More from the Trinity Baptist Snow Disaster '08

You know when you get devastating news it takes time to sink in. When it finally does it's all you can think about. All this snow has caused me much thought. First off, I will begin thinking more about public transportation than ever. These roads are horrible.

I realize you can try to imagine 66 inches of snow, but it's not something that is easily done. Imagine a 4 lane road going down to 3. On each side of the road where sidewalks used to be, you now have 6 foot concrete walls. Apparently not everyone can see them because they're still trying to make an additional lane. In the process, forcing you into the concrete retaining wall of snow. Forget coming out of parking lots without a light telling you when to go. You have to do the gun-it-and-pray hoping you've timed the turn right. Then if you time it wrong, you're stuck. Either in the snow or in an accident. It's insane.

In addition to all the driving conditions, I thought I would post some more pictures from our Trinity Baptist Snow Disaster '08. A lady in our congregation took these. Let me narrate.

This is the view from the parking lot. Where there used to be a wall, also used to be an overhang we would stand under when it rained. I even have a wedding photo taken from that very spot.

My favorite part of this picture is the handicap parking sign. As the wall came down on it, it pierced right through. I think it's the same material as those black boxes on planes.

The view from the south and a bit of the remaning wall.


From the inside area of the gym. The scoreboard is the center of the picture.

More of the same.

This picture was taken from the doors leading into the gym. All that white stuff on the ground isn't snow, it's mainly insulation.

I'm not sure how far the insulation shot, but it's covering the ground behind where that handicapped sign was.

It even sprayed the roof of the sanctuary. Those marks you see on the roof are made from insulation and the wind caused by the collapse. It's not snowballs. In person, the roof of the sanctuary looks grayish like the snow behind the caution tape at the bottom of this picture.

I love this shot. This rainbow was in the sky the morning of the Snow Disaster '08. God's promise. I know He will definitely use this for His glory.

Happy New Year's Eve.

It is the start of something new.

We don't stop, we keep it on and on

I think the snow has been listening to a few too many Beastie Boys songs. We got another foot or so at our house yesterday. In 5 hours. This makes a total of 66 inches at our house. I'm 66 inches tall. That's not math that's in my favor.

It's safe to say at the end of this season if I never see another shovel I'll be happy.

This is the view from our living room. There is a chair against the window that is made for a little child. Those Disney Princesses are probably cold! The mound in the middle is our BBQ. It's safe to say we haven't been doing much grilling lately.

While our shoveling is difficult and our backs sore, our spirit took a hit this morning. Because of the massive amounts of snow we've been getting, business are having problems with roofs collapsing. Many businesses have flat roofs and they just can't handle the weight of 5 feet of snow and ice.

Really, I can't blame them. It's a heavy burden to bare.

So far 19 businesses have reported their roof collapsing. A church even caught on fire when their roof came in.

This morning it hit a little closer to home. Our church made the local news. The roof to our gym caved in at 4 o'clock this morning. It didn't just make the news because it's another one, but because it's the worst one. When the roof came in, the force of everything blew out two walls. There is insulation spewed clear onto the steeple roof at least 30 feet away. The steel doors to the gym have been bent.

I drove by on my way to work this morning and just started crying. Here's the sight from the parking lot. Imagine a full-size basketball court. That black thing on the wall in the upper left corner is the scoreboard. Just below it to the right is a white void. That used to be a basketball hoop. The small black square just right of the center of the picture is a window looking into the gym from the second story of the building.

Our church has been going through some trials recently. When our pastor retired in April it seems that we started to flounder. Which is normal with a transition like this. However this transition has caused much tension and some division in our church body. It's been a rough year for us all. When I saw this on the news this morning my spirit broke.

As I talked with the deacons in the parking lot this morning I was filled with hope. Hope that God will use this to bring Him glory and to unify our church family. No matter how we have all felt with the transition and the search for a new pastor, this is our home. This is our place of worship. It's a time we band together to fix our home. I pray we can fix our family in the process as well.

We won't stop. We'll keep it on and on.

With God's hand.

The jokester

Zoe is learning words almost as quickly as the snow is accumulating in our yard. I think she comes up with a new word every day.

The word of the day is "nah." She used to be known to shake her head no rather than say it. She would answer with "yeah" or "kay" if she wanted something. Now she has a new word and loves to use it. She doesn't say it like it's one syllable, she draws out that "ah" part. It's more like "naaaah." Here are some excerpts from the weekend:

Driving on our way to do a little shopping with N in the car behind us:
Me: That intersection was slick. Do you think daddy's going to make it?
Zoe: naaaah

N trying to put Zoe down for a nap yesterday:
Zoe: singing some tune
N: Are you even sleepy?
Zoe: naaaah.

While I was changing her diaper yesterday morning:
Me: You are a wild girl today, did you take your wild pills for breakfast?
Zoe: naaaah mom!

On the phone with grandma:
Grandma: Are you chasing daddy?
Zoe: naaaah.
Gma: Are you baking cookies?
Zoe: naaaah.
Gma: Are you having a good day?
Zoe: giggling - naaaah.

She uses it for everything.

It totally makes me smile.

The arctic tundra

I know I've been talking quite a bit about snow and winter. Honestly, i've never seen it look like this before. We've had a record 47 inches in the month of December. That was as of yesteday morning. It was snowing yesterday afternoon, so we've probably added to that total.

I seriously feel like we live on the North Pole. Without polar bears, penguins and severe negative temperatures. But still, it's close!

N & our neighbor got on the roof yesterday and pushed some of the snow off. Buildings are collapsing under this snow. We lost two businesses yesterday and a nursery earlier in the week. Today it's rainy and things are melting. That means it's getting heavier. Hopefully we won't lose anymore houses or businesses.

Here are some pictures from our back door. Because our heating vents are in the ceiling, we get some wicked icescicles. Like roof to ground ones!

Happy winter from the tundra.

Christmas Guests and Smelling Good

It was a big Christmas for us. We got to spend the day with D & E, despite being snowed in for the remainder of the day.

To top it off, I cooked Christmas dinner. My first turkey turned out great. We invited the neighbors over for some dinner and fellowship. It was a perfect holiday.

What made the day all the better was Zoe's new perfume. Apparently Tigger and Pooh have created a perfume store in the Hundred Acre Wood. It comes in natural scent. It was a great find by Grammie and Grandpa. Since they live near the Hundred Acre Wood and all.



If the Tigger and Pooh perfume wasn't a great surprise, our special guests were. I had no idea they were coming! We were a little unprepared for having a celebrity at our house, let alone two of them.

Hannah E. Montana and Hannah D. Montana came to celebrate with us.



We even got a special concert in the afternoon, after their microphones arrived from Texas.

It was such a special treat to have the Hannah Montanas with us. We hope they come back next year.

Dashing through the snow

I've basically been on vacation for the last 5 days. Not because I took vacation time, but because I couldn't make it to work. On a summer day it takes me about 30 minutes to get to work.

You add almost 30 inches of snow and it takes about an hour. The problem is it is snowing faster than they can plow. Last week they required chains to get through our downtown area.

I work past downtown. Up a big hill. The problem with this is two-fold. One hill used to be 2 full lanes. Now it's 1.5 lanes and steep. Unless you time it right, you're stuck behind the person turning on a block before yours. Then you lose all momentum to get up the hill.

The other hill made the news as the worst hill to try on Monday. It wasn't much better later in the week either.

I made it up to work yesterday. I was truly rewarded with how beautiful it is. I work on a campus of other buildings. At one time it was a girl's school. Now it's old buildings, surrounded by trees. No matter the season, this campus is beautiful.

Winter is no exception.

Merry Christmas Eve. Enjoy the day and weather, no matter where you are.

Chernobyl Christmas Trees

So last night I was frosting sugar cookies. Both N and my brother-in-law LOVE frosted sugar cookies. Since I somehow get a baking bug around the holidays, this is the one time of year they get them.

I made some trees and ornaments. I find it clever to coordinate the cookies. It's part of my OCD charm!

Zoe was upset that I wouldn't let her help make the frosting. I got a spoon, she dipped it and promptlly handed it back. She prefers the cookie sans frosting.

I ended up making green for the trees and blue, red and orange for the ornaments. Apparently I don't possess the ability to see into the future. I ran out of green for the trees. What do you get when that happens?

Christmas trees from Chernobyl!

He knows when you've been bad or good

Yesterday we ventured out into the white wonderland. While it was snowing. We like to live on the edge.

We got Zoe dressed in her best Christmas attire. An "I heart Christmas" shirt, some snowflake jeans and her Pooh shoes. We jazzed up her pig tails with fancy Christmas colored ribbons. We were set.

We're ready to meet Santa Claus. In person. At the mall. Who knew that was his hang out.

On our voyway there we asked Zoe what she was going to ask Santa for. She had all sorts of answers and ideas.

I don't think our questions really prepared her for meeting the man in person.


The song never mentions anything about being totally freaked out by the man in red.

Winter Weddingland

In this kind of weather you ask yourself, what could be worse than over 2 feet of snow? Having a wedding scheduled for two days afterward.

My dear friend Amber scheduled her wedding for yesterday, December 21st. Thursday, during the snow storm, we had much crying and worry.

The wedding went off without a hitch. It was a smaller crowd, but it was lovely. Amber was exquisite. The wedding was romantic. Zoe was totally charming.

She danced. She twirled. She gave a toast. I think she's finding the spotlight home.

Amber and Chris - we wish you a lifetime of happiness, a deeper love and all of God's richest blessings.

Fun with mom and dad

Last week was N's finals, so he no longer has school. This translates into him being home in the evenings with us. It is so wonderful to be able to have dinner as a family and have some time to just be parents to Zoe.

She's growing so fast that it's nice to be able to share her milestones with N. Last night I think she said "for sure" and "it's a deal."

Because she has to earn her keep around the house, she helped me with the floors.


Then she gets to play with daddy. We love how strong he is!

We got a few inches

Yesterday the weatherman predicted Winter Storm 08. We were going to get 15 inches between 1:00 yesterday afternoon and 10:00 this morning.

Around 10:00 yesterday morning it started.

It. hasn't. stopped. Not even a little bit.

We have at least 24 inches. It reaches the bottom of our living room window in the backyard. Our BBQ (that we didn't get to put in the garage last weekend) is almost totally buried. It's still coming down. Hospitals have cancelled surgeries. Stores are closed. You are required to have chains to drive through downtown.

So we're having a snow day.

Because we can't go anywhere. Our cars won't clear the snow.

What do you do on a snow day when you have 2 feet or more of snow?

You get on your snow suit and go play!

This is her snow chair that she refused to sit in. It's actually more like a snow throne.

Playing in the driveway. Helping us clear the snow, one snowball at a time.

Since N shoveled before bed last night, the fresh snow in our driveway is only about a foot deep. We dropped Zoe into it and took a picture. If you enlarge it you'll see that she's trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue.

Don't mind the outhouse in the back. It's only for emergencies!

The girl loves her some snow. She eats it and puts her face in it. She knows no fear. Guess it's time to have the "don't eat yellow snow" talk.

More pooh on the shoe

I have a bit of a shoe addiction. I've been known to participate in activities that require me to buy shoes. Like tap dancing, hip hop classes, spinning and socializing. A girl has to be prepared with the right kind of footwear for all types of situations.

It has been a little disheartening to watch Zoe not love shoes. She would prefer to be barefoot that have shoes or socks on her feet.

Until these:


You thought this was another post about poop on your shoes. Gotcha! We're talking Pooh, as in bear. Not pooh as in don't ever fly through LAX.

Zoe loves them. She will hug them, kiss Pooh's nose and scream when you have to take them off.

Unfortunately she has a hard time walking because she's always doing this:

Chocolate from California...YUM

The girls got a package in the mail this last week. They LOVE packages.

Inside we found Avent calendars from Grammie and Grandpa. The girls LOVE them. Especially because they have chocolate inside.

Thank you Grammie & Grandpa for the cards and the calendars. They were a huge hit.

O Christmas Tree, how bare are your branches

While I was pregnant I opted for a fake tree. I didn't think I was going to be able to shimmy under a real one at 6 months with child to water it. Especially since they die about 3 days after you get it.

Or, if you're my friend Dena, you get a tick infested one! I feel SO bad for her.

This year I realized that I have a toddler. So this is our tree. Only about half decorated. The bottom half includes plastic ornaments that bounce really well on the kitchen floor. Plus the garland that D made over Thanksgiving.

It's our very own tween tree. 1/2 child friendly, 1/2 adult.

The Living Nativity

On Saturday we had the opportunity to take D, E & Zoe to a living nativity. I have to be a bit honest, I was a little unsure myself. I wasn't positive how they would do it and it was close to -10 degrees ourside, so it was chilly to say the least.

We figured we could bundle up, blast the heat and enjoy driving through the nativity scenes in the comfort of our own car.

As we were driving to the church that hosts the event, we saw a huge sign on the side of the road that said, "Nativity Staging Area Next RIGHT." Staging area? I had a moment of panic at the thought of getting out of the car. Thankfully it was just a Disneyland-like line to make sure 100 cars weren't stopped on the highway to get to the actual nativity.

That baby Jesus can sure draw a crowd!

We made it through the line and even got some hot cocoa in the process. Those staging people sure know the way to D's & E's heart. We made it over to the church only to discover another Disneyland-like line.

We answered the question, "are we there yet" about 600 times while we drove the opposite direction of the church. We decided to play a little "Bethelehem Trivia" in our car. Basically took some time to tell the Christmas story to the girls.

Zoe was more interested in staring into the dark night. Partly because that's cool and partly because she can totally see herself in the window tint. What's cooler than looking at your self?

We've gone through our version of the story and made it to the front enterance on the actual nativity. We popped in the CD and let a very nice man guide us through the story.

I was speechless. I've heard the Christmas story thousands of times. I played with the nativity as a child. Nothing could prepare me for seeing it "in person." It was so well done. We got to the stable, which was flanked by cows and sheep and I couldn't stop the tears from streaming. We rolled down our window and in the dark was a choir singing "Hark the Harold Angels Sing." It was a feeling I cannot describe. You know Jesus was born in a barn. You know there were cows and sheep in there with them. Yet to see it with your own eyes and know that it's like -11 degrees outside is something all together different.

As I was trying to compose myself after the stable scene, they had three, live camels with the wisemen wondering in a field. Live camels. -11 degree weather. It was truly a site. It was the favorite scene for the under 10 crowd.

What made the story even cooler was the very end. In front of this church are three crosses to signify Calvary. As you cross in front of the church, there was a spotlight on the middle cross with a lamb just hanging out at the bottom. The CD talked about Jesus as our gift, our lamb.

Honestly it was the coolest part of the entire weekend.

Until after we celebrated Jesus's birthday with some cake.

E asked what it meant to go to heaven and how to pray to make sure you get there. At our dining room table, E asked Jesus into her heart.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

10 Lords a Leaping is Overkill or Friday Five Faves - vol. 20

This year I've had a REALLY hard time getting into the holiday spirit. I think it can be related to several aspects of life right now. I realize this will probably be a downer of a post, but if you can't be honest with your blogmies, who can you be honest with?

I think I'm just burnt out. All the stresses that had kept me awake at night the last couple years are now gone. Which is a blessing, but I also don't quite know what to do with myself.

So to get into the holiday spirit, I thought I would do a Christmas meme for you all!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, with all the extra decorations. I spend way more time wrapping than anyone spends opening.

2. Real tree or Artificial? We've converted to artificial. Quite honestly, it's not the same, but I don't have to shimmy underneath it to water it.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Try to take it down on New Year's Day.

5. Do you like eggnog? Not in the least.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My new Huffy 10-speed. I was so cool.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My nephews and my step-daughters.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Husband, daughter and mom

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Sadly no.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail with a family picture. I may try a newsletter this year.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of one.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Frosty The Snowman. Brings back my childhood.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually sometime in November or on Black Friday.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can think of.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? popcorn balls and little smokies. YUM! Not at the same time.

16. Lights on the tree? Heck yes, white ones.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Angels We Have Heard on High or What Child is This

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel to my mom's on Christmas Eve for a rockin' good time and then Christmas day is at our house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yeppers, there is a song afterall!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, I always feel bad for the angle with a tree limb up her...

21. Open presents on Christmas eve or morning? Christmas Eve with my sister and her family, Christmas day for my family and my mom. If I can convince N to wait that long. He's more of a kid at Christmas than I am.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The word Xmas. I hate it. People don't say Xtine's Day. Why pick on Christmas?

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love all the ornaments from my childhood. We always had a tradition of going to a local nursery and getting a new ornament. I have no idea why I picked the ones I did some years.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A salad spinner. Don't laugh, they're really cool.

It's raining bows

One of my favorite things about Christmas is wrapping presents. I love to wrap. I've also been known to bust out an actual rap while I wrap. It can get confusing. We won't talk about my aspirations to be the Christmas time version of Salt-n-Pepa. We'll save that for another post.

What I've discovered this week is that wrapping is harder this year. Mainly because I have a little helper who has her own ideas.

Last night for example, this is what we did.

About 15 times.

Maybe Santa should think about bringing her some bows for Christmas.

Going for the poker face

A little over a week ago we had family pictures taken. We've made this a holiday tradition. Last year the experience was less than stellar. Mainly because Zoe was 11 months and the photographer thought saying "smile for the camera" was enough to enduce hysterical laughter from the baby crowd.

It's safe to say I was a little worried about this year's experience. Namely because Zoe is a toddler now and likes to showcase her opinions whenever she feels. Plus we had D & E with us. If you've ever tried to coordinate three genuine smiles on film, you'll know how difficult this can be.

These little holiday moments have really taught me a lesson in patience (and perhaps a reason to self-medicate pre-shoot). If Zoe wants to cry and get all hysterical during the shoot, then that's the picture we'll get to remember the experience. When she's 23 and looking at these photos, I can tell her where the gray hair around my temples came from.

It's part of the circle of life.

This year the shoot was more comical than anything. Zoe wouldn't sit on the toddler sized couch to save her life. She thought it was so cool she could get off it so easily. When she was forced to stay seated, she let us know this wasn't part of her plan.

Then when it seems she would be cooperative, N & I were not what you call camera ready. Quite frankly we look like we're trying to ruin the pictures with our unprepared looks and double chins. I only like to hang flattering pictures of us on our walls. The girls look cute with their attitudes or crooked bangs that they cut themselves. People pass that kind of thing off as "part of childhood memories." Adult double chins is more along the lines of "that's too bad."

Without further ado, some of our shots from our newest holiday tradition. Apparently the under 2 crowd was less than pleased with the gold ornament and Santa bear. She had her eye on a basketball she found off to the side.

She is a giant

I'm starting to feel we watch a bit too much television in our house. However, only a few of them truly entertain Zoe. Typically she likes some background noise. Personally I think it is her excuse to use her outside voice all the time.

The Backyardigans are quickly becoming one of her favorite shows. It's a cartoon about 5 friends who all share a backyard and each episode is some adventure that they've created. Sometimes their backyard is turned into a swamp or an underwater adventure or the wild west. Zoe loves it.

Her favorite is the one about the giant. Tasha (one of the characters) is pretending to be a giant and walks around saying, "boom boom BOOM." Zoe thinks this is hilarious.

Now she wants to be a giant too. She will walk around the house saying, "boom boom BOOM" each time she takes a step.

Then she'll walk over to the oven and watch herself stomp around like a giant.

I love watching the things in life that make her smile. I love watching her mind work.

Gobbling her way to first place

When I was younger a local news channel partnered with McDonald's for a color the weather contest. Each time we ate at McDonald's, I would color the weather in hopes that weatherman Steve Mumm would show my masterpiece during the news and I could win a free Happy Meal.

When I was 8, my dream came true. A terrible drawing of some thunderstorms got me my 15 minutes of fame. And a Happy Meal.

Fast forward 22 years.

Sometime before Thanksgiving Zoe's grandma went to the credit union. In her trip there she learned they were hosting a coloring contest. This wasn't just any contest, they had a toddler section. In hopes of Zoe finding the same satisfaction of winning, my mom brought home a picture of a black and white turkey.

Each day for a week, she would put it before Zoe during their many coloring sessions. Because Zoe likes to usually only use one color per session, it took the entire week for her to complete the masterpiece. Really, can you rush art?

Apparently the answer is no. Because Zoe won 1st place amongst the toddler crowd.

She is playing with her farm animal prize as we speak.

I couldn't be more proud of her. Maybe tonight we should cash in my free Happy Meal and celebrate.

Cleaning makes you sweat

Zoe has been learning so many things this last month. It's like all the stuff she's been trying to figure out suddenly makes sense. What's the most fun is seeing how her mind works.

Here's the scene.

We're in the living room, I'm trying to find some amazing deals on-line for her Christmas present and N is sitting on the couch watching Zoe. She is playing on her bean bag chair, watching some Tigger & Pooh.

Suddenly N says to me, "Kel, check her out. You have to watch this. Do you see what she's doing?"

Because of her position on the bean bag chair it was a bit hard to see, but as soon as I saw her bare tummy and one bare arm I knew. She was taking her shirt off.

Sure enough, within a few seconds the girl was without clothes on the top half of her body. She grabbed her broom, went to the kitchen and started sweeping.

Apparently sweeping makes her a little sweaty and she didn't want to soil her shirt.

Or she just likes watching that baby in the oven window and wondered if she'd be naked too.

Wouldn't you know, she was naked and sweeping too.

Life is full of so many mysteries.

Friday Five Faves - vol. 18 or 19

So I was looking at past FFF posts and I realized that I have two #17 editions. Apparently counting and Fridays don't really mix for me.

Or it could be that I was getting an early start on the festivities that are in store for me tonight. My friend Amber's bachelorette party is tonight. We all have to wear something leopard print. Since I'm not so great at face-painting on leopard spots (which I thought would totally be a stand-out idea for a night on the town), I found a delightful headband to wear. I think my inner tigress is ready for some girl's night out!

Without further ado, FFF volume 18 or 19. Depending if you believe in new math or not.

1) My new plum, suede pumps from Kenneth Cole Reaction (sorry no picture, I was working on my counting and face painting). I found these beauties for my friend Amber's wedding this December, but I love them so much I've already worn them. What's even better, I found them at Macy's and they were half off. Can you beat that?

2) iTunes. Since entering the 21 century, I've started loading up my iPod with music. I downloaded some singles that I love and even the new Nickleback CD. I will admit, I even downloaded Britney's Circus. I'm a bit of a Britney fan, head shaving and all. She did have some trouble there for awhile, but I love a good comeback story like I love me some leftover cheesecake from Thanksgiving.


3) Toddler talk. Zoe is starting to say more and more things. She will answer questions too, even though I have absolutely no idea what she's saying. This was our conversation as I mopped the floors with Pine Sol this week:

Me: mopping, enjoying my little helper
Zoe: sweeping the floors with her broom when she said Mom!
Me: What sweetie?
Zoe: pinches her nose, p.u.!

Apparently the scent of fresh pine doesn't quite meet her expectations of a good smell.

4) The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I tend to read an author's entire body of work if I like their writing. I was a little skeptical about this book because I didn't know if it could live up to the Twilight series and it's kinda sci-fi. When I say kinda sci-fi I mean completely, 100% sci-fi. I have to admit that I loved it. It's a hard story to explain, but her website says it's "science fiction for people who don't like science fiction." I have to agree.


5) Three Legged Red by Dunham Cellars. I've had several of their wines and this is a great, affordable bottle of red table wine. What's even better is this winery is located in Walla Walla, so you're supporting local!


Have a great week all!

Sleep Deprivation

This past week and a half has been a trying week for me. Zoe has been sick. It started out as a cough at night. Zoe's a gagger. She would cough. Gag from the cough. Puke from the gag.

It was a lovely routine to add to bedtime. We took her to the doctor because I was running out of shirts and pajama pants without puke stains.

She has a sinus infection. The doctor's exact diagnosis was, "yep, green river of goop running down her throat." Nothing instills confidence in your doctor as much as when they use highly technical, medical school terminology.

Poor kid. We got antibiotics. Because it doesn't taste like olives or chocolate pudding, the gagging starts all over. Fortunately I can stop that cycle before it continues with a drink of water. Which is good because I didn't want to resort to covering us both in plastic pre-dosage.

She seems to be doing better. So much better that she doesn't think sleep is important. She refused a nap this week only to fall asleep right before dinner. Then if she does nap, she thinks 5 am is a good wake-up time.

It's safe to say this mamma is a wee bit tired.

Last night I discovered the culprit. As she was talking to herself in the bathroom mirror, post-bath, I noticed she has two new teeth. Because of her preemie status, her teeth have been a little behind her age. These should've come in sometime around July. Better late than never. She's getting two eye teeth on top. The bottoms looks a little bit swollen. We may have two more in no time.

Maybe mamma will have some sleep then too.

Let the festivities begin

This weekend D came over to spend some time with us. E stayed home to be with her mom and new baby brother.

It was so much fun spending time with D and getting some one-on-one time with her. She helped me give Zoe a bath and she helped N & me get ready for Christmas.

She spent most of the morning outside with N helping him hang lights. Then she came in for some hot cocoa. With marshmallows. And whipped cream.


Between sips of cocoa, we made a paper garland for the tree.

That girl is a crafting machine!

Once it got dark, which is around 2:30 in the afternoon here. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. 2:45 pm is more like it. N took a picture of his and D's handy work.

What is even sweeter than having garland for the tree and lights on the house? N set the lights on remote control. I don't even have to go outside to turn them on! He sure knows his wife is a danty flower that doesn't much care for wet and cold.

Hanging with Micah

This weekend we had Bev, Chris and Micah over for some dinner and fellowship. Micah is such a sweet baby. He's growing up so cute. He was telling Zoe and me stories and we got lots of smiles.

Zoe loved telling him all kinds of stories and blowing him kisses. I think she's pretty fond of her cousin.

Leftovers

I think I've finally come out of my turkey and shopping coma. I thought I would post a few pictures from our Thanksgiving.

I have a very unique family. 99% of them are not blood related in any way. This year my sister's family came over to celebrate. Her grandma usually prepares dinner, but this year my mom offered and they accepted. We had 20 people at my mom's house. It was absolutely wonderful.

Zoe was a bit overwhelmed pre-dinner, pre-nap. However post-nap, she was ready to go. Here are some highlights.

Playing hockey with Roan

Matthew, Roan, Grandpa Doug, Mark, Grandma Darlene, Harmony and Piper

Nicole, Connor, T-Dog, Jerry and Michael

Giving Zoe some love