I have a new little niece! My brother-in-law Stephen and his wife Heather named her Lyla Marie but because we share a middle name I decided she was my little Lyla Bean…kind of rhymes with Lima Bean don’t you think? Thus the theme of today’s delicious recipes.
This is the first Holthaus nephew or niece born in more than 14 years, so for me, this is my first experience with a baby and modern technology. I hate to sound old but seriously how much fun is this? I can snap a picture on my cell phone and upload it to Facebook and in about two seconds share this darling baby girl with more than a thousand of my friends and relatives around the world! Yes, from Germany to Australia to Africa and Iowa they can all see what a gorgeous gift Lyla is to our family.
Can I remind you all of the days (not that long ago) when my kids were little when we had to take pictures on a camera (12, 24 or 36 exposure) send it in to a photo processor and wait for at least an hour to see if any of our pictures turned out. How many of you stood at the store trash can and threw out any bad pictures of you before you took the prints home? Come on I couldn’t be the only one!
Sandy Holthaus is delighted to welcome a new little niece, Lyla Marie. Or as her Aunt Sandy calls her, Lyla Bean.
One fall day we tried to take pictures of our three kids with my brother-in-law’s eight Labrador puppies to use on our Christmas card….three rolls of film later and we came up with one shot of everyone looking at the camera and a few puppies running through the background.
When I was 10, my first camera was a 110 Super Shot with a flash cube on top, I would take a roll of film and mail it to Rex Photo in Duluth. I would then have to wait a week to see my photo expertise. It was a bummer if I ordered doubles and all the picture were overexposed and black.
It’s not just about the pictures and videos either. I can check out Lyla’s Babies R Us website and see what she needs…diapers, wipes, car seats and strollers…it’s all there…at the touch of my fingertips (and with a credit card ) I can have it delivered right to her house the next day!
Steve and Heather even have a little video camera in her crib so they can watch her sleeping. I can look at Heather’s Facebook account and see who is visiting Lyla today. I can invite her to her cousin’s track meets and basketball games. Thanks to Pinterest all of her aunties can plan her an amazing and unforgettable baby shower. I was even able to go to the Kodak kiosk and print all of her mom’s Facebook photos and make her a photo album. Modern technology is amazing. When I think how far we’ve come in 15 years I wonder where we’ll be in the next 15 years….my money is on self-driving cars…seriously I have a bet on this.
Peace my little Lyla Bean. Welcome to the modern family. Congratulations Stephen and Heather!
A baby is God’s opinion that
the world should go on.
Carl Sandberg
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of homestyle recipes.
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