Dutch Oven Cookin'

Well, we didn’t go camping/boating/fishing because the weather was forecast to be too cold and windy, which it was.  We would have been in the camper the whole time and that’s no fun.  So instead we went to Sportsman’s Warehouse in Loveland on Saturday.  Jeremy bought a DVD on dutch oven cooking, among other things.  We watched it and, realizing how easy it sounded, wanted to try it.  We purchased a dutch oven and for breakfast he made up biscuits in our new “oven” while I made the sausage gravy on the stove.  The biscuits turned out awesome, with only minimal charcoal dust on them.  However, the “table” he used was very redneck and not so safe really.  So we purchased an appropriate table, along with a few other dutch oven/cast iron things.  He proceeded to make us a Very Berry Buckle and Pineapple Upside Down Cake.  Then he made some cod for dinner.  He said to call him “Cooky”, HA!  I think he just enjoys playing with the charcoal.  An added bonus, you can make s’mores while waiting.

The big girls tried on some sunglasses while Jeremy’s shopping.

Crawling Babies and Dog Food

What is it about crawling babies and dog food.  I think all the girls did this.  It's got some sort of attractant in it, I'm sure.  I have not yet seen her in the dog water, but I'm sure that day will come too.

It looks like there's a mix of puppy food, cat food and adult dog food.  And Nicky's scoping out the smorgasboard.  That dog will eat all the other food before her own anyway.

There have been several times I've had to head Leah off on her way to the dog food.  I'm sure life is more interesting too, now that she can go where the action is.  Or go make your own action....with dog food!

Right Now I Am....

...thinking how quickly my kids are growing.  Leah is now crawling, Anna is 4 (really? 4?), and Grace is nearly a 1st grader.

...thinking that throwing your back out is not productive.  It hurts like hell and makes me rethink every move I wanna make.  I got a massage yesterday and feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.  I’m going to the chiropractor later today.

...getting excited to go camping/fishing/boating over the long weekend.  I hope the weather will be cooperative and warm.

...busily trying to make curtains for the camper.

...knitting some Christmas presents, best to start early, ya know?

Ode to Anna

Anna’s birthday was Monday. I can’t believe that sweet little baby in now my rambunctious, funny 4 year
old. I thought I’d do a Top 10 things about Anna today.

1. She’s my sleeper. The kid has always been easy to put down for naps and always sleeps 2-3 hours.
She still takes those long naps on the weekend.

2. She’s a thumbsucker….not so much of a thumbsucker as a thumb-in-mouth. The thumb’s in the
mouth but she’s not sucking. In fact, she’s pushed one of her teeth upward. I see braces in her future.

3. She’s the funny one. She’s always being goofy with what she says and does.

4. Her favorite color is pink.

5. She looks up to her big sister, adores her, yet they fight like cats and dogs.

6. She’s got Jeremy’s big hazel eyes and my fine brown hair.

7. Her favorite food is chicken nuggets and french fries.

8. She hates getting water in her ears when you give her a bath.

9. She a tough little girl, cuts and scrapes don’t bother her too much.

10. Moth’s scare the bejesus out of her.

Yet Another Tooth

She now has a jack-o-lantern smile.

We pulled it out at dinner when she noticed it hurt and it was barely hanging in there.  Her new trick is sticking her tongue through the new gap!

New High Chair

We've been struggling with a high chair solution for a few months now, since Leah's been heartily eating solid foods.  With Grace and Anna, we just strapped a booster seat into a regular dining room chair.  Now we are out of dining room chairs.  After a bit of searching around, I found a high chair that will grow with Leah until she's off to college.

She's showing off her acrobatic abilities.  The seat and the foot rest can be adjusted to fit the table and the kid.  The harness can come off of the seat and rail when she's ready.

So far I'm liking the seat, the harness is taking some getting used to (it's not super easy to get her in and out) I'm half tempted to get one for Anna as she's still using a booster seat on a dining room chair.  I'm gonna have to put a leaf in the table because you have to have an arm's radius "clear zone" on the table because she reaches for anything and everything.

Other news on the Leah front, she's consistently getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth. She manages to push herself backward but forward motion is coming soon, I'm sure.