Monday, December 10, 2007

A Kansian Christmas

This weekend heralded the beginning of the Christmas season in Hays, America, with a town wide celebration appropriately called "Frost Fest." Freezing rain and slick roads couldn't keep us away, and we spent Friday night experiencing Christmas Past at Historic Fort Hays, where the locals dress up in hoop skirts and calvary coats and host various holiday activities in the extant buildings on the old Fort. The best (and worst) part was riding in a horse drawn wagon across the prairie in the freezing rain. Sunday evening, we hit Main Street for the Christmas parade, which boasted a fire baton twirler and a motorcycle posse decked out in colored lights, among the other more pedestrian floats.


Here we are with Heather and Michael Maiorano. I had to tell Michael I saw Santa Claus in the distance to get him to look at the camera. Just a little white lie. No harm done. Really.

Sometimes I think I live in Stars Hollow. But with a less verbal population.

$1.00 to the first person to get that reference.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Seven Months

I'm a little late on this one, but Sophie has changed so much over the past month, I don't want to let number seven go unremarked...

Dearest Sophie,

In the past month, you have transformed from a reluctant-to-nap, high-strung, serious, fuss-bucket of a baby, who has a hard time settling herself unless her parents are walking her across Western Kansas strapped to their chests, into a delightful cherub of a chub who takes two naps a day like clockwork, happily munches on cheerios in her highchair, joyfully rolls across the carpet in pursuit of a rattle, and can sit by herself playing with a basket full of toys for a good half-hour.

Wow. What a difference one month makes. You sleep from seven until about seven the next morning and wake up with the brightest smile this side of sunny side up, showing off your two bottom teeth, sweet little pearls nestled in the pink of your gum (although alarmingly sharp). You like every food you've tasted except for apples and canned meat (and we don't blame you on the meat front; the stuff smells like cat food!). You love bananas. You'd eat them every meal if you could. You love them so much, you'll probably want to marry them when you're older.

The one sad thing about month seven, however, is your relationship to books. You'll no longer sit in Mommy's lap and quietly watch the pages turn. Now you want to eat them. You're dying to eat them. You want to digest our entire library: baby books, novels, the OED. You even have a couple of paper-cuts from a pile of student essays your Daddy left on the floor.

The best part of month seven, however, is just how darn happy you are. You may not have quite made it through a day without crying, but you're getting there.

And don't worry, we'll stick around till you do.