We're official.

Well, at least Carrie is (and honestly she's doing about 95% of the work).

A few facts about Lindeman Creative Marketing.

Headquarters: Approximately 40 feet from our bedroom.
# of Employees: 4 (me; Carrie; our office manager, Zoe and our director of "special projects;" Park—Luka has yet to show any interest in the family business)
Services Offered: Everything from large-scale strategic marketing plans to public relations, event planning, copy writing and the occasional design and photography work.
Clients: So far it's pretty wide spread ranging from medical facilities and national restaurant chains to service providers and non-profits.

One of the biggest projects Carrie has been involved with is Symphony in the Flint Hills. She worked with the symphony several years ago when she was with Sullivan, Higdon & Sink and they contacted her earlier this year to see if she would be interested in helping them out again. For those of you who have never heard of it, it's an annual event that drops a symphony orchestra smack dab in the middle of the Flint Hills and opens its gates to 5,000 lucky ticket holders (it sells out in a matter of minutes each year). This year, there was been an extra incentive to get your hands on tickets—a special appearance by Grammy award-winner Lyle Lovett.

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So far, this little side business has worked out pretty well. Carrie's been able to conduct most of her business either while Park is napping or in the evening when I'm home to attend to his every beckoned call. But we've also been very lucky to have my parents as a sort of "on-call babysitting service" for those times when Carrie has to attend a meeting and would rather not have her assistant tag along (and frankly he sucks at taking notes). Neither Park nor my parents have made any complaints.

BP oil spill … The Big Picture

The Boston Globe has a great daily feature called "The Big Picture" in which they cover an entire story through pictures (and captions) only. Today that story is oil from the BP spill reaching the shores of Louisiana. Please take a minute and visit the link below.

Oil reaches Louisiana shores - The Big Picture - Boston.com

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Park is 1: Part 2

We covered the birthday party already, but Park's actual birth DAY was a fun one probably over-planned by mom but enjoyed by all. Once the little guy woke up from an especially long morning nap (still recovering from the party a few days earlier), we took him to the Sedgwick County Zoo to hang with the animals. The weather was beautiful and Craig took the day off from work to join us.





Since we were on the west side, we hit Pei Wei for lunch, where the little guy indulged in some edamame ... or at least the plate that had the edamame on it. Yes, we were those parents that made the kid wear his birthday crown in public.



After an afternoon nap - during which, Craig and I finally installed the toddler seat in the car - we headed out back where we planted a tree in honor of the birthday boy. We hope to make this a tradition - planting something in the yard, or a pot when we run out of room. And we hope keeping the plant alive is a new tradition, too.

Once we washed off the dirt (and when I use "we" I mean Craig), we headed inside to open gifts.



He's just a tad short and uncoordinated for this yet, but we're excited about this "green" tricycle and how it will teach him to balance. It also converts to a running bike, so he can use it for several years - an important feature for anything we buy nowadays since we're low on space around here.



We can't wait for all the adventures of toddlerhood!

- Carrie

Park is 1: Part 1

Park's first birthday has come and gone and I'm still trying to figure out if the birthday party was for him (which he'll never remember) or for the parents (did we really just survive a year with a kid?). To me, it just ended up being a nice day to celebrate the little boy that Craig and I feel so lucky to have as part of our family every. single. day.

I was feeling enough pressure of this being "the first" birthday for the kid, that we kept the theme simple and just had a picnic in the park. The choice of park was an easy one for Craig and I. Eastborough Park is fairly close to our house and it has been a frequent destination for both of us our entire lives -- as kids we fed the ducks there, and as adults we run there and back to our house as part of a three-mile route. The park also has a great playground and gazebo. We only had three elements that were out of our control and terrifying for a party-planner with no plan B: getting there before another party (you couldn't reserve the picnic area), praying it didn't rain (when there was a 30% chance in the forecast) and hoping the kid got a good nap beforehand so he was in a good mood. We lucked out on all three.

Here's the birthday boy, with his cousin Hagen, taking it all in before one of the ducks waddled up beside him and scared the poor guy.


It isn't a party until someone jumps into the lake! Luckily, that was Zoe. Even though her leash was tied to the fence, this water dog still tried to make a run for it.


Park enjoyed everyone standing around taking his picture more than tasting cake for the first time. I think he got his dad's willpower for sweets.


I hate how we're excluding Craig from our moment here, but I love how happy Park looks with his mouth covered in icing.


Here, the boy ponders another bite of cake. (Yes, the bib and hat are homemade, but some crafty bloggers deserve credit for the inspiration. More on that in a future post.)


Thanks to Craig, we have a great library of photos thoughout the last 12 months ... and a pennant banner sharing some of the highlights.


After opening presents, Park concluded with a round of applause.


Here, I think we look a lot less scared for what the next year will bring than we did a year ago holding Park as a newborn.


Special thanks go out to Craig's uncle Ed, my sister Erin and Grandpa Sam for sharing their photos since our hands were a little full that day.