Around Town

Well, not really around town. But....

Be careful or Evangeline will make you play sleeping/scary monster
in her closet for a really long time.

Evangeline back from a long walk with her grandparents.
She also pushed her empty doll stroller the whole way. Fun.

This is how Irene arrived home.

Kyle got to spend some time with his most beloved children
while they were gone.

Yep, we're hillbillies.

Irene's Birthday

Is a palindrome. Kyle announced it this evening.

11.02.2011

Good work dude.

Grandparents' Visit Etc.

My parents are here. So far so good. The girls are having fun with the latest acquiescent adults in the house.

Out back. 

Brazilian steak house for dad's birthday. We ate some meat.

Chick and girl go for ride in house.

Here are some pictures that I spied on my parents' camera. The took them before they left Alaska, so 75 and rainy didn't seem too bad to them today.

Rand reaches the pinnacle of Mt. Snow

This should look really nice melted.

David Bowie might jump out at you at the end of this path.

Evangeline/Irene playhouse.

Sauna

Moose using dad's truck to reach midnight snack.

little flower

Evangeline and Grandmother Mietzner did a real good job of planting these tulips in rows according to their color.

Check out this hair. She's also fitting into Evangeline's old pajamas from when she wasn't a tiny baby.

Wrappin' It Up

We wrapped up the day with a little conversation and prayers. All Evangeline needed was Jesus. And us. And her baseball cap. And her baby. And some water. And her scary music (Beethoven's 5th)...

Awesome stuff.

These pictures are not arranged in order of importance. I just don't know how to rearrange them.

I made a chicken coop out of the box spring that wouldn't fit up the stairs.

Irene and I went out to admire the blooms on the peach tree during the golden hour. We hope the bees have been doing their work.

This is what I get when I say, "Smile!"

Endangered Species:  Canis lupus familiaris katie.
We are giving her a month to stop pooping on the floor. If she won't poop outside, then we will eat her.

This is Evangeline's first photo taken completely on her own. That blue in the top right hand corner is a toy car, which is the subject of the piece. I think the composition of the piece is splendid, and especially love the striking chiaroscuro emanating from the side of the car.

Evangeline's song apparently can be sung with different instruments. This was a very informal dinner.

It's still spring in NC

Exhibit A: Spring chickens.

Exhibit B: Tulips planted with Grandma M. last fall.

Onnellinen Pyhän Urhon Päivää

Happy St. Urho's Day.

Evangeline's shirt is purple, too. They were super excited
about these pictures.

Also, Irene gave Evangeline's old office a (literal) spin today. Evangeline graciously showed her around, and seemed a little proud to be moving on.

The TPS reports go here...

It won't hurt if you chew on this star when you can

It's going to take some doing, but I think
I'm gonna like it here. 

 Finally, I think if there is a website called "sad baby hair" or something, I should send in some pictures of dear Irene and her ineffective comb-over. Sorry, little lady. In a few months it will be beautiful.

Business at the bottom

Party up top

A galactic wonder

Evolution

While Evangeline is teaching herself to play piano, Irene has been using her back.

In other news, we have an egg eating hen, and Kyle is going to figure out who it is, and we are going to eat her.

Virtuoso

After today's mass, Evangeline ran up to the upstairs classroom/altar guild room and banged out some tunes. I snuck up on her an captured these gems.  

As far as we can tell, the lyrics are either "yogurt" or "go in peace."

Births | Peninsula Clarion

Births | Peninsula Clarion

I posted this from the Kenai newspaper; Irene's birth announcement. There was a button to share on blogger so I pressed it and it worked. Her picture is on there too if you "next".

Over Roll

A couple of years ago we were obsessed with Evangeline almost rolling over. Now:
Me to Kyle: You know Irene can pretty much roll over, right?
Kyle: Really? Cool.

Irene Mietzner's 4 month stats:
14 lbs 12 oz
25 in

Mostly happy during visit, very minimal crying during shots. Did not fall asleep after. Med student doing peds rotation wearing black leather jacket.

I LOVE SPRING

Seriously. I love spring. I discovered that a bunch of stuff I thought was dead wasn't. I successfully grew a cutting from a grape vine. Cool stuff. Evangeline thinks so too.

I was trying to take a picture of the peach buds.

What do you do with all your empty wine bottles? Simply cut the bottom off and use as a cloche for your peas.

Don't let your beer bottles go to waste.

We added another animal to the mix. This one can be controlled while sitting in a rocking chair.

Katie's mom instincts have kicked in with the chicks.

Fears Confirmed

Yes, your little sister is chewing on your tutu while you nap.

cute girls

Whats cuter than a baby with a chick?

A baby with TWO chicks.

Four Months/Choose Your Own Blog Pic

Thanks everyone (hi Aunt Punk!) for humoring us in our obsessive picture-taking and choosing photo #1. This girl's a real cute one, that's for sure.

Here's Irene's 4 month picture. We totally can't decide which one is best. Please vote in the comments for the one you think should be Irene's Official Four Month Photo. You'll need to tell us why. Then we'll take the rest down. Thank You.

We also bet you wish you had after-dinner entertainment half as good as this:

Chicks

Evangeline and I went to the feed store to get some more feed today. They had chicks, so of course we bought some. How can you not? $2 a piece. We couldn't afford not to get them. We got a Dominique (to replace you know who), a Barred Plymouth Rock, and a New Hampshire Red. The plan is only to keep the Dominique, but I have read that Barred Rock and New Hampshire Reds make good meat birds. So... we will see if I can kill them when they get big enough. First I have to keep their vents unpasted.

She wailed in the car for a whole 25 minutes on the way home with the chicks in the front seat.

 We also went to Aunt Betty's funeral in Lenoir today. The babies were pretty much the best babies in the world for the whole time we were there. Presbyterians are very clean looking. We will miss Aunt Betty, though she now safely waits for the resurrection. I always thought that she was Queen Elizabeth. I know this doesn't make sense. Deal with it.

Grandaddy, Carol and Evangeline make small talk at the repast.