christmas comes again

Marmie, Jim, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Dara arrived from points north bearing gifts and hugs and tons o' fun! We had two great dinners at home and a third at the home of Dara's cousin, and we had a great time hosting Brian and Dara's friends for brunch. Jim and Jed continued the friendship they struck up in Duluth back in October, and Jed enjoyed snuggling up to Aunt Dara. Jed also seems to have figured out that Uncle Brian and Daddy are actually two different people, so hopefully that will eliminate tears when we use the webcam to visit with Brian!

making a new friend at brunch and sharing the blocks Brian and Dara gave Jed

the new table, set with a table cloth that Eric's great-grandmother brought back from a visit to Syria in the 1970s, my maternal grandmother's silver, and napkins that belonged to my paternal grandmother's aunt

present time!!

Marmie, Uncle Brian, Aunt Dara and Jed (wearing his new jacket from Marmie)

examining the bubbles for the Fantastic Magic Wand of Wonder

checking out the awesome drum from Marmie

watching Jim play with (scare Jed with) the stuffed scallop that Eli sent to Jed

Christmas

We enjoyed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa's this year. Eric was sick, so he spent a good deal of it in bed or on the sofa, Caroline's Grandma Merritt passed away on Christmas Eve, and the weather was foul. (No, Marmie, it wasn't horrible by Duluth standards, but it was pretty nasty.) Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but we really had a great time.

For starters, I revisited Christmas Past by opening presents around the Woodard tree and then spending part of my Christmas morning with Caroline and her extended family. I haven't participated in Christmas in Germanton since 2004, and with Jed understanding Christmas by next year, I expect that visit will have been my last Woodard-Rutledge Christmas for many years.

Also, on Christmas Eve, Caroline hosted a brunch at her brother's house, which gave me the chance to catch up (albeit briefly and fairly distractedly as Eric and I tried to keep J from destroying Alex's house) with friends I've known since junior high and high school.

The cold, rainy, windy weather made for good sleeping, and Jed gave us the Christmas gift of a three-hour nap while Eric and I occupied the recliner and sofa and watched Christmas Vacation. Little full, lotta sap.

But the big star of the show was the Inchworm Grandma and Grandpa gave Jed! This is Jed's first "big" toy, and it's a toy that brings back great memories for Eric and me, too.

So here are some pictures, beginning with a couple of things from our house.

our tree

wwwhhoooo

and here's our new table: Merry Christmas to us, from us!!

sofa time in Germanton

piano man

Christmas morning Inchworm assembly

Grandma, Grandpa, and Captain Inchworm

And here are some clips from the Inchworm Experience.
Enjoy the show while we await Second Christmas, heralded by the arrival of Marmie, Jim, Uncle Brian, and Aunt Dara in just a few days!

opening, part 1


opening, part 2


the first ride

merry christmas

from the heart of the crib

sun and sleet

Yesterday, we enjoyed an afternoon of bright sunshine. Perfect for hanging out in the yard, waving to cars, yelling at neighbors, and pointing at airplanes.







Today, not so sunny. The weather forecast included the "s" word, but so far, all we've had are sleet and clouds. Jed, however, still had fun despite the cold outside and the cold in his nose.

christmas play, round II

Jed was a "barn animal" in the Christmas play at church last night. Much less fussing this time! Jed is the little horse on the right side of the screen.

holiday slacking

I have been pretty slack about posting this month... we're half-way through December and this is only our fourth post! I have several excuses, the first of which is climatic. It's been rainy and with the shorter days, we've spent much less time outside, which is where we take our best photos.

My second excuse is movement. Jed's movement to be precise. Running, climbing, falling, and pulling out socket covers don't make for good photo opportunities.

Third on my list is Christmas and the shopping, baking, and decorating associated with it. I've only sent out about half our Christmas cards, but I've finished most of the other stuff, at the expense, obviously, of the blog.

So there are my excuses. As for Jed, he is, as noted, on the move. He is either asleep or moving with not much in between. Once or twice, he's used "og" for dog, "ja" for Jed, and "pappy" for paci, and we've heard one or two nos. However, he has mastered Mama and Daddy (pronounced da-deeee or sometimes da-do).

Today, Jed enjoyed his last day of playschool until after Christmas. He gave his teachers cookies and a nice diaper surprise. Apparently, I "captured" one of his pacifiers in his diaper before school so when they changed a dirty diaper, they discovered a poop-covered paci. When I picked him up, his teacher gave me the well-washed paci, but I decided that maybe the trash can was the best option.

After school, we went to High Point to look at a dining room table. This interrupted Jed's nap. He handled that pretty well until we got home, at which point, his limited car napping combined with hunger to create wig-out-8000. After supper, he cheered up, but at bedtime, he ramped it up to wig-out-9000 before finally collapsing in a little pajama-ed heap in his crib.

So here are some pictures from suppertime. And yes, we can blame the dimness on winter daylight, or lack thereof.

at the tail end of wig-out-8000

please note the remnants of wig-out-8000 on the floor over Jed's left shoulder

all better with some food in my belly
and on my face

hugging my new bear/pillow, an early Christmas gift from Aunt Theresa and Uncle Mike

and one of the other gifts Theresa and Mike sent . . . excellent title

playschool Christmas

here's the first song from Jed's Christmas program at playschool . . .

lots o' cryin
not a lot o' singin

christmas is coming

Jed is getting mad

please put a penny in the old man's hat

(Did everyone get that song reference? Eric thinks it was pretty obscure: "Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old man's hat . . .")

We had a big get-ready-for-Christmas-day today, and Jed started it by thoughtfully perusing the paper at breakfast.

followed by a little itsy-bitsy spider

Later in the day, we tried to capture some festive shots to send out with Christmas cards . . . I'm not sure we accomplished our goal, but here are a few of them.

(if you click on the picture below to enlarge it, you can see part of Jed's crop o' molars)

after our attempts at a Christmas picture, we went in search of a tree

As Grandpa John likes to say, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . . . bah humbug."

happy 18 months, Jed!

Jed crossed the 1.5-year mark on the 30th and today he had his 18-month check-up. He received a clean bill of health and cheers for his good sleeping and his mostly indiscriminate consumption of a good variety of foods.

Here are the stats:
height: 33.5 inches, 80th percentile
weight: 27 lbs, 60th percentile
head: 20 inches, 97 percentile (what up, big head Jed?)
weight/height ratio: 55th percentile

And here are some pictures from today's captive rainy day.