Pat-a-Cake Pat-a-Cake Baker Man

Make me some zwieback as fast as you can!

Stir it....

Add some more flour...

Measure it to make sure it's just right!

Knead it...

Not so sure about it, huh? Well, pat it a little more...and then

Go take a nap while it rises because you woke up far too early on your first Thanksgiving morning! Can Mommy have a nap, too?

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hot Free Photobook Tip

This morning I got a tip from Common Sense with Money for a free photobook from American Greetings Photoworks. It's a $50 value and includes shipping, but it's only good for the first 25,000 people. Use the coupon code BONNIE. Click here for more info.

Just a warning. It takes longer than the site says it will and takes 30-40 pictures instead of 20. But it's well worth it if you get it free! I should be getting our Minnesota trip album in a week or so. Good luck!

7 month stats

My dear Bear, you are going to be SEVEN months old on Thanksgiving Day! This year is going too fast, and I think you should slow down. Every new thing you do is so much fun, and Daddy and I just want to enjoy every second!


As of your 6 3/4 month appointment last Monday (we waited because of the flu germs at the clinic), you weighed 15 lbs. 15 oz and were only in the 10th percentile in weight. Your doctor says you really need to find a percentile curve and stick with it. So we're feeding you as much as you'll eat and we started you on formula last week. Maybe you'll find your curve when you get weighed after Christmas.

You are still the SWEETEST boy ever. You give the best hugs and squeezes, and last week you started babbling....dy-dy-dy-dy. It almost sounded like daddy last night, but we're not there yet. Last week we were letting you cry for awhile at night, but then you FINALLY figured out how to roll from your tummy to your back, so now we don't have to pop the binki in and roll you over. You just sleep through it. YAY!!

You're an excellent eater...unless you're nursing. When you're nursing, your superhero name is Distract-O-Man. That's why we started formula last week. You've been ready for awhile, but we had to wait for Mommy to be ready. You love pumpkin and sweet potatoes. Apples are okay if they have cinnnamon on them. And on Thanksgiving you get to try turkey for the first time.

You're not crawling yet, but I think you're going to walk before you crawl. And I don't mind that you're not mobile yet. Your friend Culley is crawling everywhere and her mommy is chasing her everywhere. :-)

You LOVE your Daddy. 5:15 is one of the best times of the day, and you love your Monday's with him while Mommy goes to work.

We're excited for our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with our boy. We love you SOOO much!
Mommy

Mission on Hold...Sort of

Last night we let Wyatt cry a few times. However, he got stuffy yesterday, so he just couldn't sleep well with his binki. So we had a lot of sucking snot (yum) as we popped the binki...and then Mommy prayed that Jesus would help Wyatt sleep. And He did!

Not-so-Sleepless Night

Night #2 of not popping the binki back in right away really wasn't bad. He woke up a couple times and cried for awhile, and then fell right back to sleep when he got his binki.

Tonight we'll add a few more minutes to the crying time. Maybe in a month he'll go back to sleep by himself. :-)

Sleepless Night #1

Wyatt is a good sleeper...for the most part. His mommy and daddy started a bad habit of popping the binki in a couple times every night months ago, so we never completely sleep through the night, but usually neither of us remember getting up anyhow.


I've read that babies need to learn how to sleep without the binki by 7 months or they get even more attached to it. Since we only have two weeks left before that deadline, we figured we had better get about the business of letting him cry a bit. He slept really well without a peep until 4:00, and then we let him cry for a few minutes before popping it in for the next hour and a half. There were a lot of sounds that would be "Hey MOM! DAD!" if he could talk, and then he got really mad and screamed for a bit. Around 5:15 or so even I drifted off to sleep again. I thought he'd wake himself up for a very early breakfast. However, he ended up sleeping until 8:30...the latest he's ever slept.

So...we'll see how Night #2 and letting him cry longer goes.

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Yesterday Wyatt and I went out to our garden and picked a bowl of lettuce from our four little plants that just keep on producing. I've never had fresh lettuce in mid-November! But I think our lettuce might be about done considering snow is in the forecast for the next couple of days.

Lovin' the Leaves

Wyatt hanging out with Grammie and Papa's cat Willy. At one point Willy came up and flopped in Wyatt's lap. Too cute! And yes, Wyatt is wearing a Minnesota Gophers polo. Grandpa and Grandma had to make sure of that.

I like the way Randy blends in with the tree on this one. Orange is his favorite color.

Favorite Chore

It might sound strange, but this morning I decided my favorite chore is hanging out laundry...especially early in the morning. Not that I'm a morning person, but I love getting outside in the new sunshine, and hanging dipes is a good excuse to do that a couple times a week. This morning Wyatt decided he was STARVING at 5:30. Usually he doesn't wake up till after 7. If Randy hadn't still been home when Wyatt went back to sleep, I would have gone back to sleep too. But I curled up on the couch with my desperately needed cup of caffeine, and was able to spend plenty of extra time in the Word. By the time I was done, the dipes were ready to hang. Around 7:30 the sun was up and it was surprisingly warm, hinting at the gorgeous day we're expecting. The air smelled like dried leaves and the birds were chirping. What a perfect way to start the day!!

What's your favorite household chore?

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On another note, I've finally downloaded October's pictures, and found this peek-a-boo pic. I tried uploading the video but it's taking for.ev.er.


And it's hard to tell in this pic because Wyatt was the main object, not my hair, but I finally, really cut my hair short last Saturday. Less to pull and something completely different. I definitely like it. And as for Wyatt, he's decided gumming apple cores is pretty yummy.

The Trip, Part III

So there might be a Part IV to this because I only have about five minutes. The day after we went to Duluth, we drove about 45 minutes northeast of the Cities to Taylors Falls. It's right on the St. Croix River which is the MN-WI border. My dear friend and college roomie Danika and I used to go hiking there. It's rocky and bluffy and absolutely beautiful.

This is how Wyatt spent his 5 month birthday. Our friends, the Cooks, loaned us Asher's hiking backpack. Wyatt did great on the 1.5 mile trip out. However, he was so tired from the day before and already low on sleep for that day, that he screamed most of the way back as we booked it through the trees. Glad we enjoyed the views on the way out! Right before we got to the parking lot, the poor guy fell asleep in Daddy's arms.



On the trail...


We ate a picnic lunch down by the river. It would have been fun to go for a canoe ride, but we settled for at least sitting Wyatt in one.

After we finished hiking, we took the scenic route down to Stillwater. We stopped at an apple orchard that had a petting zoo and a band playing. It would have been a lot of fun if Wyatt had been awake. However, after the last half of our hiking trip, there was no way we were waking him!


The Stillwater bridge is in the background. It was a beautiful day! There were tons of people playing with their dogs by the river and having picnics and browsing through Stillwater's fun Main St. shops.

Next...(I think) Part IV...Bonnie's wedding.