Holiday Gift Suggestions

I realize this post is somewhat tacky and presumptuous, but I also think people straight up appreciate having the guesswork taken out of it for gift giving.  At least, I sure feel that way!  (hint, hint)

We have a lot of stuff.  So I'm just going to be blunt about things I've found we tend to not use and then throw in some more specific suggestions about what we would like.

Michael:

• nothing that comes in more than one piece until he can keep track of his own toys.  For example, I made the mistake of buying a 20-piece animal magnet set so now I spend every other day counting the magnets (we're down to 16).   This is a great toy we've seen in waiting rooms that doesn't have half a dozen pieces that can go missing:  latch puzzle .
• he loves books, but he has a lot now and we check out library books often anyway, so until he's at a more advanced stage for books, hold off on those.
• Montessori toys are great and he prefers them to plastic kiddie versions of adult items (can't fool him).  http://www.forsmallhands.com/ has a lot of them.  He just loves to help Mommy and Daddy with all our chores!
• some slightly bigger clothes.  We don't have anything beyond 2T.
• he LOVES dried fruit, they're great for traveling, and I try to give him only organic fruit with nothing added (no added sugar or preservatives or salt, etc).  The organic Just Tomatoes, Sensible Foods Organic Crunch Dried Snacks, or Bare Fruit brands make snacks he loves.
• he loves music.  I don't know if there's a toddler-friendly music player out there, but if he could control his own music, that would make the entire Schmid clan very happy
• a big, sturdy ball that won't deflate.  ball ball ball.  Michael loves bouncy balls.
• a short (or adjustable) basketball hoop
• a toddler trampoline or one of those mini exercise trampolines.  the toddler trampoline is more useful immediately, but less useful long-term....

Tarisa:

• I'm trying to transition to chemical-free living, so no lotions, hand gels, or other body care products. (I'm planning to make my own.)
• nothing decorative.
• if you want to get me something I absolutely could never justify buying for myself even if I had a million dollars, but would secretly like and use all the time:  nice magazine files.  I really like the looks of these bamboo ones but they're pricey.  As long as they look nicer than my "5 for $1.39" cardboard Ikea magazine holders and they are all the same size, that would be good enough!  I've seen several where you buy "nested" ones that are slightly different sizes, which I don't like.  OCD.
• I love organizational items.  I know that's vague, but I hate clutter, so if you see a neat item that reduces clutter somehow, especially if it makes use of vertical space.... for example, I am in love with those modular storage cubes that you can fit those canvas bins in.  I could find a million uses for those.  single cube or many cubes
• family-oriented items, like board games.
• a sewing machine and "how-to-sew-for-newbies" book.  I really want to learn.
• gift certificates we would certainly use:  amazon.com (we do almost all our shopping through Amazon), http://www.grasslandbeef.com , Target, WalMart, Whole Foods.  I swear, gift certificates are not a cop-out!

Ben:

• no video games.  Okay, maybe Portal 2 ....
• shorts (probably a 34 waist, but might want to get a gift receipt in case it doesn't fit)
• work shirts, size 15 1/2, 34/35
• gift cards to Lowe's, Rudy's
• I know Ben wants to learn the banjo.  I don't quite know how this relates to gift-giving, but maybe an introductory book, or a gift certificate to a place that gives lessons?

more videos

Okay, so some of these are several months old, but I think they're still cute.  Then again, I may be biased.


Michael brushing his teeth and enjoying it, pausing to indicate he would like to brush his teeth some more, then brushing his teeth some more.


brushing teeth at the sink.


running around the empty house!


zzzzzzz......


Michael's favorite book with accompanying motions.

Videos!

I figured out how to get videos onto YouTube!  Here are a couple, with more on the way that were taken over the last few months.  I apologize in advance for the poor editing -- my hand/wrist pain prevents me from prolonged computer usage so I triaged the time by just getting the videos up.



Michael's "dah" game:  he points at an object, says "dah" and waits for us to tell us what it is.  Most of the time, he already knows what it is and is just testing us.  In this episode, we have a page of triangles.




Michael going down the little slide at the park.  This was an accomplishment for him because of his "gravitational insecurity" and "praxis" issues (words his occupational therapist uses).



Michael going down the big slide at the park!  (A longer video than the first one, if you have the patience for it.)  It took him some time to be comfortable with the hole-y flooring, but he did it, and I was soooo ridiculously proud of my little guy (even if other kids younger than him were way more adventurous).



Michael ready for naptime.

I have been trying to upload some videos but our software seems to be incompatible with YouTube now that they've changed the way they allow log ins.  Until we resolve that, here are some photos!

".... yeah?  what?  Is it my shaggy hair?"

Capturing Michael in one of his rare clothes-wearing moments.  This was when he turned 21 months old and we tried to sort of measure him, but you can't really see the tape measure.  

Vitamix!

Ben relented and let me purchase a Vitamix!  (I counted it as last year's birthday and Christmas present.  ;-) )  I've been wanting one for a loooong time (at least a year), but it's expensive blender and I had trouble believing (or convincing Ben) that any blender is worth that much money.

So I sat on my urge for awhile, but after awhile I did my due diligence and started researching it, going to Costco and Wiliams-Sonoma to see the Vitamix demos.  The biggest sell for me was that it's really easy to clean.  I don't use my regular blender all that much because it's a pain to dismantle, and I realized that what it would take for me to use my blender more often was that it would need to be easy to clean.

When we moved and Williams Sonoma mailed a 10% off coupon, I knew it was time.  I bought the Pro 300.

The Vitamix is much better than my other blender.  I made my "faux-tatoes" out of cauliflower the other day, which was always a chore in the other blender (couldn't tamp down the cauliflower, and it would get too thick to blend well, even with the addition of yogurt).  The Vitamix handled it in seconds, even without the yogurt.  I've also made nut butters, which is impossible in my other blender.


What else makes it worth it for me is that Michael is finally eating his vegetables!  He ate the mashed cauliflower, he ate a lot of what I can only describe as "ratatouille puree," and this morning he ate a broccoli/cauliflower/spinach/carrot/garlic/lemon/olive oil/nutritional yeast puree.  I myself find this adult baby food comforting to eat, even though it sounds unappetizing when I type it out.  I wish he would eat whole foods and get used to textures, but I'm not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  He's eating something other than fruit and cheese and nuts, so I'll take it.


** Michael turned this background text white.  I don't know how he did it.

It's been awhile....

I haven't posted in awhile.  We moved into our new house on June 19th and are still getting settled -- we don't even have a couch.  (Interior design dilemma -- how to design a sofa and area rug around a corner fireplace?)  On the plus side, Michael loves the wide open space on the first floor, especially bouncing his bouncy balls off the walls.

He's been going to speech therapy for a few months now and we haven't seen much progress.  Today, for the first time (to my knowledge) he went from humming the "uh-oh" intonation to actually articulating "uh oh."  It's cute the way he's drawing the "oh" sound out.  He says it whenever he throws something overboard (like when he's sitting in his car seat or booster seat), so he gets a lot of practice at saying it.  :-(

Although he doesn't say anything, he clearly understands a lot.  I've been getting a lot of picture books out of the library, plus some flash cards, and I'll ask him to find the banana/doggy/star/apple/crescent/etc., and he'll point at it.  For months now, he's been pointing at things and saying "duh!" which is his way of asking us to tell him what he's pointing at, although he still "asks" even when he knows the answer!

He's also started occupational therapy for his "gravitational insecurity" and for "praxis," whatever those mean.  Our main concern is that, for example, if he's at a playground, he doesn't run and explore. He clings to Mommy.

His occupational therapist wants him to start on an (expensive) "therapeutic listening" regimen, where we rent specially engineered music CDs from the office.

We've been taking a lot of pictures and videos that I'll have to post soon!

Life Update

Michael had an occupational therapy evaluation today, sort of accidentally.  At his Early Childhood Intervention evaluation, they mentioned that his pediatrician had a note in Michael's file that she was worried about sensory issues, so I scheduled an OT eval.  I asked the pediatrician what brought on this concern at his 18-month appointment, and she said she didn't make any notes about that, but that the ECI crew were probably being diplomatic in saying they thought Michael had sensory issues and so I should keep my evaluation anyway.

Susan, the occupational therapist, had Michael for about 90 minutes today and felt that his major and minor gross motor skills are more or less on target (maybe slightly delayed, but nothing too troubling) but that he has a definite "block" when it comes to... how did she put it?  Coming up with an idea and executing it.  He would longingly look at the slide, but wouldn't go up it, for example.  He also has "gravitational insecurity."  She said she saw "lots of good things" though; he is very engaged and curious, makes good eye contact and socializes pretty well, and gets over "traumas" easily.  She contrasted it with some kids who come in and wander around the room, disengaged the whole time.  She thinks he'd benefit greatly from therapy.  She's going to speak with me more in-depth after she writes up a formal evaluation and takes into account the forms I filled out.

He's also been seeing a speech therapist for about two weeks, Christi ("Miss Kiki").  Right now she is just trying to teach him to "turn his voice on," i.e. that if he speaks, he can get what he wants.  So if he wants more of something, he needs to verbalize it somehow (even "mmmm").

Michael loves going to therapy, and I love it too, because they play with him and engage him for an hour and I can just relax.  And after we met our deductible for the insurance, it isn't too much money.  I see it as an hour of babysitting.  ;-)

We are also in the middle of moving.  This is our overlap month; that is, we closed on the house and are living at the apartment still, but our lease here is up at the end of June.  We are having movers come and haul our stuff next Tuesday, and we've been doing some work in the meantime.  Ben's parents kindly spent a weekend helping us get ready (sealing the grout and kitchen backsplash, installing the garage door openers, and installing ceiling fans).  My job has mostly been to keep Michael out of the way.

Ben spends most of his "free time" getting the house in order, so I have been getting loads of Michael time, which can be exhausting.  I also spend a lot of time making phone calls these days (to insurance companies, to doctors, to house subcontractors, etc.).

There aren't enough hours in the day, especially when it takes two of them just to get Michael to take a nap.  Lately he has been very, very difficult to put down for his afternoon nap.  Two hours is not an exaggeration.  He'd skip it every day if he could... and sometimes, when I don't want to deal with it, I let him.  Ben is able to get him to sleep easier (so nights are much easier to get him to go down).  Michael now crawls onto Daddy when it's time to sleep.  This morning after I came back from the gym, I found Ben asleep on his stomach, and Michael on top.  Apparently, Michael woke up at some point in our bed and plopped onto Ben's back to fall back asleep.

Wisconsin

Michael and I spent about 2 weeks in Wisconsin visiting my family, and so that I could be present for Dominic's Confirmation as his sponsor. Unfortunately, Michael could not be present, because he screamed as soon as I left him with my parents, so my Dad had to remove him from church and drive to Kenosha so he would fall asleep in the car. 

Playing in the dirt AND helping PoPo garden; it's a win-win.

At the library in Racine. Monkey wouldn't share his banunu.

Michael made a friend at the playground who wanted their picture taken together.

Michael likes his Elmo leash... when he's in charge.

"Oooh, are we having Emu burgers tonight?"

Michael does his best Uncle Dom impression for Great Aunt Adrianne, while the genuine article beats Super Mario - the Lost Levels.

"Hello? St. Francis? Can you hear me now?"

Back in Austin, in his newly converted toddler-bed. Because apparently a crib could no longer contain his epic cuteness. MoMo put him down for a nap in the port-a-crib, and when she went back to check on him, she couldn't open the door because he was somehow out of the crib and sitting against the door!

Some Communication Developments

Michael made some strides in his communication today.  At dinner, I asked him if he wanted "more" raisins and made the "more" sign (we've been trying to teach him simple sign language for probably close to a year now, though not very consistently), and he made the sign for the first time.  So naturally, I gave him more and lavished praise upon him, and he threw the raisins on the ground, then made the "more" sign again.  I took him out of his high chair and he walked around the kitchen making the "more" sign.

I'll retell these in order of ascending impressiveness.  Michael later waved "bye bye" to Daddy while we Skyped with him from Wisconsin.  Ben left the screen for a minute and Michael waved "bye bye" without imitating me (i.e. I didn't wave).  I thought it might be a fluke, given recent history.  But then he waved "bye bye" to Daddy before we hung up, and when we said "good bye" to Momo before going to sleep, he waved to her, too.

Here's the biggie, which I didn't even get to witness.  Momo was watching Michael while I was in the shower, and they were listening to music on Youtube (Michael likes "Barbara Ann"* and "My Girl") while Kirby, our extremely old parakeet, started chirping and fluttering his wings next to them.  Michael turned to Kirby and said "Kirry."  He already knew Kirby's name because if Momo asks him where Kirby is, he'll run over to the cage to look at him.  But this is the first time he's said it, and the first word he's actually said** that I can't chalk up to simply imitating us ("cheez!"), because he said "Kirry" without any prompting from Momo.

* Apparently, Michael was standing at the bottom of the stairs crying for me while I was in the shower, so Momo said to him "Come on Michael, let's go listen to Barbara Ann" and he quieted down, walked over to the computer, settled on her lap and sat there with a little grin on his face while he listened to the Beach Boys.  He apparently appreciates their tight harmonies.

** Although, come to think of it, yesterday he did drag me to the door and said something that sounded like "outside!  outside!" to me.  (It came out like "ow sigh!  ow sigh!")  I didn't make much of it because it was kind of ambiguous whether he was just babbling or actually communicating -- but there is a good chance those are his actual first meaningful words.  I'll feel more confident if he repeats it.

Mid-80s music even I don't like...

... but Michael is mesmerized by.

May he never live this down.

Michael has a new habit of putting things back where they came from.  Even when it's unnecessary (e.g. he won't accept toys from strangers--he always hands it back), there's still no harm done, right?  At least, not until I give Michael a snap pea sample from the supermarket; he licks it, doesn't like it, and leans over and puts it back in the bin before I realize what he's up to.  Oy.

Things I Love About Michael

• The way Michael tries to put his shoes on (sometimes over a pair of shoes he's already wearing), then gets frustrated and hands Ben or me his shoes, plus our shoes, and then takes our hands and drags us to the door when he wants to go outside.
• When he climbs out of bed when he's done with his nap and I run into him coming out of the bedroom when I go to check on him -- I'm still not used to him getting out of bed on his own!
• The way he walks around with a bag of dried blueberries or a box of rice cakes/breadsticks and then shoves it in my hand when he wants a treat.
• His new nightly ritual:  take a shower, brush teeth, read Goodnight Moon, nurse, give Mommy raspberries.  (He's getting disturbingly good at it, too.)
• How Michael "dances" by stomping his feet whenever he gets excited about something.
• When Michael leans over and reaches for his toy cell phone as soon as I strap him into his car seat.  It's his special car toy!  Thanks, great-aunt Adrianne!
• The way he stops, stares, and then abandons Mommy to chase after a doggy.  (Michael is greatly influenced by his patron, St. Francis -- he loves animals and being outdoors!)
• Michael:  *sneeze*  Me:  "God bless you!"  Michael:  *hysterical laughter*  Works (almost) every time.
• Michael's "hoarding"--he stashes blueberries and soy nuts down his bib or in his high chair, he hides socks in the bed.
• The way he "helps" with chores:  taking laundry out of the dryer and putting it in the basket, then out of the basket and back in the dryer, repeat ad nauseum while I slowly whittle away at the pile putting away clothes; sweeping the carpet with a broom after seeing me sweep the floor; seeing me put away one shampoo bottle that we're not using, then finishing the job by putting away all the rest that we're still using.  He basically sees us doing something and then continues with the next logical progression, even though it's usually not all that helpful!  But it is ridiculously cute.

Michael's ECI appointment

We finally had Michael's ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) appointment this morning at 8:30.  Ben and I were joking in the morning that Michael should qualify with flying colors ("Zeroes across the board") because he still doesn't say anything--not even "Mama" or "Dada."  (The "cheese" incident appears to be a fluke, I am sad to say!)

After spending an hour and a half with the case worker and speech therapist assigned to our case, I got a total shock:  Michael didn't qualify.  He needed "33%" to qualify, and he was at "22%" (I put it in quotes because... percent of what?).  The tested him on a number of issues and his speech was the most troubling, but apparently the next worst was his sensory processing.  His pediatrician made a note that she was worried about his sensory skills, which she never mentioned to me, and they were asking me if he doesn't like the feel of certain things.  (He always kicks the bed sheets off himself, and doesn't like touching grass sometimes.)

Anyway, despite the fact that he doesn't say anything yet, apparently he still got some high marks because he communicates with gestures.  (He takes Ben's hand and walks to the door when he wants to go outside, or he hands me his bucket of snacks when he wants something to eat, or he pats me when he wants to nurse.)

They apologized profusely that he didn't qualify and explained they tightened the restrictions because they were told to take on less cases.  "Call again in three or four months if he's still not talking and we'll reevaluate."  But don't worry too much--he's still communicating, just not with words.

I'm going to look into private speech therapy though.

My little boy is so sweet.  They kept handing him toys to see how he interacted with them, and he kept handing them back because they weren't his.  After about 40 or 50 minutes he got comfortable with the idea of playing with their toys and impressed them with his stacking-cup prowess.  Michael is a clever little boy who just happens to be very quiet.  He can go hours without a peep!  He didn't utter or babble a single thing the entire time they were here.

Random anecdote:  we went to Kohl's today (they periodically send $10 gift cards in the mail) and we got in line behind a very kind woman, Mrs. Hudson, who was enchanted by Michael.  I asked her about her family and we talked a little and then she said she was going to buy Michael one of the stuffed animals by the register.  (I tried to get Michael to pick one out, but he kept handing them back to me, since, you know, they weren't his.)  We got a baby bear designed from Eric Carle's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"  She was so sweet and she said a blessing over Michael!  What a lovely woman.  Her son and daughter-in-law are suffering from kidney and liver failures, so say a prayer for her family.

Michael Splish-Splashing at the Easter Party

We went to Houston for Easter and Grammy and Gramps's friends held an Easter party by the pool, so Michael had a blast in the water.

Nose!

Ben and Michael have a game where Michael will grab Ben's nose and Ben will repeat "nose... nose... nose" while Michael "honks" it.  Sometimes it goes the other direction -- Ben will ask "Where's Daddy's nose?" and Michael will grab it.  This is a special, no-mommy game.  For some reason, my nose doesn't work as well.

Michael has taken to grabbing Ben's nose at very random times.  Last night, Ben leaned into the crib to check if a very silent Michael was sleeping, and Michael turned over and grabbed Ben's nose.  Ben's wake-up call this morning was a honk on the nose from Michael.  And tonight, Ben was holding Michael and asked me "what happened to his nose?" (it had a little cut on it) and Michael turned around and grabbed Ben's nose.

New house!

We made an offer on a house and it got accepted!  Here are the specs:
http://www.meritagehomes.com/search/austin-tx/cedar-ridge-estates/crosby---cedar-ridge-1412/ .  Ignore the price, it's pretty meaningless.  We don't even know what the final price is yet.

We were a little late in the process so we didn't get to customize it as much as we'd like, because they already started building on that lot.  Most significantly, we would've gotten an entirely different floorplan (the Austin as opposed to the Crosby).  We also didn't get to change the cabinets and a few other things (like we had to get the fireplace, which we didn't want).

We are getting the study on the first floor, the covered patio, bay window in the master bedroom, and the optional bath 4 on the second floor.  We added and changed a bunch more minor things today at the "design center" where we finalized our selections:  more outlets, nicer sink, slightly different color scheme... we even got to choose the grout color from the "grout book," which I thought was amusing.  It's a little portfolio of grout chips.  I had no idea this was even something people chose.  Every house I go into now, I'm going to examine the grout and think about how someone consciously picked it out.  Goodbye, blissful ignorance.

a challenge

Because it's not official until it's written in bits on the internet!

1)  I hate when Ben plays Starcraft on the computer.
2)  I have no self-control these days when it comes to food--I have been binging every. single. day.  Yesterday, I had several brownies (each at about 300 calories), half a package of Hershey's Kisses, several bite-sized chocolates... today I had probably a pound of cheese (see earlier post from today), several servings of dates, and a LOT of almond butter-and-jelly sandwiches.  (And the last two days have not been exceptional.)  I'm putting on weight and I'm feeling really lousy about myself.

Here's the deal:  every time I binge, Ben gets to play Starcraft for 45 minutes or "until a single game ends" while Michael is awake (i.e. I have to watch him while Ben gets to be alone).  "Binge" is defined as "anything I feel guilty about later."  Ben does not otherwise get to play Starcraft, at least not while Michael is awake.

That should hopefully be sufficient motivation!

First word!

Michael just said his first word, finally!  (He's more than a little behind.)

We were eating breakfast, and I put an apple, some dried fruit, and three cheeses on his tray (Havarti, mozzarella, and Parmesan).  He grabbed the Parm and I kept repeating "cheese!  cheese!  cheese!"  and he looked at me, grinned, and repeated back, "geez!"  I got all excited and we repeated the process to make sure it wasn't a fluke!  And then he ate it.

I'm so proud that his first word is a delicious food.  Also, I have packed on 5 pounds in 2 months because I love food myself a little too much.  :-(

Michael and Marian

Michael and Mo--... wait a minute... 

We visited Grammy, Gramps, and the Smiths over the weekend.  They babysat Michael on Saturday while Ben and I went out to eat.  Apparently Michael was a little unhappy with the situation until he saw cousin Marian, so he calmed down as he approached her and then schnuggled on her lap.  We think Michael may have confused Marian with Mommy!  Uncle Thomas took this picture.

Thomas asked Marian whether she enjoyed watching Michael.  Marian sullenly replied "no," and when Thomas asked why not, we all could sympathize with "because my legs went numb."  Still, I hope she appreciates being the only one in the house who could calm Michael!

Michael's 15 month appointment

Michael had his 15-month well-child visit last Thursday. 32 inches long (75th percentile), 23.14 pounds (with clothes; I assume it's 23.14 pounds and not 23 pounds, 14 ounces, but it's a little ambiguous because they just wrote numbers and no units for any of these -- 50th percentile), and 48 centimeters (I'm guessing cm) for head circumference (75th).

Good weight gain, much to my surprise, because we'd been weighing him at home and he didn't seem to put on any weight, but the pediatrician said that less than 2 pounds between the one-year and 15-month visit is normal. I told her that Michael really hasn't taken to solids; if anything, he's regressed. He used to be a lot more adventurous than he is now (for instance, he used to love avocado, but he won't eat it anymore). He gets the majority of his nutrition still from breastmilk. The doctor ordered some blood tests because she was concerned about his iron levels. They were borderline low (but on the wrong side of the border). Not too bad, and his iron levels at his year appointment were good so there shouldn't have been any damage done yet, but I did order some iron supplements online for him since he's gotten so picky. And, to be honest, I'd gotten lackadaisical with making sure he's getting enough iron-rich foods. Immediately after the appointment, I tried to give him some sweet potatoes with blackstrap molasses, eggs, and iron-rich ``boy biscuits" (which I usually end up munching on because I think they're so yummy), and he threw everything on the floor.

Ben and I are struggling with that last part--he throws food on the floor now before he even tastes it. It's infuriating!

The pediatrician wanted me to start seriously weaning him from breastmilk, but I feel extremely uncomfortable with that. Her main concern is that breastmilk doesn't have enough iron and protein, so I'm really trying to focus on those things in his diet now. I'm also trying not to nurse him ideally for a few hours before his meals, although I've been having mixed success with that--sometimes he still tosses his food, although yesterday he did eat a substantial amount of sweet potato cheesecake on his own. (It's ``healthy" cheesecake! Cream cheese, sweet potatoes, egg, vanilla extract, some spices, and that's it. The egg and sweet potato both have iron, and there's very little calcium in the cream cheese to cancel it out. I love it and started making it in little single-serving glass jars using the ``water bath" method of cooking cheesecake that I sometimes jazz up with a buttery crumbled graham cracker crust on top. I was inspired by Martha Stewart but I didn't use that recipe exactly.) Ben and I are even trying to shove things in his mouth against his will, which is one of those parenting things I swore I'd never do.

I brought to the pediatrician's attention a letter I received from a study Michael participated in. They sent me a follow-up for his one-year questionnaire that I filled out in January, suggesting that Michael is developmentally delayed in speech, social skills, and related areas. The pediatrician asked me whether Michael has 3-5 words yet, and I was surprised that he should be speaking already and said "no." Does he say "mama" or "dada"? No. Does he point to things? No. Does he recognize his name, or the word "no"? Sometimes. She wanted me to get him evaluated by a speech therapist, although she said she's not really worried; he's probably just a little behind schedule, as some kids are, and it's not unusual. I believe Grammy's friend with training in this area is kindly going to take a look at Michael to see if we need to follow-up here in Austin with regular visits to a speech pathologist.

I'll love my little baby boy just the same no matter what, though! I don't care if he is brilliant or has autism (or both!). He's still my gift from God.

Fun and Games

I haven't been able to keep the blog up to date due to a hand issue, but here's a couple of Michael videos from Christmas! I'll have to draft Ben into doing my posting more often, I guess.

Christmas 2011

"You promised snow on Christmas...."

Christmas Dinner with Po-Po, Uncle Jim, Aunt Maria, Mo-Mo, Uncle Dom, Daddy and me.

Sweet potatoes are a big winner.

"Merry Christmas Mommy!"

Stealth baby.

14 month photo w/ mini-bear.

Happy Hallowe...? New Years!

"Sharing" the Christmas haul with cousin Evan