our sunday

Matteo and I met up with our friends at the park this morning for the trek across Lake Monona. Angela, Steve and Joe took off on skis and Carrie, her neighbors, their dogs, and Roscoe, Matteo and I followed on snowshoes. We didn't make it very far. After about a half mile (maybe not even that far) Roscoe had huge snowballs stuck on the fur between his toes and was really uncomfortable. I was also getting tired from pulling the baby sled so we decided to walk back. See that icy blue paw print on the map? That's about how far we made it.




See those tiny dots? That's Angela, Steve and Joe.


But it was a beautiful day and it got us outside for more than an hour and I would love to try it again. Soon. Here is a video of us that I took. The woman pulling the sled is Carrie's neighbor whom I had just met. She was kind enough to take a turn and give my arms a break. I already have a very bad feeling about how sore my left arm is going to be tomorrow.

[flickr video=5402015516 secret=7bab6c8baf w=400 h=300]

Matteo loved being outside and didn't complain at all. I think he enjoyed himself as much as I did.



The skiers had a great trip and found all sorts of cool stuff along the way like a circle of Christmas trees out on the ice that people had tied ribbons to that had wishes and prayers written on them and this giant snow cave. Here's Steve and Joe in the snow cave. How sweet is this?

our saturday

It was a great day - cabin fever begone! We tried out the new sled in the backyard, went on a long walk with a stop at the park, met Carrie and Angela at Olbrich to watch a Haitian dance and drum group perform, and then finished off the afternoon with coffee at The Victory. Matt has my camera so all I had was the flip, but I made a little movie of the things we did - want to see?

cabin fever

Since we're all feeling like Matteo looks in this picture, we are in desperate need of a change of scenery this weekend. Matt's getting his by taking off for Minnesota with his team for basketball game in St. Cloud, so Matteo and I are on our own.

I'm still not sure what we'll do tomorrow, but Sunday we're meeting up with friends who are planning to cross-country ski across Lake Monona.



They're leaving from the park right by our house (we live two blocks from the green arrow) so Matteo and I will join them and try to keep up for as long as we can. I may even get to use my snowshoes, depending on how much snow there is. It's 3.5 miles one way, and then they plan to ski back, so there's no way we'll do anything close to the whole trip. But it will be good to get outdoors and Matteo can finally use his new baby sled.



Isn't it snazzy?

summer photos on winter days

It's snowy here today, but isn't it snowy practically everywhere today? A couple of weeks ago our friend Dan sent out his photos from last summer's Green Lake vacation. This was the second year we've done this trip and it's definitely one of my favorite kinds of vacations - 10 adults and six kids hanging out together in a cool, old lake house for a long, summer weekend.

On a day like today, it's nice to take a few moments to think about warm weather, green trees, and swimming.























Matteo's hair has already changed several times since birth. He used to have a crazy dark baby mullet (just like his daddy). Check it:

matteo's room

We have serious cabin fever, folks. Good thing I love Matteo's room so much because we spend A LOT of time in there. I don't think I've posted photos of it before so here you go. (Note the open windows and billowing curtains. ahhh... *dreamy sigh*)

We've moved things around a bit since these photos were taken this summer - the IKEA chair is out and has been replaced by pillows on the floor for more comfortable reading, and there are now lots and lots of toys, for example - but at least you get a sense of where we spend most of our waking hours these days.







Our Expedit has had many incarnations. Bookshelf, room divider, and now baby central. Those red cabinet inserts cost almost as much as the Expedit did, but they're totally worth it for hiding all of the extra randomness that come along with babies. I made the pictures over the changing table in a flurry of nesting activity right before Matteo was born. The panda bear trash can was something I bought on St. Maarten and loved so much I shipped it back to the U.S. when we moved. The Novogratz girls from '9 By Design' have a similar one in their room, but it's a pink pig.





A closer look at a couple of favorite gifts - the Babar and Celeste paintings were from my brother and the four square paintings were done by Carrie.



And finally, the fish has an interesting story behind it. It's made out of a husk from the trunk of a palm tree and I bought it on St. Maarten five years ago from a young Dutch family that made and sold them. For years I've looked at that thing and thought, "what will I ever do with this?" but Matteo loves staring up at the spots and it helps keep him occupied while I change his diapers. It's funny how things that you pick up randomly eventually end up having just the right place in your life.

updates from sundance - #1

Just received this text from Kevin:

"I'm sitting in the middle of an installation piece by james franco based on threes company. The room looks like the set from the show."

with love from athens

Last week Matteo received a really sweet package from our friends Claudia, Jean-Phillipe, Katalina and Max, who are St. Maarten friends now living in Greece. Claudia was the art teacher at the school where Matt and I were also teaching and her daughter, Katalina, was in my first fourth grade class. The slippers are incredibly cozy and sweet (they have little dolphins on the sides and are fleecey on the inside) and the art book is even autographed to Matteo from the author. I love the lessons inside - here's a sample:



I also have to mention that Claudia is an amazing artist herself. For our wedding she painted rocks I collected from a local beach, which we gave to all out-of-town guests who came down for the ceremony. Aren't they beautiful? I still keep one on my desk at home and at work.



Thanks guys! We all miss you and hope to be able to thank you in person sometime soon! Big hugs and kisses!