Pomp and Circumstance

After four years of online classes in the evenings, Mike finished his Master's Degree! He defended his thesis in November, which he passed with flying colors. So last week, we were able to drive out to South Dakota for his graduation ceremony!

I sat alone...Aidan was sick and stayed home with his grandma, and Mike's dad is a professor at SDSU, so he wore his gown also and sat with the other professors.But all of us are so proud of Mike! Way to go, honey - you're amazing!

Luckily we were able to stay at my in-law's house that weekend: while we were gone, Rochester had a HUGE storm (15 inches of snow in one day!), and the freeway back was closed. We ended up getting to stay an extra day waiting for the road to open again. Aidan loved the time with his grandparents. Here he is trying to fill his grandpa's shoes!

P.S. More new posts below!

First Black Eye

The other day, Aidan grabbed a stocking. Unfortunately, it was attached to the stocking holder, which came off the mantle and smacked him under the eye. Poor little guy gave himself his first black eye!
(He fine, though. I mean, I even got a grin for the picture!)

Baby in the Jammies

For those who are unfamiliar, Gerber brand clothing all has a label like this:

One of Aidan's favorite words/things lately has been "baby." So it made us laugh when he discovered the baby in the back of his pajamas!

Grandma Pictures

This post is so titled because these are pictures only a grandma would care about. Or a parent. But it's my blog, so you ALL get to see them!

Mike likes to drink protein shakes, and Aidan always thinks he is entitled to his fair share. He begs until he gets a drink. The milk mustache makes me laugh.

And the olive fingers... reminiscent of Thanksgivings past, anyone?

I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus

Today I was kneeling on the floor to clean the oven. My feet were sticking out behind me, and since I hadn't yet swept the kitchen floor, my feet were covered with crumbs. So sweetly and gently, my little boy came up behind me and brushed my feet clean.

Some days, there is no more humbling thought than this realization:

I am supposed to be teaching HIM how to be like Jesus, not the other way around!

True Love

True love is cleaning the toilet after someone else was sick all weekend.

I'm just sayin'. :)

Deodorant, Anyone?