Holiday Cheer

Okay, so it's December already. It's been busy! To make everyone feel better, I'll post some pictures of the boy and his antics.

By the way, he crawls everywhere now. He gets into everything. We've been forced to install baby gates in some of our doorways to keep him from eating things he shouldn't be eating...like cat food.

If walking is much worse, I doubt we'll survive the ordeal. Given that he enjoys standing as much as he does, it's only a matter of time before he's walking like a real pro.

We also have a Christmas tree for Stephen's first Christmas. The day we put it up, he stared at it somewhat dubiously before declaring that it was his. He's not as interested in it now as he once was, which is probably for the best. The last thing I need or want is to find him crushed beneath our slowly-dying Christmas tree.

Speaking of the Christmas tree, here's the thing in all its decorative glory:


I've been writing lately, though not as much as I had been earlier in the year. Things looks like they're going to get busy again. I need to pace myself, and try to keep some sort of sane balance between writing, work, and family. It's not always easy. These guys who give me this work, they don't sit down ahead of time so that their projects fit neatly into my calendar. As nice as that would be, it's never been the case (except by accident).

So, back to the boy.

This picture is Stephen (asleep) with his grandma. She's the only person that he'll do that with. Sleep, I mean, while she's holding him. He won't do that with his mommy, and he won't do it with me, either. I guess it's grandma's own special touch that allows her that sort of intimacy with the boy.

I dropped in at my mom's to pick him up this afternoon, since my wife was working a little bit late. He rode home with me, quite happily. He mostly stares out the window, or looks blankly at me while I sing or chatter at him. It's almost like he's thinking, "This guy's nuts."

We also went back to the Wild Animal Park a couple of weeks ago. Heck, we've got the passes. It doesn't hurt to use them. I enjoy pushing Stephen around in his stroller. He's learned to follow our fingers when we point at something, though whether he understands anything past that is beyond me.

We're planning another trip this weekend, but with some of my cousins, their spouses, and their young children. It will be quite the adventure, I'm thinking. These other kids are all older than my boy, but they're his peers. They're the cousins he'll be growing up with, much as I grew up with their parents. They'll be fighting, calling each other names, playing in the mud, and doing whatever else kids do together these days. It's just a matter of time.

I'd also like to share one final picture with you, of my wife. She only posed this way under protest. You might say that I "made" her do it. Still, it's not a really unflattering photo. It's just goofy.


See you next time!