Fwd:

Yes we can!

Madeleine makes her first political statement!

Hey, old friend.

Thirty-some years later and good as new!

Happy almost halloween

So animated!

Lovely light

I can't wait for all the family dinners we'll have here!

M is no longer a vegetarian

How to wear white after Labor Day

Some of the reasons why we work!

History

On the day of Sen. Barack Obama's historic speech accepting the nomination for President of the United States, Madeleine wouldn't go to sleep. I just didn't get it. I wanted to watch the speech, as I intended to do with all the big convention speeches for the Dems and Republicans, and it wasn't exactly convenient that I was about to be holding a super squealy six-month-old (who has just found the volume control on her voice box) for an hour while trying to hear the words of the first African-American accepting his party's nomination for America's top spot.

Then I thought, why not let her be a part of this important moment in history? So I got out the camera and started snapping, and we took it all in together. In retrospect, I'm so glad she stayed up so I was able to document it. Years from now when we are sitting around the dining room table talking about world affairs, I'll tell her about Sen. Obama's historic run for the presidency the year she was born. And I'll tell her it was the same year that the first woman, Sen. Hillary Clinton, almost got that nomination. And I'll add that it was the first time the Republicans nominated a woman, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for their vice-presidential spot. Wow!

This is certainly an election year to behold, one that shows so much promise for the future. Having such a momentous speech interrupted by a few dozen baby squeals made it all the more meaningful.

Great toy

A taped box of noisy pasta.

Happy six months!

Smile!

Baby items just make me smile.

Grass is fun.

When Miss Madeleine is tired or cranky, there's nothing that puts her in a good mood like some soft green grass under her feet.

And there's nothing that puts us in a good mood like hanging out with a baby on some soft green grass -- even if we spend much of the time trying to prevent said baby from leaning/toppling over and eating the grass. It's still just plain fun.