Rhett and Kim: Expert Babysitters

Rhett and Kim babysat while Dirk and Jana celebrated a five-year anniversary. They celebrated by going to Wal-Mart to buy some baby spoons and rice cereal. Is the honeymoon finally over?

How should we caption this picture?

Seattle

This is Zola's first airplane ride. Luckily we didn't have any neighbors sitting next to us. I think her worm she is holding onto kept her from getting too scared.



Zola loved her cousins Nick, Chase, and Zach. But she loved her Uncle Jeff most of all. Unfortunately we don't have any good pictures of Aunt Shauna, but she was there too.



Many of you might not recognize Bob. Bob is a friend of Zach's who took a liking to little Z-Rae. It was hard to keep them apart the whole trip.

What the elf?

Left-to-right: Chase, Nick, Zack, Zola

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1142548377

Be patient. It's worth the wait.

It worked better for me in Internet Explorer than in Firefox.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving in Maryland with the Janes' and Mcneils. It was loads of fun, and Zola made lots of new friends - some real, some not-so-real.

Zola and Kristy.

Zola is just as happy with a pretend person as a real one. Makes you wonder if we could have just left her at home for the weekend with a puppet or two.


Zola loved the D.C. metro. Lots of noise, lights, and movement.





Smallie Power! This is their sign.



The Janes and Mcneils play a game called

Nertz. It's highly competitive and sometimes people die, or (best-case-scenario) are maimed. Kim (second from the right) is the best at it. Drew (far left) is disguised as a beach towel.

Here are the Mcneils and the Janes'. Thanks for letting Zola and her parents crash your Thanksgiving party!

Ma and Pa

Zola, I imagine like most babies, seems to like her parents no matter what. This is a kindness on her part that will, I assume, soon wear off. For now, though, she seemed to like Dad's short-lived mullet hairstyle.




The most disturbing thing is how easily Ma cut the mullet - as if she's done it thousands of times before . . . Here, Jana is trying to look as trashy as dirk - if you look closely you'll see her missing tooth. Weak sauce, Jana. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to look like a true Pennsylvania scratcher.

Learning to Play

Zola is getting big enough (3 months this week) to start to play with toys and friends. Soon enough, she's going to be asking for the keys to the car.

This is one of her favorite toys. I think these little dangling things talk to her. I'm positive they're smallie sympathizers.


This is Maggie - Zola's first friend. Maggie is a great friend. She's always helping find Zola's pacifier and toys and is very gentle and careful with her.




We watched almost the entire Pittsburgh Steelers' game on Sunday. Zola thinks the Cleveland team is a bunch of chumps! She's ready to fight them all (that's why her fists are clenched).

Party of Three

We blessed Z. at church on Sunday and took this picture later that afternoon.

Don't worry, Mom. I wore a tie and Zola wore a white blanket.

Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Marshal

Marshal and Lindsey made the journey from Chicago this weekend. This was the first time little Z. has met both sides of an aunt-uncle marriage. We had lots of fun driving through the PA countryside, playing "spot the Amish," and guzzling Hershey's milkshakes.

Love the new outfit. I do heart Chicago.



A beautiful fall day in Big Valley, PA.





Dirk and Marshal inside the Greenwood furnace.
The furnace has never held more heat.



Chocolate World is lots of laughs.

It's moo-tritious

Marshal and Jana on a secret sample-survey mission.
They could tell you about it, but then they'd have to kill you.


It's like crack. You just can't get enough.


Marshal really does deserve the name "Sug'" (short for Sugar).



Thanks again for coming to visit, L. and M.!

Halloween

Zola and Mom, ready for Halloween.
We didn't get much candy, but that's okay.
Bears don't really like candy. They prefer berries and grubs.

Look-alike-Meter

We stole this idea from Tiff - thanks!

Zola's the perfect combination of mom and dad.







Apparently, Zola looks more like her real mother.

Getting Bigger

Aunt Heather (Heat. for short) came to visit a few days ago. She's an accomplished mother back home in UT, and she flew in to provide some expert advice.

Bouncing on the silver workout ball is Zola's favorite pastime.


Zola seems to like her green dress. It's dad's favorite dress.



Does this diaper make my butt look big?



Zola in her new chair with some fall accessories.

We know who she roots for.


You're a big bag of poo! . . . no you are! . . . no you are! . . . . no you are! . . . . no you are!

Only slightly less amazing than the time Marshal ate his weight at Godfather's Pizza is the time Zola pooped more than her body weight in a single week.

Cousin Joe and Aunt Jen

We had a great time when Jenny and little Joe came out to visit in October. We did our best to show them the finest of Pennsylvania (which doesn't take very long). We checked out Penn State, played Spot the Amish in Big Valley, went to a couple of harvest festivals in the nearby towns, and (of course) made the obligatory pilgrimage to Hershey. Thanks for coming out!

Jana, Zola and the two Joe's.














One of the local harvest festivals. This one was pretty weak. The singing entertainment (to use the word band would be an insult to musicians everywhere) was honestly the worst performance I have ever heard live, in a public setting. No instruments, just a synthesizer and three middle-aged wannabes singing gospel tunes in unbelievably off-key arrangements. It was high comedy.

























These two pictures were taken outside of Peight's, a little general store in Big Valley, where lots of Amish and Mennonite families make their homes.




Someone's happy to be in Hershey. Face-paint is included with every milkshake.












Don't worry. Zola's head is fine.













Move over Linus, this pumpkin patch is taken!














Car-seat buddies.

Patty and Danielle

Surprise! Surprise! Jana's bestest buddies from Ojai - Patty and Danielle - showed up for some Penn State cheer over Labor Day weekend. Zola enjoyed getting to know her adopted aunts, and our California visitors generously shared their expertise with us - Danielle offered us bunches of baby tips and Patty provided valuable advice pertaining to Nordic sweater fashions and cheap red wines. Excellent times all around.

Pukey Springsteen

I guess Zola wasn't very happy with Springsteen's work.
Those darker stains on both shirts came projectile-style from her belly.
Luckily, she's feeling better.

Hanging out at home

Just some pictures of Zola at home. If she could talk, I'm sure she'd say hello to all her friends and family who are scattered all over the world. She sleeps really well at night (sometimes as much as five hours straight), and likes to listen to 8-tracks while Dad changes her diaper (Willy Nelson and Waylon Jennings duets seem to be her favorite).