Play Clothes

Today after Callie was dressed for the day, she sat down to play. Then she looked up at me and said, "Shoes off." I told her it was fine, she could take her shoes off. After she accomplished that, she said, "Socks off." She proceeded to remove her socks and leg warmers. Then she stood up and said "Dress off" and immediately started unsnapping her dress. There was no point in stopping her, but I was curious as to why she needed to now remove her dress, so I asked. Her response? "I play better." Well, there you have it, folks. The correct way to play for the day is in a diaper and t-shirt.

**Should I also mention the sky was dropping 11.5" of snow while she was happily undressing?

The Forgotten Birthday

I originally had grand plans for Jason's and Callie's birthday. Since they are only a few days apart, it was going to be one large party. And since Jason was going to be 33 and Callie was turning 3, it was going to be very convenient for decorating (add one three for Jason, remove it for Callie). The only problem was I ran out of time, and Jason got the raw end of the deal. I don't think he really minded, though. Jason's birthday is on Halloween so we spent the morning at church and the afternoon at Trunk-n-Treat handing out candy to over 1500 kids and the evening handing out raisins and Scarrots to neighbors. I actually forgot it was Jason's birthday until we were going to sleep that night. Oops. We had a small party the next day so I at least acknowledged his special day. I did make up for it by getting Jason a scope for his rifle - just in time for deer season.

And just in case you are wondering what Scarrots are, here's a picture. They're baby carrots, packaged to look like Halloween candy. Nothing's scarier than vegetables on Halloween! And yes, we really did hand these out. I am anti-halloween and anti-candy. What's funny is kids thought they were junk food so they were the first to go. I admit, there were probably a few disappointed kids but maybe there were some happy parents. I wonder if we will have any trick or treaters next year...

6 Months

Right after returning from Alabama, we had Sadie's 6 month doctor's appointment. Compared to Callie, we think Sadie is HUGE. Unlike her sister, she has fat rolls and dimples in all the right places. Sadie is perfectly proportional but the doctor thinks she is going to be petite. Sadie weighed 14 pounds 9.2 ounces which is in the 17th percentile. She was 24 3/4" tall which is in the 13th percentile. Others might consider Sadie small, but we think of her as "pleasantly plump." As far as development goes, everything seems right on track with the little girl.

Now that I am writing this, Sadie just turned 7 months old. She is still our laid back, happy little friend. She loves to smile and laugh. She is a good little sitter and even though she is not crawling, she is quite mobile. I remember months of months of Callie sitting in the same place, but not Sadie. She will roll and squirm and move until she finds what she wants. It is really fun to watch.

We have also started solid foods with Sadie. I held off as long as possible but when she started waking up in the middle of the night hungry, I realized she needed something besides milk. I think since we waited later before starting solid foods, she had time to watch us eat. It was amazing how quickly she took to eating and can do so without making a huge mess. We are still in the experimental stage, but we haven't found anything she does not like. Tonight we fed her apple and sweet potato yogurt and that might be her most favorite food to date. She ate the entire 4 ounce containter and wanted more. It is really fun to feed a child who enjoys eating.

We are still here...

We really are here and are fine and dandy. We just had to hit the ground running upon returning from Alabama and we really have not slowed down. I am thinking we have to make it a few more days and then it will get a little easier. I have a lot to update and I thought about cramming it all in one post but I really wanted to take my time and focus on a few of the things that have been happening around here. So that is what I plan to do. But you will have to wait a little while longer. It's the second week of deer season and I am off to see if I can get my first buck.... I'll be back soon, though.

Travel Down South

Well, I (Jason) found the camera. Thought I'd upload several photos of our trip to the Heart of Dixie. (That's Alabama, for all our friends from the Upper Midwest.)

We left on a Wednesday afternoon after Wyatt got out of school. I drove, Kelli rode shotgun, Sadie, Callie, and Granna took the middle seat. Papa was in the back seat with Wyatt, and Shika was in the back with the luggage. Things were a bit snug, but we all fit.

Driving through the night, we made it to Nashville, Tennessee Thursday afternoon. We ate a late lunch at Chick-fil-a (yum!) with Papa's brothers, and then went to Uncle Carl's house. Friday was a day of resting. We mostly just hung out and visited, and the kids got to go to a park for a while. Our friends Snotter (Scott) and Vanessa (who's great with child) drove over from Chattanooga for a quick visit, and my parents drove up from Birmingham to spend the night.


Here's our family with Snotter and Vanessa.

Then, on Saturday, I ran my first ultramarathon. I'd never run 50 miles in one day before, but I did then. Kelli, the kids, my parents, Uncle Carl, Aunt Suzie, and their daughter Elizabeth spent the better portion of the day driving all over Nashville to see me at aid stations. What great support! It took a little less than 12 hours, but I felt really good when I finished.

Wyatt got to run the last 100 yards or so with me, so he was pretty excited about it.

Here we are crossing the finish line together.

After supper, a shower, and supper again, we hit the road to Birmingham, Alabama. We all slept late on Sunday. That's a lie. I slept late. Everyone else got up on time. Sunday afternoon we went to the thriving metropolis of Ohatchee, Alabama for a Medders get-together. We saw aunts, uncles, and a thousand cousins. The Medders clan make for a big bunch of folks, you know.

On Monday, we went to Montgomery to see Kelli's sister and her husband. While there, we ate lunch at a little place called Pizza Perfect. If you've never eaten at Pizza Perfect (it's part of Montgomery "culture," so you probably should, you know) just imagine a low-cost pizza buffet in a filthy building. Seriously. The building was filthy. I felt like K-Mart would've been a cleaner environment to consume approximately 73 slices of pizza. It was tasty, though.

Also, we caught a possum while in Montgomery.

Here I am taking a self-portrait while holding it's tail. Don't ask me why. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.



And here, I've got the possum on a pitch fork. That's just how cool life is in Alabama. You can stand on your sister-in-law's back porch with a possom on a pitch fork, and nobody even thinks anything of it. :)


After a couple of days in Montgomery, we returned to Birmingham (and got to change a flat tire on the way - yippee!). We spent an afternoon at Aunt Sandy's house. What's it like at Granna's sister's? Imagine opening a Southern Living magazine and stepping inside. That's life at Aunt Sandy's.


We made our way back to the hilltop where I grew up. My parents have turned the place into a carnival of sorts for the grandkids.


We tended the honeybees. Wyatt got the only almost-full-body coverage. The rest of us could only cover our heads and hope for the best.

We played with sparklers.

We rode a zip line.

We went on a hayride.



We rode a battery powered jeep.

And we laughed and laughed.

The trip back took an eternity, but it was worth it. All in all, it was a great trip!

Catching Up

We just got back from a great trip down South. We got to see parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and assorted friends. It was quite the adventure - Jason, Kelli, Wyatt, Callie, Sadie, Papa, Granna, and Shika the dog all piled into one vehicle, along with enough luggage for a 10 day trip. And just think - it's only 1300 miles. One way.

As soon as we find the camera, we'll get some pictures and narratives uploaded. There's some good stuff to share. Unfortunately, our photos are currently lost in the abyss that is our stack of items to unpack. Since the camera is still in hiding, here are some non-related photos from a few weeks ago that never got uploaded:


We use cloth diapers - the Bum Genius brand. We're big fans. They were all hanging on the clothes line in the back yard a couple of weeks ago, and we thought it would make a cute picture. The diapers come in all different colors, and really are quite simple to maintain. If you ever want to hear a sales pitch for them, just let Kelli know. Bum Genius should hire her as a marketing person with as much as she promotes them.


Just a quick photo with Jason and his favorite two- (almost three-) year old. She's come a long way since November 2007.

And even though we're obviously biased, we still think Sadie is the cutest baby in the world.

Yep, she's pretty stinkin' cute...

Oh my...

My son ate a rock today. At school. During naptime. One minute it was in his shoe. The next minute it was in his stomach. Supposedly, all the other details are a bit blurry. The only explanation I could get was "I didn't mean to swallow it." Hopefully the GI issues he is currently experiencing will keep him from ever magically getting a rock in his stomach again.