It's not that I want to stifle her artistic impulses

Far from it. It's just that I'd prefer she adopted a different medium:


Thank goodness for magic erasers and washable crayons, is what I say. Lawsy.

One for the grandparents

Apparently I did something wrong in a previous life, because we are still cold-ridden (though sleeping better, thank goddess), I think I'm coming down with something, and I have developed a gross, ugly sty in my right eye. WTF, karma?

So in lieu of a more substantive post, here's a clip of the Hatchling showing off some of her new vocabulary. I should note that this was filmed completely "blind," as the Hatchling will only let you tape her if she can watch the video monitor the whole time. So that's why there are some focus problems. But it's still pretty cute.

White Trash Parent Hacks

Here's a little tip for you moms and dads out there. If you've just gone through the McDonald's drive-through on your way back from running errands with a tired toddler who also has the runs, and the french fries are too hot to give them to said toddler, even though she's saying "fwies, pwease!" as hard as she can, simply grab 2-3 of the hot little suckers, roll down the window and let them bask in the 20-degree Minnesota breezes until they've cooled down to the proper temperature. Works like a charm! Things you can worry about later include: 1) the crazy looks you're getting from other drivers as you repeatedly thrust 2-3 fries out the top of your window, then pull them back inside the car; 2) the fact that your daughter knows the word "fwies" before she's even two years old; 3) what those fries are going to do to her already fragile intestinal system.

Definitely not my most Martha Stewart moment.

Semantic Tally

The Hatchling must've recently cleared some developmental hurdle, because for the last 3-4 days she's been coming out with at least one new word per day. Also she's reverted back to the sunny, happy, chatty baby we'd come to know and love, which is a nice change from the Cranktastic Wonder of the last month or so. Anyway, I know this is kind of boring as a post, but one of the reasons for this blog is keeping track of baby milestones, so here's a list of what the Hatchling can say as of today:

Mama, Dada, Wawa (Laura, her aunt), Fi (Fiona, her best friend - new today!) kitty, yeah, no, OK, car, go, slide, cereal, bottle, ball, baby, please, cookie, bye, night-night, hi, wow/wowie, peas, stop, beep-beep

She can also make animal noises for: kitty ("mao! mao!"), cow ("mmMMMMMoo"), snake ("ssss"), angry sheep ("BAAAAAAAH"), and, with prompting, a bear ("grr-grrr")

So: she finally has more words than she is months old. WHOO!

Christmas pictorial

We baked cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.


Presents were opened.


Drawings were drewed.


MORE presents were opened.


We took pictures of it all.


Overall, a most satisfactory holiday. Here's hoping yours was the same. Now go decorate a virtual gingerbread house. MUCH neater than the real thing.