crawler

old man winter's a comin'

we don't have snow-kissed mountains yet

or even a blanket of frost to welcome in the morning

but what we do have is this....

static head.

7/27

Penny (27 months old):
-favorite food: nothing--she doesn't eat.  or candy
-favorite toy: stuffed animals
-favorite thing to watch: wonder pets and go diego go!
-favorite activity: playing outside
-hates: being left alone when throwing tantrums
-wants: a puzzle she saw in her book (in her words, "penny willy, willy wants that")
-loves: her aunties
-needs: pants that stay on her bum and cover her ankles at the same time


Teddy (7 months old):
-favorite food: everything
-favorite toy: cords and sticks (magic wands, drum sticks, fishing poles)
-favorite thing to watch: penny and go diego go!
-favorite activity: bath time
-hates:  the blender
-wants: mobility
-loves: vacuuming
-needs: to learn to crawl

See Ya Later Heidi Booth! (and Kate)

some of you may remember that heidi booth was the love-of-my-life hairstylist.  was.  kate is all done with school and girl's got skills.  (warning: horrible iphone pictures. sorry for the blur.)

before:

after:

penny needed a new 'do too, so...

before:

after:

that girl will not let me take a decent picture of her, but trust me, she looks adorable.

now the sad part of this story is that right when kate finished school and had become the new love-of-my-life hairstylist, she moved all the way across the country to virginia.  so goodbye, kate.  and maybe hello again heidi booth?

Annual Nerd Post

Take a look at the stock market for the last 100 or so years.  Notice how consistently we have 15ish years with no growth, then 15ish years with tons of growth:

And when the stock market grows, it doesn't mess around.  Last two times (1949-1965 and 1982-2000) it went up about 10 times.  Yes, 10 times.  So had you put in $10,000 it would have grown to $100,000.  $100,000 would have grown to $1,000,000 etc.  

We're just now coming out of 15 years of no growth and will likely be heading into really good growth for the next 15 years.  Wanna retire wealthy?  Wanna spend more time with your family and less time worrying about money?  Wanna buy a palace filled with cheap original eBay art and handicapped lamas?  Whatever your financial goals, it's an amazing time to start investing.

List of complaints I could imagine hearing from you right now:

"I don't have enough money to invest!" - Read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" as you likely have more than you think you do.  Reading this book is also the answer for "I don't have any motivation."

"How do you even start?  It seems complicated." - First make sure you're taking advantage of any employer match 401k programs (be sure it's invested in good growth stock mutual funds).  Already done or aren't offered one?  Go to Fidelity.com and click "open an account."  Wire in money from your bank account (or set up automatic withdrawals), and invest away.  Super easy.  Starting is the hardest, most important step.

"What should I invest in." - Whatever you feel comfortable with (I think diversified index funds are best).  My suggestions?  Chose "SPY" (largest 500 companies in the US - it's what the graph is of above) "IJT" (600 of the smaller US growth companies) or "EEM" (index funds from emerging markets around the world) or any combination of the three.  I use "IJT" and "EEM" as they tend to follow "SPY" fairly close, but just do a bunch better (instead of 10 times higher, they often do 20 times higher).  Doing a third in each is great for most people.

"I have way too much money, and I don't want any more" - please call me.

Also, in case you're a Debbie-downer and doubt the consistency of mutual funds, this goes back to 1789:

As my Grandma used to say, "You want money to work for you, not against you."  This is an amazing way to do that.  And, for the record, Grandma started incredibly poor and died a multimillionaire.

(just because this is a family blog)

Halloween Preview

a slide progression

(after going on a walk and hugging every street lamp in sight, hence the smudged nose and grey-tinted bangs.)

baby teeth!

teddy's such a mellow baby i didn't know he was teething until one day he bit me with two sharp little teeth. 

 can't wait for those uppers to pop, 'cause that will just be adorable. 

She's Taking an Interest!!!!

but who can blame her? he's starting to get so stinkin' cute.

maybe she feels like they're on the same level now?

funny faces for kate

and anyone else who wants to see random pictures of my children.

(this one's the best) 

love and miss you, kate.  stop leaving.

Forced Friendship

Ted doesn't know it, but Penny's expression makes it very clear.

6 months

teddy-boy is 6 months old.  it went fast and slow at the same time.  let's take a look back.

1.  he was creepy looking at 1 month old.
2.  he's loved his big sister from the moment he met her.
3.  we often hear things like, "his smile takes up his whole face!" or "his smile looks like the Joker's!" which means he looks like me (or at least a williamson).
4.  he's very strong--started rolling over at 2 months and sitting by 5.
5.  he's a people person. doesn't matter if he's poopy, bored, or hasn't eaten in 4 hours, as long as someone's by his side he's happy.
6. he's in awe of the world around him and anxious to be more engaged in it (just look at all those wide-eyed pictures).

in short, he's the perfect baby for this family.

For Asher: As Promised

Angry Bird socks = coolest present ever.  Thanks, cousin.
Love,
Teddy

Ted's Favorite Thing

 sucking on any and all fabric.  and then pretending he wasn't.

p.s. you may have noticed that my children are not in any pictures together.  that's because penny refuses to hold/sit by/touch/play with teddy.  how do i make my kids be friends?

Penini