual growth. It's good to see this day.

Graduation!

A little over a week ago, Jeff & Doug walked at the graduation ceremonies for Kellogg School of Management in Evanston.

And thus ends two and a half years of hard work, making friendships, endless driving, lots of meetings, and a unique and blessed time in life. Thank you Kellogg, it was fun (now how about a 50% off graduation bonus for student loans? heh)

Mad Scientist

A few weeks back Allison bought one of the Leap Frog Play Tables for Emerson. Needless to say, it has become her favorite toy by far. We call her the mad scientist, as she often has that crazed happy look while she's "at work" on her table.

Cuteness

We are not biased at all *cough*, but we think Emerson is cute, really cute, really really really cute. And if you don't think she's the cutest baby in the whole world, I will fight you [best Ron Burgundy voice imitation].

We understand your collective desire to see more of Emerson, otherwise I'll just have to post pictures of me here, and that gets old fast. And we always give the people what they want.

Forget proper formatting, she's coming at ya.

Embracing The Random

We've actually had quite a lot going on in recent months that we have failed to report here. As the camera seems to be full of a number of good photos, it's time to dump a few here. Thus, we present to you: Odds & Ends From Smithland.

Emerson - Our hit count went up several fold since she was born, so we take that as a hint as to who you are most interested in. We give the people what they want! We've been enjoying the nice weather a lot more these days, and enjoying dressing her up in silly outfits when possible. As most of you know, she's a very happy, wonderful baby, who's been a real nice addition to our lives. We are currently enjoying what appears to be our final days with a non-crawler (she only scoots around for now), but we look forward to seeing her continue to develop and grow her personality.

Recent adventures with Emerson have included trips to the park, gardening, small group kid-chaos, Slip & Sliding, and stroller rides. Oh, and within three weeks she will have completed her thirteenth plane flight (thank the Good Lord for infants riding for free!).

Small Group - We went out for a great sushi dinner / birthday celebration a few weeks back. We have found great joy in piling all of our dear friends around a big table, and ordering lots of food. For our night out we took the train downtown, toasted with champagne on the ride, walked to Coast Sushi, and as Jen Riddle would describe it, "induced sushi comas". Oh, and we got to catch the last six minutes of the Hawks game at Durty Nellies when we got back into town. Great times!

Flight - A few more pics from my previous birthday post. Flying and traveling are true privileges. Get out there and do it folks!

Birthday Wings

I was told by my Dear Allison, after a nice breakfast, that we were going to the airport. Having neither suitcase in hand, nor any idea of where we could possibly fly and be back within a few hours, I was quite confused.

Neither ORD or MDW was not our destination, but PWK (Chicago Executive Airport/Palwaukee). She had chartered a tour flight, that took us out over Lake Michigan, down the coast south of Chicago, and back again. The day was pristine, the view was great, the experience was wonderful. But man, those little Cessnas are a lot bumpier than the big commercial jets!

Onward, upward, to the horizon...

Dedications and Swings

A few weekends ago, we went up to Madison because Cousin Alexa was being dedicated at church. It was a fun celebration and we are quite proud of this step for the Smiths up north. Also, never one to miss an opportunity to take pictures, here are a few shots from the day.