Christmas Wrap-Up

I hope everyone out there had a good holiday. We did, indeed.

I hope Santa was good to you...



That you had proper time to inspect and appreciate the presents...


And that everything tasted good!





Bean got some nice stuff, and enjoyed some good grandparent time. Now it's back to the grind, daycare tomorrow and work for me. Happy New Year!

Snow Snow Snow!

We have a rather astounding amount of snow. We're on our second snowstorm of the weekend, the second weekend of snowed-in-ness. Last weekend it was also really cold with driving snow, so we didn't get out that much. This weekend, we had a little window this morning before the next storm came in, so we got OUT a bit. My first snowshoe of the season.

Here is the "snowshoe eye view" of the house... from the crab apple orchard, a side not often viewed. Yep, huge-looking house. Not as huge inside, somehow.


Our neighbors gave us their nice tot-backpack, and we've come across other good used winter stuff with help from family and friends. So, here we are providing a good outdoor napping location for the Bean!





The rest of the weekend should include some cooking, baking, cleaning and catching up with various projects. I've been feeling more than a little overwhelmed by all the little details of life lately, but I'm hoping I'm feeling a little rebound. We can do it! The fresh air and snowshoing today helped. Onward...

Still Here and Snowy

Indeed. Still here and thoroughly snowed in. WF is snowed OUT right now; hope he can get home okay... he may be walking down the driveway. Perfect time for a blog post; my little line to the outside world!

Life has been busy, new, germy, teethy and constantly changing. Bean is still growing by leaps and bounds and now looks like he's about 14. Eeek! Where did my little baby go?



I've been wondering lately... why are there so many classes and books and preparations for BIRTH and NEWBORNS, when the more freaky stage seems to be...





THIS! Wow, we are not quite ready for mobility yet. Or rather, the house isn't. A perfect time to finally truly declutter and rearrange; much to do. The cats will be surprised. Notice Lutsen here, confident that the Bean she is tolerating won't be able to reach her. Ha.



He's not REALLY getting around yet, just reaching and pivoting on that tummy. But it can't be far off, and I need to get ready. People do tell you how fast they grow, and it's hard to fathom until it happens. Wow....



Perhaps more posts on the super abundance of snow, soon...

Kazoo for Yoo

We have a child prodigy, it seems. 7 months old and playing his first instrument.... a kazoo! Indeed. It was adorable. Grampa played for Bean, Bean laughed with delight, then tried to buzz his lips. Eventually Bean got Grandpa's harmonica for his own and started playing! Well, sort of. But still, I say he's a genius!

It was a fun weekend with lots of family visiting. Bean did well as usual; we're very lucky. And grateful!









Superbaby does his flying trick on the carpet, then shows off his push-up skills; the tummy is a good pivot still, no real movement on his knees yet. Not sure I'm ready for crawling; the house sure isn't! Books continue to be a fascination, but he learned a few card tricks, too. Good to be well rounded, eh?

It's good to remember it all while I sit here in the cold dark when I should be in bed; Bean either caught a cold on the way back home or is more allergic to our house than we realized. Snot galore and not enough sleep since our return: I'm sure a wake-up call will come soon from the bedroom. We're really hoping it's not the cats. Fingers crossed.

I am already officially tired of germs, and I suppose we're not too far into the season. Pinkeye last week, no fun. I think I need to start thinking healthy, positive thoughts to "attract abundance" instead of more germs... yes indeed. Universe, I ask for your help in staying healthy and being productive; we have lots to do before the end of this big year. Many thanks...

Mouthy

So, the other night we dug out the vodka....

Nope, not in celebration or even in misery (not quite, anyway). For cleaning up some stray Gentian Violet, spilled in our second round of yeast-fighting. Sigh... The vodka actually worked quite well (I had it in the house for tincture-making), not sure if i can say that about the GV yet.

I'm better, but it's hard to know much about Bean as he's also TEETHING with a vengence, mostly at night. We've had a few discussions about HOW one uses that first new tooth, and it's NOT on Mama. Ouch! Just one tooth so far, it broke through a couple weeks ago. But there's got to be another on the way; sleep comes in very short shifts right now, with more nighttime upsets than he's ever had before.

But the new tooth is so cute... you can almost see it in this picture:



Awww. But wait! There was food on that spoon! Foul applesauce!



He's not a fan of food just yet... only a bit of cereal seems OK so far.



Yep. We'll keep at it. Lots of Ergo time, too... a favorite napping spot. Mamas need strong backs!

Adventure, Complete

Things I learned (or was reminded of) last weekend:

Even babies are required to remove their shoes at airport security checkpoints.

Singing familiar songs out loud on a crowded plane may be a bit embarrassing, but works wonders for calming and distracting a certain Bean baby.

A 22+ lb 6 month old is MORE than a lapful, but this particular 6-month old can still manage to nap there if needed.

Bean is a shameless flirt with people on planes, subway and city busses; piercings and dubious looks make no difference.

Cousins are lots of fun!


One should make sure the camera battery is charged before heading into a beautiful fall evening in the Boston Commons.

It’s fun to say “Train to Maine”… and you can even get clam chowder while aboard!

WF is a superhero: a hilarious, helpful daddy, even while waiting for me to attend a work conference at a smarmy hotel.


Yes, indeed, we managed our first plane/train/subway/bus adventure with Bean-tot! We flew to Boston for our yearly visit, then "trained to Maine" for a work conference for me (much of the adventure financed through a work project; whoot!) The weather was great; still so many fall leaves out there.

Bean was amazing; a born traveler. We figured out that he gamely rode with us on 6 different forms of tranport. And as he's not very mobile yet, we were able to get away with wearing him in the Ergo carrier most of the time. No stroller! WF was, as always, great at making Bean laugh to distract him. Makes me want to quick fly out and travel the world! But alas, reality calls. Now we're back to regular life and some semblence of routine, with good memories of Bean's first big trip!