Pretty pictures

Sometimes my camera just takes a whole bunch of really, really pretty pictures...

Yesterday was one of those days.  Can you tell I miss my little girl already?

And They're Off!

Nobody in Ohio should take the first part of this video of the girls' departure this afternoon personally.  As noted in the vid, I found it pretty gratifying that as soon as I told her I wasn't coming on the trip, she reversed her morning of agitation to get on the road and threw a little snit.  I'll ignore the ease with which Melissa got her over it...

Melissa, Emily and Syl are on their way to Ohio.  They are going to stay over in Syracuse and complete the journey tomorrow.  I'm going to miss my girls!!

You tell me

I'm often asked what color Sylvie's eyes are.  Like her Dad's, the color of her eyes seems to vary with the light.  So you tell me.  I say hazel, though I admit to no real mental image of what color "hazel" is...

(Harmonica) Blast from the Past

I'm slowly going through my old Sylvie videos and uploading my favorites to Vimeo, so I can post them here in higher quality, with the full-screen viewing option.

This one might just be my all-time favorite, and it's the one that my parents most often showed to their visiting friends in that tiny little blog window that previously was the best I could do.  So here it is - the first Sylvie/Pax duet video - in HD.

VICTORY!!!

Melissa's first foray into vegetable gardening is now officially a success (even if we never get another edible vegetable out of it).  Four excellent cukes.  Tomatoes on the way...

Just some play pictures

Sylvie still loves her indoor "jungle gym" and ball pit - though her stunts are starting to scare her mom a little bit.  Longevity-wise, best toy $ I ever spent...

First movie theater movie!

Sylvie was more excited than this photo would suggest about her first trip to a movie theater... Even though the "Sesame Workshop Summer Beach Party" turns out to be a TOTAL rip-off. Warning to other toddler parents: no "Sesame" characters, no "beach party.". They apparently use "Sesame" to hook parents into what is basically a string of episodes of PBS's down-ticket kids' shows. Even Sylvie is pretty bored...

Acton Children's Museum

Melissa and Sylvie have a real nice tradition of spending the whole day together doing something fun every Thursday.  I get pretty jealous.

This week they went to the Acton Children's Museum.  Apparently they spent several hours - Syl really loved it.  Melissa says she could have stayed all day.  Continuing her excellent new habit of bringing the camera on these excursions, Melissa got some fun photos of Sylvie enjoying the museum's many theme rooms.

Hi, Heelz

I suppose this is one of those little girl rites of passage - the first time she tries to walk in her mom's high heels.  This was taken as we packed up our hotel room on the day after Pat and Kem's wedding.  We think she did a pretty good job!

Pat & Kem's Wedding

So if I had to choose just one photo to sum up the weekend, it would have to be this one, taken as Pat's wonderful new mother-in-law got her first real taste of Pat's moves on the dance floor...

Happily (especially for Pat), I don't have to choose just one photo.  I took a few (although mostly I concentrated on video, which will take a while.  I didn't want to get too much in the way of the professional photographer, for fear of what he might have done to me).  

It really was a beautiful wedding.  Pat and Kem must have a line to someone with pull Upstairs, because the ordinarily swampy/stormy DC summer weather gave way to a pristine, warm but dry day under a glorious blue sky.  The ceremony went off mostly without a hitch, save for a little hesitation on the part of the (extraordinarily cute) flower girl, and a few chuckles over the, um, ardor expressed in Pat's side of the vows.  Speaking of the flowers, Grandma Lynne did her usual fantastic job.

Here's a selection of my favorite shots, taking us from the rehearsal dinner, through some wedding-day recreation, the ceremony, and the reception.  Many more, as always, in the wedding gallery.