The Knotwell Family Blog

She has her own little personality.

I wasn't lying... he says it all the time.

Will is reserved.

We've been debating for several weeks on whether to spend the money on a toddler bed or to go straight to the twin. We were on our way home from some errands yesterday and drove past a neighborhood yard sale. This little toddler bed was in the sale for CHEAP and we decided that since it matched the other furniture and since we already had a mattress that would fit... that we should pick it up.

Charlotte loves her big girl bed.

Will is a boy (even though he has a pink spoon in his mouth - courtesy of mom). He's been eating cereal lately getting ready for real baby food.

He's a handsome boy!

There are times when I think to myself... how did I get so lucky?

We had some neighbors over at the house today and the two dads started playing with the 97 kids (hey, we're in Utah, appreciate the humor). Anyway, we played monkey in the middle with Emily... bounce the ball off your head with Charlotte... and "catch this Ellie, okay, I'll throw it, okay... I'll pick it up..." all while Will watched, got scared and looked at the ball with absolute wonder.

Then, Emily wanted to share the music of High School Musical 2 (a should be Oscar nominated film about the summer adventures of a group of Juniors in High School. The film has certainly revived the musical genre of film... for the 6-16 crowd). As we sat there listening to Zac Effron sing the 'Footloose: Renesque' rendition of "Bet On It", Emily, Charlotte and Ellie were dancing and Jill was dancing with William.

Then, to melt your heart... little Charlotte walks up to Daddy and says... 'Dance with me daddy... dance with me daddy... dance with me daddy" Then, it was dance with daddy time with his two girls. I cherish these moments because I know in 10 years and again in 15 years it will be so very different... I hope they never stop wanting to dance with their daddy.

I love being a dad.

We can't get enough of his little tongue... he sticks it out all the time. When he smiles, the tip of his tongue is always visible... We went to Red Robin for lunch yesterday and Mr. Will loved the balloons - that's what he's looking at in the pictures you see here.

Will's latest development. He was holding his own bottle for a bit (even though mom had to chip in a little here and there). He's starting to get the hang of it.

He's also been saying "Da... Da." He doesn't mean his dad (at least we don't think so), but he says it pretty often. Little tike is just trying to wrap himself around his dad's finger... won't work, fighting it... stronger than him, I know it.

Mom and Dad are hoping that Charlotte's ability to go to the potty is a long and prosperous one.

First Place - Wildlife (in the wild) division

Second Place - Human Interest Division

Honorable Mention - Children's Portrait Division

My entries from the Salt Lake County Fair. The one of Emily was probably placed in the wrong division initially, but the guy taking my entries didn't really know where to put it. I'm honored to have won anything at all... this is more of a love thing - taking pictures. It's fun to compete and see where I rank among other dads and moms out there snapping shots of their kids.

Now, it's on to the state fair in a couple of weeks!

Emily put this photo in the Salt Lake County Fair. She earned herself an honorable mention in the Junior Division. This is Bear Lake, on the Utah / Idaho border...

B.E.A.Utiful doll!

Our nephew Ethan was blessed on Sunday. Attached are some of the family pictures I was able to get. Next time, I'll stand there and wait to have them look at the camera instead of licking my lips for the food!

Thought I might take a few moments to pleasure all of you with some pictures of our garden. The harvest is fast approaching (we've been collecting beans and zucchini the past couple of weeks). Quick tour around for you. Cuccumbers (far corner, on the trellis), Zucchini, right in front of the cuccumber, HUGE leaves. Beans: near side in the photo, far left. Green pepper: not visible in the main picture, behind a tomato plant. Tomatos: five plants-dead center of the garden (Roma, Beef Eater, and Cherry). Onions: Green and White in the front right.

The individual "fruits" are all pictured as well. I've pulled some green onion and they are FAR better than the store!

He's a happy little boy!

This is an eagle's nest that we saw in Jackson Hole. There were a couple of eaglettes in the nest when we first saw it, but as we got closer to the next, Mamma decided that they should get down inside. We were still a considerable distance away from the nest across a cravasse and this was the closest I could get with my 300mm - so I apologize for the lack of focus. It's pretty amazing to see these in nature. Eagles mate for life and will return to the same nest each season unless man tears it down. Additionally, Eagles usually produce two eggs, usually the stronger of the two chicks eats the younger sibling. In this case, there were distinctly two chicks in the next - highly unusual.

Jill's annual Pinata fest was a success as usual. The kids really love to hit things. Doesn't Jill look FANTASTIC for 30? Hot momma!