Christmas/Death Defying Skills/ and Other Happenings

Moley Moley Moley

I got my mole removed. Before- And after. Yeah, it looked a lot worse than I thought it would. And of course the only bandaids we had at home were camoflauge print. Unbeknownst to me we had a baby blessing to go to that weekend in Blackfoot. It took the whole car ride down to convince Delwyn that camo was not appropriate for church and we needed to stop and buy something less conspicuous.

You'll never believe this but I let Delwyn take the stitches out. The man who flat out refuses to trim my hair because he thinks he'll screw up BEGGED me to let him RIP stitches out of my FACE. After a nurse friend assured me there was "nothing to it" I gave in and with a (sterilized) seam ripper and baby finger nail clippers he got it done. He did a good job but I won't kid you I was scared. SERIOUSLY scared. I still get butterflies in my stomach thinking about it.

Teague

In a weeks time he's learn to go down the stairs but not before he fell down them . . . twice. I've found him crawling on the piano keys when I left him on the floor and found him on the floor when I left him in his crib. He got croup. And the piece de resistance, I think he may have swallowed a small pine cone. Christmas 2010

Playing with my new camera Christmas night-

Jonas snuggling with his stocking-

Christmas morning. Seriously, they were fully clothed when they woke up. I really don't know what their aversion to clothes is. Cache's rocket- he was dissapointed when it counted down and it didn't actually lift off.

My camera can stitch 3 pictures together for a panaramic one. Can you see ghost Teague in the middle by the ottoman. That's creepy.

It's a Girl!

And we finally got that little girl we've been waiting for, just didn't think it would come in cat-form. She wandered onto our porch and cried all day until I gave her some milk and -wouldn't you know it- she never left. But she's a good kitty and very patient with the little ones who like to pull her around by the tail. She plays fetch. Is that normal?

He's WALKING . . . kinda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NISqmt6MjmU

(sorry- you'll have to turn your head or computer sideways to watch)

Teague has not been one of those kids who's liked to be led around by the fingers. He's a fast crawler and I suppose walking seemed like a step backwards. But just this week he suddenly found an interest in taking a step forward. And check him out now! Babyhood will be behind us before we know it- so sad =(

Halloween 2010

That's right folks I got Delwyn to dress up! It was a Halloween MIRACLE! I was so busy trying to get costumes finished and doing other stuff that weekend I forgot to take pictures. Sorry. But luckily the church Halloween party had me covered. Jack was Mario, Jonas was Luigi, Cache was a Goomba, Teague was Yoshi, and Delwyn and I were the "parental controls." Jack wouldn't wear his mustache because it tickled too much. He told me it would be easier to just grow one. Unfortunately, it didn't come in before Halloween. Jonas on the other hand wore it like a champ and I have to say he looks great in a stache- watch out Magnum P.I.. I LOVE Cache's costume but unfortunately a lot of people didn't know what he was. Oh well. Teague's Yoshi hat I made-

Cache and his Joy School friends. Notice he's the only one not singing. But, of course, as soon as we got home he wouldn't shut up. I'm still hearing "I'm a mean old witch with a hat".

Jackson Tram

Back in Sept. we rode the Jackson Tram (for freeeeeeeee) -thanks for the tip Maralee! The fall colors were beautiful the weather was gorgeous and warm, it was a great day.

The tram from below-

From the top-

The very top of the Grand in the back-

My affectionate little Teague giving kisses. Makes me laugh every time, which makes him laugh, which makes him kiss me more, which makes me happy =) He's so cute.

Back on the tram, goin down-

Jump Up, Jump Up and Get Down

You all remember this song I'm sure. Apparently, Cache thinks it's a screaming chicken doing all the jumpin around.

Enjoy.

Hallelujah

Many of you may already know this because I tend to complain about it quite often (sorry) but I'm not a big fan of nursing. Not that I think it's a bad thing I just don't like doing it. Amazing- yes, fun- not at all. I've nursed all my boys exclusively for the first 6 months and after that I get this overwhelming urge to break away. I don't make enough milk to do a lot of pumping (TMI) so I start supplementing with formula. The kids have all loved the effortlessness of a sippy cup. Teague on the other hand has different opinions. He loves to nurse.

LOVES it.

When I got the urge to wean him(and I admit it came on very early this time) he flat out refused. He hated, HATED formula and soon wouldn't even attempt at sucking on anything resembling a bottle.

Not even his binky.

It was me or nothing.

So after MONTHS of trying every bottle nipple, every sippy cup, every brand of formula at every temperature, even trying chocolate AND strawberry Nesquick -I finally got the baby to take a bottle of . . .

vanilla flavored soy milk (thanks to my sister-in-law Christy for that idea).

So what does this mean? It means I can leave him for more than 3 hours at a time. And when the nearest movie theatre is 45 min. away it means a long awaited date night with the hubby. It means no more nursing at the dentist office, parking lots, dressing rooms, restaurants, the side of the road, t-ball games, etc. because lets face it, it's awkward and annoying. In a word, it means FREEDOM.

*SIGH*

It feels good.

(Just to avoid any negative comments: I know it doesn't have all the nutrients of formula but it's SOMETHING other than me and, judge as you may, I think it'll be fine on occasion.)

Irresistible

Teague has a way of drawing people in, especially the ladies. His smile stops them in their tracks. Make eye contact and your heart will melt. It happens everywhere we go. So maybe I shouldn't have been surprised when Delwyn leaned over to me one Sunday and said this, "There's a strange girl holding Teague, what do I do?" We had laid him in the aisle so he could play and he had been making eyes at a girl we had never seen before behind us. Apparently, she just couldn't help herself. She was moved. Moved to action. She had to pick him up and gush over him. So captivated by his smile that she must've forgot that this child belongs to someone and perhaps she should say something like, "can I hold your baby?" But really who could blame her and she did return him, eventually. (picture courtesy of grandpa Larson)