O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, I wanted to get all of our Christmas stuff up. Yesterday we went and picked out a tree with my parents despite me having the flu. I sat in the truck with Jack while Steve went and hauled it in. When we got home we put all the lights on so it would be ready for me to decorate today.

I took today off so I could get the ornaments on the tree and the rest of the house decorated.

Christmas is forever, not for just one day, for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away - like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf. The good you do for others is good you do yourself...

~Norman Wesley Brooks

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with good food that we got to share with lots of family members. For lunch we went to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's to have the Burman side of Thanksgiving. My aunt and uncle had come from Missouri along with my cousin Jenny, her fiance, and 2 kids. Jackson, one of her sons, was just born on October 22nd, so it was kind of fun to remember how small Jack was at that age.
In the evening we went over to the Battaglia's and visited and ate again. By about 7:00 Jack was getting pretty tired so we headed home for the day.

Also, today was 'Black Friday' and like an idiot I decided to head to Duluth to do some shopping. Not that I really intended on getting any good deals since I didn't go until 9, but I had my mind set on getting a new camera. When I went to Office Max the worker convinced me to get a different camera than what I originally had set out for. Well, that turned out to be the biggest mistake, because when I got home I realized it didn't have one of the main features that I was looking for - sequential shooting. So around 1:00 I headed back to Duluth to return that one and get the other one I really wanted. Now I will just have to learn how to work it.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was "thank you," that would suffice.
~Meister Eckhart

Off to the Cities

This weekend Steve, Jack, and I took a trip down to the cities to visit with Dan and Erin. We left early Saturday morning and ran to Babies R Us in Maple Grove, and then we went back to Forest Lake to stay with Dan and Erin. We hung out for a while and then went to eat at Bonfire in Blaine. Jack was so well behaved and just sat in the high chair and watched football on the big screen TV. I think he may have even tried to order off his own menu.

When we got back, I wasn't feeling good (I think I got what Jack and Steve had last week) so I went to bed by about 8. I guess Dan, Erin, and Steve followed by about 8:30. Today I spent a lot of the day relaxing as I still am not feeling well.

There aren't enough days in the weekend.

~Rod Schmidt

What - Another Anniversary

Although this is not our true Anniversary, I guess it could kind of be considered that. It was 11 years ago today that Steve and I went on our first date. Ha! For those of you who don't know - we went to Romeo & Juliet back on the night of November 14th, 1996. Ahhhh....


Will you still need me, will you still feed me...When I'm sixty-four?
~Paul McCartney

ZZzzzz...

Well - we have officially started letting Jack 'cry-it-out' in the middle of the night. We had definately made a habit out of getting up to feed him every time he made a noise. This meant still getting up at least twice a night. We decided we needed to put an end to that and so far it has been working pretty well. It's been almost a week and we have not gotten up with him. Don't get me wrong we still hear some cries in the middle of the night, but it is getting better every night.

We also noticed that Jack was coming down with a bad cold this past weekend and on Sunday his runny nose and coughing got really bad. On Monday he was at Grandma Johnson's and then today I stayed home with him so he could recover without having to be at daycare. It just so happens that Steve also came down with a bug last night and stayed home today as well. He went to bed last night around 7:30 and pretty much slept until noon today with the exception of getting up to call his own sub.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.
~Irish Proverb

First Snowfall

Although most of it has now melted, this morning was the first snowfall here in the Northland. The drive to work was mighty slippery, but not quite enough to use the 4-wheel drive. I am already not looking forward to the cold weather and snow banks.

Grandma Battaglia also brought Jack down for his 6 month doctors appointment today. The doctor says he seems to be hitting all the developmental milestones. His current growth stats are:

• Height - 27 inches (61%)
• Weight - 19 lb. 12 oz. (79%)
• Head - 18 inches (90%)

This past week Jack also got his second bottom tooth, so it is pretty cute to see him smile.

An inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.

~Bill Watterson

Deer Hunting Tradition

The first weekend of deer hunting/shopping has come and gone. The tradition started when I was very young and my dad would go hunting and my mom would take me shopping. This year we started off by taking Jack on his first trip to Mexico Lindo on Friday and then heading over to my grandma's. In order to get the maximum amount of shopping done on Saturday, we dropped Jack off with Grandma & Grandpa Battaglia. We then shopped all day and met up with the aunts, cousins, my sister, and my grandma at Applebee's for dinner. As an early Christmas present for Jack - Grandma Johnson got him a new big boy car seat.

In turn, Steve spent the whole weekend on his quest for a big Buck. Although he was unsuccessful in finding any deer, they did get 3 in their hunting party. I have posted a picture of Steve with his deer from last year, just in case he doesn't get one this year.

Deer hunting would be a fine sport, if only the deer had guns.

~William S. Gilbert