Snow in the Mountains

We took it pretty easy there for a couple days following the big Thanksgiving feast. We played in the yard a bit. Madi is getting really good at kicking a ball now.

Henry and I took a walk on the country road by our house. We walked for about 30 minutes and saw a tractor and a hound dog. Henry liked it for the most part, but toward the end the wind was blowing and he wanted to come back home.

Today we got ambitious and set out for Bear Lake for lunch.

We ended up eating at the Lodge at Bear Lake Restaurant. While it was not our first choice for dining, it turned out to be our only choice! The town seems to have closed up shop for the winter. Henry, however, admired the fries.

Undeterred, we set off for Tony Grove, in beautiful Logan Canyon. As you can see, it started to get a bit snowy toward the top. This we had anticipated.

We all bundled up, ready for a nice walk around the lake. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing, and it started to seem pretty inhospitable. Almost immediately nearly everyone was ready to go.

Tim and Henry retreated right away to the car, but Madi wanted to stay! She had a lot of fun in a brief time. You can see in this photo she had to keep her eyes closed because of the wind while she was making her snow angel. Even so, she wasn't ready to leave.

We drove home through the canyon as soon as we could manage to get Madi back.

It was more enjoyable from inside the car. The scenery was nice, and even though it was windy, seeing the snow made us hope to be skiing soon!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning Madi and I made cranberry relish. First, Madi checked out what cranberries taste like alone. Hmm. 

We blended the cranberries with oranges, then she added tupelo honey.

Next she ground a clove and stirred that in.

The finished product, along with a pumpkin pie we made the day before.

Henry still was not feeling well, but he followed the cranberry action anyway.

For Thanksgiving dinner, two of Tim's students and friends came over. Tim made turkey, I made stuffing, Madi of course contributed cranberry relish and pies, and the students brought potatoes, great rolls from Crumb Brothers, a wonderful pear salad with pecans and goat cheese, green beans ... it was all delicious!

Madi was a little unsure how to proceed with her chosen piece of the turkey.

She had no problem figuring out the pie, though. She had a lot!

Granddaddy, meanwhile, got his own turkey straight from the wilds of North Florida.

He and Grandmother and Great Aunt Ginger also went to a sugar cane grinding. Wish we could have been there!

Toddler-Assisted Baking

This morning started with another fabulous sunrise. Then we had to take Henry to the doctor again. Turns out now he has two ear infections. Sigh. He is still a happy little guy overall, though, and with some Tylenol under his belt, does pretty well even with infected ears.

Today Madi and I baked pumpkin pies for tomorrow. I have to say that baking with a toddler has changed my idea of what is absolutely necessary, aesthetically pleasing, and easily accomplished. It's fun, on the whole, once you let go of any previous idealistic notions you harbored about baking.

Here you can see her in action. She loves to stir. 

We had to use a lot of eggs, because only our bantams are laying now.

Almost ready to add the milk ...

Here Madi is taking her stirring very seriously. Notice which hand she uses. Henry and Tim weren't feeling quite so serious, as you can hear!

Sick Kids

This week was pretty hard. First, as you know, Henry had an ear infection. He went back to the doctor for a re-check, and his ears looked pretty good. But at the same visit, Madi turned out to have an infected throat. Some of the kids at daycare who have been tested have Strep. Then, just as Madi was getting better, Henry developed a horrible runny nose and cough. Think about what this creature sounds like and you will get the idea:

Henry has been waking up a lot at night, too.

So, I didn't really take many pictures there for a while.

If you like, you can just imagine what it was like instead:

The kids, red-faced and bawling.

Me, grading a never-ending stack of student papers.

Tim, bits of soggy cereal clinging to his body, stalwart and infinitely patient. 

All true (except for the very last part).

Tonight things started to seem better. Let's hope everyone continues to improve.

First, the big news: Henry crawled up the stairs! Twice in the last week. He would do it a lot more, but we put up the gate.

Here Henry tries quinoa pasta. He liked it, he decided. He ate a ton.

This week marked the return of the fabled 'ball blaster'. Madi really loved it when she was little. Turns out she still does. Henry likes it too, when he gets a chance to use it.

Madi is feeling a lot better these days. Here she snuggles with Tim while Leyden keeps a close eye on things.

Madi loves looking at books. So does Henry, sometimes. Mostly he likes to pull them off the shelf and try to take them away from Madi!

A Campus Walk

Things have been really busy for me at work lately. I have been going in to work on the weekends too. Last Sunday, Tim, Madi, and Henry joined me for lunch. We went to the Pupuseria El Salvador, one of our favorite places to eat in Logan. Here, Madi eats some marvelous pupusas (on her plate), with fried plantains, refried beans, and crema fresca (front plate).

While we were there, Madi did something amazing - she starting reading! She sounded out several short words (cat, dog, hat, etc.) in a book we had brought to pass the time. She is getting more and more interested in reading and likes asking how things are spelled.

After lunch, we went for a walk on campus. Here is Madi at the famous site where one can become a true blue Aggie. All you have to do is arrange to kiss a true blue Aggie on this spot at midnight under a full moon. Hmm. Let's hope it's a while yet before Madi achieves this status ...

Here is Tim with Madi and Henry at the south end of campus, with the mountains to the south east of campus behind them.

Looking south, off the south end of campus. Campus ends somewhat abruptly here!

Here is Madi in front of the Quad. In the distance is Old Main, the first building on campus.

Here they are in front of the library, one of the newer buildings on campus.

Every time we walk on campus, Madi loves to go the 'french fries'.

Henry had a great time too, just hanging out in the stroller.

He has become very interested in eating what we are eating lately. This is hard, because he has some sensitivities to certain types of foods. We are letting him try more things these days, because hopefully he is growing out of it all.

Here he tries a green bean. I'm not sure he ever ate it, but he had fun with it.

The french fry he ate!

Video Extravaganza!

Henry has been 'talking' a lot lately. Here he says 'ma-ma'. Or at least that's what his mama hears.

Madi loves playing on the Super Readers Super Why! website. She likes playing Princess Presto's Super Hero spelling game the most.

Here, she names her Super Hero with a Super Name. Watch as she first carefully moves the mouse with the touch pad, then clicks on the letter she has selected, until she has spelled the name.

Henry shows no signs of crawling with his belly off the floor, but he is getting really fast at his 'army crawl'.

Interestingly, at this age Madi was still sitting on her butt, unwilling to submit herself to the indignities of sub-par locomotion. She practically skipped crawling all together.

This month both GaGa and Granddaddy had birthdays. We called them to wish Happy Birthday, but not, shall we say, exactly on the date of said birth. We hope they had a great day.

A Busy Week

This past week I went to Phoenix, AZ for a business trip. Everything went well while I was gone, and I was glad to get back to my family.

Henry had fun playing with Madi's train tracks.

We've had some great sun and moonrises lately.

We had a nice visit with our friend and collaborator Tony, who lives on Martha's Vineyard, MA. At work and at night we talked science, and otherwise we hung out with the kids.

Tony is a helpful guest! Here he demonstrates his talent with baby food for Henry. He has had some practice - he raised five children.
















Madi loves playing with Tony.

















Friday night we had a party for Tony. All the graduate students came over, along with a couple of other professors. It was fun.

Tony left Saturday morning, and we immediately ...
we immediately started lounging around the house all day. We were tired.


At least the adult members of the family were tired. Madi played dress up. Here she models her princess outfit from Great Aunt Mary.















She also played in her outfit from Uncle Charlie.




She has really enjoyed playing with Henry lately. At least she does sometimes. Sometimes he tries to grab her.

Henry has been a little grumpy this week because he is teething again. He has four teeth, two on top and two on bottom, with a fifth one starting in on the bottom. Let's hope it goes smoothly!

A Sunny Day

We had a brief respite from the wintry weather today.
First we had to take Henry to the doctor, though. He had been coughing a lot and not feeling too well the last few days. Turns out he has an ear infection and has to take an antibiotic.




When we got home from the doctor, we all went outside and basked in the sun. The day was so beautiful, everyone enjoyed it, ear infection or not.



Here is Madi with our outside cat, Connie, who had a good time too.



The yard is still green, but there is snow on the mountains.



Madi checked out the chickens.



And the goats.




It was a beautiful day.



Scott, Ceci, and Maria Luisa came over for Thai food. Madi loves spending time with Wuisa!