(Caleb enjoys helping with the dishwasher. He opens the door, lugs the soap out and plops it on the door...even when the dishes are clean.)
Well it is the day before Thanksgiving and already we are listening to Christmas songs on the radio. There are so many music artists out there that I wonder why they can't play the John Lennon/ Yoko Ono song once every six weeks. I've thought about putting together our own set of Christmas itunes but it seems like a lot of time and listening work. Hmmm...

Cannon is outside checking the Christmas lights that I hung. He is making sure we can plug them in and turn them on. I'm ecstatic. I love Christmas lights. It gets light at 9:30am and dark at 4:30pm but soon we'll only have 4 hours of daylight. The Christmas lights will be delightful during our dark winter months. I'm baking banana bread and Caleb has gone down for a nap. He was yelling "bah-oh, bah-oh" (ball, ball) from his crib for quite a while, begging me to come play. But he was way overdue for a nap and yelling from the crib is his ritual before he crashes into sweet dreams. I love to watch him sleep and squish his marshmallow-soft arms (which are surprisingly strong for how soft they are).

We went to the buzzing grocery store and got our fill of stress and groceries for the next couple days. While there, Cannon and Caleb were in electronics watching Wall-E on the big screen. They were laughing out loud. I gave Cannon my puppy dog eyes and we bought the DVD so that Caleb has something other than Sleeping Beauty, Incredibles and Baby Einstein to watch. Later tonight we are going to "The Great Alaskan Shootout". I think it has to do with hockey. Should be fun.

We hope everyone is able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. I generally consider the things I am grateful for as private, but I would like to share that I am grateful for God, for Cannon and sweet Caleb, for beautiful snow, for good books, for health, and for our families.

Like a Bunny Rabbit

Caleb loves to squeeze his eyes shut and play hide n' seek. My mom says that bunny's do the same thing. They think if their eyes are closed that you can't see them because they can't see you. Caleb loves to hide from me in the house and whenever I find him (in the pantry or under the bed or behind the couch) this is what his facial expression is! He is giggling with excitement because I found him. But he will shut his eyes anywhere and sometimes he drops on the ground face down and "hides". He is hilarious!

I got a more durable winter hat the other day and Caleb decided to try it on. Speaking of winter gear, we got our snow clothes on yesterday morning and went outside to play. Caleb got a wagon ride down the street and I hung the Christmas lights. I've learned that Anchorage is called "The City of Lights", which explains why some people have lights up (usually white) year round. I'm excited to have them up...now if only I could figure out how to turn them on. In other news, Caleb popped another tooth and I have a feeling that more are coming very soon. His teeth have been very slow coming in and unfortunately, I think they might all show up at once. I made a quiche last night (spinach bacon) and to my surprise, we all liked it. Normally cooked veggies are gag-alicious to me, but I'll eat them fresh. My first quiche turned out. I will definitely make it again. Anyone want the recipe? It is from BHG. This morning we have freezing fog and as I was driving home from the gym, I had to wait to turn left so that a giant mama moose could walk past me. I was going slow enough to see her, thank goodness! Then again, maybe I should have hit her and we could have had moose roadkill for dinner all winter! There is always next time...

A Week In Pictures

Going through this week's pictures, it isn't hard to see what the highlights were. I could make a bunch of comments, but it is snowing outside and I've got a very cluttery house to clean. I don't want to stay indoors in a messy house!



New wheat grinder attachment. Cannon surprised me with a new Bearfoots figurine!


Watching "The Incredibles".





Whole wheat snickerdoodles (using fresh milled wheat).

Trip to AZ

We had a wonderful, whirlwind trip to Arizona. It seems like a dream, it happened so fast!G & G played and played with Caleb. He drank in all the attention.

His first carousel ride!

One, two, threeeeee!

Caleb could have thrown balls in the pool all day and night.

All aboard (the McCormick Train Park)...

What would a trip to AZ be without a little dip in the pool?

Grammy got to read stories to him and he snuggled right into her...

Gramps spoiled him rotten--he's feeding him a See's chocolate marshmellow pumpkin for breakfast! He would also sneak chocolate milk into his sippy cup...

Gramps even crawled around and explored the McDonald's Playland with Buster...which is no small feat. It nearly takes being a yoga master to get around in one of those things (I was in there with them too)! We had to fold ourselves in half to follow Caleb around!

Say cheeez- (notice the duckee in the background)!

This was Aunt Lolly's Halloween costume and Caleb rocked it.
Lolly "got" to chase Caleb all around her apartment complex...ha, ha,ha!

Shopping at Bass Pro: a couple of coon skin cuties!

Weenie roast in the back yard!

(At G & G Mix's) His first time jumping on the trampoline (with Cece and Mia) and he loved it!!

The one and only other male Mix cousin, Tanner (about 8 months older), finally had someone to rough house with...notice his smile!
Caleb is smiling because he outweighs Tanner. Soon he'll be the one putting Tanner in a Half Nelson.

Caleb was finally old enough to play with his cousins and it was delightful to watch it.
We have many more pictures, but these are a few of my favorites. We love our family and miss being close enough to play whenever we want. Thanks for hosting us and thanks for the great memories!

Wicked Chilly

It was the coldest Halloween ever!! But it was so entertaining! I told Cannon that we must be old because we were really getting a kick out of all the adorable kids in costumes. We dressed Caleb up as a Russian. As luck would have it, the folks who parked next to us at the trunk-or-treat are Russian, (as in, very broken English Russian) and when they got out of the car, they saw Caleb and started laughing. I turned Caleb around so that I could show them "Medvedev" on the back and they laughed even louder! Then they pulled out a camera and took a picture. Caleb insisted on pushing this stroller around for a while...

Here is the Russian family, our new comrades. Ivan and Tatiana are the parents of these 2 beautiful girls. Later on, Ivan told me that Caleb was truly a "scary Russian" because "Medvedev means 'bear' " and he's "very scary"!!


This giraffe had the cutest behind in the world. She was Caleb's height and kept hanging around our car, stealing our candy.

Caleb and Troy; Troy's mom, Ruthie, a new friend of mine.My friends are real witches! Ruthie and Jodi...

Is this the most ADORABLE gnome/elf or what?! We thought that next to Caleb, she was the cutest thing ever! And very original...


It got cold enough that Caleb stayed in the car and played...
Speaking of frigid cold weather, this was last year and look at those toes hanging out! He was sweating in that suit most of the time.
We wished Grammy and Gramps could have been here to parade around with him again. We can't wait to see you! Just a few days! Wahoo!
His first Halloween stash..
His first taste of a Sour Patch Kid! Ha, ha ,ha!



He has perma-rosy cheeks from the cold. They are much brighter and deeper red than the picture reflects (darn flash)!
We only had about 3 trick-or-treaters at the house. Each time they left, Caleb stood on his tiptoes and peered out the window and waved saying "ba-bye, ba-bye". HAPPY HALLOWEEN!