Baby, it's cold outside!

I took this picture because it shows my baby's penchant for taking his socks off. He still has on one sock due to the fact that I put on REALLY long socks in an effort to keep them on. No dice. Generally, I'll put them on before we leave, buckle him in the car, and by the time I walk around the car to get in my seat, they're off. I stopped bothering with the shoes; they're too difficult to get on and not worth the hassle. Sometimes I don't even bother with the socks. We're going from the house to the car and from the car to a building. He's not going to die in that time. Even though it's only 12* outside. I get quite a few comments from people about his lack of socks. But I'm usually carrying a pair in my coat just in case I need to defend myself.

Too long?

James thinks he needs a haircut. I just can't do it. What do you think?

Wahoo!!!

Erica was able to pull herself up into her chair at the table yesterday. This was a skill she mastered earlier this year, but she has been unable to do it since all of her surgeries this summer. Hooray for progress!

'Tis the season for birthday cakes!

For birthday cakes?

Well, I suppose that's what you get for having a Christmas baby, eh? Our little baby is one and not so little now. He walks and gets into everything his grubby little hands can reach. True -- I just got him out of splashing in the toilet. He can open the doors about half the time. He's everywhere at once and is fun to watch. Zachary has the cutest dimples in the world and is cheerful and happy.

Here's the video of him digging into his birthday cake. (For those who get this by email, you'll have to go to my blog for the video to work.) His cake was a bugger to make -- I made an apple cake, which is very bumpy and difficult to make look nice. So I didn't try real hard. After all, he's 1, right?

Christmas was fun around the house. I first heard stirrings at 4:39am(ish), but Eldon said he was up at 3:27am. The kids went to bed really well, but about 9:30pm, as we were getting things ready, Jessica woke up and came out. I think she was a little too disoriented to figure everything out, but luckily we were quick on the draw and shuffled her back to her room. Eldon came out later to use the bathroom, but James stood guard and wouldn't let him peek. The kids loved what Santa brought them. And they were very excited about the Wii that we finally bought.

Zachary's favorite present was the apple in his stocking. He walked around all day with it, nibbling on it until it was almost gone. Any time he got fussy, we gave him the apple and he was content. It really kept him out of a lot of trouble!

These are a few of my favorite things....

The kids had half days this week, so on Wednesday, to beat the boredom, I decided to get a head start on the Christmas cookies by making a different kind of cookie every day. So we made:

• Cookie dough truffle balls
• Peanut butter cookies, which we haven't had in FOREVER because of Jessie's peanut allergy
• Sugar cookies (although I'm thinking the kids might have gotten more icing on them)
• Magic cookie bars (ok, I don't like them, but James LOVES them)
• Homemade Oreo cookies

Notice the cool tins I got from JoAnn's for 60% off! These containers are FULL of cookies and treats!

And I bought these stackable cooling racks. So very cool. James even thought they were cool.

Snow day!

Jess and Erica built a little snowman they named Zachary Ned Frosty. I think the sticks we found for his arms were awesome.

To be a superhero

Step 1: Find really shiny material on clearance right before Halloween.

Step 2: Find good superhero images online.

Step 3: Buy a cool new sewing machine.

Step 4: Follow these instructions.

Step 5: Become the coolest mom and aunt on the planet!

And we're off....