Three Forks

About 30 miles north of Bozeman, the Gallatin, Jefferson and Madison Rivers all converge to form the Missouri. The Missouri then flows north and east across ~2/3 of the state of Montana. It then continues through the Dakotas and somewhere way east of here hits the Mississippi....

Based on the convergence of the three rivers, the town where the Missouri forms is called "Three Forks". That is where we were on this beautiful day in mid-May. It really has been the ONLY beautiful day that I can remember in a long, long time. I think the temperature out in the valley hit 75 degrees. Since then it has only snowed and rained...

Regardless, this day was perfect. It was Emma's first trip in the framepack. She did extremely well going out. By the time we headed back she had had enough, and we were still 20 minutes from the car...

Call me crazy...

I may be way off base here, but isn't she starting to look like a little girl version of a Col. Charles Walter Roberts!? Time will tell!

A Friday afternoon sit with Papa.

Mid-day sit time with Melva the Dragon

Emma LOVES this dragon. It was a gift from her aunt, uncle and cousins Mary, Cory, Ella and Calder. We call the dragon Melva. It is on her bed in her room. The bed is actually a fouton, but has a feather bed on top. Pretty cosy actually...




The beauty of having a feather bed on top of her fouton is that when the sitting up part fails her, the pay back is not tooo bad. I can't say the same for when she is working on her stomach- -six-pack-sitting up skills on the rug in the living room floor. ...Don't worry, she hasn't truly bonked her head yet. I am a good spotter.

Life in an exer-saucer

I don't want to be too friendly towards an Emma activity toy entirely made of plastic. But, I can't help myself. We love the exer-saucer, as does Emma--most of the time. She doesn't spend all day in it, just fun-filled, exuberant short-bursts. Don't worry, we still read and hold her. A lot. All the time actually...

Greetings from the Land of Snowy Spring

A look from our front porch, taken earlier this week. Two to four feet are expected this weekend in the valley....

A message from AMA

Attention to all American Medical Association (AMA) hat owners: if you own one of these hats and have a baby, be sure to make them wear it at least once and take pictures....

April Showers...

I'm all about the flowers, and a mellow fire season. But, honestly I wish it would stop snowing. The Bridger-bound men and women about town in their ski finery, grabbing a quick cup of joe before hitting the hill are making me grumpy.

Emma on the other hand seems to have newly discovered snow. She was entranced by the falling flakes this afternoon as they past our dining room window.





She literally watched the snow from her exer-saucer for 10 minutes. It was very special to watch.

So, with that realization I adjusted my attitude and revved myself up for a little late-winter romp around the block. Still I hadn't total bought into this being fun.....it was getting late and was a bit raw and wet.......

But, not Emma. She was in her bunting finest with a can-do attitude.


Then I started to see some things that actually were pretty.



Sid is in Billings at a tournament (those in the know will know what kind) so Emma and I are on our own for the weekend. It was nice to get out of the house just the two of us and to be focused solely on her as she becomes so much more in-tune with her surroundings; even if it is just a walk around our neighborhood at 5pm on a day that should have been in the 5os.



And who can argue with a baby girl, captivated by April snow who has a smile like that?

The Main Event.

On Saturday March 21st, at the Episcopal evening Easter Vigil service, Emma Ryer Williamson was baptized. She was a trooper. She out did her christianing competitor by not crying a bit; even when they doused her with a salon-shampoo level of blessed water. It was a beautiful service. One I had never been to; they start off the service at sunset. The first half of the service is somber and set in the building darkness, no light except candles. The second half is lit and jubilant.

Here are some picture of us and Emma before the service. Emma outstrips us in look and photo-readiness. That is fine by us.



We are missing pictures of Gail and Page, who flew out for the baptism. My parents were unable to attend, but gave Emma a lovely cross for the occasion. The blue dress Emma is wearing was very pretty, worn by my sister Debbie at her baptism, circa 196x and was also adorned by my niece Kathryn in the mid-1980s. The bonnet was a gift from Gail and was made in Memphis from an antique hankerchief. It makes her look timeless we thought, and a little Amish.

Also present were our friends Tanya and Warren who attended the service as witnesses.

March Madness: Part IV

Wow. We are up to Part IV. That is almost as bad as the "one too many Rocky" movies...
But, it has been awhile. We took a lot of photos in March. That, and we don't even have pictures of Emma's baptism yet. We are waiting for Page's high quality photo shots. It is taking a while. According to the master, something is wrong with Sid's eyes. My bet is that they are closed. He will use his photo skills to fix this. He does not "Suck at Photoshop"; either that or he has been watching and learning via the comic and highly skilled Photoshop man-whiner on You Tube.

I digress. Here are some photos of Emma. Is it me, or do these seem to indicate she is getting a very identifiable personality?

Here you go. I posted too many, but they are so funny. I like to laugh. These make me laugh. xoDad is crazy. Yes he is.
Dad is crazy. Don't I know?
"Dad, do you know what you are doing?"
"No, he does not"
"These baths are getting very trying. I like them, but Gahl. Enough with the bubbles!"

"Is anyone listening to me? No more bubbles!!" :-)

March Madness: Part III

March Madness: Part II

Indoor tummy time. While not an immediate fan of tummy time, Emma is starting to get the hang of it.

Rather than her usual out-of-the-block face plant, she will now do what she is doing in this picture. Notice the strong right arm bracing. Isn't she amazing?

Go Emma!

She only starts to get frustrated now after 3-4 minutes of being on her belly rather than the previous average of 30 seconds.

She is getting good!