Name that Baby Answers

... and we've got winners!

Question number two was by far the most missed one. Ryan's sister and my sister each got 9/10, both missing poor number two.
This is Collin. And yes, I did put it in there because it is stunning how much they resemble each other. This is the "matching" one of Brennan. Striking, eh? And really, I couldn't make it THAT easy. In fact, I am glad I was able to trip a few people up - and relatives at that! Go me!

So a shout-out to my two perfect scores...

Jennifer Stock - She's my good friend from our graduate-work days in Madison. Her husband, Dave, is getting his PhD in rhetoric and will be done next Spring (fingers crossed). We moved into our ward in Madison at the same time and then both searched for teaching positions. She found a job teaching ESL until she had her now 3-year old Lane. Then she became a SAHM. She had beautiful Eleanor about a month after Brennan was born. She's wonderful, and a winner of my Name That Baby Contest.

Amy Rose - She's my good friend from here in Peoria, though she now no longer lives here. Her husband, Devin, was working on his post-doc with the USDA here, until last winter when he accepted a professorship at the University of Nebraska. Her daughter Hallie is almost exactly one year older than Collin, and her daugher Hanna is almost exactly one year younger than Collin and one year older than Brennan. We joke that for the last 3 years we've each alternatingly had a baby in December/January. Yep, you counted right - it's her turn! She's wonderful, and a winner of my Name That Baby Contest.

And if you are wondering how you did, here's the full list of answers...
1 - Collin
2 - Collin
3 - Brennan
4 - Collin
5 - Brennan
6 - Collin
7 - Brennan
8 - Collin
9 - Brennan
10 - Brennan

I still think they look remarkably similar. I wish I had more baby pictures of Ryan; I'd totally do another contest for you guys - It's nuts how much my little boys look like their dad!

Name that Baby

Alright, I've created a little game for you. It's called "Name That Baby." The only hint I'll give you is that each picture is of either Collin or Brennan. And if you thought this would be easy, I made the pictures black and white.

Need an extra incentive? I'll mail or drop-off a reward to the person who gets the most answers correct. (Reward opportunity ends Friday, May 27th)

Okay, let the games begin!

1.


















2.























3.




















4.


















5.
















6.
















7.


















8.























9.
























10.

Mother's Week

It was a great Mother's Day week around here.

On Tuesday evening I met a friend for dinner and shopping. Since having kids, I think I've only met with groups of other girls, and it was really fun to enjoy an expensive dinner and chatting. Unfortunately, I struck out at Old Navy for myself and ended up only buying a belt for Ryan.

On Thursday I picked up another friend, and we headed to the mall for National Mom's Nite Out. It was pretty lame, so we ended up leaving after 20 minutes and going to the Kid's Consignment Sale. I found a few toys, and it ended up being a successful evening.

On Saturday morning I headed back to the Consignment Sale (Half Price Day!) and scored a few more cheap toys.

Then on Saturday afternoon, after hours of planning and worrying, Ryan and I went on a date! We left Collin AND Brennan with our 17-year old neighbor and went to the Luthy Botanical Gardens. Then we got ice cream in Peoria Heights and strolled through their downtown. We even stumbled upon their local arts & crafts street fair. It reminded us of the summer festivals in Utah when we lived there. No stroller, no sippys, no binkies... The weather was amazing, and the company was even better!

On Sunday morning I finally decided I'd be willing to sit in front of the camera (notice the placement of the children in front of my gut) to get a picture with my boys. Aren't they handsome?

Another wonderful gift was that Ryan rode with us to AND from church. No meetings before or after! That's a miracle. Then after church, Ryan made us steak, baked potatoes, asparagus and smoothies. It was delicious! We ate while both boys took naps.And church must have been particularly exhausting for the toddlers, because Collin took a 3-1/2 hour nap, that I finally woke him up from at 6:30pm. Happy Mother's Day to me!

Some consequences of my fabulous week were that I had to pump 4 times (four bottles for my baby in a week; that must be some record!), and Ryan made marginal progress on the swingset project. Oh well. It was totally worth it.

Happy Mother's Day to all the women in my life!