Yes We Did!

I am so proud to be a part of this fantastic night! We did it!

Our awesome pumpkin!

Jeremy did a great job adding a political flair to our pumpkin this year.

Can you guess who this is?





Let me shed a little light on the matter:

Noa's Busy Fall Day

We started out bright and early at the Dominos Farms petting zoo, and ended the day in the tub with a friend. An all round perfect day.


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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books




Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Happy Birthday Nana!

I love you!

Hello from California!

Well, we are finally all here and we are slowly getting around to scheduling visits with everyone.

Noa has been enjoying getting to play in Jeremy's mom's garden and watering the plants. She is also really great at "walking" her dog (although the dog may call it tugging and dragging).




We are currently staying with our friend's Pat and Christine. They have a small statue of the Madonna on their back porch and Noa is enthralled with it--especially the fact that her nose is missing. She keeps saying "What happened her nose?"





Tonight we had dinner with our friend's Ben and Nissa and their kids Lily and Rhys. Rhys is just 25 days older than Noa and the two were quite adorable together.




There is more to see and more to do, we will keep updating as we can......

Tomorrow we head to Grass Valley to spend a few days with our friends Zak and Morgan and their son James. We will be passing through Sacramento and making a quick stop to see James and Rebecca and their daughters Perry and Marley (who is just 5 months old!).

Happy Birthday Bean!!!

Holy cow! Where has the time gone!


I cannot believe that it has been two years since this wondrous little person came into our lives! (Cue "Sunrise, Sunset" music now....)

Noa had a very full birthday weekend, starting on Friday.

My dear friend Sara is in Michigan from California and Noa and I drove to spend the day with her and her family. Noa and Sara's son John Haley had a good time being toddler-y together. They would have these little bicker contests: "That's my spoon!" "No that's MY spoon!" It got to the point where they were being incredibly silly: "That's my broccoli! No, that's MY broccoli!" They did manage to stop long enough to collaborate on this little masterpiece....

If you listen carefully, you can hear, "That's my piano......!"


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On Saturday, we had a fun little party for Noa and her many admirers. She loved her birthday cupcakes.



On Sunday, we topped off the excitement with a visit to the Petting Zoo at Domino Farms. She was adorable with all of the animals.

Daddy's Little Helper

Noa has been helping Jeremy do some painting in our back room recently!

Jeremy and I have this long running joke when the other is attempting to be helpful but is really just making things worse. We call these "Zachary Zugg" moments, based on the character of the same name in the Shel Silverstein poem, "Helping":

Zachary Zugg took out the rug,

And Jennifer Joy helped shake it.

And Jennifer Joy, she made a toy

And Zachary Zugg helped break it.

And some kind of help is the kind of help

That helping’s all about.

And some kind of help is the kind of help

We all can do without.

As for the final verdict on the helpfulness of her "helping"? Not quite Zachary Zugg-ish, but not quite Jennifer Joy, either!

Michigan Cherries!

Every Golfer Needs a Shoulder Caddy

Noa spent the weekend with her Daddy at Nana and Baba's house while Mommy took a little me-time in Ann Arbor! WE all know that Baba is a golf fanatic and that he was been waiting since before Noa was born to get her hooked on the "sport". It seems clear that she may indeed have a knack for it. Here are some videos of her hitting the homemade links in Baba's backyard. I especially like watching how she peers carefully over the top of his head as he hits the ball!

I find the first video hilarious because anyone who knows my dad knows that he has major soft spot for Noa. She can break everything he owns, rub mashed potatoes on the walls and dog, and shove things into his VCR and he just laughs with amusement and wonder. But it does seem like there is one rule that she cannot break without being disciplined!


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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Girl with Hose

We got a new tree in the yard and Noa was helping me give it some water!

She gets a little carried away.


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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Happy Father's Day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!






Growing up female, I never once thought that there was anything that I could not do. When I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I have to admit that there was a time when I was hell-bent on becoming a motorcycle cop (in Hollywood). Of course, both of my parents play a huge part in my developing this no-limits attitude, but I know that a big factor in my unconventional approach is that I had the good fortune of having a father who didn't view the task of raising a daughter as the second best option. I have seen the look of disappointment on a man's face when he learns that he has a daughter, and I have seen father's save all of their best tips and energy for their sons. Not my dad. My dad took me fishing, taught me how to throw a ball, let me shift the truck while he was driving, and didn't coddle or baby me when I got hurt. Now, I can hit a baseball further than many men I have seen and parallel park like a champ.

Now that I have a daughter, it is amazing to see Noa getting that same love, encouragement, and empowerment. Her Baba and Daddy think the world of her and are a big part of why she is so determined and adventurous. I see that she is growing up in a world where she will believe that there is nothing that she cannot do. They allow all sides of her to seek expression. They think she looks cute in a dress, or when playing with her dolls, and they are the first to let her lend a hand when they are working with power tools. Baba even got her a tool belt of her very own!

Jeremy is a strong man who appreciates strong women. He is an amazing father to our little girl. He brings out the best in her, teaches her patience, and helps her to see the world with wide, eager eyes. He carries her atop his shoulders and introduces her to new experiences. They both emerge from daddy-daughter time with ear-to-ear grins. I get such a kick watching them together--they are so alike in many ways. You should see them fold laundry!!


Noa and I are grateful to have such wonderful men in our lives. Happy Father's Day Baba and Daddy, Dad and Jeremy! We love you!



Happy Father's Day also to........

Sandro, who is raising the sweet and imaginative Owen, and the fearless and passionate Izzy!

Jason, daddy to the determined and joyous Bava.

Mark, who is showing his sons, Soren and Ingmar how to be strong, generous, and sensitive boys!

John, who guides his son John Haley, and daughter, Solveig through this life

and Nathan, who is teaching Hadassah to see the world with compassionate eyes.

She Cracks Herself Up

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A Toddler's Sense of Humor

Noa was doing some painting and she quickly made a mess of herself (check out the paint on the shirt and forehead!). She had fun taunting Nana with her paint covered hands........



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Happy Siete de Mayo

Hi there everyone.

Noa continues to marvel and amaze us with her smarts and her exuberance. Today as we were eating dinner, she looked at my plate and said "steaming!" and she did the cutest little hand gesture to accompany it, complete with wiggling fingers moving towards the sky. I may be biased, but I think that is pretty darn special!

What else can I brag about? Ah yes, she went pee in the potty today, and she has also stopped resisting having her teeth brushed. We have the Elmo videos to thank for that last one. Her current motto is "if it is good enough for Elmo, it is good enough for me." We had been struggling with her for weeks to get her to cooperate with proper dental care to no avail. All Elmo had to do was say it once, and she is brushing for several minutes.

Now if Elmo could just make videos where he discourages the eating of rocks and nose-picking we will be all set!

Here is a photo of her experiencing unadulterated joy on her little trike........



Of course, being the hotshot she is, the trike is soon to be obsolete, since she has a new bike helmet to accompany the bike seat that we got her for our bikes. Here she is in said helmet. When we went to the store to get it, she would not let me take it off of her. The woman at the checkout had to scan it while it was still on her head and she proceeded to wear it for the next hour or so as we colored on the sidewalk with chalk and walked to the park. She drew some funny stares, but she has always marched to the beat of her own drummer.

Biker Girl

With the warm weather upon us, Noa is embarking on a whole new pastime--riding shotgun on the bike. Here she is as she prepares for her first ride ever on the bike with Jeremy. She shares her words of wisdom as she gets strapped in.



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Spring Has Sprung!

Thanks to all who have patiently waited for another update from us. I have to say that when Winter set in, it really set in and it became hard to motivate to do much beyond the basics! But now, Spring is officially here and I thought I would share some new Noa pics.

Today we went to the Festifools parade in downtown Ann Arbor. It was a great excuse to be out in the sun and enjoy looking at some wacky, large puppets and other artistic creations.


Here Noa enjoys having the best seat in the house, high atop Daddy's shoulders!

The person in this cumbersome bird costume did NOT seem happy! Maybe next year, they will re-think the heavy design with the oversized bird-feet!



Random wackiness.....


Here is a pic of Noa in her non-Easter, Spring celebration dress!

Noa in the snow...

Jeremy was outside digging his truck out of the snow the other night and he decided to build a little snowman for Noa on the porch. As you can see, he is quite petite, as he is being towered over by our 32 inches tall girl!

After chillin' with her snowpal, Noa decided to head down the sidewalk, enjoying the snowy day.

Conquering Magic Mountain

Wow! New Year's Day brought with it 10 inches of snow. It is absolutely gorgeous--the snow on the trees, everything is white. We loaded Noa onto her sled and headed for the park where there is a hill that the locals call "Magic Mountain". We were the first ones to venture out in the morning, so Noa had the hill to herself (with the exception of one man in snowshoes). She has graduated from the small drifts in Grandpa's yard! Take a look.

A Dose of Noa

Noa enjoyed her lunch so much that she was licking her plate. Lucky for me, her plate was see-through!


Here is a shot of Noa doing some Xmas day sledding.

Noa got some new shoes for Xmas from Nana. The lightning bolt is quite appropriate these days. She is on the go!