Matthew's milestone

So Matthew had his first experience with solid food-well, semi-solid food- last night. We gave him some rice cereal to see how he'd take to it. He wasn't so sure, but I think it'll grow on him.

The first of many wonderful, tasty things to come- like squash, lima beans, brussel sprouts...

Staring contest. Matthew won.

Christmas 2007

Most of you know that we spent this Christmas on the road. We travelled to Moose Lake, MN, Pardeeville, WI, and then back to St. Paul, MN. It was truly good to reunite with family and allow the boys a chance to meet their people.

I've posted a bunch of pictures below, including a few from Christmas here at home with Grandpa Emerling. These pictures are a hodge podge of all of our stops:

A Star is born

This Sunday Elijah was in our church's annual Christmas play, performed by all of the kids in the church. He played the important role of Sheep, along with all of the other two year-olds. Eli took it upon himself play the more specific role of "lost sheep," and happily trotted around the stage and out into the crowd during the performance. I guess I didn't think of the fact that my kid might one day be "that kid," you know- the one who doesn't follow the script and has his own agenda.

I couldn't have been prouder. :)

Eli the sheep

(one little girl thought she was a cow and mmoooed during the whole performance)

Notice my son staring at all of the little conformists sitting on the stage

The Sunday School lady "helping" Eli back to his spot....hehe.

Catching up

I was out of town on business last week, so I took Monday off of work to be with the family. Eli, Debbie and I spent the afternoon decorating Christmas cookies.

This is a random photo of Matthew tucked into his car seat...I just didn't want him to feel left out.

Christmas Tradition

This past Sunday our house trekked up to the mountains for our annual Christmas tree cutting. The mountains were laden with a fresh fallen snow, and the scenery was fantastic. Elijah had a great time playing in the snow and helping to decorate once we got home. All in all, a day well spent.

Here's our tree before we ripped it from it's earthly sanctuary. Aren't Christmas traditions wonderful? :)

Eli had a blast in the snow.

Matthew wasn't so sure about the cold at first, but he settled in.

Mom and Eli decorating the tree.

Thanksgiving

The family had a great Thanksgiving this year! We started the day off by taking some meals to elderly folks in our neighborhood who couldn't get out of their house for the holiday. The afternoon was spent at my father's. Debbie cooked up a PHENOMENAL meal for us and a couple of guests. All in all, a very relaxing, restful day. Here are some photos for you:

Debbie and the boys reclining after a good meal

The Thanksgiving crew: Debbie, Dad (trying to sport his Bills sweatshirt), Eli, Matthew, and our friends Ed and Nathan. Yours truly was taking the picture...

Elijah and Dad reclining after a long meal

The holidays seem to put Matthew in a good mood.

Weekend getaway

We spent some much needed "family time" together this weekend. I was helping a friend work on his parents' new home in the Stillwater Valley on Saturday, and Debbie and I have a friend who has a cabin up that way. So we spent Saturday evening and Sunday tucked into a cozy cabin hideaway in the mountains. We forgot the camera (sorry, no pictures), but had a great 24 hours relaxing together.

Matt, if you're reading this, thanks a bunch for your hospitality!