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Update . . . 7/11/03
Well, not much has changed in our life --
ha ha. Joseph David (what do you think guys, Joe,
Joey J.D.?) was born on March 2, 2003. We were at Aunt Audrey's for one of David's
cousin's wedding. We almost stayed that night, but decided to come home instead.
I went into labor at about 12:00 that night!! Wouldn't Audrey have been surprised
if she would have to drive us to the hospital. Interestingly, David's cousin
is a labor and delivery nurse in LaGrange, so just about every nurse in the
city was at the wedding!
Now that we're home, Joseph is just great. He sleeps like a champ and lets big
sister Avery do just about anything she wants to him. He laughs and smiles,
and is just ready to start to try and turn over. Avery is taking to her new
role in grand fashion. She gives him bottles, talks and plays with him, and
most impressively, shares her very special BLANKIE with him. We can't wait to
hear what his little voice sounds like and watch the two of them grow and interact.
She still goes to a Lutheran pre-school and has three little best friends that
she has regular play dates with. They are pretty silly together! She starts
kindergarten next year (!) She is reading the "Little House on the Prairie"
books and asked me one day what they did without pbskids.org. No Dora
the Explorer??
We must admit David and I look at each other every once in awhile and wonder
"when did all of this happen, when did we become middle aged parents of
two -- aren't we supposed to be out in some dance club?" We recently went
to a friend's wedding -- sans children -- and thought, hey, there's wine, dinner,
and dancing -- that counts as a date!! Boy did we have a great time!
I am still with Hilgers & Watkins practicing mainly employment law. I spend
most of time drafting human resource policies, employment contracts, and defending
discrimination suits. Employment law is great; I tell everyone it's pretty close
to gossiping for a living. There's always a good story to someone's getting
fired.
David is still with Arcadis, Geraghty & Miller doing environmental consulting
work. He has a really good friend that went out on his own a few years ago that
keeps wanting him to partner up with him. That is intriguing David's entrepreneurial
spirit. But for now, he's still with the firm, and their steady paycheck, benefits,
401- K.....
We are enjoying playing with our kidos, watching them grow, teaching them about
life, and exposing them to as many experiences as we can muster.
Update . . . 3/5/03
Joseph David Dippel, The Early Years!
Update . . . 9/19/00
OK. This isn't really an update, but here's a great picture of Avery!
Update . . . 3/5/00
Happy Birthday, Avery! Check out these pictures while we wait for Leslie and David to give us a little update.
Update . . . 12/31/99
For the last day of the year/century/millennium we have a new "family" photo to post! Leslie, David, and Avery spent Christmas in New Mexico skiing with lots of the Dippel clan, headed by Clan Matriarch, Grace. Much info and many new photos are promished!
Update . . . 6/2/99
Avery! Enough about you, let's talk about our baby girl! Avery is three months old and just on the cusp of doing so many things. She can sit up with a little help, and is so close to turning over. David has even gotten a laugh out of her a couple of times. She is enjoying pre-school at a Lutheran church close to our house. They read books, take walks, play with bubbles, and go to chapel once a week. I'm sure she is the smartest one in the class. If you know me at all, you KNOW she is the best dressed! We are enjoying her so much and experiencing every emotion in the book and even a few others. She gives us so much happiness; we wonder what we ever did before she got here! Who were we if we weren't Avery's mom and dad?!
Leslie accepted a position as an assistant county attorney right before Avery was born. She defends Travis County in civil rights litigation. She is enjoying the local politics of the commissioner's court. The attorney general's office required alot of traveling, so this is a welcome change--a necessary change with Avery on the scene. The higher salary doesn't hurt either, but we may as well just direct the money to Avery's pre-school! Jeesh, between tuition and Baby Gap, there's nothing left! If only Ann Taylor had a baby line hmmm...
David is working with Arcadis Geraghty & Miller, an environmental consulting firm, as their staff geologist. I love it, Mr. pro-development is now working to insure compliance with Austin's strict envornmental codes! He is a great dad, but then why shouldn't he be, he had ALOT of younger brothers and sisters to practice on! So far he is the only one who can get Avery to laugh. (ed. note- Grandad hasn't been to see Avery in almost two weeks. He wants a shot at the laughing thing!)
We hope to see everyone very soon.
Avery Update . . .5/5/99
Avery's still doing great. Growin' like the proverbial weed and sleeping a little longer each time. But, wow, is she changing! Looks much more grown-up . . . now she smiles at us ! This is great!
But, she's 8 weeks old now, so Leslie's back at work. Actually went back just Monday. Her office is really great, though. The big boss said, "Leslie, we don't expect you to stay here much later than 2 or 3 pm for the first week or two back." Is that great, or what?
Guess What the News Here Is!
Avery!
Leslie's been home with Avery for about 3 weeks now. David took a week off and has now gone back to work. The delivery was Caesarean, so Les is just now feeling pretty good. But since the day they arrived home from the hospital, there has been a steady stream of visitors.
The newest family member is fairly oblivious to all this, however. Just sleeps and eats! She's really a great kid already. Sleeps about 3 hours at a whack, eats, and goes back to sleep. She's beginning to stay awake a little more after each feeding, and "observes".
Here's a page of pictures from a recent visit by Aunt Laura, Donald, Daniel, David, Grandad, and Marilyn. It's full of pictures, so it will load very slowly.