The Negotiator

Me: Adam, I just need 5 minutes of alone time. Adam: Hmmm. How about 4 minutes. That should be enough. Me: Fine, 4 minutes is fine.

Bouncing Baby Boy

Jacob is tired of being always on his back, so this Jonny Jumper is a lifesaver!

One of the few pictures with me in it!

Jacob seems to always have his tongue out, or rolled to the top of his mouth.

This boy absolutely LOVES bath time.

This is a totally typical smile--we call it his Sun Shiney Smile, because his whole face lights up.

Adam loves his brother, and the feeling is mutual. Jacob loves it when Adam gives him attention--he laughs harder for him than any of us.

Visit to New York

I had planned to go visit my Grandma in New York on January 7-11, but all flights through Chicago were canceled on the 7th. I rescheduled for the last weekend in January instead. Jacob was a dream on both flights, he literally did not make a sound. I was grateful that Gerry and his son Jim could pick me up from Buffalo, especially since Jim has a nice 4 wheel drive, and there was plenty of snow! We mostly just hung out--I was not as helpful as my sisters, because I had Jacob with me. I sure enjoyed just visiting and being together. My cousins Matt and Erin had me to dinner, and I got to see their cute baby and new house. I was able to go to church on Sunday and see all the ward members I grew up with. I was surprised at how young the ward is (again)--lots of families with little babies. My friend Lillian was there with her husband Sam and her baby Jacob. So funny that we hadn't seen each other in years, yet we come full-circle and are living parallel lives! I had a chance to visit Mariana and her cute boy Dante. We visited at her home and went to lunch nearby. Our boys were loud, and we worried about bugging everyone. Plus, the restaurant was filming a commercial. We thought the least they could do is give us a small part in it!

Here are Jacob and Dante. He just turned one, but I think Jacob weighs as much as he does!

Anna and her family came to see me, but I managed not to take a single picture. The trip home wasn't too bad. Jacob was fussier because it was his bedtime. As we left Chicago I held him to sleep, and he was down for the night! It was wonderful to go "home," though really weird that my parents were not there. Even the cold and snow can't hide the rolling hills and open roads. It's a beautiful place.

Growing and growing

I love this picture of Jacob, perhaps because it's one of his typical expressions: slightly concerned.

He's sure getting big!

Annual Soldier's Hollow Adventure

It's become a Peery-Fox family tradition to go tubing at Soldier's Hollow. It's one of my favorite Christmas events! We start with a deluxe lunch at the Dairy Keen in Heber. They have great burgers, fries, and shakes. We had plenty of shakes since they accidentally made them small when we ordered large. So we ended up with two of each flavor! The kids love the food and the model trains that chug all around the restaurant. It's a short drive to Soldier's Hollow--site of the cross-country races during the Salt Lake winter games in 2002. During the summer there is a golf course there, but during the winter they groom the hill into a fantastic tubing adventure. After checking in and gearing up in the lodge, we head to the hill. Each person gets a tube and then we stand in line to get pulled up the hill. The back of this photo shows some of this: My favorite part of tubing is sitting back while being towed to the top! Then we either race each other down, or hold onto each other's tubes and go down in a huge group. The heavier the group, the faster you go!

Christien, Parker, Adam, Emily, and Sam

Alex, chillin' in the tube

Hazel

Parker

Back in the lodge we take turns watching the little ones (under age 3) and sipping hot cocoa.

When our fun was over we went to Grandma's house for an impromptu sleepover!

Christmas in February

Happy Trails

If you can't tell, I've been organizing all my old photos. I came across this one, which just makes me happy.

Avery was long gone by the time I took the picture, but she left a trail behind. While it can feel like I do nothing but cook, clean, repeat. . . I am aware that there will come a day when I will not find hand prints that need to be cleaned off my sliding glass door, there will be no "treasures" of rocks and sticks that I have to secretly get rid of, and I won't come upon random tupperware left on my carpet. It's kind of sad, when you think about it. So for now, I'm going to try to enjoy all the trails left by the children I love.

The Three Stooges

These pictures are from this summer, when Adam was still wearing his patch. The kids insisted on having animal face paint. In case you can't see them very well, here are close ups!

Bumbo Boy

Jacob looks like a combination of cute baby and Yoda.

We love this boy!

My Somber Jedi

Adam: Mom, I'm worried.
Me: Why?
Adam: I can sense a lot of darkness in people.
Me: Oh.
Adam: I can sense a lot of people have anger in them.
Me: Hmm.
Adam: Yes. And I can sense darkness in me.

It's interesting to live in the world when you have a huge imagination, and lean toward the philosophical.