NEWS

Wow, no posts the ENTIRE summer- well we have been extremely busy, haven't we!
Rowan is now:
Talking- Mamma, Dadda, look, duck, up.. and some "baby " words to mean I want that, put me down etc...
Walking- running actually! that was a quick transition.
Eating- table food- although going through a picky eater phase at the moment.
I will have to catch up with some cute pictures.

Some new developments- I am going to be teaching art part time this year at Madison Central Montessori School- Yay!!! I already have way more projects in mind than we have time for. Can't wait to start!

Lambie puppet

I finally finished the lamb handpuppet on our trip. I think she is super cute. One leg is shorter than the other, I should have been paying more attention.
I'm currently working on a curtain for the front door using a technique called "broomstick crochet" that uses a gianourmous needle to hold stitches. The pattern looked fugly in the old book I saw it in, but I tried it anyway and I think it looks beautiful.

a few recent pictures...

Blogger had a glitch for a while that was preventing upload of pictures- so I have a backlog..

Here are a few from our trip to New Orleans: Rowan "driving" with dad, Rowan dining outdoors at a restaurant, and the little guy all exhausted from a long day at Jazz fest.

the Sultan's Elephant...

ok- so I am googling "elephanten", a brand of children's shoes, and I stumble across video of this incredible performance in London from 2006. It is a French puppetry group called "royal de luxe" operating a 2 story high realistic elephant puppet. There is also a little girl giant who looks unsettlingly real. For four days these giant puppets inhabited London and people followed them around. I can't imagine seeing this performance live- it must have been so exciting!
watch and be amazed...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQbTMEupTpk

2007 Bike Parade

Back from New Orleans Jazz Fest... a lot of profit, a lot of fun, and a hell of a lot of work! We're happy to be back home... just in time for:
The BIKE PARADE! Yay!
Here are more pictures of the art bikes:
http://madisonartbikes.blogspot.com/

The best money ever spent....

Was on this new bike trailer. I have never felt such joy about any other consumer product. We took it on the maiden voyage with Rowan on Saturday to the Cottage Grove bike path. He chilled out back there and didn't whine or fuss for 2 hours- it is a nice comfy ride. There is even room to bring a little friend along...for now he has a teddy co-pilot. Since spring is finally here, we'll be using it as much as possible.

Babyfriends!

Here is Rowan and his friend Gemma playing together. They are such good little pals...Gemma is teaching Rowan how to say "Hi!"

And here are the two new babies together in one room. What beautiful little guys they are! It seems like so long ago my Rowan was that tiny.
Left to right: Martin, Anna with Henry, Norm, Alicia with Dario.

Forward!

Wow- We're impressed with mr. Babyman!
It has taken ONE week to go from crawling only backwards to complete forward locomotion. Now he can go anywhere- and remarkably fast. He likes to crawl in circles around the table as we eat breakfast. He is even pulling up on furniture now and standing himself up. He is also enjoying a couple of cool toys our friends Shelly and Matt gave us- a "johnny jump-up" and an exersaucer.


Rowan has two new little babyfriends! Alicia had Dario, and Anna is mom to Henry. It was so exciting waiting for the babies to be born- we can't wait to play together. We will get to meet them Thursday at the potluck YAY!
And we are having such warm weather- Spring is right around the corner......

Laurie's murals

I have over 10 years of experience as a professional artist and designer. I can now bring my artwork directly to a wall near you. I work in freehand painting, stenciling and stamping, and my specialty is original artwork for childrens rooms. I can quote you a price for your mural with a free on site consultation. Rates are variable depending on square footage, complexity of design and degree of detail. A general estimate is $10 to $30 a square foot, with a minimum charge of $200 per job. I prefer not to work with copyrighted characters (ie: Disney) I will paint a child's name on his or her wall for a flat fee of $75. Please give me a call to discuss your needs.

JAZZ FEST 2007- we will be there!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
I got into Jazz fest! We'll be there the first weekend exhibiting at the Contemporary Crafts area. I was having a meltdown waiting for the news...so excited about being there- and it'll be Rowan's first Fest outside of the womb.
http://www.nojazzfest.com/

My Birthday party

The King Cake



We had a blast at my party on the 17th.

Finally there is a place to have a decent po-boy in Madison at Babs' French Quarter kitchen. Babs even made me a birthday king cake. Pixie got the baby!

Laurie blows out the candles...

Rowan holds hands with Karl and aunt Sharon...

Happy New Year!

We're back from New Orleans and wish everyone a happy new year!
Here we are in the rooftop pool of the LaPavillion hotel on the morning of New years day.