When Left to Their Own Devices...

Before I was a mother, I never knew so much could happen in so little time. Now I know that kids, when left to their own devices, can get into all kinds of trouble in no time at all. Just last night when I stepped out of the family room for a second Abby was in the middle of the floor, but when I came back, she was stuck between the unplugged heater and the entertainment center. It broght back memories of when Josh would get stuck in a similar place.

But Abby isn't the only one who causes trouble. Although Josh's trouble is of a different kind. In an effort to avoid the morning battle of getting Josh dressed I told him he could pick his clothes. His choice? A Thomas the Train shirt, navy blue swim trunks, mismatched socks (one was an ankle sock, one a regular crew sock- but Josh insisted they matched... "2 white socks mom!") and his cowboy boots. Oh boy. Here he is "hiding" a button in his boot.

Now I know what you are thinking. "You think that is trouble? You should have seen when my kid/kids..." I'm well aware that they could be more troublesome. I just love these two very different displays of the same independent personality.

Rice Cereal Anyone?

Since Abby is closing in on 6 months, we decided to let her have a taste of rice cereal. She has been VERY interested in eating "real" food for a while now and definitely has the spoon/open mouth reflex down.
Her first time eating was hilarious. She couldn't eat fast enough. She would lean right into the spoon... And then hang on to it until she had sucked it clean...
She is a professional now and has liked everything she has tried thus far (cereal, squash, bananas, pears...) Can't believe how different she is from Josh!

As soon as she sees a bowl on the table, her eyes don't leave it until you start spooning the food into her mouth. Babies are quite entertaining.

Christmas Memories

I guess it is about time I get around to cataloging some of our favorite memories from Christmas. This year we had a stocking for Jesus- we hung it in a room where we usually hang out, and every time we did service for someone, we wrote it on a piece of paper and put it in the stocking. Then on Christmas morning, right after reading the Christmas story in the Bible, we read all the things in the stocking as our present for Jesus. It was a great way to get the day started in the right spirit.

Of course Josh was easily impressed by his presents, and Abby wasn't impressed at all. But we had fun doing Christmas morning in our own home with just our little family.

Josh said the prayer for Christmas Dinner at my parent's house. Unfortunately he wasn't in the happiest mood, so the "Dear Heavenly Father... Thank you for this day" came out in a rather loud, grumpy voice... Not quite the prayer my dad usually does, but he said if Josh really wanted to say it we should let him.

That night we got to talk to my brother Scott, who is on a mission in Philadelphia. It was great to talk to him. We tried to get Josh to talk, but all he said is "Hi" and then proceeded to breathe heavily into the phone for a few seconds. Oh well.

And now, to reward you for your perseverance in reading this post, here are some pictures. This is one of the new dresses Abby got for Christmas.