Christmas

We quietly celebrated Christmas this year in the company of some family and friends over the three day weekend.  Rye has given me a new perspective on the holidays that I'm not sure I've felt since waking up Christmas morning on a comfy floor pallet amidst my cousins in the garage apartment behind my grandma's house. It's been awhile since Christmas felt mysterious and filled with anticipation. It's nice.

Rye had me decorating a tree, building a rocking horse in the "wee hours (around 9pm)," stuffing stockings, you know, doing all the things my parents did to make Christmas Christmas. I'm not really sure I can fully commit to Christmas music at this point, or that I can look forward to mall santas and office Christmas parties...but I look forward to at least a decade of seeing it all through the Little Girl's eyes.

Blogging from the Road

It's hard enough to keep my focus when traveling to remote courtrooms to slap people on the wrist for stealing motorcycles without in-my-face reminders like this.

Tappity tap

Tap dancing is popular with the kids, right?

Texas vs. Rye

Rye got her first taste of Texas last weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday.  The trip was pretty much fantastic.  We stayed at a cottage-style bed and breakfast outside the city limits of Fredericksburg and spent plenty of time with family.

Rye got to catch up with Aunt Amy and GG and met more Texas relatives than I can name.  It was a great way to spend our second Thanksgiving as a family.

Thanks Pilmers/Klassens/Arnolds/Eschbergers and friends...

Here's a brief photo-diary of some of the high points:

One

On this day in 2010...

Rhoda and I went to the Mountain Midwifery birth center bright and early for a check-up after Rhoda had been feeling the pangs and pains of impending labor for most of the night.  We were told that it was getting close, but we probably had another day or two before we'd get to meet the newest Pilmer.  At that time, we didn't know who the newest Pilmer would be and had no frame of reference for what it would be like to meet our child.

By ten o' clock that morning I was pulling into the parking lot at work and Rhoda was calling me to say that we were having a baby that day.  Her water had broken.  I turned around and came home.  The rest, as they say, is history.  It is our history and now it is Rye's.

I saw her first and was speechless to the point that Rhoda had to ask me if she was a boy or a girl.  Describing that moment is like trying to describe a color or define warmth.  One knows it when he or she feels or sees it.

Our year with Rye feels like a lifetime, except when it feels like a tick of the clock.  Each of the last 365 days has been more demanding and rewarding than the last.  Each day that I wake up and get to see Rye is better than the one before it.  We are all growing up together and I cannot wait to see where we will be tomorrow.

Happy 1st Birthday Little Girl.

Budding Friendships

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.  M. Proust.

                          This is Rye and Hayes on our a trip to Cheyenne.  

 
    Bath-time with Rye and Bosley.

Watching these three kids inspire and enjoy each other was rewarding on so many levels.  I can only hope that they will someday look back at the pictures together and remember the years they spent making each other happy.
 

This is kind of a big deal

I think this is the beginning of something big...

A Trip to Maryland and a Little Catching Up

The last month or so has been busy-ness as usual. Get it? We just got back from Maryland, where Rye met her cousin and got to see two uncles and an aunt. We met Uncle and Ali for a quick three day trip to visit Aunt Amina, Uncle Darius, and little baby Finn.

The flight out was trying. Rye is so energetic and inquisitive, it's hard to ask her to sit still for three and a half hours. Luckily, we had an empty seat next to us and she spent alot of time playing and looking out the window (and reading).

I used to be a seriously unapologetic eye-roller in the presence of a traveling infant or toddler. I now stand in solidarity with my fellow droopy-eyed brothers and sisters. We are millions strong and we don't care how heavily you sigh when our kids scream at the top of their lungs. Have another cocktail and remember that we'll soon be landing. You can repay the favor by staying out past 10:30 and slamming the hotel room door when you turn in for the night.

Here are some more highlights from the trip:

Rye goes swimming with Uncle Ali...

Rye hangs out with baby Finn...

Rye swings with dad...

Dad shows off the ridiculous car-seat carrier (seriously, this happened).

Before all of that, Rhoda and I looked on over the last few weeks as our Little Girl:

Charmed the Hafiz family at brunch...

Pointed out dogs at the dog park...

Got in a box...

Checked out a giraffe and some camels...

Wrestled with some packing paper (this photo does not even begin to show the amount of entertainment squeezed out of this piece of brown paper)...

Helped arrange the tupperware drawer...

Learned to stand up without any help...

and generally maintained maximum cuteness.

my girls

Rye Loves Fat Albert

This cat spends most of his time trying to avoid people...and dogs. Rye and Ellie are making him look like a genius.

PIZZA!

This is a picture of Rye taken seconds after she ate at least three quarters of a piece of pizza at our local pizza and beer joint. I would've taken a picture of her eating it (meticulously cut into 9 month old sized pieces by the best mom in the world), but it would've been blurry...on account of the speed with which she maneuvered it into her mouth.

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