Next best thing?

For so many reasons, we chose to NOT put a fireplace/wood stove in our home when we built. I don't miss the mess, the massive danger factor (have you met George?) or the space it would require. I do, however, miss the crackling flame...

Well, Wendy found the solution. For Christmas, she found me a beautiful candle. The fragrance is appropriately "Fireside". I love it! Not only does it smell fabulous, but it has a special feature. It has a wood wick. It crackles as it burns so it sounds like a teeny-tiny fire. When the kids are all downstairs with dad, it's smells and sounds quite nice up here.

I thought I saw them at Target, but apparently I am confused. Here's the link to Amazon: WoodWick Candles. They look nice, smell great, and even sound comforting. Thank you Wendy!!!!

Scary little thing...

I am still parked on the couch, recovering from foot surgery. My foot is propped on three pillows. My glass of water and TV remote are next to me on an overturned laundry basket. Laptop perched where else? On my lap.

As I'm working on my unnecessary new project (see: 366 Glimpses... to the right), a bald little melon pokes his smiling face around the screen. He's been pulling up on furniture for a while. Now, he's working on the cruising skill. He just walked down along the couch to say "hello" to the mama. Cute. Oh, and no, he doesn't crawl yet. Despite his daddy's coaching, Cael is not interested. Yet.

Yup. Those are construction cones. Yes, it's indicative of my delayed posting on all things these last few weeks. You see... my laptop only has so much memory. Seems I've used it all. I am not to save anymore anything to my hard drive until I figure this out. We're investigating our options and hope to have a (even temporary) solution in place by New Year's Day.

So, I might do a bit of posting and wait on the photos... Or I might just wait.

Either way, know that we are still here. Alive and well with LOTS to post once doing so will not crash my computer.

"I've been everywhere, man. Crossed the desert bare, man. Breathed the mountain air..."

Actually, I haven't been everywhere. Not even close. Here you can see where I've been... Add Mexico and Canada and that covers my limited travels. However... I have lived in 25 different homes in 6 states. So, I haven't been "everywhere" but I've covered a lot of ground in a few of those states!

create your own personalized map of the USA

Cael and his buddy Bret

"Bret gettin' mugged by Cael" At least that's what Bret's daddy posted!

Aren't they cute? Bret is 2 months older than Cael. Bret's faster and smarter, but has no siblings. He was not keen on being mauled by another little person. Cael, on the other hand, knows nothing else. And Cael likes to touch Bret's bald head. (You know Cael can't reach his own yet...) Oh, and when Carol put Bret's PJs on, I just had to put Cael in his. Gotta love Costco!

Oh no... It's happened!

I truly thought we'd dodged this particular problem this Christmas. Nope. Cael has discovered the Christmas tree. He doesn't crawl. He manages to scoot backward, then turn around to investigate new treasures. Argh! The tree is quite the reward for getting around...

(He's not going to "crawl" anytime soon. He much prefers to pull himself up on furniture and such. I think that's a good thing. Right?)

"I don't want to take a nap! I don't! Really!!!"

2 hours later, I had my cheerful little boy back!

30,000 Pounds of Bananas...

I can't help but hear that song in the back of my head whenever I type "bananas".

Anyhow... it's more like 1/4 cup of bananas here... Cael had his first "real" food this afternoon. I don't count rice cereal as "real" food, 'cause who eats that stuff besides babies?! Yuk!

I have the lofty ambition of making all of Ole's food. I've always intended to make all the kids' baby food and have never ever done it. Until today. Today, I mashed part of a banana with a bit of water and, lo and behold, he ate it. He loved it. We're betting that Cael's going to love most food.

Kjersten was in charge of documenting the event.

Bathtime

Oh, does the baby love bath now that I let him sit. He's always liked baths, but now he LOVES them! He wants to "catch" that glorious water falling within reach...

More happy roly poly Ole...

All Brennen wants for Christmas?

Want some new socks, George?

First nap in the high chair?

I just love it when my kiddos nod off in the high chair. It's just so innocent and sweet.

"Hmmmm... I'm tired. I think I'll close my eyes and take a snooze. No matter that my siblings are running laps around me. No bother that I could fuss a bit and get moved to my soft crib or the even softer lap of my mama..."

George and the compromise...

George wakes in the middle of the night on occasion. He likes to come into our room and ask to sleep with us. Since I often have Cael, I always say "no." Jason, on the other hand, often lets him climb on in- at least for a while...

The other night, I had just put Cael in the crib and collapsed into bed exhausted! It was late. Cael was a bit fussy. In comes George. Ummmm... no way! I sent him back to bed. He burst into tears. Loudly. I realize, he's going to wake Cael. Ack!

I leap from my comfy bed and haul him out of the room. I offer the couch. He counters. He wants the rocking chair. I explain that he won't fit! It would very uncomfortable and so on... He insists. I realize, I am wasting precious time whilst Cael is inching closer and closer to his next wake. I relent.

Sure enough, Jason gets up at the crack of dawn (early flight) and gets ready, traipsing in and out of the living room. He never noticed the bundle on the chair. George slept there until 7:45 when I dragged him off, lest we be late for co-op.

Comfy Brennen?

Have I mentioned that Cael is a happy baby?

Here he's playing Legos with big brother Rhys and loving it!

I'm so far behind... Where do I start?!

How about with our Christmas tree? It's been up since the day after Thanksgiving. Really. I even took the picture the same day. I love my tree. Pictures never do a Christmas tree justice and you can't see the ornaments I love so much, but you get the idea. 9 1/2 feet. 2000 lights. Beautiful.