The Real Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Just another quiet night at home

2012-02-11T23:09:00.001-06:00

Jump Around!

2012-01-17T21:53:00.000-06:00

A Saturday serenade

2011-12-03T22:44:00.001-06:00

Danny was singing the theme song to the "Winnie the Pooh" movie at dinner tonight. Listen very carefully and you can make out "a donkey named Eyore."

Going on a pumpkin hunt, going to pick a big one

2011-10-23T22:39:00.003-05:00

"Who do you want to win, Mom?"

2011-10-07T21:12:00.002-05:00

Tonight, as I walked the dog around the block, Bob Uecker's voice drifted from a radio in someone's garage as the Brewers took their time getting around to beating the Diamondbacks. I hear that voice and the roar of the buzzed Milwaukee crowd in the background and suddenly it's 1982 and I'm 8 years old again. I'm pretty sure I didn't know a lot about baseball then -- in fact, for some reason, my strongest memory is of the cutaway shots on TV to Robin Yount's wife, Michele, in the stands and her fantastic Charlie's Angels-like hair. But I knew Milwaukee's magical run to the World Series meant something to everyone around me, and I absorbed it into my DNA. So tonight, I could hardly stand to watch ... Will they? Can they?

Gavin is not much younger than I was three decades ago when the state was transfixed by the Brew Crew. And it seems since he started kindergarten that his interest in sports teams and who we're rooting has suddenly come into sharp focus. This is an amazing time to be a Wisconsin sports fan; he is blissfully unaware of how lucky we are. Don remembers crying as a kid when the Pittsburgh Steelers lost. Here's hoping we don't see any tears this fall.

The many faces (and demands) of Danny

2011-09-25T22:13:00.002-05:00

Danny is very focused at mealtimes on getting what he wants. The word "please" we are still working on. He seems to think being very cute will carry him far enough to avoid it altogether.

Our K-Star!

2011-09-25T20:33:00.000-05:00

Since the start of kindergarten, Gavin has been counting down the days until his turn to be the "K-Star" in his classroom. Since his last name comes toward the end of the alphabet, he's been waiting awhile.

His job was to fill out a special poster that includes things like his height (46 1/2 inches), weight (50 pounds), things he likes to do (swim in the pool), his favorite place (Florida) and a picture he drew of his family and his friends.

The most challenging section was called, "What I wish for."

Gavin thought long and hard about this. First he proposed one I am sure most kids have come up with:

"I want every day to be Christmas."

From there, he considered a wish that I can only assume was inspired by recent repeated viewings of the movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs:

"I want it to rain crackers."

Finally, he honed in on his final answer, which when you consider the fact that he is a 5-year-old boy, is not a surprising choice:

"I want our house to be full of dinosaurs."

So, here we are, the night before his big K-Star day and Gav is having more than a little bit of a hard time falling asleep. Is it because he can't wait to share himself with his class, or is it because he thinks his wish might come true?

A magical place

2011-07-07T20:02:00.004-05:00

We first toured Gavin's preschool when he was 8 months old. I was still freelancing from home and we were looking into options for someplace he could go a couple days or half days a week to allow me to get some work done. I was hooked from the word go and it has not disappointed me, not as far as the things that really count. When he finally went, it was full time and I do not regret a minute of it. He has always come home exhausted from activity, is known by every member of the staff and has learned how to paint, use the potty, cook, make friends, read, speak Spanish and climb trees. He has learned the power of observation, imagination, music and working with others. I have no idea what kindergarten will bring -- I think my greatest fear is somehow it won't measure up, that it's all downhill from here. But then I realize that he has developed some amazing tools and a love of learning that he gets to bring to the table from the word go. And, I hope, with that, the sky is the limit.

Sometimes we get dressed up and go out

2011-07-05T15:20:00.002-05:00

A postcard from Danny's school

2011-06-12T11:28:00.011-05:00

At the end of the summer, Danny will be "graduating" from the infant-toddler center where he has been attending full time since he was 3 months old. I can't begin to describe what a great time he has had there, and how wonderful and supportive the staff is, especially to a working mother who in the early days left with tears in her eyes. It's going to be a very tough goodbye for us on Sept. 1 as he prepares to start at Gavin's old preschool. For now though, it's pretty clear he's going to have a great summer!

Our preschool graduate!

2011-05-24T19:51:00.004-05:00

He will break many hearts someday (hopefully not too many)

2011-05-10T15:51:00.000-05:00

"Hug, Danny?"-Gavin

2011-05-10T15:48:00.001-05:00

The girls

2011-05-10T15:46:00.003-05:00

Our smart, funny and lovely nieces -- Caroline, 8, and Anna, 11.

Gavin's teachers

2011-05-02T10:51:00.002-05:00

It's Teacher Appreciation Week -- here is a book I made for Gav's teachers!

The Play!

2011-04-21T10:55:00.005-05:00

25 1/2 months

2011-04-21T10:51:00.001-05:00

Almost there...

2011-03-28T14:34:00.002-05:00

Just a few more days....

Pinata Party!

2011-02-25T14:44:00.003-06:00

Today in Gavin's school, we had his pinata party, complete with a song in Spanish about hitting the pinata as hard as you can!

1-2-3-4-5

2011-02-22T13:49:00.001-06:00

Gavin through the years

Five days from turning 5!

2011-02-21T16:10:00.002-06:00

Seen on a field trip to Overture Center today to see "Ferdinand the Bull."

"I all done crib."

2011-02-13T18:51:00.002-06:00

We said goodbye tonight to the last vestiges of babyhood (sniff). He was more than ready for this change. He might even be sleeping as we speak...

Report from Little Chicks

2011-01-31T18:21:00.008-06:00

Hanging out with the little girl of one of mommy's work colleagues.

Wednesday: We also put a box in our dramatic play area to create a dramatic play "den." As you can see, Danny and a friend spent a lot of time over there dumping all the dress up clothes out of the bin this morning:)

Playing in the snow.

Danny experiments painting on different mediums (see the wall behind him).

We used sponges to paint on Wednesday. Danny was very careful not to get any paint on himself.

22 months old (and a new haircut makes Danny look older)

2011-01-08T13:03:00.002-06:00

Danny (Jan 2011)

Gavin (December 2007)

On the road...

2011-01-08T12:57:00.005-06:00

We took a road trip on New Year's Eve to Chicago to visit the Shedd Aquarium and have lunch with our dear friend Shannon and her new friend Michael. We went on from there to Benton Harbor, MI, where we enjoyed a stay in a Marriott with a pool, which we shared that evening with a group of ladies who kept returning to their rooms for a "refresher" I suspect. Pretty funny. On New Year's Day we journeyed just 30 minutes up the coast of Lake Michigan to South Haven, a great spot on the lake where my friends from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch days -- Monte and Mei-Ling and their daughter Sofia -- had rented a house for the week. We just stayed one night and part of two days, but it was great to catch up and see the kids play together, since they live in Argentina, there are not too many chances to do this. In light of this busy trip, you'd think I'd have some great photos to share, but we were so busy relaxing this is the only one I remembered to take!

Gavin's work at the Capitol!

2010-11-07T21:15:00.006-06:00

Gavin's class made a 3-D model of the Capitol, which was on display inside the the Capitol building in Madison from November 1-7. We went there today to check it out!

Goin' on a squirrel hunt, gonna catch a big one...

2010-11-07T21:06:00.005-06:00

20 months

2010-11-04T10:37:00.004-05:00

Danny (2010)

Gavin (2007)

Lazy Sunday

2010-10-17T20:23:00.006-05:00

"Check me out -- I am riding by myself!" (for a minute)

Gavin looking at the camera -- a rare moment of compliance!

Dimple alert!

This one reminds me how much he has grown up. Such a big kid.

Daniel Knievel

2010-10-06T21:27:00.002-05:00

19 months old!

2010-10-03T19:31:00.003-05:00

Danny (Oct 2010)

Gavin (Sept 2007)

Monkey Bars

2010-09-14T21:43:00.003-05:00

The Front Porch Project

2010-09-13T11:17:00.006-05:00

June 2009

September 2010

18 months old

2010-09-01T22:20:00.004-05:00

Couldn't resist the dual post this month...

Gavin - 18 months

Danny - 18 months

Before and After (a haircut that is)

2010-08-26T19:46:00.002-05:00

So you think you can dance?

2010-08-22T20:32:00.002-05:00

17 months old and 4 1/2 years old

2010-08-02T19:29:00.011-05:00

I have traditionally used the month mark to run a comparison picture of Gavin and Danny at the same age, but I've reached the point where I don't think it makes sense to do... they are so different and each their own person that I am going to opt for a current shot of each instead.

Danny has more words than we can keep track of right now -- seriously -- the kid repeats EVERYTHING! Water, dog, puppy, Mommy, Yeah!, the name of most foods he eats and our personal favorite "Oh, no!" He is always ready to dance and wears his endless supply of joy on his sleeve at all times, despite having a rough year of various childhood and day care ailments. I try to take a page out of his book when I need to improve my attitude in the morning -- we all could use a little of it.

Gavin is starting to enjoy being a "leader" in his classroom and super stoked about the August slate of field trips they have planned: the Capitol, the zoo, the Union Terrace and the Randall School park. He's still semi-obsessed with the Lion King and intends to be a lion for Halloween. In fact, he asked me this weekend, "Why aren't you making my costume?" The fact that he thinks I am crafty enough to do that is pretty funny. His teachers tell me he speaks quite a bit of Spanish, but I think he doesn't believe I know enough of it for him to test it out at home.

Our (not so) little guys

2010-07-14T13:06:00.001-05:00

Lord of the Dance

2010-07-04T20:01:00.002-05:00

Lord of the Dance

We should be dancing...

2010-06-19T06:59:00.002-05:00

Caption contest...

2010-06-15T19:32:00.002-05:00

Don's entry: "To infinity ... and beyond!!!"

An exciting debut!

2010-06-01T11:11:00.004-05:00

Don has a byline in this month's issue of Sky magazine (if you fly Delta this month you can check it out, otherwise click here and turn to page 76!). Don't let the cover fool you -- the article is about soccer and will help those who are new to the sport gear up for the World Cup!

15 months old!!!

2010-05-31T21:25:00.003-05:00

Danny ...

words in his vocab: Hi, Mama, Dada, Gaga (Gavin), KeeKee (Keely), Ball, More, Stop, Cluck, Quack... and more we haven't figured out just yet.

and looking back ... Gavin at around the same age.

Making one dream come true

2010-05-08T17:39:00.004-05:00

Gavin has been asking to read "Where the Wild Things Are" quite a bit lately before bedtime. One of the things he kept saying after the story was over was "I want a table in my room," just as the character Max has... We realized we could make this work, so today we brought up the blue table from the basement he got for his 3rd birthday from Nana and Papa.

It didn't take long for Gavin and Danny to put it to use...

And what a small change for this big smile! If only everything was so easy ; )

It's kind of like this most days around here...

2010-04-21T22:20:00.003-05:00

Postcard from Florida

2010-04-17T20:52:00.014-05:00

The drive? Well, it was long and involved a lot of crackers...

That's what I'm talking about!

Danny could not get enough of being outside while we were there. I think he would have been happy to stay in Florida longer (so would we!)

A relaxing lunch in nearby Seaside ... the antithesis of woofing down a sandwich at my desk!

Danny's first Grayton Beach sunset ... one of the highlights of any day down there.

This is my favorite picture from the trip. Just today, Gavin said to me "I would like to go back to Florida again."

Two years ago, you couldn't get Gavin near the Gulf...

Danny getting his sea legs.

E.J. and Gavin -- hoping to replicate this shot over the years as they grow up together.

A taste of the laid-back vibe in Grayton...

As close as we can get to a family picture! This was taken just steps from the house where stayed in Grayton, which probably helps explain one of the reasons why we love going there.

Photos by Gavin

2010-03-29T19:37:00.007-05:00

This one's for Daddy!

2010-03-19T21:25:00.000-05:00

I did not set up this shot, promise!

Our boys at 1 year

2010-03-07T09:03:00.003-06:00

Danny (2010)

Gavin (2007)

First swimming lesson

2010-02-20T14:59:00.004-06:00

Just for laughs...

2010-02-15T22:17:00.002-06:00

Danny's 1st Haircut

2010-02-06T16:27:00.004-06:00

Before...

...and after!

"Daddy!"

2010-02-06T13:04:00.004-06:00

11 months old! (one day late)

2010-02-02T20:39:00.004-06:00

Danny

Gavin

47 months

2010-01-31T15:04:00.002-06:00

Where has the time gone G-man?

Ready to sign autographs!

2010-01-22T14:19:00.001-06:00

Walking for real!

2010-01-16T18:18:00.002-06:00

Still rocking the hair!

2010-01-13T20:22:00.003-06:00

Happy kid at school

2010-01-13T16:31:00.001-06:00

Nice to get this pic at work today : )

Brothers!

2010-01-03T20:43:00.004-06:00

It doesn't take long for it to devolve into some sort of wrestling match (already!)

10 Months Old!

2010-01-01T13:26:00.004-06:00

Daniel (January 2010)

Gavin (January 2007)

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T19:48:00.008-06:00

He's got his own personal style...

2009-12-20T21:12:00.004-06:00

First trip on the sled!

2009-12-19T15:38:00.004-06:00

Nine months!

2009-12-01T00:18:00.003-06:00

DANNY

GAVIN

Haircut!

2009-11-28T16:30:00.002-06:00

Watch out Mick and Keith

2009-11-25T23:45:00.003-06:00

Several weeks ago, Gavin was whining in the car to Don on the way home from school, "I want..." this and "I want" that. Don replied, "you can't always get what you want, and you know what, someone wrote a song about it."

He taught Gavin the song and, well, now he has become such a fan of it he taught it to his friend Bridget at school and tonight wanted me to repeat the You Tube video I found of the Rolling Stones performing it in concert. Here he is trying to play along to the CD, which Don dug out of his music archive so Gavin could hear the real thing this morning.

Friday, 6:30 a.m.

2009-11-20T18:41:00.001-06:00

8 months...

2009-11-11T19:35:00.004-06:00

Danny

Gavin

More from the peanut gallery

2009-11-06T20:36:00.001-06:00

In my continued over-analysis of the US Men's national team chances in South Africa I spent a bit of additional time working out some ideas on the upcoming draw for the 2010 World Cup. Specifically, running the numbers to evaluate the assumption from my prior analysis that the seeded teams will be South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and five UEFA teams.

The main assumption here is that the seeding will be determined similarly to the 2006 World Cup, with the combination of FIFA Rankings and results from the last two World Cups being used to rank teams. In 2006 the scoring was done by totaling the following five numbers:

2002 World Cup Rank * (2/3)

1998 World Cup Rank * (1/3)

Nov 2005 FIFA Rank * (1/3)

Dec 2004 FIFA Rank * (1/3)

Dec 2003 FIFA Rank * (1/3)

World Cup Rank was computed on place of finish with the champion earning 32 points and last place earning 1 point. Non-qualifiers earned 0 points. FIFA Rank was computed by place in rankings with the highest ranked qualifier earning 32 points and the lowest ranked qualifier earning 1 point.

So our assumption is that the 2010 scoring will be done using these five numbers:

2006 World Cup Rank * (2/3)

2002 World Cup Rank * (1/3)

Nov 2009 FIFA Rank * (1/3)

Dec 2008 FIFA Rank * (1/3)

Dec 2007 FIFA Rank * (1/3)

Without boring you with all the details I ran the numbers using the October 2009 rankings in place of the not yet released November numbers. South Africa has already been given a seed as the host team, leaving seven seeds available to the remaining 31 teams. For the teams that are currently qualified six of the spots seem to be locked up based on my very unofficial numbers. In alphabetical order – Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The seventh spot gets a little trickier, but not too murky. The Netherlands is the "leader in the clubhouse", but both Portugal and France are positioned to pip them for the seed if either wins their play-off to qualify for the tournament. Based on October rankings Portugal has a slight edge over France if they both qualify.

The Netherlands would likely be in a more comfortable position if they had qualified for Korea/Japan in 2002. Even with group stage crash outs the points earned by France and Portugal in that competition help push them both past the Dutch. A good showing in 2010 and the Netherlands will likely be in a much stronger position to earn a seed in Brazil.

On the outside, looking in are Mexico and the United States. Barring a crazy shake-up in the November rankings neither has a realistic shot of earning a seed. Mexico, seeded in 2006 and making the knock-out stages in both of the last world cups, can point to their mixed results over the last three years including qualification struggles in the final two rounds.

The United States has only to look at their 2006 World Cup performance to understand why they are again unseeded. In 2006 USA fans pointed to the quarterfinal performance in 2002 wondering why the finished one spot out of the seeds. A better performance in 1998 (when they finished last out of 32 teams) and they might have had a seed. A better performance in 2006 (tied for 25th) and they might be challenging for a seed this time.

In fact, the 2006 showing impacts both the upcoming tournament and 2014. If a semi-final or final run doesn't materialize in South Africa, the team's best chance of earning a seed anytime soon, other than hosting, may be to reach the knock-out stages in consecutive World Cups – something we have never been able to do. The current scenario – knock-out stages in South Africa and Brazil – seed in London anyone?

So my original assumption holds up and solidifies a little bit predicting seven of the eight seeded teams and the contenders for the last spot based on results of the upcoming play-offs. Of course that all goes out the window if FIFA announces a new system in the upcoming weeks.

Can't wait for Dec 4!

Danny @ 6 months and 1 week, Gavin at 3 1/2 years

2009-10-28T14:54:00.003-05:00

photos from Labor Day Weekend 2009 by Karmen Lindner, http://www.karmenlindner.com/

Viva Uruguay!

2009-10-22T22:52:00.002-05:00

After some deliberation I have made the decision that as a fan on the United States national team I am rooting for Costa Rica to lose their two-legged play off with Uruguay. The decision is a mixed one but in the end I feel the right one. Let me explain...

My natural instinct when supporting a team is to pull for the other teams in the same conference or confederation to win they are playing "out of conference/confederation". I went to the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I have a strong dislike for quite a few teams in the Big Ten. But come post season time, I am pulling for all of those teams to win their bowl games and make deep tournament runs. Why? It validates the Wisconsin program when the conference does well.

Following my natural instincts I was ecstatic when Chris Birchall hit a wonder goal for T&T and they went through to the 2006 World Cup. Four CONCACAF teams in the World Cup helps both the USA and the confederation overall. We'll skip over what happened once everyone arrived in Germany and the severe funk that followed.

Fast forward to Oct 15, 2009. USA is coming off a tough few days, Honduras is going crazy and I'm preparing to get my DVR working so I can pull for the Ticos to book their ticket to South Africa. I even debated searching for some Costa Rico gear online, but who am I kidding. With two kids in full time day care that's not money I need to be spending.

Then I started mapping out various scenarios for the draw trying to project where the CONCACAF teams might get slotted. After a solid look through the numbers I came to the conclusion that my natural instincts were wrong. As a USA fan, I wanted Uruguay to win the play off.

This may "hurt" the long term perception of CONCACAF, but it gives Bradley and company a better shot of making a run in South Africa. My assumptions, any and all of which could be completely wrong.

1. FIFA will use a "pot" system similar to 2006 to complete the draw.
2. There will be four groups of eight.
3. Rules will be in place to prevent teams from matching up against opponents from the same confederation – with the exception of UEFA's 13 teams.
4. The seeded teams will be South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, and five UEFA teams. They will constitute Pot 1.
5. Pot 2 will include the eight remaining UEFA teams.
6. Pots 3 and 4 will be made up of the unseeded teams from AFC (4 or 5 teams), CAF (5), CONCACAF (3 or 4), CONMEBOL (2 or 3) and OFC (0 or 1).

Given these assumptions, the ideal pot for the USA to be in is the one with the five teams from CAF because none of these teams can be drawn into the group with South Africa. That leaves the remaining three teams with a 33% chance of being drawn with the weakest of the eight seeded teams (no disrespect to the hosts intended). The other two teams get the benefit of avoiding an African team playing a World Cup on their own continent for the first time.

The key number in that scenario though is three. As in three teams in the pot with the five African teams. Currently there are three CONCACAF teams qualified for the World Cup, a perfect fit to bring that pot up to eight teams.

Lets look at the scenarios that can play out depending on the results of the two inter continental play off match ups.

Scenario A – Uruguay and New Zealand win.
AFC with four teams, CAF five, CONCACAF three, CONMEBOL three and OFC one.

Scenario B – Uruguay and Bahrain win.
AFC with five teams, CAF five, CONCACAF three, CONMEBOL three and OFC none.

Scenario C – Costa Rica and New Zealand win.
AFC with four teams, CAF five, CONCACAF four, CONMEBOL two and OFC one.

Scenario D – Costa Rica and Bahrain win.
AFC with five teams, CAF five, CONCACAF four, CONMEBOL two and OFC none.

In the event of a Uruguay win (scenarios A & B) we have both CONMEBOL and CONCACAF with three teams. In the 2006 draw the CONCACAF teams were in the same pot as the AFC teams and the CONMEBOL teams were in with the CAF teams. Given the option, my bet (ok, another assumption) is that FIFA flips it and puts CONCACAF and CAF together.

In scenario C the AFC and CONCACAF both have four teams and slot together nicely leaving New Zealand to join Chile and Paraguay in the pot with the CAF teams.

Scenario D leaves FIFA with some juggling to do since they will have the AFC and CAF with five teams each and CONCACAF with four. No combination of which adds up to an even eight teams. I can only guess what they do with this one, maybe draw one of the CONCACAF teams at random to slot in with Chile and Paraguay? At that point we'd have a 50/50 shot of being in the "ideal" pot.

We'll know more when they kick off the second leg in Uruguay of course since either Bahrain or New Zealand will already be in.

Things that could happen to throw of my little analysis, none of which I think is going to happen:

1. Argentina is somehow not seeded. The CONMEBOL number is now three or four. Better for the USA if Uruguay wins as a four team CONMEBOL would not be matched in the same pot with the five from CAF.

2. Mexico is seeded – the CONCACAF number of unseeded teams is now two or three. Better for us if Costa Rica is in as our three teams would match up nicely with the five from CAF.

3. USA gets a seed – all is right in the world and my entire exercise becomes a fun, but ultimately pointless, way to spend my time.

Cheers, now back to Jenny!

Danny at 7 months (and a look back)

2009-10-11T21:22:00.005-05:00

Whoops, let this one slip by a bit, but here is our little guy at 7 months along with a shot of Gavin at the same age just for fun. I think they really are starting to look different from one another...

"I've got to get that dog..."

2009-10-11T20:57:00.005-05:00

Danny and the dog

Danny is in love with Keely. She enters the room and he can't take his eyes off her. He is determined, I think, to snuggle up with her but that excitement has so far translated into him once grabbing a fist full of her fur and generally stalking her now that he can crawl. To her credit, our often anxious dog has responded the way she always does to the boys, she takes the abuse and comes back for more. Click on the photo above for a slide show that gives you the play-by-play...

Gavin's view

2009-09-29T19:00:00.006-05:00

Some shots from our resident 3 1/2-year-old photographer... click on the photo to see more!

Gavin's View

Daniel at 6 months

2009-09-09T21:49:00.002-05:00

I meant to post this on Sept. 1 and well, I forgot! So here you go, just a week or so late...

Almost crawling...

2009-08-30T11:39:00.003-05:00

Summer in B&W

2009-08-23T19:02:00.002-05:00

Baby Feet!

2009-08-16T11:05:00.001-05:00

Update on Gavin

2009-08-14T19:58:00.006-05:00

Gavin is 3 1/2 -- he is getting ready to leave the classroom (the Rainbow Room) where he has spent the last year growing from a toddler to a little boy -- learning to ride the city bus, using the potty and taking care of a menagerie of animals. We are so lucky to have such wonderful teachers and hope to be as fortunate in his new room, the Purple Room, a Spanish immersion classroom where the teachers will speak Spanish and English and some of his classmates are from homes where only Spanish is spoken. It should be a cool experience to see what he learns and a handful of his friends from the Rainbow Room will be joining him in this transition so he won't be alone.

Danny at 5 1/2 months

2009-08-14T19:51:00.000-05:00

Getting the hang of it...

2009-08-09T09:24:00.005-05:00

Our boys at 5 months

2009-08-01T08:44:00.003-05:00

DANNY

GAVIN

Friday Night Laughs

2009-07-31T19:59:00.003-05:00

Four generations of Iversons

2009-07-27T16:10:00.004-05:00

Grandpa (88), Mom (64), Me (34) and Daniel (almost 5 months)

Brothers!

2009-07-12T19:36:00.004-05:00

Walking in a spider web...

2009-07-06T19:12:00.006-05:00

We were very fortunate to spend the holiday weekend in Minneapolis and, thanks to my brother-in-law Rick, we were able to attend the No Doubt concert last night!

Gwen was in great voice and seriously rocked. Note to self: begin doing crunches STAT

We had a great time and the band sounded amazing... what a treat to have a night out!

I'm Four Months Old!

2009-06-30T21:51:00.005-05:00

Smiling for his big brother...

And just for fun, here's Gavin at 4 months old ...

Hometown Days Parade

2009-06-15T19:08:00.007-05:00

Be sure to check out Art in the Barn this summer!

Brothers...

2009-06-15T19:02:00.004-05:00

Scenes from the neighborhood

2009-06-08T23:01:00.005-05:00

Our smiley boys

2009-05-22T14:09:00.004-05:00

Scenes from Mother's Day

2009-05-10T18:42:00.002-05:00

Two months old

2009-05-07T18:57:00.003-05:00

Daniel:

15 pounds, 2 ounces

25.5 inches tall

quick to smile

loves to watch his big brother play

Nine weeks!

2009-05-03T18:10:00.001-05:00

Photo by Jeff Miller, University Communications

Seven weeks today

2009-04-19T14:21:00.006-05:00

Daniel's dimples

2009-04-08T17:55:00.002-05:00

A REAL smile...

2009-03-30T20:27:00.003-05:00

OK, so not everyone in the house is short on sleep!

2009-03-29T14:31:00.005-05:00

One month old!

2009-03-29T14:03:00.001-05:00

Time flies when you're sleep-deprived ; )