Pix and Flix

Howie reading in one of his favorite chairs. There are few things that he likes more than to cozy up with a good book.

Somewhere along the way Howie learned how to signal a touchdown. Don't know how, but it's really funny!! We're already raising a football fan!

Josh is still in the throes of final exams, unfortunately. One exam stands between him and complete freedom for 3 weeks or something. It will be so glorious to get back to bossing him around whenever I want instead of having to let him study. HA! We will both breathe the biggest sigh of relief when this semester is finally over!

Howie is fighting the return of his ear infection from several weeks ago. He hasn't been sleeping well for quite some time now, but Josh and I couldn't figure out why. First we thought maybe it was his paci falling out that was waking him up, but that wasn't it. Then we thought maybe he was thirsty and not getting enough to drink during the day. That didn't seem very likely since I offered him his cup all the time. Next we thought he might be too hot, so we turned the space heater off in his room. Nope. Then we thought maybe he was uncomfortable seeing as I put so many layers of jammies on him that he looked like the abominable snow beast (Rudolph the Red- Nosed Reindeer- watch it, people). We took some layers off to see if he would be more comfortable and sleep, but no. Kept waking up over and over. We had gotten to the point where we didn't know what else to do to help him when it dawned on me... the return of the runny nose, Howie crying when we laid him down in bed and wanting to sit up, waking up so many times each night... it all finally made sense. I'm going to take him to the pediatrician tomorrow. I'm sure Howie was thinking, "What part of this don't you GET????" We're a little slow to put things together sometimes. Sorry, Howie.

These pics (though a bit blurry due to camera issues) are from our neighborhood women's Christmas party!! It was a total blast, complete with a gift exchange that involved stealing drama, plenty of treats, and lots of fun. It's nice to live with other families doing seminary- then while the husbands are studying we can goof around!!!

This is what we do for fun around here...

Peyton Is Rolling

Josh and I have been watching just as much football as usual this fall and enjoying it as much as ever, but this season has a decidedly different feel from the last one. That fact is in large part due to the absence of Tom Brady after his season-ending injury in Game 1. Last season was as much about seeing the success of the Colts as the demise of the Patriots, as you know if you read our blog back then. As the season stretched on, I became more and more fed up with the Tom Brady worship, especially by the talking heads on CBS, FOX, and ESPN. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick could do no wrong (apart from a mild chastising for spy gate). I watched many Patriots games last year, wanting them to lose so bad with my fingernails dug into the couch and about to have a heart attack. There were a couple of close games that the Patriots just barely won, and I was so mad after those games that I think I forbade Josh to talk to me for a while. Obviously it goes without saying that there was much rejoicing in our home when the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Anyway, all that to say that it has been so nice to watch football this season without the added stress of domination by Bill Belichick and his minions. The Colts had a pretty rough start, but now it seems that they're rolling, winning some real nail-biter games, and hopefully that will continue straight on into the playoffs.

P.S.- I'm sorry if I've offended any Patriots fans out there... it's nothing personal.