Our First Christmas Program

Merry Christmas!

This is the year that Christmas moves from an interesting spectacle to the Best Thing Ever, at least in the eyes of the youngest household member. Though she's still not quite sure about Santa, Zola is certainly excited about the tree, the decorations (even if the toy/decoration delineation still is a bit fuzz and seemingly arbitrary), Christmas cards, and of course, PRESENTS!!!!!!!

We're all a bit more excited because of her joy for the season. Things kicked off with a very nice Thanksgiving trip to Kentucky, where we joined Emily's sister and her family at Anne and Jack's. There are some great photos on snapfish, over on the left. Z got to spend time with her cousins Jackson and Michael, watch some football and have a great Turkeyday meal. We stopped and spent a too-brief visit with Em's Aunt Cricket, cousin Jeff and his family outside Nashville on the looooong drive home. The addition of the backseat DVD player really made the trip a fair amount smoother.

Zola had her first ever Christmas performance, the culmination of the dance classes she's been taking at day care. Not sure if she's got a real enthusiasm for the spotlight just yet. She also got to meet up with Santa and Mrs. Claus that evening. She's a bit more comfortable with the missus, perhaps because Mrs. Claus has never been implicated in the big-brother & late night breaking and entering schemes of her husband.

Speaking of gifts, we'll be opening presents tomorrow morning, then joining some friends for Christmas dinner. On the 28th (Em and I's seventh anniversary), we'll head to the airport bright and early and make the trek to the Northwest for a week-long stay in the Seattle area. We're excited to see family and friends, and spend time in Seattle, Sequim and of course, Southend traffic. Zoe is really looking forward to Grandma's house (she remembers the puppies from last time) and seeing her cousins Laurel and Danny.

Hope your holiday season is fantastic as well.

Love,

Aaron, Emily and Zola

Happy Halloween!

Zola made for an adorable Minnie Mouse. Check out the snapfish links on the right for a new photo album. Hope everyone is well.

The family just got tickets to Seattle for Dec 28-Jan 3rd. Hope to see a lot of family and friends this winter!

Wow - It's been quite some time, eh?

Howdy folks. Sorry about not putting any updates on here for quite some time. Big changes since I last posted. Zoë turned two, we sold our house on General Taylor Street and moved to State Street (not really a big move, 2 miles or so). We're closer to Audubon Park, in a similarly walkable neighborhood. We picked up an extra bedroom, but lost a bathroom.

We've had some cool goings on, with visits from Anne and Jack (Omi and Gramps) for Z's birthday weekend, my mom, Veda (Grandma) the next weekend for further birthday celebrations, our friends James, Margot and their gorgeous daughter Calliope (a bit younger than Z), Em's sister Barb for a trip to the Circus (that's not a funny way to describe our move, we actually went to the Circus mid-move), and just recently, another visit from Jack, who drove down this weekend to bring some furniture and celebrate Independence Day with us.

Waaay back, there was Z's first Jazz Fest, with Em, Z and I enjoying Wilco and others. Whew.

Check out the photos on snapfish by hitting the links to the left.

Love ya!

Aaron

Mardi Gras - Butterflies on Parade

Howdy everyone! It's Mardi Gras night, and Em and I just put Z down after her tiring day fliting about Frenchman Street down in the Faubourg Marigny. It's part of our Mardi Gras tradition, put on costumes early Fat Tuesday and head down to this eclectic, artistic neighborhood just down river from the French Quarter. It's a fantastic, creative crowd that gathers, a real departure from the drunken tourists on Bourbon Street, or the staid families Uptown watching the parades. That said, this comes after quite a few nights watching parades Uptown. We've got some great photos up on snapfish, follow the links on the left to check them out. Or here, to make it a bit easier.

We had great weather and great crowds for Mardi Gras this year, and Z did a great job of grabbing loot from the parades - easily twice her body mass in plush toys passed down from parades like Orpheus and Tucks (not much from Bacchus - booo).

Z also watched part of a parade from the top of a ladder for the first time ever (Dad's hoping she doesn't remember how much great stuff she caught or how fantastic the view was, because those things are a bit of a pain to schlep to and from the parade route). She also had a great time viewing parades with her pals EZ and Jude, and Mom and Dad enjoyed time with her pals' parents.

On the whole, it was a fantastic Mardi Gras, and a good time was had by all.

Love you all,

Aaron

Zola Runs From the Paparazzi