Cheery Christmas Pictures

Hey all - Just felt like saying hi and posting a few pics. So hey from Iowa. Dave and I got here late Sunday night or I guess early Monday morning. What a day that was. We had intended to leave really early, say 2 am. But things weren't getting done in time. I really don't enjoy driving but if Dave was going to stay up and help pack till it was all done, then he would need a lot of help driving. So he went to bed, and I, still being sick of stature, stayed up till 1:30 and then we got up at 4. UGH. When we finally rolled out of town, it was 6 in the morning. This was very poor timing. As we were driving out of town and the sun was rising, we realized that we had calculated it so that we would be driving for child's most possible awake hours in the day. She never really did go back to sleep in order to finish her night's sleep - just cat napped the entire day till almost 8 when she fell asleep for the night. Around 10 in the morning, she was bawling a lot and we were wondering what we were thinking. But that was the only melt down and she was mostly happy the rest of the day. It took us 18 stinkin hours to get here. Small offspring was kind enough to keep pooping her diaper and needing to eat and things like that, so nothing was fast. The best part of the trip for me was that Dave drove the entire way. See, someone mentioned the joy that is 5 hour energy (drink). Anyone use it? Dave typically doesn't do well with driving for hours on end, but with this little God-send in a bottle, he not only drove the entire way, but also simultaneously built a 5 story bird feeder and knit a lovely collection of fall sweaters. Seriously, that stuff is amazing! Kept him going and perky for hours. Anyway, that was the trip. Since getting here, we've been enjoying time with family and some friends too. Dave has still been busy a lot of the time working on job applications and I wasn't able to get everything done I wanted to before we left so we've been doing a lot of running around. But it's fun to be with family and out of Baton Rouge. We're leaving for International Falls early Tuesday morning (and this time we intend to leave early) and then to Red Lake on Wednesday. I finally be able to relax there because seriously, where can you run around to? ha. Anyway, without further ado, here's a few pics:

Before we left - admiring the quilt for her nursery that Aunt Jenni just sent. So fun. = )

"This stuff tasted better on Thanksgiving day!"

"Look at all the mischief I can get into when mom and dad aren't looking."

At Grandpa and Grandma's house - 7 months old.

Yep, 7 months, and keeps getting huger by the day - starting to wave hi and good bye. It's hard to tell always when it's intentional but there have been a few times when it definitely seemed to be. She has 2 teeth on the bottom and 2 white bumps on top that I wish would come through already! They seem to bother her at times.

One of Grandma's friends is a hard core teddy bear maker - goes to shows, sells, buys and trades, things of that nature. It's not a hobby people, it's serious business! Anyway, she made a bear for Aleah, which is a big deal, take my word for it. = ) So here she is with it.

This picture makes me smile a lot!

So does this one.
Opening presents with Grandma

Okay, that's all for now. Time for a dip in the hot tub. life is hard. real hard.

Yuletide is in the air...

Just thought I'd pop in and say hello. I actually have the computer during the day which never happens, so might as well take advantage of it. One baby sleeping, another is playing merrily - it's a Christmas miracle. Actually, it sort of is, as sickness has descended upon the household. The little girl I babysit was sick last week and Aleah seemed as though she wasn't going to get it. Just when I was set to rejoice in full force, Sunday came. = ( She had a fever and slept most of the day. Monday she had no fever, just lots of snot and a cough. Yesterday was perfectly miserable. She couldn't breathe well through her nose so everything was a mess- eating, sleeping, etc. Lots of crying. Something so pathetic about a sick baby. = ( Today she is still sneezing and dripping like a faucet, but is sleeping better. She sneezes, lots of snot comes out, I wipe it off her face, she screams as though being tortured... it's a fun little game.

In other news, um, well, I guess there's not much. We're gearing up for our big annual trip to the north land. Christmas these last few years have been odd in a way. For us it has always meant being really busy the beginning of the month, not doing a lot of Christmasy things of our own, and packing up for a long trip. And the last 2 years we haven't even managed to get any decorations up, which is sort of sad, but what's the point, when they'd only be up a week and then we'd come home and have to take them all down. Anyway, this year I've been thinking a lot about what next Christmas might be like. We have no clue where we'll be living, but likely we won't be gone a month at Christmas, and hopefully it won't take days of driving to get to where we need to go. More time at home, shorter travel to see family, maybe I'll even make some party mix or something like that. Anyway, we're both really looking forward to the madness of this semester being over and being able to spend time with family and friends for awhile. We're hoping to leave Saturday - you can pray for us on the roads if you think about it. We're heading to Iowa first, then Red Lake.

What else - I can't think of much. My car is at the doctor right now, which is rather sad. The fan belt is busted. As bad as it is to not have air conditioning blowing in December in Baton Rouge, it's way worse to not have heat in Canada. So a couple nights ago we had to take the car in. We could drop it off in the evening. I just share this boring story to let you know what a dork I am. It was actually pretty chilly here that evening - down in the upper 30s I think, maybe low 40s. I hated the thought of taking a sick baby out in the cold evening air. So I bundled her all up - undershirt, fleece pjs, a coat, hat, stuck her in the car seat and tucked a big ol blanket all around her just for good measure. As though a baby with a cold had never set foot outside their house before. We dropped the car off, she fell fast asleep. When we got home and I took her out of the car seat, she was drenched, drenched, I tell you, in sweat. ha! Maybe next time I won't go so overboard. Nice to know she would have been comfortable in Red Lake.

I just uploaded a pile of pics to FB and I don't feel like repeating them here. My apologies to the couple of you who aren't on there. Well, I don't know when I'll be back here again, maybe January? If so, have a wondrous Christmas. But I suspect I'll eek out a few words before then.