I think she likes chocolate...

On Saturday, Emma and I went to Jack's first birthday party. Emma was pretty oblivious to birthday routines during her own birthday, but I think she's started to pick up on things. Check out her cupcake eating skills:


Dave is not a chocolate person, but I am, and I am thrilled that the chocolate eaters now outnumber the non-chocolate eaters. Welcome back chocoalte desserts!

In Memoriam

The world lost one of its best last night.

Gordon B. Hinckley was the president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Though I never met him personally, I, like many others, loved this man. His compassion and warmth, faith and humility, humor and intelligence came through his words loud and clear, even if you only heard them through satellite broadcast or the printed page.

I have been thinking about his family all day (I knew two of his grandchildren when I was at BYU). I pray that they may be comforted in their loss. As for President Hinckley, I am sure that he is rejoicing in his reunion with his beloved wife. His life was truly such that he could say: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

I have also been thinking about how to pay tribute to this great man. Perhaps a donation to the Temple or Humanitarian funds. And of course, I will stand a little taller and be a little better.

A Trip to the Aquarium

Yes, I know I haven't really been blogging lately. But that's because it's been cold and we've had colds and haven't done anything more than go to the grocery store, which no one wants to hear about. But today we took a trip down the shore to Jenkinson's Aquarium in Point Pleasant, NJ. It was a small, local aquarium, which was perfect for us. Just the right size for Emma to wander at will--her favorite activity these days. She had a ball.

Emma looking at the seals.

Emma as a seal, with Christopher looking on.

Emma with a shark (look really closely around the flash).

Emma with Christopher and Michael.
But by far Emma's favorite part of the aquarium was...

...climbing the stairs!

Atonement by Ian McEwan

I've been meaning to read Atonement for a while now and I just finished it a couple of days ago. It has all the marks of great fiction: vivid descriptions, lyrical prose, characters with human flaws, an ending you didn't expect...I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. If you haven't read it, do. And then we can talk about it.

She's got skillz...

Emma has had a cold slowing her down the last couple of days, but I knew she was feeling better when I found her doing this:

Yes, those are her feet:

She's like a chimpanzee discovering the use of tools.

100th Post!

Sometimes I think I don't post that much, but I reached 100 posts in about 8 months, so that's not too bad, right?

In honor of my 100th post I'm going to set some goals for 2008. Yes, I know New Years was like two weeks ago, but I've been debating whether or not to set goals at all. I find resolutions cliche, and I usually end up falling into the same traps most people do and set the same goals every year, which I promptly break within 3 days. So this year I'm going to simplify. For 2008:

1. Eat more vegetables.

2. Play more with Emma. She is remarkably good at entertaining herself, and sometimes I feel like I need to interact with her more than I do.

3. Write something and submit it to a publisher.

4. Scrapbook--especially with supplies that I ALREADY have in my closet.

The Delectable Miss Austen

PBS's Masterpiece Classics is showing the complete works of Jane Austen over the next couple of months, including P&P with the Colin Firth. It begins tomorrow night with Persuasion. For a complete schedule, check here. And be sure to set your TiVo!

Hurrah x 2!

Another beautiful day has me wishing it were March instead of January. We headed out to the Bronx Zoo. Our favorites were the polar bear, the monkeys, and the African wild dogs. Unfortunately the tigers were closed, and many animals were in for the winter so there were a lot we missed, but it was still fun to get out and enjoy the weather.

Emma wtih the polar bear. She tried to give him a kiss and insisted that he said "moo."

Emma loved getting out of her stroller to walk around.

She especially enjoyed running away from me!

On the Bug Carousel.

Hurrah for Warm Weather!

Or at least for a high of 55 degrees, which feels downright balmy after the subzero temperatures last week. We took advantage of what is most likely a temporary thaw, and met some friends at the park. Emma had an especially wonderful time, and we both enjoyed the much-needed vitamin D fix.

Family Photos

We've added two family members since the last time the Kern family sat for professional portaits, so we decided to take some when we were all together.

Everybody

Our little family

Cousins Kate and Emma. Check out Emma's new 'do!

A Kern Family Christmas, Part 2

More pictures!


Matt modeling his bounty.

Emma, with our bounty.

Mamacita, with Emma's latest publication.

Matt, before he opened our gift. (Dave and Matt make wrapping packages an Olympic sport, and they try to out-do each other with the most difficult packaging.)

Matt, mid-gift-opening. (Sorry, I don't think I got an "after." He got iTunes gift cards, if you're wondering).

The cutest present of all, Baby Kate!

A Kern Family Christmas

We had a *lovely* visit with Dave's family in Arizona over Christmas. Everyone was there, and it was especially fun to get Emma together with her cousin Kate. The baby girls were definitely the entertainment for the week. Below are some pictures of our adventures. (Warning: there are a lot, so feel free to skip them if you're not related to us).


Emma with the ducks at Agua Caliente Park.

At the Tucson Zoo. The first exhibit we saw was the tigers, and Emma said "tiger" perfectly. Thereafter, of course, every animal was a tiger.

With Grandpoppy Kern at the zoo.

Dave with Emma, left, and Kate, right.

Kate and Emma playing in the kitchen (with a special thanks to Grandmacita for her tupperware).

Grandpoppy and Emma watching Baby Einstein and practicing their sign language.

Baby Kate playing with her carseat.

Baby Kate and Tyler (her dad) spending some quality time outside.

Dave and Emma playing in the leaves.

Emma with Uncle Matt (probably watching some more Baby Einstein).

Emma walking in the backyard. She *loved* it. She would bang on the glass doors and beg to go out.

Hooray for yards!

Baby Kate enjoyed the yard too.
Wow, that's a lot of pictures! More coming tomorrow...