I thought it might be kind of fun to put a baby photo of Soren up. It's amazing how fast two-and-a-half years can go by and how difficult it is to remember what Soren looked like as a baby. This photo was taken at 2 1/2 months, Ingrid's age now. I think they look remarkably similiar, especially with the shock of dark hair.

Fun times with Grandpa Don and Grandma Kathy

Don and Kathy were a huge help and lots of fun.

Grandpa Don and Grandma Kathy's visit

Grandpa Don and Grandma Kathy were kind enough to come visit and help me out while Chris was away. Don and Soren took long bike rides and played outside all day.

Cowboy

Chris was away for a few days on a trip across North Dakota. This was for new UND faculty to learn a more about the state. On his travels he picked up this cowboy hat for Soren. Soren wore it all day and said he was a cowboy with a purple horse. We recently read a book that described how cowboys behave, so Soren calls his hat a "Stetson" and says "nice little doogie" and "ti yipee tie yay..." as he pretends to be a cowboy.

Some pics of me and Ingrid. We're both trying to figure out what to do with our hair!

Grand Forks Public Library

Soren and I loved Pittsburgh's libraries. Our favorite was the Carnegie Library in Oakland. It was so bright, cheery and always air conditioned. We'd grab a muffin from the cafe and play at the train table or grab a pile of books and settle into one of their very comfy couches. We also had a weekly routine of visiting our neighborhood library in Edgewood. We were close enought to walk over and enjoy storytime every Tuesday morning. The same crew of Moms and kids would show up. Soren loved the librarian, Andrea. Since we were sort of attached to our libraries in Pittsburgh, I was nervous about what we'd find in Grand Forks. It turns out that there are two libraries here, one in North Dakota and the other in East Grand Forks (the Minnesota side). The library in ND is close to where we live, not walking distance, but I'm not walking far anyway with two little ones now. Unfortunately, I found that the storytime at the Grand Forks Library is poorly done. But, it has a huge pirate ship for climbing on and a fire engine to sit in (big plus for Soren!) The East Grand Forks Library has an awesome storytime, so we'll be venturing to the Minneapolis side of the Red River, once these start up again after Labor Day. These are pictures of Soren enjoying what the Grand Forks library has to offer, I think he looks pretty satisified.

Fast asleep

It's hard work being cute as a button.