You Don't Always Die from Tobacco

Let this be a warning to Heidi... it's time to break your bad habits. New Year's Day is the perfect time to quit.

Squeaky Clean!

When we got married, we didn't have our own washer and dryer. Our landlord heard us talking about it and said that he had a pair they weren't using any more. He offered to install them in our apartment if we wanted. We were very grateful and have been very glad to use them for the last 3 1/2 years!


However, last week, the dryer died. I actually still had a wet load, so we had clothes draped all over the house for a few days trying to air dry!


We went shopping for a dryer and thought we were going to get one from Sears. However, thanks to the help of a friend in the ward who works at Electrolux, we ended up getting a great price on both a washer AND a dryer! They were test models, so they've been used for the equivalent of 2 years, and the trim doesn't match, but we figured that the price was a good enough deal to overcome that!


So, after a week and a half with no clean laundry, borrowing a truck, borrowing the missionaries to help unload the machines, buying the necessary cords, and installation...


TA DA!

My very own high-efficiency machines!

Beebs was delighted to help with the laundry.

And I was delighted to have clean clothes again!

Santa Claus is Coming To Town

Okay, came.

We had a jolly visitor at our ward Christmas party.

And Aidan particularly liked his beard!

P.S. Lots of new posts below - be sure to scroll down!

Just Because and Other Miscellaneous News

Just because he's cute...

because honestly, how could you not love this face?!

News #1:

Aidan got his first tooth! We think #2 is coming in soon because he's been a bit grumpy.

News #2:

Aidan is now sitting straight up. As follows.

(And here's a close up in case you missed the funny part of that picture.)
News #3:

He's not crawling yet, but he sure looks funny when he tries!

Blizzard!

There was a blizzard here in Iowa last week. We got 10-12 inches of snow and 50 mph winds. When we woke up, our yard had only a few inches of snow on it. It had all blown into a 4 foot drift of snow on our sidewalk!

Thank goodness I have such a strong husband!

Food

So, my little baby is a CHAMP at solid foods. Even when he doesn't like something, he will eat the first bite, make a horrible face, and then open his mouth for more. I just had to share my favorite picture of him eating. He was very tired during this particular dinner, so he kept rubbing his eyes. This, of course, transferred his squash to his face. The result?

A child who looks curiously like Ronald McDonald for one who is so bald!

Christmas Cards

All right, more craftiness from me.

Happy holidays, all!

Thanksgiving and Growing Up

We were lucky enough to go to South Dakota over Thanksgiving to visit Mike's parents. I realized I've never posted pictures of Aidan with his grandparents, so I made sure to get a few cute shots of them together.

Aidan loved when his grandpa fed him rice cereal!

(Aidan was more interested in eating the remote control than in getting his picture taken.)

Bath time with grandma... washcloth-censored or Mike wouldn't let me post it online! :)

We had a great time there!

While we were there, my little baby decided he just wanted to grow up. All the sudden, he learned how to sit without support. Also, he decided he doesn't want to be held at bedtime any more. The good news is that I don't have to rock him to sleep every night. The bad news is that I don't get to rock him to sleep every night! I know that every parent says this, but

"How did my baby grow up so fast?!"