Darn Fuses

 Our Tree:

Ooh, Pretty...

Hey, what happened to the top?

As I mentioned, Keith took Parker on Friday so I could have the whole day to decorate the house for Christmas.  Unfortunately, somehow, I managed to blow a fuse on every single thing I touched.  On the Christmas houses, I was able to pilfer a fuse from one of the strings I don't use.  On the wreath, I wasn't able to fix it, but my super-handy hubby fixed it for me later.  On the outside lights, they magically fixed themselves.  But the tree...that's another story.

The tree was complete, lights, decorations, even bubble lights when I heard a "pop" and the tree went dark.  Of course a fuse blew, and of course it was AFTER all the lights and ornaments were on, and of course it was the VERY first string on the entire tree.  I attempted to change the fuses (funny, I always thought those extra fuses were just for show, never thought I'd actually use one), but at some point something went horribly wrong & neither I nor Keith could fix it.  Since I'm not about to take all the lights and ALL the ornaments off to replace the one bum light strand, we're just accepting our topless tree as-is. 

So, should you come over and notice that our tree isn't all there upstairs...don't mention it, I don't want to talk about it.

Thanksgiving

Originally, we were expecting about 16-18 for Thanksgiving, but then...  Dianne's family shrunk, and then bailed out entirely, my cousin decided to not drive in the snow over from the east side, and Margaret & Jeremy had car trouble.  All told I think we ended up with just under a dozen at the table.

 Grandma had a great time with Parker.

 We got to meet our new cousin Fiona.

 Doug & Kelly didn't make it to dinner, but they did come by for dessert.  I can't believe they were out & about with a 5-day old!

Friday morning we went to get our Christmas Tree.  Once the tree was up in the living room, and the outdoor lights were up, Keith was released to go play video games at the Needs while I decorated.



Happy Thanksgiving Grandma!

Love,
Parker

Getting Bigger!

I tried to put Parker's 0-3month onesie on the other day, and he was too tall, it wouldn't snap.  Guess he's starting to move into the 3-6 month size.

So he can fit into this cute outfit he got from Uncle Brian.

Parker's starting to sit in his Bumbo occasionally.  He doesn't last very long (his noggin' is still too large), but he'll do it for a while. 

The obligatory snow post.

Parker saw his first snow fall on Sunday.  We actually got quite a bit of snow falling while we were in Church, but none of it stuck, and it had stopped by the time we got out, so I didn't get any pictures.

But what do you know, we woke up Monday morning to find snow covering the whole neighborhood.

 Parker didn't care much, but it was beautiful.

Once Keith got home (after his 3-hour commute), he told Parker all about the fun he can have in the snow when he's bigger: snowball fights, snow angels, sledding, etc.

Today, we bundled up and walked to the coffee shop down the street.  Once we got out of Shoreline and into Seattle, most of the snow in the roads had melted.  We live 10 blocks north of Seattle, I'm not really sure how Mother Nature knows that it's supposed to be warmer in Seattle than Shoreline?

When we got back, I thought I'd try and work on the computer while I still had Parker strapped in (as much as I love to type with one hand).

As you can see, it sent Parker straight into melt-down mode, so he's now peacefully sleeping in his crib.  It would appear that snow agrees with him, he slept NINE hours straight last night.  Woo Hoo for snow!



Orange Ice

Orange Ice is a Ward family tradition for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Historically, my Grandma Ward made the Orange Ice every year, and the recipe was a closely guarded secret.  When she got sick, my Grandpa took over the job.  Eventually, Grandpa's Orange Ice surpassed even Grandma's version (he mixed it with the drill press to get it really creamy, Barb had a few comments on what that did to her Tupperware!).

Once Grandpa & Barb moved into Crista (away from the drill press), the Orange Ice pretty much dried up.  I thought I'd re-introduce it this year.

Poor naked oranges...I forgot to take a picture before I zested all the fruits.

I added the juice of the oranges & lemons.  Not technically in the recipe, but what am I supposed to do with six naked lemons?

At one point it kind of looked like I was making orange rind candy, I sure hope this turns out okay...

 Historically, the hardest part of the recipe is softening it up so that you have Orange Ice, rather than an Orange Ice Cube (hence the drill press).  I thought I'd same some time & effort and use the ice cream maker.

 Twenty minutes later, I had very cold Orange Juice, but it wasn't really even slushy.  So, I guess we'll have to go with the more traditional route.

I put it in ziplocks, hoping that the thinner juice would freeze faster & be easier to break-up later. 

24 hours later, it was still pretty slushy, it never really froze solid.  I'm not sure why, but that works for my purposes, so I proceed.

 I chilled the mixer bowl (if I'd thought ahead I could have done this in the freezer, but it didn't happen).

And into the mixer it goes.  (Yes, that's a Christmas dish towel. No, I haven't started decorating already, it never got put away from last Christmas)

The final result was fairly frothy, and it at least looks like Orange Ice, so I think it will turn out okay.

I just hope it tastes okay.  There was a not so clear part of the recipe where I couldn't tell if I was supposed to add 12 Cups or 12oz of water, so it may turn out pretty strong.  The first time Grandpa made it, he forgot most or all of the sugar, so it won't be the first time we've had really bad Orange Ice, worst case we melt it down, add water & try again for Christmas.

Traditionally, only those from the Ward bloodline actually like Orange Ice.  No one who marries into the family seems to like it (except possibly for Eric, I can't remember).  Since our Thanksgiving guests are primarily from the Hamilton side of the tree this year, I may have made enough Orange Ice to last us until next Christmas!  Sure hope Parker likes it.



It's not working

Today's project was to clean the house in preparation for Thanksgiving.

So far I seem to just be making things worse.

Everything goes in the mouth

Parker is getting pretty good at putting his fingers in his mouth, he seems to be learning from Cousin Wesley.

 He can't really get anything else to his mouth yet, but if you put something by his mouth, he loves to chew on it, and he usually can hold it in so he doesn't lose it.

 Baby massage - Parker's not sure if he likes it or not.  He loves the attention, but he's kind of sensitive and ticklish (like his Daddy).

Wait, what's that?

Could it be?

 Is it possible?

 Yes!  It's a smile!  Captured on camera (finally).

Parker is getting much stronger, he still hates tummy time, but he's lasting longer.

 And check out how high he can lift his head!

My baby is turning into a little boy right before my eyes.  I can't believe how big he's getting, at least until I hold Isaiah or Wesley and realize he still has a long way to go.

Portland

After our horrific "day trip" to Portland for Keith's Grandma's funeral, we swore we'd never go down there again.  But time passes, and we decided to head down there for the last part of Keith's vacation.

On the way down we stopped in Fife to have breakfast with Grandma & Grandpa.  Can't say I've ever intentionally been to Fife before, but the meal was good, and Parker had a great time with Grandma.

We had a good time in Portland visiting Uncle Brian.  I got to have my first sushi since getting pregnant, and we went to the OMSI on Friday morning.  They had a great exhibit about identity and what makes you "you".  Unfortunately, we realized when we got there that Friday was a school in-service day, so there were TONS of little kids, which made the event a little more crazy than we'd expected.  But it was a great place.

Overall, Parker was a trooper, he slept the whole way down to Portland, and did really well sleeping in the Pack & Play.  I don't think Brian or his roommate even heard him during the night...unfortunately the same can't be said for Keith or I.  Since Parker usually sleeps in his own room (behind two closed doors), I hadn't realized what a noisy sleeper he is, so I was awake most of the night, waiting to see if each noise meant he was waking up or falling further asleep.  We also learned that Pack & Plays are not such a quiet place for baby to sleep, every time he moved (which was frequently), we would hear him scratching on the mattress.  Turns out that fitted sheet that they sell separately isn't just for decoration, guess we know what's going on the Christmas list for Parker.

But all-in-all it was a good trip, until we got in the car to go home.  I'm sometimes embarrassed to admit how good a sleeper Parker is (last night he slept 8 hours, woke long enough to feed, and slept another three).  It's not uncommon for him to fall asleep in the 2-minute drive to the grocery store.  But not on this day.  With the exception of a 20-minute nap about half-way through, Parker cried the ENTIRE drive home.  He wouldn't keep his Binky in, so almost the entire trip, I was reaching back with my finger in his mouth to keep him quiet.  If I'd been driving I might have just let him cry & tried to block the sound out, but I took pity on Keith & tried to keep the noise somewhat controlled.

All this to say, it was a lovely trip, and we're never doing it again.  And this time I might be serious.

Happy Birthday Denise!

Today is Denise's Birthday.  So we met her at the zoo to celebrate.  ...well actually, I think it was more for the Girl's benefit than Denise's, but it was nice of her to share the day with us.

 It was beautiful and sunny out, but absolutely freezing.  By the end, my fingers were so cold I couldn't un-zip my coat pocket or get Parker strapped into his car seat.

 The girls kept Keith busy chasing, lifting, and carrying them.  I think he was pretty tired by the end, but how can you say no to Piper's devilishly angelic face?