November 15

After a quick trip to the grocery store this morning, the kids and I headed outside to play. The weather wasn't exactly nice, but it was as good as one can expect for mid-November, and I wanted Caleb and Daisy to have a chance to get all their crazies out. We grabbed the rakes and began raking the street. (Really. Our leaves somehow accumulate in the gutter at the edge of the street. If we and our across-the-street neighbors both neglect to clean the gutters, our street becomes a one-way road in the fall. It's kind of fun, actually.)

Lily had a pretty sweet setup to watch our raking: first I brought out her playgym and had her on that, but then I realized that she really wanted to watch what was going on. Luckily, her swing is technically a travel swing, so it's really easy to pick up and bring outside. So while we raked, she swung.

I suppose I should clarify: "we" only raked for about three minutes. Then it was me raking, Caleb jumping in the leaves, and Daisy wandering about.

(Caleb requested to wear his snazzy hat today, but I have the feeling that it's much too small for him now. Luckily, he got that cool Batman fedora for his birthday, so he wore that. While we were outside playing, we discovered that the hat could be thrown like a Frisbee and it would actually fly pretty far, and Caleb was so, so happy. He called it his "hatarang" - you know, like Batman's batarangs? Funny boy.)

Finally, it was naptime. Only Daisy didn't want to nap. And then Farmer Jeremy showed up with 1/4 of a pig for us. And then Lily woke up.

Lily rolled around on our bed for a while, and that was good.

Then we snuggled together, and that was even better. I set up my camera to take this picture because this is one of my favorite parts about right now. Sharing a bed with a baby isn't exactly easy or fun, but when we snuggle, we fit like puzzle pieces. I cross my leg over Lily's little body, wrap my arm around her waist, and hold her so, so close to me. She nurses, and we melt into each other, and it's delicious. If only we could stay like that all the time...

(I say that, but I'm also eagerly anticipating having my bed to myself again. Stretching out without having to think about a little one next to you is a lovely thing!)

Tonight was Friday (gluten free) Pizza Night, and we were feeling really frisky and got a movie from the library for the kids to watch. We made some hot cocoa, popped some popcorn, and all piled onto the couch to watch Veggie Tales' story of St. Nicholas. Chris and I are gradually working up the courage to separate our family from the whole Santa thing, and instead focus on the true meaning of Christmas. St. Nicholas seems like a good stepping stone for that, so we're spending time talking to the kids about who the real Santa was. Hopefully we don't scar them for life.