Uncle Scott is here!

We received an early Christmas present on Sunday when Uncle Scott showed up to stay for the week and help our little family get back to an even keel after a long month of various illnesses. Joe and Clara have enjoyed the extra attention, while Ted and Julie have enjoyed the extra hands to help with household and parenting tasks. Joe has gotten to discover some new skills like shining a flashlight on the ceiling and actually cutting an onion with his plastic knife (without pants on of course!). And instead of being deposited into the exersaucer when coming home, Clara gets to play or snuggle with Scott! We look forward to more adventures this week!

Shovel and sled

This morning we woke to about 6 inches of powdery snow on the ground - good thing it was a Saturday morning! After breakfast Ted and Joe got on their snow gear and went outside to shovel. Joe had fun with his shovel, but not much snow moved. After we were shoveled out, we decided to take the sled for a spin. Some streets were plowed, so the sled glided easily on the thin layer of snow. But on the streets that had not been plowed, it took a lot of work to pull Joe. He is too big for this sled, so we will have to find something a little more his size - you can see he didn't have much leg room!

Mama Bird Down

The Mama Bird has been sick for two days now...in-bed-all-day sick. Not sure what she has but likely a complication from the Thrush because her throat is swollen and painful. She spent Thursday morning on her own dealing with Urgent Care and the pharmacy. On Friday we had already planned to take a vacation day, so Ted was able to take Julie to Urgent Care again for some stronger pain relief. So she has been laid up in bed but gathering the energy to nurse Clara and read Joe his bed time stories, though in a hoarse whisper. Meanwhile, Joe and Clara have been happy and mostly healthy. Clara is always crawling somewhere, today at pickup she was found under the exersaucer at daycare, and Joe had a big welt on his forehead - so they are exploring their boundaries!

A spot of Spot

The other morning, as we were getting ready to leave the house for school and work, Joe requested a reading of Spot. Who can deny a boy a book about Spot? Not his Dad! So Joe and Clara (and Ted and Teddy) enjoyed hearing about Spot's adventures on the farm - that angry goose is always good for a laugh!

A Princess Party

This Sunday, after the turkey was eaten and the tree was trimmed, we took Joe to Elise's third birthday party. Clara came too because she wanted to see what a princess looked like. She wore a party dress for the occasion! Joe wore a party shirt! We arrived at the festivities to find Princess Elise and her bevy of consorts just finishing up making their crowns before beginning a march to Elise's big girl bed for a jump. Thankfully, Graham was there already scoping out how to approach the princesses. By the time the candles were blown out and the cake was eaten, Joe was mixing it up in the melee. Presents were unwrapped, goody bags were distributed, silly bands (colored rubber bands shaped like things--in this case: princesses) were bandied about, Joe absconded with Graham's crown (and Elise's--stuffed--cat), and then all returned to their respective kingdoms.