1st Birthday Party

Yes, there was a teeny tiny bit of imbibing going on at Joseph's first birthday party (otherwise you would not be seeing this picture of me in a party hat :-). Mom and dad dropped the ball on taking pictures; and our DV Camcorder is, oddly, un-mac-friendly, so most of these pics came from Grandma M. For a few more, please visit the Schwenzen's blog.

Otherwise, a great time was had by all. Joseph really liked his hand-turned wooden magic wand, though he will have to wait a while before seeing it again. He received a bunch of other fantastic gifts from everyone else as well. To all who attended, and all who wished Joseph a happy first: Thank you so much! We love you all.

Happy Birthday Joseph!

This morning Joseph woke up almost on the dot of 6:15 (the time he was born). For his birthday breakfast, mom served Joseph cinnamon and vanilla french toast with lingonberry jam (from Al Johnson's in Door County). Here he is post-breakfast cleansing his palate with a sippy full of diluted OJ. Good morning and Happy Birthday Joseph!

First Official Haircut

As I am sure you have noticed, Joseph's hair has become a bit unruly. Well, mom (with dad's help) bit the bullet last night and did all that she could without clipping an ear. More experienced moms probably could spot my amateurish job, but I think that I did good. And just in time for his first Birthday Party!

Four Things

Okay, so I stole this questionnaire from Knittin' Kninja's blog, and I thought it was a really good way for you to learn some useless facts about me:

4 jobs I've had:
McDonald's crew member
TV production assistant
Retail manager
Sole Proprietor (KSH)

4 places I've lived:
Racine, WI
Madison, WI
Edinburg, Scotland
Milwaukee, WI

4 places I've vacationed:
Dallas, TX
London, England
San Francisco, CA
Dublin, Ireland

4 of my favorite foods:
Tamales
Huevos Con Chorizo
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Tiramisu

4 places I'd like to visit:
New York
Tokyo
Toronto
Austin

Monday Morning in the Office/Playroom

See that colander? That used to be mine. It has now become part of the vortex that is Joseph's toy box which seems to compulsively suck up a variety of common household items...

Wine and Harvest Fest

My third show, and the best so far. Joe was my assistant for the day. We had a lot of fun just hanging out together. We split a bottle of Cedar Creek Cranberry and buttered up the customers. All in all, a great day. I think that I will take a break from shows for a while now...

Hadley and Joseph Sitting in a Tree...

We went to the Schwenzen's yesterday to watch the Packer game. As usual, Joseph and Hadley got along famously.

Rush for a change of atmosphere

At 8:20 pm last night Joe and I are about half a football field length away from Geddy as he says "There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance..." Gave us goosebumps. We left for home about an hour later.

On the drive from the Marcus back to Cedarburg where Joseph should have been asleep (at grandma and grandpa's) I say to Joe, "Next time we invest that much time and money in a concert it had better be a band that we really love." For me, I guess that would have to be (barring any resurrection of John and George) Simon, John, Nick, Andy and Roger. For Joe that would probably be Tool.

We spent most of the concert on the balcony just talking, and I think that that alone was worth it. There, we realized that it has been almost a year since we last went anywhere in the evening without Joseph. And we realized how much things have changed: at 25, blowing a chunk of change to see a band that you always really liked was not a waste, but our time and money is very precious to us now.

As we coasted down Silver Spring toward I-43 I began to feel a tug from the north. We pulled in the drive and walked inside to find the lights on, both grandparents up, and a very upset and thirsty little boy scrambled hastily in our direction. That about sums it up.

Some QT w/JJ

Joe and Joe got to spend a some quality time together last Saturday as I helped a local art gallery at the Blue Harbor Arts and Crafts Fair. Here are a few of the resulting photos...These two just crack me up!