Wedding Photos Pt. 2

Apologies, I promised only one hijacking of Berit's blog...but I couldn't get all the photos uploaded.  And they are a bit out of order.

Going to the chapel with my best dog

Lingo was so excited he could hardly contain his grin

Reading promises to Pete AND his Germans.

Sealed with a kiss

Woody and Rachael at the Scenic 

The wedding "crowd" enjoys cocktail hour

Two happy grandmas and the pointing Bear

Someone gave that kid a Surley?!

Three generations celebrate

The Johnson Siblings

Pete and his girls

Bear's notorious furrowed brow

The forgotten shoes mean...

running in socks with cousin Elizabeth

The canines that brought us together

Gigi and Berit enjoy a warm evening at the Scenic garden

Knot tied!

Gigi-Grammy

Matt and Jenny

The Wedding Edition

Disclaimer: This blog entry has virtually nothing to do with Berit.  It is all about the union of her momma and papa.

The "crowd" gathers... 

The Seim Time Siblings

Preparing to start the ceremony

Krista reads Prayer for a Marriage by Steve Scafidi

Woody reads Bob Dylan's The Wedding Song

The quirk of pulling off a wedding at a state park? Just about anybody can show up for it.

With the nieces

With Dehlia's Family

The Johnsons!

Brilliant Berit

"I think she's smart," Pete says today.  I wonder if he has noticed Bear's proclivity to cover her eyes with unlikely objects and walk into walls.  That could just be her comedic styling.

Today she identified dogs and cats in her book, barked at at least two dogs and one squirrel, bit me in the back when I slowed down during our walk, stomped around baby H and fed me tortilla chips.

Berit runs in place when she's excited and points when she wants something, and I can't help thinking some of that running in place resembles me bouncing from foot to foot trying to hold it when I have to go (which continues to be suddenly and with gusto nearly a year after giving birth).  She carries everything in her mouth (so as to have her hands free presumably) and I can only imagine the future conversations with her dentist.  So she doesn't suck her thumb and rejected the pacifier, she may still end up messing her teeth around.

Photos

Some more from the last entry:  (and happy birthday to G!)

Bear in her bonnet.

Serious

Happy (she is such a ham!)

Pouting

Berit playing with her Lingo

G uses the pool while Bear sulks a little

Berit struggles with her tart apple

Daughter of the bride!

Busy Bear

Well it has been a whirlwind wrap up of summer.  Uncle Woody is getting married in just two short days and there is still so much to be done.  September was beautiful until approximately three days ago, when it snowed (snowed! all day long!) up the Gunflint Trail where the ceremony is to be held.  Sheesh.

Whose momma forgot her shoes in the matrimonial excitement?

And then there was our almost-elopement last week, which was HOT and beautiful and just what I would have imagined, if I had been a wedding visionary kinda gal.  But I promised not to hijack my daughter's glory with some wistful windswept monologue about my own accomplishments.  This is Bear's blog.

Astronaut bubble head

And of course, these circumstances cause no anxiety for Berit.  She's unflappable, as the photos illustrate, life is peachy even if you are trying to walk with a red bucket on your head.  In fact, nothing could be funnier.

This seems like such a great idea...

Labor day weekend brought on a few days of heavy task-masting for me. I cleaned the entire kitchen, mowed the lawn, organized and emptied the front porch (after 16 months of moving back in) and my darling girl entertained herself (and me) all the while.

She is playing "peek" 

Marching back to her cabinet for more

Who knew this could be so fun?

Look ma, no hands!

And off is fun too

The Bear and her headware

I don't know where she learns this stuff...

Two headpieces, just in case

Happy, toothy baby

Explaining the virtues of the red bucket to me

In the Indian Summer we have been able to fit in more barefoot days and even one last (?) pool party on Sunday (9/11) with G (momma and S were growing girls at the same time!)

Berit (and her faithful companion Lingo) entertain G with  hat stacking tricks

As the one year mark approaches, and Berit's predicted due date of September 16, I find myself increasingly nostalgic.  How did a year pass already?  And what happened to my baby?

She runs! She climbs!  She barely wants to hold my hand to walk and she is fiercely independent.  Just tonight, she trekked circles around the nature center, not for one second concerned that I was out of vision; she had a marching mission and nothing was going to stop her.  She's not even one!

I suppose the moment that cord gets cut, you are starting to let go, and the first steps?  Well naturally they are away from you.  Just like that your kid is walking away.  Bah!!!

So until then, I better squeeze her lots and appreciate the open-mouthed/teeth "kisses" she plants on my nose. (I swear she is learning some real bad habits from her fur siblings...)

Late Summer

The other weekend we found ourselves in Cumberland, Wisconsin.  It was Rutabaggie Days.  (Personally, I always say root-a-bag-uh, but I heard so many "baggies" that afternoon, I couldn't resist.)  Pete indulged us with a nostalgic tour.

In front of Grandma's house

Running in the grass, while waiting for the parade

Fast Bear!

The backyard has been off-limits for the last month and a half.  Mosquitoes (!) came out in mid-July and have been ferocious!  Poor Berit gets devoured within seconds.  We haven't gotten to use the swing as much as we'd like but the approaching cooler weather may kill off some of the devils.

Meanwhile, Pete has been building at a frenetic pace.  The late start, coupled with lots of Berit time, has meant progress is harder to achieve.  I am continuously amazed however.  He can do all this and cook too!

Taking shape...

Berit and I are looking forward to enjoying the fruits of Pete's labor.  I think I could pre-retire to the woods tomorrow.  It is so incredibly nice to get out of the city; we just weren't meant to be town kids!

The Bear in the Woods

Ah, happy September!

Berit is 11! (months, that is!)

It is hard to believe that we are closing in on our little chickpea's first birthday!  I definitely think that the 10 months of pregnancy took twice as long as the first 11 months of Berit's entertaining life...but then I was largely pregnant, my feet were swollen and it was 95 degrees for four months.

What does Berit do now?

She runs (dangerously), hops, squats, brings you all kinds of things, points, waves, kisses (open mouth), hugs, climbs up stairs at lightning speed, practicing going down a few steps at a time (backwards) until she decides that is too slow and turns in anticipation of a swan dive back down the stairs.

She does not hold still, as her 11-month old snapshots demonstrate:

Standing

Don't make me sit...

Yelling while squatting

The fake cry face

A smile for her papa

Refusing to show momma how tall she is

She loves carrying things with handles: sand bucket, shoe boxes, purses, camera case...anything you can imagine.

Berit still loves walking her dogs and she does a really good job of getting them wound up.  Usually she gets to the backpack or the leashes and brings them to you as a sign.  Here, she and Sitka wait for me.

And here, Berit decides to walk herself.  This is just one of her "raised by dogs" habits.  She has a tendency to carry things in her mouth like her fur siblings. Pete has caught her trying to eat by putting her face to the floor, while the dogs put their noses in their bowls.

She is a very funny kid.  (She gets that from her papa.)  But has quite the stubborn streak (she gets that from him too!)  Sleep is still the enemy.  Sometimes, even the suggestion of it is enough to send her over the edge.

Reacting to the news that post-walk means naptime for everyone