Smith Family Weblog

Our friend Tom participated in the Topeka Tinman Triathalon today, and the Smith girls were there to cheer him on. We missed the swim, which started very early this morning, but we did see him from afar on his bike.

We stationed ourselves near the transition area, where the athletes ditched their bikes and started the run. Tom was definitely in the head of the pack of more than 150, and he took a few seconds to give Ava a high five as he passed by.

We spent the rest of our girls’ day out playing at the park, having brunch at Lulu’s Cafe, riding the train at the zoo and hitting the mall.

UPDATE: As we expected, Tom did very well yesterday! He finished fourth in his age group, and was only two minutes behind second place. He placed 34th overall. Way to go!

For my first of 36 hours in Madison, I joined Alisa, Melissa and Lori for a cruise around Lake Monona. We had a great time downtown, and then Melissa treated us to a stay at the Hilton. We had brunch the next morning and parted ways far too soon.

Linden is an incredibly sweet baby, and Liana is such a calm and happy mom. They seem perfectly suited to each other.

If you need a more regular Linden fix, you can check out more pictures of this cute little guy over on the Lamont family blog.

I made a quick trip up to Madison this weekend to meet its newest resident, Linden.

More photos of this adorable little guy soon!

My friend Liana welcomed a baby boy over the weekend. You can see photos over at Coca’s blog. In the meantime, I’m trying to convince myself not to drive north just yet…

Our friend Tom moved to Kansas this weekend (something I think a few more of you should consider). We are all thrilled to have him–Bryan, of course, but his two biggest fans are also his littlest:

The last in my Madison posts…

Liana’s Mom Ellie and I hosted a shower for Liana in Madison on Saturday afternoon. We chose the eclectic and off beat Lazy Jane’s Cafe because it’s one of Liana and Scott’s neighborhood favorites. It suits Liana so well, and the catering staff did an amazing job of making sure we had everything we needed.

Liana’s a biochemist who teaches chemistry and edits a scientific journal, so I tried to bring that into the theme of the shower. I adapted the periodic table invitations from discontinued cards I found on Pink Loves Brown.

We had guests write messages in one of my favorite children’s books, Guess How Much I Love You.

I sent a copy of the invitation to the cake maker Liana worked with for her wedding cake. The artists did a great job of capturing the theme, and they used the same cake and filling Liana requested for the wedding cake. Scott pointed out that the script used for Liana’s name looks exactly like her signature.

Lazy Jane’s has a cozy little nook for kids which was perfect for the present opening later that night.

We selected a Mediterranean inspired menu with chicken salad, tabbouleh, hummus and Greek salad.

The staff even set up a special table for the kids:

Liana, Alisa and Melissa hosted a baby shower for me when I was pregnant with Ava, and as part of the festivities, the guests decorated onesies for Ava to use throughout her first year. They were amazing–and I saved all of them. We did the same for Liana.

Guess who made this one?

Liana has so many wonderful friends–everywhere she goes, she reaches out and makes connections that span years, if not decades. I feel so fortunate that she counts me among them. I simply cannot wait to meet her new little baby. Only a few weeks away!

I drove into downtown Madison on Thursday morning, and I did a double-take when I saw the isthmus reflected on the screen of my Garmin:

To make myself feel completely at home, I met Melissa and Alisa for a lunch that involved far too much wine for a Thursday afternoon. At this point, I found it was possible to be completely homesick for two places at the very same time.

Later in the day, I caught up with my friend Renee (this time over a far more sensible cup of coffee), and I was even able to see my friend Stef as well.

I stayed with Liana and Scott, who spoiled me further with another fabulous dinner and a quiet guest room. Even Coca seemed happy to see me (every single time I walked in the door!).

We spent Friday running baby and shower related errands, ending the day at Jolly Bob’s.

On Saturday, we woke to what I thought was six or seven inches of snow, but Liana pointed out that it was really only three or four. I (again) borrowed what I needed to head out into the snow for a walk down the lake with Liana’s neighbor.

See that spot in the distance on the ice of Lake Monona? That’s Coca!

Here’s more of a close-up (at this poor, but quite stubborn, kitty’s expense):

Later that morning, we braved the still-falling snow and headed across town to celebrate our impending birthdays with pedicures at our favorite spa. You’ll probably think I was the one who suggested skipping shoes and socks in order to preserve our perfectly painted toes, but it was my usually quite sensible companion. Besides, we only walked to the cute little bakery next door.

Liana’s baby shower was Saturday afternoon, but more on that later.