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.