Tuffy's First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

You'd think Jen might be a bit more distressed about this. "Braaaaiiiins!"

In the corm maze.

L to R: Jen, mother-in-law, scary monster. No, wait...reverse that.

Tuffy the sleepy ghost.

Latest and Greatest

Wow! Our daughter has become a person. Just look at how expressive her face is. A few short weeks back, I thought of Noelle strictly as a baby, which is something wholly apart and different from a person. I imagine those of you who have been through this whole parenting experience know what I'm talking about.

It's quite astonishing to watch. Now that Noelle has started with the communicative facial expressions, it's so much easier to envision verbal communcation. For now, though, I'm still stuck using facial expressions to try and get her to change her own diaper.

From top to bottom: (1) Noelle and Ooja helping me and Jen rake leaves last Sunday. (The two of them were equally helpful.) (2) Noelle and Daddy before I left to teach class Tuesday. (3) Noelle signals touchdown. (4) "I'm just so darn cute!"

More Pictures of the Lovely

OK, I really, really didn't want to call her "the Lovely." But Jen did. So here we go with more photos of The Tuffinator.

We're baaaaack...

Oh, how remiss I have been. My plans for thrice-a-week postings have evaporated in a rain of travel, teaching and grading, business and diapers. (Sadly, no writing of late.)

So let's do a bit of catching up. I'll start with this lovely shot: four generations of Burnells. That's Noelle last weekend with her mom, grandmother and great grandmother, Anna, who turns 100 this coming March.

Then today, we took Noelle for her first big hike. The Richman clan piled into the truck and drove up to Swiss Valley regional park west of Dubuque. The weather was a bit chilly (high 40s and strong winds) but beuatifully clear. (Unfortunately, it seems we missed the peak fall colors by a week or so.) Ooja had a dip in the creek, and we all climbed a steep trail through the woods and along the ridgeline, with Ooja blazing the path from start to finish.

Afterwards, Noelle enjoyed a tasty meal while sitting in the car behind a gas station, overlooking a field being graded for new houses, I think. Ooja, lying in the back of the truck, seemed a bit bored by this part of the adventure.

Babies are really great at this age. At least ours is. She doesn't object to doing anything, and she doesn't really cry unless she's hungry or has gas. We just put Noelle in her grandparents-supplied hat and clothes and the new baby fleece mittens we bought her at Active Endeavors, and off we go. When Noelle's not sleeping, she's become very interested in what's going on around her visually. At least I think she has; it's difficult to tell whether she's actually focused on anything.