The Annual Christmas Tree Hunt

For the past five years we have cut our Christmas tree from our place in the Anderson Valley.  Each year we traipse around the place looking for a tree that is big enough to sate Ken's hunger for a big holiday statement in the living room, but not so big that Mike sees its felling as an environmental tragedy.  This year Cornelia came along for the first time and enjoyed it very much.  Like Ken, she is a very good supervisor -- pointing, directing, etc.

The Supervisors

The Help

"Where's Daddy?"

"Finally!  We have a winner!"

Fall weather and sleeping in the country

Fall has returned to the Anderson Valley.  My favorite time of year.  Leaves drop.  Temperatures drop.  And the sun goes down early.  A fire in the wood stove.  

Last weekend we returned to the country after a too-long absence to find fall fully arrived and settled in, bags unpacked.  We arrived late on Friday night to a dark and very chilly house - and a house without working heat.  A house without heat and a six-month old baby are not a great combination.  And our little space heater and our wood stove were not going to warm the house up quickly.  So, in order to keep Cornelia warm for the night, Ken and I took turns sleeping with her on the couch near the wood stove in the living room.  I took the 11 p.m. shift; Ken relieved me at 6:00 a.m.  While it might sound appealing and cute - snuggling with your baby in front of a cozy wood stove - it wasn't.  Sleeping with a baby is a tricky thing.  Bad things can happen with babies in beds (or on couches).  This old man and his old-man back didn't get a lot of sleep.

Fortunately, the house warmed up on Saturday so we could return to our bedroom and Coco could return to her cradle.  Or so we thought.  Coco was having none of it.  The cradle is now a bit too small for her, a baby who rolls around in her crib all night long.  After multiple attempts trying to get her to go to sleep in her cradle, we gave up and brought her into our bed.  But, as I said, bad things can happen with babies in beds.  And one of us is uber-paranoid about bad things that can happen to babies.  So, for safety, we stripped all the blankets and pillows from the bed - essentially creating a giant crib - and then settled in for another sleepless night.  Old man.  Old-man back.  Coco, however, slept quite well.

"I slept great.  You?"

Coco's make-shift play area in the country.  Almost crawling . . . .

"Crawling is hard.  Let's all take a nap."

Thank you Grandma Mary!

Grandma Mary left today after spending three weeks with us looking after Coco while Ken and I travelled off and on for work.  It was a real treat for all of us.  Coco got new clothes, wore multiple outfits each day, and went for walks nearly every day.  She even got to sleep with Grandma in the guest room once or twice when she couldn't sleep.    (But don't tell Daddy!)

Cocobean and Grandma Mary (November 6, 2011)

   

Coco's Six-Month Check-up

Coco had her six-month check-up this week.  It involved shots, so Papa was not looking forward to it at all.  The appointment went well.  Coco is happy and healthy.  She is 15 lbs 8 ozs and 26 1/4 inches long now.  That puts her in the 40th percentile for weight and 55th percentile for length.  Hmmmm . . .  sounds like she's tall and slender . . . . sounds like a supermodel to me.  Papa held himself together enough to hold Coco while she got her shots.  Two of them in rapid succession.  Thankfully she cried for less than a minute.  Papa didn't cry at all.   

Tyra Banks always says, "Find your light, girl!"

"Working with animals . . . . . always difficult."

Coco's bag of toys.

Busy in the high chair.