Waldchen Essentials

Patrick is on the mend (and nursing again), but now Elise has been blowing her nose all day. Guess that is normal this time of year. Despite the colds, this past Saturday we were feeling pretty well so we went to the bookstore. (We also had to get out of the house because two real estate agents were showing our house to buyers that morning and afternoon.) We had a fun hour or so at Barnes & Noble using some gift cards from relatives. Erick bought some hardback classic books. We also got Blueberries for Sal, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, and A Light in the Attic for the children. Erick has his edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein from when he was little. Elise loves to read it with him. She calls it “Daddy Poems.” We thought she would like this new one, too, and she does.

This is not a New Year’s resolution. I’ve never been into those. I just want to post something more regularly to keep you all connected with us. Guess I’m assuming people actually look at our website. But I know at least a few of you, especially for Erick’s great photos and videos of the kiddies. If you’d like to hear more, leave a comment and let me know.

2008 began with lots of snow. The kids and I kind of got snowbound at my parents’ house, spent New Year’s Eve there, and slept over. We had fun eating fondue and then watched Ratatouille after the all the children went to sleep (Amy’s family was there, too).

Unfortunately, Patrick has been sick the past few days with a really bad cold. He also is refusing to nurse which sometimes can happen with sick children. It is certainly not fun for me. He’s not really excited about taking milk in a bottle either, so hopefully he’ll be feeling better and back on track in a couple days. He’s sleeping better tonight thanks to good old Benedryl.

I’ve added some pictures of this year’s Christmas festivities to the Gallery and uploaded a couple videos as well. Hope you like them:

Well, it didn’t take long for Patrick to start crawling. For the past 2 weeks he’s been moving around as fast as his hands and knees will take him…usually toward something shiny, such as a lamp stand or cat bowl. 🙂 He’s even been working on his yoga moves, busting out a downward dog from time to time!

Here’s a video I took of him crawling through the front hall:

Patrick loves to smile and laugh, so I thought I’d try to capture that on video. In this clip he’s cracking up every time Elise shakes a small rattle. I think they’ll have a good time together as they get older. 🙂

Also, here’s bonus photograph I took of them recently…Patrick is starting to sit up!

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Posing in new outfits from Grandma Patti

Well, we made the trip to NC in one piece and with our sanity (mostly) intact. Elise and Patrick did very well on the plane with only a few minor difficulties. But most of all, we had a great time at the beach with everyone. I’m not sure we would have enjoyed the vacation as much if we had tried to do it alone, so we’re very thankful for all the family who helped make it possible.

I spent some time last night uploading pictures and a few movie clips, hope you like them:

Sunset Beach photo gallery

Elise pulling her wagon full of water:

First time in a swimming pool:

So excited, Elise forgets her bucket: