Happy Holidays!

We hope you're having a memorable holiday season. We were fortunate to spend time with our families during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Coco was thrilled to be with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Although she enjoyed getting new toys and opening presents, one of the highlights was getting shuffled around in a cardboard box (a.k.a. "the boat") by her cousins Alex and Sophie.

While we continue to wait for baby #2 we wanted to take the opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year and all the best for 2009.

Frosty The Snow Mon

Coco has a bit of a fascination with snowmen. It started around Thanksgiving, when our neighbor hung one of those cheesy Menards' snowmen in his backyard. Ever since, Coco has greeted each day by running to the window to see if "Snow Mon," as she calls him, is still there. Mommy and Coco have colored snowmen, read about snowmen, sung about snowmen and talked about snowmen every day since the Menards special appeared next door. Finally this weekend, the ingredients necessary for building the first snowman of winter came together at the Farm: a few rocks, a couple twigs and oak leaves, two inches of snow and a 40-degree day. Coco was awed by daddy's artistry, especially as Snow Mon's face began to take shape. She lobbied hard for a nose to complete things, and with no shortage of gravel from the driveway at our disposal, we were able to give our new friend a proud schnozz. Predictably, Snow Mon joined a long list of people and things that have received a kiss from Coco. Hug, too.

Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh, Christmas Tree!

A half an hour east of the farm is a little tree farm we have grown to love. It's a quiet place on a hilltop with amazing views of the surrounding farms and countryside. Despite feeling contractions every ten minutes, I plowed up the hill, and there we spotted what we affectionately call our "Charlie Brown" tree. This is the third year we have visited the tree farm in Whitehall. The proprietors are an eccentric but welcoming couple. They couldn't agree on a price to charge us for the slightly irregular tree we had cut. He said it was up to her. She said $28. He quickly disagreed, saying $15. Jorg settled the issue with a crisp $20. Our tree accompanied us on our final trip home from the farm as a family of three. The next time we go to Rumspringa there will be 4!

Tonight we decorated the tree with lights and a hodgepodge of ornaments. We had a slightly different decorating scheme this year, largely dictated by the reach of a 19-month-old. The bottom third of the tree is bare. Hopefully Coco won't grow in the next few weeks, or we might see grandma's delicate 1950s vintage crystal ornaments crushed by her curious little fingers.

It was a fun night, and it feels like we have started another wonderful tradition in our new home.

Blinded By Science

This morning Coco and I took a field trip to the MN Children's Museum. What a cool place! Coco burned off some energy exploring the hands-on, kid-friendly exhibits. She explored like a typical toddler, brimming with curiosity and at times a bit overwhelmed with all there was to see, touch and hear. We chased around the museum for a couple hours, taking it all in. She's exhausted, and so am I. With a brand spanking new membership burning a hole in our pockets, we've already scheduled our next visit! Here's a peek at the first of many visits to the Children's Museum.

Music Class

Coco and I have been going to MacPhail Center for Music since she was 4 months old. It has been a great experience for all of us (even Daddy) because we have learned many fun songs and games to play with her. Jorg and I are both music lovers and appreciate good talent, but don't have much (okay... ANY) musical talent of our own. So we have looked to the good people at MacPhail for some inspiration. In the end, Coco has begun a journey to to also appreciate music. She absorbs all the sights and sounds during her one hour lesson each week. She is a pro at sitting on mommy's lap to sing, playing instruments, clapping her hands and making mommy do silly things.

Here are some highlights of this week's class.

"Supper" at Mike and Orla's

Mike and Orla are our beloved friends and neighbors at Rumspringa. Orla is a retired school teacher and 77-year-old Mike still raises 80 head of beef cattle on 200+ rolling acres across the road from us. We stop by to see Mike, Orla and their border collie, Daisy, frequently, and often get together with them for "supper." If you're not familiar with country lingo, dinner is the noon meal and supper is the what city folks usually refer to as dinner. It can get a bit confusing sometimes trying to make plans with Mike and Orla. Whatever you call it, Orla is a wonderful cook, which Coco is also starting to appreciate. For the past four years we have enjoyed many great meals at their cozy farmhouse. Tonight's menu - sirloin roast with onions, baked potato, garden green beans, dinner rolls, cabbage salad and homemade apple pie. Almost everything on the menu was raised or grown on their farm, and all that fresh food and Orla's time-tested recipes made for a spectacular country supper. Delish!



Look at those portion sizes! No wonder Coco is all smiles.


It just gets better and better....

Time to turn the page...

Throughout our entire relationship Jorg and I have had only one president - George W. Bush. It's been a rough 8 years (of course I'm not talking about our relationship) but referring to the major blunders made by W and his admininstration. Today we feel a sense of hope as we hopefully elect the first African American president. It sends shivers down my spine.

There's no question our kids will have their own political views and we want them to be well informed and open to all viewpoints. We hope whatever candidate(s) our kids choose, their views and decisions will be based on what they believe is right for ALL people and that they will be led by HOPE not FEAR. We can always hope for a better future.

Here are some photos from this historic day. Of course Coco will not remember Nov. 4, 2008, but we will certainly remind her of its importance when she gets older.

Go Obama!

Are we really blogging?

Welcome to our new blog. Yes, we have finally come to the realization that there are just too many fun and memorable moments happening in our lives, and we need to share/record them. We're not promising brilliant prose or Ansel Adams-quality photos on this blog, but we hope to share little snapshots of what we're up to -whether it's at our home in the midst of the bustling Twin Cities, or at out our beloved retreat, Rumspringa, which lies in Wisconsin Amish country. (Hence the Town and Country thing ...)

This site will serve as a back-up to our memories, so, to that end, we'll post about the magical and even the more mundane moments we experience as new parents. Johanna (aka Coco) is about to turn 18 months, and in just two months we'll have another member of the Pierach family.

We're delighted to share these memories with you. Enjoy at your leisure! Take care - Angie & Jorg