Recent Fortunes

S--You are the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life.

J--You will become a philantropist in your later years.

R--He that climbs the tall tree has a right to the fruit.

Our Tree

Decorating the Tree

Every year J and I talk about getting a real tree. And every year we decide against it--because of the cats, because we'll be travelling, because there isn't room, etc. This year was going to be "the year". We were really going to do it! And R was just going to decorate our little tree--the tree we've used since Christmas 2002--for fun.

Things didn't turn out that way, though. The week we were going to go get the tree, both kids were sick with colds. R was sick enough to stay out of daycare for a week, and we'd have only had the tree up for a week before we left to visit Grandma and Grandpa anyway. So we decided it wasn't worth the energy and expense.

But, I'm very pleased to announce that next year is officially "the year" that our tree will be large enough to actually put presents underneath. J's parents are giving us their fake tree. So no matter what, we won't have any excuses next year!

Snowflakes!

One of J's favorite holiday traditions is to make snowflakes out of paper every year when we start decorating for Christmas. This was the first year R was able to really help out. Here she is modelling one of their creations. It's really fun seeing the snowflakes hanging on our kitchen windows.

A is for Alligator . . .

. . . B is for Bee and C is for Cupcake!
We made these letter crafts a few weeks ago-- on several separate afternoons J and I busted out the construction paper, crayons, and glue and helped R make these letter creations. We keep meaning to move on to "D" is for.... something, but with the holidays we've been super-super busy. Maybe we'll find some new colors of paper for the next ones!

For the alligator, R got to glue on the teeth (I helped-- she actually insisted that we alternate turns gluing on teeth. Two guesses which teeth I glued on and which ones she glued on!). For the bee, R glued on wings, 3 legs, 2 antennae, and a stinger, and for the cupcake, R colored in the cupcake and glued on sprinkles. If you need a quick way to entertain your toddler, just come up with something that they can glue on to something else!

Talent Show

Growing up, one of my family's big Christmas traditions was a talent show on Christmas Eve, after church services and before opening family gifts. Usually we played whatever musical instrument we happened to be learning that year, but there were other talents as well--A drew something one year, for example, and often my talent was reading the Christmas story aloud.

Now that my brothers and I are so far-flung, the talent show takes on new forms. This year we've got some pretty impressive talents on display.

Local Hero and his girlfriend, Local Heroine, ran a marathon. Local Hero finished in just under 3.5 hours. Nice!!

A is currently deployed in Guam and he reports that he is the BBQ King of Guam.

So you can see that I've got a couple of tough acts to follow.

But I am proud to announce that I have been working on mastering the art of "Baking With Toddler." I've baked four loaves of applesauce bread, snickerdoodles, two batches of French buttercream cookies, peanut blossoms, two batches of peanut butter chocolate pillows, 6 or so dozen sugar cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, and a failed batch of peanut butter oatmeal cookies (failed because the sugar got left out... long story!).

Things I've learned along the way:
1) Always keep the toddler busy. Let her scoop, scrape, stir, and otherwise get her hands dirty.
1a) Give the toddler her own spoon, bowl, etc. This helps prevent the "helping" from throwing off the precise measurements you need for baking.

2) You cannot stop the toddler from eating whatever is in her bowl, no matter how gross it is.
(At this point, in this picture, I don't think there was anything other than flour and baking soda in her bowl. Didn't stop her from taking numerous fistfuls of the stuff and trying to eat it--thinking, perhaps, that it had magically turned into cookie dough since the last time she took a bite?)

3) Sprinkles are a toddler's best friend!
4) Licking the batter off of a beater can occupy up to 15 minutes! A lifesaver when you are trying to get cookies onto a cookie sheet!

Snow Report

12.5 inches and still snowing.

A Couple of R Funnies

Both said to J a few mornings ago.

****

J is washing his hands at the bathroom sink.
R: Need my stool, Daddy?

****

While eating breakfast in her high chair and talking to J. I am in bed, lingering as long as I can until RUS officially wakes up.
R: You will wake Mommy up.
J: I will wake her up? Why?
R: She will make a surprise face.

A Drive-By Update

This will be a quick blog post, as I only have a few moments to throw this up.

--We had RUS's 2-month appointment yesterday. He is 11 lbs 14.5 oz (50th percentile) and 23.5 inches. He looks to be growing very well. He also has a cold. BOO. The doctor said his breathing sounded good so it was all up in his throat.

--R has also been sick with some coughing but is definitely on the mend. It was just a virus so no antibiotics. We're glad she's getting back to her "usual self".

Evidence that we read her a lot of books

A dinner conversation.

J: "R, would you like some salsa?"

R: "More salsa, said R!"

Hilarious

Untitled from Stephanie Kerschbaum on Vimeo.

password: hilarious

RUS, Weeks 4 through 6

In Honor of My Father

For Grandpa from Stephanie Kerschbaum on Vimeo.

password: grandpa

Pre-Bath Picture Time

Lately, before her bath, R has been having fun running around the house with her shirt pulled up on her head so that it hangs like a wig. She insists that we take her picture almost every time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for this year--so many wonderful blessings.

My favorites: that RUS is here and healthy and thriving, and that R is such an amazing child to spend our days with. We were specially blessed with many opportunities to see family this year, and we're so thankful for all of the time we've been able to spend with those near and dear to our hearts.

We got to celebrate Thanksgiving twice this month, first with a Tofurkey and a bountiful feast with Grammie and Grampie two weekends ago when they were in town
and then again today with a delicious potpie, more sweet potato cornbread, and brussels sprouts, as a family of four.

Legs

J, getting up from the floor after reading R a story as she sat on his outstretched legs: "Ooh, my legs are asleep!"

R: "My legs are TIRED!"

A House Full!!!

For the first five weeks of RUS's life, we had a constant influx of visitors. First it was Grammie, who was in town for the birth. Grampie came down from CT that Friday. Then on Saturday, four days after RUS's arrival, Surf, Cali, and Little T came by and stayed through early Sunday afternoon. Grammie stayed with us until Halloween weekend, when Grampie, GiGi and PopPop also came by. We had one full day at home, and then our house was bursting at the seams with seven members of my family-- my parents, Local Hero, his girlfriend, M--, my sister-in-law, M, and our nephews G and Trucker-- all staying at our house.

Family Photos

We had some family photos taken the other week and the photographer posted a sneak peek up on her blog. Go check it out here!

Turning the Corner

Things have gotten a LOT better sleep-wise around here. We can lay RUS down to sleep at night in his bassinet and he's sleeping for good stretches. This has made a HUGE difference in how well we sleep-- there's something about holding a baby all night that is not entirely restful.

RUS is looking bigger and bigger. We weighed him yesterday and he is 10 lbs 11 oz, up about another 1/2 lb from his 1-month check up a week ago. He is chunking up, and totally looking more like an infant than a newborn. He's lost just about all of his newborn look, and boy is he cute.

I have a slew of posts I want to make-- including one about my family's visit and all the photos I have from that visit, and some cute things R has been saying and doing lately. I'll just add one thing here. You know how I told you she's been saying "I get bigger" lately? Well, the other day she wanted to eat food with her hands and we told her to use utensils instead. She did, and then said, "I eat with my hands when I get smaller?"

R and G at the park