The Lydia photos have been a bit scant recently. First of all, finding the time to get the camera out has been a challenge, and then finding the time to load and work on the photos has been a bigger challenge. But here are some from the other evening (NRA bib) and some from just this afternoon.

We thought we were onto a new feeding/sleeping phase, but we're learning that it was only a temporary thing. She slept for between 11 and 12 hours for a few nights this past week, but toward the end of the week, she was getting up in the 5 o'clock hour, and that's just not compatible with Jenn's sleeping/work schedule. So we're tweaking things a bit.

Lincoln has been into his John Deere DVDs big time. He doesn't want to watch any other shows, which is fine with us. He's never been terribly interested in television. So when we have other DVDs on, such as Toy Story or Chicken Run, he says after just a few minutes, "Can I have the John Deere DVD, please. I like them because they have John Deeres in them." It's really cute. He has parts 1 through 4. If you're looking for a gift idea for his upcoming birthday, there's a new DVD of part 5 that comes with all of the songs on one CD.

The other day Lincoln asked me, "How does Mommy get the milk in there?"

Lydia continues to be a spitter-upper, and she continues to poop-bomb her clothes.

Lincoln has been quite antagonistic toward Gretel recently. He moves the heater when she's laying in front of it. He also doesn't want her within feet of his personal space. "I need some space, Gretel!" he says. "Get out of my space!" He doesn't hold Betty to these standards, though. I told him this morning that if he continued to be mean to Gretel then I would take the heater away from him. So he turned the heater toward Gretel in one of the most selfless moves I've seen him make toward her... ever. That's not to say he's not into sharing. It's not unusual for him to offer me a bite of his dessert, and you ought to see how into dessert he is! The good news is that Gretel has really been good with him. She looks quizzically at him and just keeps on doing her thing. She still has many puppy moments, but she's turning into a good family dog.

My new snow-thrower has been getting a workout recently, and I love it. It was a great purchase that has literally bought me more time in the house this winter.

Our local Sears Hardware is going out of business, so for the past couple of weekend Lincoln and I have gone over there to see how deep the sales are. They've been at 10-30% off, but I heard from one of the workers that they'll be dipping to 70% before it's all said and done. So we'll see if I can be there when the fridge we want drops. Hmmmm...

Anyway, that's all for now.