Catching up...

We have lived in Kentucky for almost three months and I finally feel like we're getting settled. Miles is fitting in well here with his two teeth and cute bulbous belly. Here are a few pictures and some commentary on our new world.

Visitors Phil and Jessie stayed overnight on August 19th on their way to Philadelphia. They are officially our first visitors. Miles was sad to see them go. He gets a little bored with us.

More Visitors
Luckily, fresh guests were not far behind Phil and Jessie. A week later, Caulder and Starr spent a day with Miles and me, touring Cincinnati. Here they are on the Ohio side of the Ohio river, which actually belongs to Kentucky on this stretch. I think we talked their ears off--we were a little lonely those first few weeks. We hope they come back!

Goats at the library. Need I say more?


"Oktoberfest Zincinnati"
We spent a little time downtown, taking in the sites, eating strudel (remnents of which can be seen below on Miles' face), and taking pictures of guys with lederhosen made of duct tape. It was a rash decision to let the duct-tape guys hold Miles, but well worth the photo.


The Mullet Must Go
Miles got his first teeth late--the day after his first birthday. His hair, however, has been full and thick since he was a wee baby. The combination of very few teeth, beer belly, and mullet was too much for us. So, we decided to chop off the mullet and clean up around the ears. Matt entertained Miles--who got to play with several items that he had not heretofore been allowed to touch--while I snipped away. Lucky kid. We made sure to save a handful of his silky, strawberry-blond baby hair.

Looking at these pictures, I realize that we have the same color hair. Since he's looked like Matt from the beginning, it's nice to have some evidence that he is my child, too.


Apple Pie Contest
I didn't win but here is a picture of my little pie. Wholewheat crust, Jonathan apples, still warm.


Family Time
I gave Matt a subscription to Martha Stewart Living in 2004. My mom has renewed it every year since. It is the gift that keeps on giving. It started with an arrangement of tulips for Valentine's Day--Matt's version looked just like the picture on the cover. Since then I've enjoyed many tasty meals and fancy cheesecakes. Here is a picture of the two of them planning our 2009 Thanksgiving feast.

And here I am reading with Miles, who is really good at sitting still for books. His favorites: The Little Engine that Could, Old Hat New Hat, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Zin, Zin, Zin, a Violin, Where the Wild Things Are, Jamberry, and Hooray for Fish. Not as practical and domestic as MS Living, but, hopefully, character building.


Baby Isaac
We drove to Illinois to spend a couple of days with Miriam and Dave and their new little Isaac. Miles roughed Isaac up a little but Mimi reports that he survived. We're going to work on "soft" and "nice" for the next few weeks before their next visit.

We also got to spend some time with Babi Bronia. She stayed at our house for a couple of days. Miles misses her now. Pictures of our trip to the Cincinnati Zoo are coming...


The Cumberland Gap
Matt planned a little getaway for us. Just one night. After a week of rehearsals and concerts and a bad cold, it was so nice to get away. We stayed in Middlesboro, Kentucky, at the Cumberland Manor (pictured below) bed and breakfast. The Gap is so named because it is a major break in the Appalachian Mountains and was the first "gateway to the west." It is a quarter mile north of the point where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. I stole the first photo from this website.

Our little tree hugger... We hiked for a while and then let Miles roam free in the woods. He loved rolling in the leaves and he hugged and kissed several trees. Here is our best shot of a tree kissing.

The line that Matt is straddling is the border between Kentucky and Virginia.