R.I.P J.D. Salinger

RIP JD, you were a pretty darn* entertaining writer.
*he would have used the real word, but I just sound silly when I swear, even on a blog!

"If there is an amateur reader still left in the world--or anybody who just reads and runs--I ask him or her, with untellable affection and gratitude, to split the dedication of this book four ways with my wife and children."


"I'm aware that many of my friends will be saddened and shocked, or shock-saddened, over some of the chapters in The Catcher In the Rye. Some of my best friends are children. In fact, all my best friends are children. It's almost unbearable for me to realize that my book will be kept on a shelf out of their reach."

"Life is a gift horse in my opinion."

and finally

"I don't really deeply feel that anyone needs an airtight reason for quoting from the works of writers he loves, but it's always nice, I'll grant you, if he has one."

my daughter, the bully

Here's a little video to demonstrate how Tessa uses the 3 extra pounds she has on Fritz to push him around, steal his bink, & roll over on him. Hopefully he'll hit a growth spurt soon so that he can start sticking up for himself!

tessa the bully from Kelly Lee on Vimeo.

Chuck

James's grandpa Chuck passed away this last week & we attended the memorial service in San Jose this weekend. He was such an interesting guy full of integrity, an engineer who traveled all over the world, played tennis up into his 90's and built & flew the coolest model airplanes.

One of our favorite recent memories with Chuck was when Tessa was about 2 months old and we brought her over for a visit. At the time she was a very fussy little girl and wasn't really happy when people held her. Chuck was pretty sick with the effects of cancer at the time and could hardly talk, but as he held Tessa, for one of the first times in her little life, she just sat there, calm and still. It was a very special moment.

We feel so lucky that we moved back the bay area in time to spend a few moments with Chuck at the end of his life!

Thanks!

Thanks for all the comments, it was so nice to hear from all of you who check in on us from time to time. Although I thought I wanted to find out I had a random reader from somewhere far away, it was reassuring to know the majority of the people who read our blog are old friends & friends of friends. Blogging can be such an isolated thing, your comments remind me of all the ways it keeps us connected.

In the spirit of Jocelyn's post and national delurking week, please leave me a comment so we can be properly introduced, because I want to know who you blog readers are!

roly-poly

She learned how to roll from back to front with lots of help & cheering from grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles!

roly-poly from Kelly Lee on Vimeo.

yum yum

Tessa got to eat her first food tonight and loved it. She gobbled it all up and was disappointed that there wasn't more. Sounds like she's going to take after her mother. Oh and another bonus of solid food...she conked out in her dad's arms right after her bath and has been sleeping ever since.

2009 on the iphone

Having an Iphone is great because I take so many little random pictures that capture moments, here's a year in recap:
Jim helping in Phx, fried tacos, cold weather, guitar hero with the Aho's.
sweet tomato lunch breaks, Chirline's baptism
rainbow cake, it's a girl, Jim finds fresh powder, baby registry
pranks at work, goose in the parking lot, karaoke, tree skirt or poncho?
Bogie & Madison, house hunting in CA, spring at last!
Margie's, getting packing, graduation, back in SF
first day of work, moving in, we meet Tessa!
stealing sleep, visiting Brooke, playing with Tessa, first day of Church
dressing up, multi-tasking, meeting Fritz
meeting Diane, Berkeley, showing Fritz who's boss, baby bee
playing with dad, walks with grandma, Fritz's blessing
Mama's, first flight, meeting great-grandma, playing in park city

Merry Christmas

We are up here in Park City, enjoying a white Christmas with the Lee family, with snow, skiing, hot-tubbing and lots of attention for the newest grandchild.

BABIES

My sister-in-law Meredith just told me about this movie that is coming out in 2010. What an amazing idea, I can't wait to see it. I'm sure it will really put things into perspective, all my silly worries raising Tessa.