Another one bites the dust

Well, the boy got one last Christmas present tonight, in the form of a lost tooth! He bit into something this morning that really loosened it, and it's been getting looser all day, until it was really hurting him this evening. I gave him 3 minutes to twist, and if it was still in, he was to leave it alone tonight. Three *seconds* later, it was out.

Fortunately, signs point to this tooth coming out in its own time, unlike the top two, which Jackson personally extracted with great, bloody glee 9 months ago! Perhaps the new one will grow in before his next birthday. :)

There was great rejoicing and excited straining to go to sleep so the tooth fairy could make the exchange...

Snow in the Desert

 
 
 

It really happened! Snow! Enough to close down the base for a day. Jackson was delighted to build "a frosty". Check out Nate's beautiful photos of the view from our front yard into the desert just after sunrise. Don't be fooled by those rooftops in the photo. They aren't from neighbor houses. They are some sort of storage sheds in some fence-enclosed, but otherwise uninhabited lots.
The kids had a blast; the dogs too. I'd forgotten how much the dogs love snow. Kobi, who won't get her feet wet if it's rained, totally frolliked in the snow. It was like a shot of energy hit Bear too, who ran around like a puppy before flopping down to lay in the snow.

Crawling...

Drew started crawling the week after Thanksgiving and then started pulling up a few days later. He is now trying to traverse. Here's a little video clip of him crawling with camera lust in his eyes....its metal and shiny and must be eaten. Please note Delaney in the background. She's playing some kind of game with some animal making a baby noise. She was needing a little mommy attention.

Sweetness

 

So here's the deal....when Drew is happy, he is happy AND absolutely delightful and sweet. Like "could I really be enjoying more today than yesterday? I thought I had maxed out on how much I could love you and adore you yesterday but clearly you're setting a new, higher level today." sweet. Know what I mean? Here's a drippy, wet bath boy. He loves his bath. He tries to squirm out of my arms into the bathtub as soon as I set it down. He splashes, squeals, and explores all facets of his little tub.
The reverse is also true....when Drew is NOT happy, he is NOT HAPPY and you will be aware of it and reminded. I sometimes take pictures of him screaming. Is that wrong? I'm a little conflicted about posting these pictures though.