Turkey Day #1 (posted by Jean)

Yesterday was Adam's first Thanksgiving. He "helped" throughout the day, from the safety of his highchair - every time the oven was open, he was contained at a safe distance, and then he could roam the house while we were waiting for the cooking to happen. He thought making food was pretty fun - the mixer made cool noise, the smells were good, and he had his own pan and spoon to bang around and "mix" with.

We cooked a HUGE turkey (for the 2 1/2 of us), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, stuffing, and then orange rolls for dessert.

Adam loves turkey and stuffing, and he gobbled those down (Get it? Gobbled? Turkey?).

Then we tried mashed potatoes. And his facial expressions and flapping hands said it all. "What did you just put in my mouth? EEEWWWW! Get it away! Are you trying to poison me? Never do that again!"

As a special Thanksgiving treat Sliver got to lick the tray when he was done. After which the tray was cleaned and disinfected.

Then we all had to take a walk around the neighborhood to digest and work off a little of the feast.

And for the next week we will be thinking up new ways to eat turkey leftovers. Sandwiches, soup, lasagna, casserole, tacos, and anything else we can think of that can have turkey in it instead of other meats.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving too!

Toilet Bowl!

Well, that was a pleasant surprise.

Oh yeah. Coach Wulff? Worst. Celebration dance. Ever.

... ADDED:

Food: It's What's For Dinner

As you can see, Adam has taken to solid foods. He'll eat most anything, including vegetables, fruits, yogurt, cheese, etc.

At first, we focused on the classic baby foods, i.e., pureed peas, carrots, etc. with an occasional foray into oatmeal or similar. However, when we went out to Washington, Grandma Beth began pushing all sorts of new foods Adam's direction, and there was no turning back.

Cheerios quickly became a favorite. He wasn't likely to choke on them, and he could work on his manual dexterity by practicing his "pincher" motion. Sadly, we've created a monster with the Cheerio thing. He's gone through approximately three pounds of Cheerios in the last three months.

I'm not kidding.

And, as an added bonus, we find stray Cheerios everywhere! We're such lucky duckies!

Apple makes him happy. Fruits in general tend to be big hits. Mmm, natural sugar.But not everything agrees with him.

I think the pickles are as much for our amusement as for his benefit.

This is what happens when the apple finally does make it in. He just keeps chewing off more bits until his face is stuffed like a chipmunk. Then he tries to swallow.

(It's a pineapple core. Like I said, mmm, natural sugar.)

Eventually, it will be all people-food all the time, but for now it's a combination of milk and food. At least we know that there are few foods he's not interested in when the time comes to make the switch.

Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You

Cry and you're mom's problem.

Washington, My Washington: Part Four: Denouement

The return from Anacortes included Adam's first ferry ride. He was impressed with the pulling-away-from-the-dock part but was so hungry he immediately demanded food after this picture was taken and spent the entirety of the short trip attached to mom.

He enjoyed his short time in Centralia before heading back to KC. First, by reminding his toys who's boss:

Some blackberry pickin':

A trip to Borst Park:

A stop at the Chehalis Kiddy Park spray pool:

A chance to torment grandma's doll:

Feeding apples to the neighbor's horses:

A visit to Grandpa Ted and Grandma Mary's to try on dad's old baby hat:

Helping Grandpa Ray play the guitar:

And then it was off to the airport, where grandma and grandpa found a way to carry Adam without carrying Adam.

The flights home were "interesting." In deference to your appetite, I will spare you the details of the Seattle to Dallas leg, as you really don't want to know. Suffice to say, it was unpleasant, especially for Jean. But the Dallas to KC leg was fine, the highlight being that we sat across the aisle from Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer guy) and his wife. They were quite nice, and he probably didn't mind sitting near the two people on the flight who didn't have a clue who he was (it was only later that we found out).

All-in-all, it was a good trip, and we're glad we got to see so many family and friends. Unfortunately, it will be a while before we make it out again. I guess that means people are just going to have to visit us.

I'm subtle, aren't I?

Is That Mom's Musical Ability Or Dad's?

They say Mozart began composing at the age of five. They never say if what he wrote was any good.

Washington, My Washington: Part Three

Anacortes was fun. Adam enjoyed the beachhouse, even if he couldn't quite appreciate the view of Deception Pass. We did lots of walking, mostly on and around the beach. On the down side, his top two teeth decided that would be an excellent time to come in. He wasn't feeling great, but we got him one of those vibrating chewy thingies, and that helped.

Thoughtful, Cogent Election Analysis

As the "political scientist" of the fam, I guess it's up to me to explain the election results. Here is a summary, from the Democratic perspective (h/t L, G, & M):


And for the Republicans:

Sorry for the low quality of the video. They're in a bit of a state right now.