Between Here and There

Sorry about the previous post. I've had a heck of a time trying to get photos to post. And what's a post without a shot of Lillian? Anyway, this one was taken today as she and Kyle read through the Sunday paper. I'm not sure what's she's thinking. Do you? I had a nice talk with Rachel yesterday and she was able to see us using Skype video. What different worlds we are in - but it was fun to hear her voice even if only for a short time.

Friday I made the rash decision to cut Lillian's hair, just her bangs though. She was in the habit of pulling her clips out and her hair completely covered her eyes. So using rounded nail clipping scissors I made three quick cuts as she squirmed. I think it looks very cute but it does seem to give her a different look. You can kinda tell in these two shots. Saturday we went to the Baylor vs Texas football game. It was a beautiful day and I was surprised at how close the players were and easy to watch even though we sat at the top to give Lillian some wiggle room. I think this was possibly my third football game ever. We all got a little sunburned otherwise it was a great time. Hopefully we'll get to go to another. Sunday was a church celebration at the Waco Suspension bridge. Lilly and I rode the trolley (about 6 blocks) and she was enthralled. I'm not sure if was the seatbelt-less voyage or all the people. Once we got there lunch was served on the bridge cros...

Congratulations to the new Moms out there! Our local zoo has two new squirrel monkeys that cling tightly to their mothers as they jump between branches. Our Vancouver friends Mike and Tracy are taking a more active role by holding tightly to their new daughter Emma, born Sunday morning. Both Mom and daughter came home from the hospital the same day and are doing great. Older brother Jake has already said "Hi Emma". I'm not really comparing the two newborns, it's just that I think these little monkeys are cute, at least from behind the fencing.

Why won't this girl eat fruit?! This is the way NOT to do it I realize. She does seem to eat mango at least.

It was cool enough on Thursday for Lillian and I to walk up to H.E.B (our local grocery store) to pick up some lunch and head over to Starbucks for a picnic lunch and visit Mandy. But it was warm enough to need to jump in the pool after naptime. I wrote this last week. I've had trouble uploading pics so I didn't post at that time. This week it did cool down and we've opened the windows finally and even needed a blanket last night. Kyle is away for today and tomorrow on a short retreat but we're going to pick him up at the Three Mountains Retreat Center when he's done. Unfortunately, there won't be even one mountain in view. Lillian's new thing is saying "up down up down" over and over while bouncing and touching the ground. Still not quite able to jump.

We've been garage sale-ing and visiting some thrift stores recently. We picked up the old Fisher Price barn and animals last week. Most of us probably remember playing with this. The barn doors still moo when opened. At a thrift store this week I was busy looking for good finds when Lillian walks up to me holding this life-sized Elmo. She wouldn't let go the whole time, even tripping over him since he's so big. So, he came home with us and I quickly decided he should probably get dressed. I have a feeling she's going to be bored with him soon. In the meantime, they are sharing a bed.

How do these things work anyway?

This is the closest we could get. We miss you Rachel! We miss you Julianna and Jim!

This is Kyle and I back in Spring of 2004 (I think). We owned the small motorcycle for about a year I think. It's not ideal with all the rain in Vancouver. We did go on one trip though about 45 min south to White Rock for a day at the beach. It was our fourth anniversary celebration. It was not the most comfortable ride but it's fun to remember. A couple days later we had these people come to visit us. Fortunately the ones in bronze didn't need a place to stay.

How long does it take to become a Texan?

Well, this is a short view of Lillian at the beach. I was quite surprised how brave she was. She would crawl around and sometimes go on her tummy in the shallow water. A couple times she went under and came up with a surprised look on her face. I wanted to take better shots but I was too afraid of sand getting in the camera (since this has happened to us before). Also, I did take two swimsuits with us but due to the amount of sand that collects, I kept changing her. So a spiderman diaper was it at the moment.

Wrightsville Beach, NC Duke pool with grandparents We had a great 8 day visit in Durham. Lots of visits to the pool and one to the beach. It was good to see friends and spend lots of time with Mom and Dad and Grandma. Lillian is talking up a storm these days. I'll try to put a video on soon.

Oh you're so funny Grandma. No, you're so funny.

Some of you may have seen another video that I had posted for a day or two. Kyle was strongly opposed to having some random baby instead of our beautiful daughter on the site. So...we recently recorded this and hopefully it will bring a smile to your face, or maybe even a chuckle.

They were very picturesque. I think they look a lot like the early churches in the middle east.

We had a brief visit to San Antonio last December but it was definitely worth visiting again. Accompanied by Mom/Dad Welty, we made it to all the Mission sites, part of the National Park Service ( click for more details ). We also visited Market Square (the Mexican area of town - and enjoyed some delicious Mexican pastries), the Alamo and walked on the Riverwalk. Here are a couple of shots from the three-day trip. Although Lillian did rarely well considering all the walking and the heat, probably one of her favorite activities was jumping on the big hotel bed. This is her first thing in the morning. This shot is taken in the garden area behind the Alamo site. Kyle really likes cacti, I guess. Lillian with her grandparents standing along La Villita on the Riverwalk.

These are actually different bears but from the same Uncle Pete. Phillip (days ago) and Lillian (Aug 2006).