One Month!

Hard to believe he's been here a month - although sometimes the days seem like weeks....

A few more photos. We've been spending lots of time with Nana and Pop Pop and Nana Carol just came in from Minnesota a few days ago, so Kieran has been spending lots of time throwing up on I mean getting to know his grandparents. He is starting to show some signs of personality and his eyes are a beautiful steely blue. Josie has also been basking in the grand-parental attention. In this photo, you can nearly see the smirk he inherited from Pop Pop:

Kieran Arrives

Well after complaining non-stop about being sick to death of being pregnant, and eating one *really* spicy lunch, Kieran finally arrived on Wednesday, July 16th at 1:59 a.m. after about 30 hours of labor. They have lots of good drugs at the hospital though, so I can't complain. The entire time I was in the hospital I thought about women who gave birth a) ears and years ago; and b) with no access to fantastic maternal care in this country and others who did/do not have such awesome inventions as perineal ice packs and percocet. We came home on Friday morning and Josie has been very excited to spend time with baby brother. Some photos of Kieran's first few days:

The Big 2

Josie is 2! Hard to believe. She had a lovely birthday party with the California family and the Minnesota family briefly by phone. A video of Josie begging for birthday cake, although you have to listen closely ("Want some birthday cake!!"). You can see she is her mother's daughter the way she puts away a *huge* piece of cake.

Josie, these are not appropriate role models

Josie had her first trip to Disneyland. Cousin Emma is *obsessed* with "Princesses" which is the word that they use to describe all manner of female heroines from Disney movies nowadays. If you wait like 2 and a half hours you get to go in and have some one-on-one time to sit and chat with the "Princesses" (today, Cinderella and Jasmine - maybe both of them were actually Princesses, now that I think about it...).







I hate to be totally predictable here, but objectively speaking, these are not the women that I want Josie to look up to. I mean, when they sit and chat about the strategy involved in becoming a "Princess" (assuming that one can become a non-quotation-marks Princess only through birth or marriage, we'll leave that one aside), I would imagine it's like "sing well, be sweet (and just a little stupid), have huge eyes and a tiny waist" and that is the entire plan. So neither the ends nor the means are really something that Josie needs to aspire to.







However, the women who are actually in the costumes in these photos might actually be good role models. These are young women who have to wear a crap load of makeup, wear ridiculous outfits (Jasmine has a really raw deal) for hours and hours and be sweet and patient and kind to little children all day. Children who have waited two hours in line (which must seem like WEEKS when you're three) just to see you. Children who, at times, are probably not very nice. And they're probably working their way towards a degree in education from Cal State Fullerton or something.







I'll be sure to explain all of this to Josie tomorrow.







For now, PHOTOS!

Thar She Blows!!

Breakfast ABCs

So this is the first time we've videoed Josie since like her birthday last year or something, but I figured out how to get the video onto the computer and how to get the video from the computer to the blog. Well maybe I figured it out. Is it here?

Eddie Vedder Agrees: Josie is Cute

This morning Cory decided to pop into a music store in Carlsbad this morning with Josie in tow. Also shopping for new music: Eddie Vedder. Cory being the swift thinking fellow that he is, asked Mr. Vedder to sign a copy of Eddie's soundtrack from Into the Wild.

Cory: "Excuse me, would you mind signing this?"
Eddie: "Sure, no problem. Cute kid."
Cory: "Thanks!"
Eddie: "No problem" (walking out the door)
Cory: (to Josie) "Say bye to Eddie"
Josie: "Bye Andy!!"

Celebrities take note: Josie is unimpressed.