Okay, enough with the boring life of the parents...give us more baby pics!

We had a visit from Sir Elton John last night

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
This book is wonderful! It is laugh-out-loud funny and also touching, especially as read by the author on the cd version I listened to. I'm sure that people driving by as I was walking down the street were wondering what the crazy lady was laughing at (especially on the days when I was pushing an empty stroller to pick Nina up from my friend's house). This book makes me grateful for the dogs I have, even on their worst days. Definitely a must-read (or listen) for dog lovers, but I suspect even the non-dog blessed among us will enjoy this one.

Oh no, there's a lion in the house!
I taught Nina that lions roar and now she goes all over the house roaring. It's pretty cute.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Life changes fast
Life changes in an instant
You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends
So begins this wonderful book about grief. I'm not sure what I thought it would be about, maybe more about a composed, healed woman looking back at the pain. Most people seem whole at the end; it is so refreshing to hear from someone who is still experiencing her pain. It was so much more immediate and raw; compelling. She talks with frankness about the places her grief took her and how this affected her life. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it as a delve into raw emotions that leaves the reader not depressed, but with a renewed faith in love and the infinite amount of it there is to give and have.