Changes

It looks like Blogger might be forcing me to switch over to their new system soon. I'm not entirely sure how things will change, or if I'll get to keep my blog web address, and once I figure it out, I'll let you know, because it might just impact your ability to find this website. Feel free to e-mail me, and I can create an e-mail with a new web address for everyone. I don't want to leave you all behind!

Sam is nearing his potty-training end - he's taking himself to the bathroom, pulling down his own pants, and doing his business. He's getting better about not waiting for a nighttime pull-up to poop. Of course, that meant he ran out to the front porch to pee this evening, (daddy taught him that one) and did a little more than he'd planned, so that was a bit more of a potty training adventure than either of us were expecting.

Christmas season is about to arrive - and that means the kids (and parents) are trying to come up with wish lists:
Sam:
Clothes 4T to5T
a nice new baseball cap, preferrably with an S on it, child sized.
"Cars" paraphanalia - he's got the DVD, he loves it like he used to love Incredibles.
T-Rex or other dinosaur toys
and Thomas stuff. He's getting Thomas stuff from Eric and I, and could always use more to go with the set. I'll try to take a picture of what we already have so anyone interested can get him tracks that fit the set. I blame my brother David for the Thomas obsession. Last Christmas Dave and Steph sent Sam his first Thomas movie. This has created a HUGE obsession for my son. Sam knows the name of every single engine, car, bus, or figure mentioned in the two videos we own, and a few I've never heard of! Sam also knows the difference between a diesel and a steam engine.

Awyn:
2T (she currently fits 12-18 months, she's tall and slender)
girly pj's (she's wearing Sam and Collin cast-offs) and she might just like a nightgown, as she loves dresses and skirts.
hats - this is a hat obsessed girl, and anything can be a hat.
She's tough to figure, and other than always getting Sam's leftovers, she has a lot of stuff!

Eric and Liz:
plastic food containers (we need to replace ours)
Little Mermaid DVD (ok, that's me, not Eric, he's offended by Prince Eric's black hair)
Cribbage board (me again, but it's time he learned the family game!)
Turkey roaster (I'd love a pan that wasn't thin tin-foil)
Stock Pot/steamer set (think cooking down a turkey carcass, and also steaming tamales)
Bissell's Little Green Machine (I want a steam cleaner, so handy with kids, carseats, furniture, carpets, pets...)
Gee, guess who wrote this list? Eric hasn't given me much to post, so that's what I want, and keeping me happy helps to keep him happy.

If you've read this far, then you are a real trooper! You can skip ahead to all the pictures I just posted, or read about my less-than-thrilling Turkey Day.

Awyn is sick with diarhea and a high fever, Sam fell asleep at 5:30 and wouldn't wake up, so both kids are in bed. Eric worked all day, and then he went down to the Orphan dinner at Claudia's house for some turkey and fixings. I sent along a pumpkin pie and two kinds of cranberry relish and a big tub of fat-free cool whip. I kept the sweet potato pie. If he comes home early enough for me to go down there, I will. I'm debating on taking down the remains of the sweet potato pie. I'm vain enough to want recognition for a superior pie, but greedy enough to want to eat it all because it really is fantastic. I think I'll keep that recipe!

The pictures below are over about a week's time, possibly longer. The hike we took was out to the red rocks by the Homer Wilson Ranch buildings. We did that on Monday. Sam walked most of the way, but didn't want to follow the trail. He really loved the rocks once we got out there, and tried to climb every rock face he could get close to. He nearly made it up over a cliff that Eric and I couldn't have climbed and had to be snatched off the rock face before he got to where we couldn't follow.