Gene Puzzler

Everyone has different opinions as to who Cate and Lela look like. We want to hear what you think.

I've changed the "comment settings"; they should be open to anyone now.

Photo 101

New Camera + Two Babies = Overzealous Mommy, Lots of Experimentation, and an Occasional Tear



Surf and Sand

I think Lela was trying to tell us something the other day...

Unfortunately, I don't think they make wetsuits in her size and it may be awhile before we make it back to the warm waters of Central America or Hawaii.

Despite the great distance between us and any ocean (JR keeps reminding me of this fact), we managed to find the next best thing. Sand. Lots of Sand. There wasn't any surfing to be had, but it was a good place to start.

Bruneau Dunes State Park is about an hour from Boise and is home to the largest single-structured sand dune in North America. 470 feet to be exact. We decided this wasn't the day to try our favorite winter activities at this unlikely venue. Mostly because I fall down a lot and I couldn't imagine that a head over heals descent of the dune would be good for whichever baby happened to be along for the ride. We'll leave that for this guy, who appears to be free of passengers.

Our day included our first outdoor feeding without the comfort of the couch, the aid of the boppy, or the large stack of clean burp cloths nearby...

a hike around the lake...

and a few casts for John while Cate, Lela, and I relaxed in the back of the Subaru.

This was the first time John or I had been to the Bruneau Dunes despite it being an easy day trip. Our priorities had always been on other grand (but not as grand as parenthood) adventures.

Stay tuned as we explore other nearby destinations in the coming months.

Feeling Social (and Charitable)

The girls had their first major social outing/fundraiser last week when they attended the Conservation Voters of Idaho Green Bib (aka Green Tie) Social downtown.

However, it may have been even more significant for being the first time they wore pants...

and the first time they bid in a silent auction. We really have to keep an eye on these two. We turned our backs for one minute and they were suddenly in a bidding war for this inflatable kayak  http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1625&p=Q_I&w=1625.

Luckily we caught on to their shenanigans before the bidding closed, but it was a close call. What were they thinking anyway? An inflatable? If it was a hard shell, a larger raft, or a family canoe, we would've been much more supportive.

LOVE

Lela Grace

Catherine Rae

P##n For New Moms

It's a book, I swear.

See look...

This book is chock full of images portraying every new mom's fantasies. Don't bother buying it for it's clever stories. There aren't any. Just graphic depictions of what every new mom dreams of. Reader beware: photo subjects may be scantily clad.

Okay. So it's actually quite a wholesome book. There might be a shirtless man in there somewhere, but it's only the babies that are near naked. Indeed, there's no need to hide this book under the mattress unless you're just embarrassed that you own such a corny book.

If you paged through the book you would notice a theme. It goes something like this - good looking men taking care of the babies while doing household chores and letting mom sleep in. Hmmm... yeah, that sounds good to me. These people, the Cambridge Women's P##nography Collaborative (what a name!), must know what they're talking about.

But as it turns out, they've done this before...

Here's my favorite...

But wait! This is what I wake up to on the weekends....

Daddy and Lela vacuuming

I'm living with real life mommy p##n!

Minus the expertly decorated, clutter-free home...

And maybe a Queer Eye for the Straight Guy makeover...

But otherwise, total mommy p##n.

Lucky me!

Welcome!

We love where we live...

We love the Northend neighborhood and our Northend neighbors. We love biking downtown and walking the trails in the foothills. We love canoeing and rafting the nearby rivers and hiking in wide open spaces. We love camping under the stars and listening to the yips of coyotes or better yet, the howl of wolves. We love mingling with members of our community at Boise's abundance of fun events. And we can't wait to share all of this with Cate and Lela.

Family Outing (with The Kai-dog, too)

John and I are well aware, however, that the one thing they will always be missing is a close proximity to family (and our many friends who might as well be family).

I think of daily visits with my grandparents (who lived next door), weekends at my uncles antique shop, sleepovers with my cousins, and Sundays at the family farm with the extended Hart clan. It was a given that every holiday and birthday was spent with family. Family time and family tradition make up most of my early childhood memories.

Sure phone calls and text messages and emails and facebook make it easier for us to stay connected (we're still working on skype), but it's not the same as being there when everyone falls to the living room floor, unable to move, after Thanksgiving dinner. And it's not the same as sharing an entire gooey butter cake on a Sunday morning. Or listening to a distant cousin at the family reunion recount how our ancestors came to America.

Yes, we are indeed sad that Cate and Lela won't have frequent shared experiences with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and BFF's.

No, we won't be moving to St.Louis (too humid and landlocked), Santa Cruz (too expensive), Atlanta, or Warrensburg anytime soon.

BUT, for Cate and Lela's sake (and for us, too), we welcome visitors.

The grandparentals and Auntie Renee get the prize for being the first to travel from afar to meet the little monkeys. Cate and Lela were great hosts. They held back major spit ups and crying fits and ramped up the cuteness for their guests. 

Mum and Papa Hart



John and Grandma Antoinette



Auntie Renee

For those of you who haven't made it out yet, don't despair, they're surprising us with additional cuteness every day.

We're expecting to find our email inboxes full with itineraries as the rest of you book your flights. Let me help you get started...

http://www.kayak.com/
Departure City: This is where you live.
Destination: BOI
Travel Dates: Our summer is open. Call to confirm.

Cate and Lela look forward to meeting you and showing off their great state!



Eight Weeks

I'm not sure how we got here so quickly but Cate and Lela are eight weeks old already.

The eight week marker means another round of doctors appointments and immunizations, John back in the swing at work, and my paid time off running out. It also means we just wrapped up two months of culinary goodness courtesy of our Boise friends. Translation: TWO WHOLE MONTHS of delicious meals! Man, are we lucky to have such a great network of supporters.

Beginning with Wendy's fajitas our first night home from the hospital, we've since had pork loin and roasted potatoes, chicken w/ yummy apple-y salsa, tasty casseroles, spectacular soups, quesadillas, enchiladas, lasagna, chili, cornbread, wild game treats, delicious homemade pasta, sauces, and salads, quiche, Indian dishes, and homemade breads, cookies, and brownies.

John's trying to come up with a plan for keeping the meals coming until the girls are out of high school but he hasn't been able to fool anyone into pitying us any longer.

I suppose eight weeks really means that life should resume with some semblance of normalcy and self-sufficiency. I'm pleased as punch that normalcy right now doesn't involve me going back to work right away, but otherwise I think we can oblige.

While we discover what "normalcy" looks like, we'll be thanking our lucky stars for all of you that helped us get through this first phase of our new life with gifts of food, gear, and love from near and far.

In the meantime, beware John's tales of starvation on 22nd (hmmm, this years Halloween card?). We may find ourselves sitting down to supermarket frozen foods more frequently than we like, but we will find a way to keep the crew well fed one way or another.

I do make a mean PBJ!