More like Mom

I think I might be a little uptight. A neighbor kid came over this evening for a couple hours so that his mom could take a test. I thought it would be fun to make cut out Christmas cookies, and in my head I was the coolest neighbor-lady ever. But here's how it really happened. I rolled out the dough (which I had made ahead of time so that it could harden in the fridge). Then I laid out the cookie cutters and then told them exactly where to put them on the dough. After they cut the cookie, I moved it to the pan. I even set the timer myself. I guess it was okay, but it seemed like I didn't really let them do anything. Because I wanted them to turn out right, obviously. I remember my mom being so good at letting us really make the Christmas cookies. The woman has untold levels of patience.

Pride

I can't help but feel a little prideful. This little boy is just too cute for me. I find myself wanting to take him out and show him off. I don't think I've ever met a happier, friendlier baby. Of course he gets fussy and grumpy, and he doesn't always sleep when I want him to, but every time I see him, I am blown away by how absolutely good he is. Babies have a pureness to them that you can't find anywhere else, but this little guy. . . I am anxious to watch him grow. I can already see that he is a better person than I am, and I know he will be a good example to me his whole life.
Love, love, love him!

Oh, just a bunch of random pictures

I really feel dumb about this one. We went to a Christmas tree farm to get our tree last Saturday and . . . well, somehow or other we wound up buying pictures, too. And since I can't read, we paid about twice what I thought we were going to. Possibly it was a reasonable price for professional photography, but that's not why I went to the tree farm, and I just think that if you're going to pay someone to take your picture, you should probably comb your hair first. Maybe I'll send out Christmas cards with the other picture we got, but at least I can post this one. Gotta get as much use as I can for my money.
Lizzy likes to help with whatever I am doing. This is her helping with the laundry. Doesn't she make the cutest ballerina? And if you look in the background, you can see the microwave that (sadly) no longer works. I can't melt butter with the touch of a button anymore. :( Our new one is prettier, but a lot less cool.

At the beginning of November, Isaac went to an academic conference in San Fransisco. Lizzy was pretty sure she should be allowed to come, too. She was kinda mad when we made her get out so he could pack. (But then she did a great job helping throw things in the suitcase.)

Victory! Barak has been doing a lot better with hand-eye coordination. Sometimes he can reach out and grab what he's after. You can really see him concentrate as he works at it, which i find vastly entertaining.

In our neighborhood, when you don't want a toy, you write "community property" on it and put it outside on the playground. Classy. And since I'm a classy mom, I let my daughter play with these little gems, like the dirty old dollhouse she became obsessed with. Seriously, she begged to go play outside for a week, and would make a beeline for the dollhouse every time. And those leaves you see in the house? They aren't there just because it's autumn. Those were her "dolls." That's beyond ghetto. That's just sad.

I love the fall. Lizzy, Barak, and I had a great time playing in the leaves. I didn't really get any good pictures, but we had so much fun making a leaf pile and then jumping in it. We worked hard, for about an hour, scraping together the best pile we could without the benefit of a rake. Then we went inside and got Isaac and he and Lizzy decimated that pile in minutes.

There would be more pictures of Barak, but whenever we're outside, he's strapped to me, which makes it pretty hard to get a decent camera angle.

Excuses

The baby is asleep on my lap, and I know if I move he will get very sad, and THAT is why I am sitting here wasting time instead of doing the week's worth of dishes piled in the sink. (Or vacuuming, or scrubbing the ring out of the tub/ toilet/ bathroom sink. . . . I am a good housekeeper.)