Thanksgiving

Over the mountains and down the state we went, to Gram-mo & Pop Pop's for Thanksgiving. We were especially thankful that Pop Pop declared this will be a biannual tradition. We won't have to mak ethe Medford trek next year. Hopefully by the time we venture south again Grace will have learned to sleep.

That's right, she didn't sleep the first night we were there. Which meant neither did mom, or dad, or Gram-mo, who got sick of the entire episode at 5 am and worked some baby mo-jo to keep her quiet until seven.

The boys had a great time like always, enjoying the special gifts set aside for them and the hot tub. We really need to get one.

Grandma Evie got to see Grace again and Aunt Sherry got to meet Princess Diva. We all ate too much and got to see a picture ofthe newest addition to the Bayley clan.


After dinner I tried to get a picture of the kids together, but they wouldn't cooperate. Jeff played sous chef, making the mashed potatoes and the whipped cream for the pie (no need to blow up the picture, he is whipping the cream with a cordless drill.





The second night Grace was quieter, but still didn't get much sleep, so we packed up and headed home.

Getting Better

Every morning we notice that Grace's excema is getting better. Now it just looks like chapped skin. Maybe by Thanksgiving she'll be back to her normal, rosy cheeked self!

Just Maybe...

We have our fingers crossed that the new treatment from the pediatrician is working. The redness on her upper eyelids is gone and though it is still red, it is not as painful looking as it has been. Here's hoping it's going away!

Northwest Adventurers

Hayden had his first activity with his Tiger Cub den - a trip to the county history museum. Hayden opted not to wear his uniform (I wonder how he felt when he realized all the other boys did), but he was the first to volunteer to help out with the demonstration by playing the part of a...wait for it...BEAVER! Thank goodness this was not civil war week!










Bayley and Hayden have been going to each other's outings in the hopes of earning as many 'segments as possible. They're segment bandits!

Bayley's Bear Cub den went to the Pittock Mansion last weekend to fulfill the same segment. Jeff said the tour they got was much better than what you get when you just go as a tourist. This cub scout thing is really working for the boys!

How strange would it be...

...if I sent out holiday/change of address cards with pictures of only the boys? Would people think we ate Gracious? Because she's had this rash for so long, I have no gorgeous pictures of her and I don't want distant relatives to call and ask what happened to my baby's face.

I didn't do change of address cards because I couldn't get a good picture of the 3 of them, and now, she's got rashy face!

The doctor had a new treatment to try, so fingers crossed it works!

Winter Dresses

Can someone please explain to me why little girl winter dresses are sleeveless? The dresses are usually staged with the matching sweater and tights nearby, but for goodness sake, why are they sleeveless? When you put a long sleeve t-shirt underneath, they're just not as cute.

As you can see, the rash is still here. Everything we try seems to make it worse, not better. And to make things more fun, the pediatricians office wants to see her (again) before they suggest anything else. Have I mentioned my frustration that stock market traders have had their H1N1 vaccination, but the baby I had to put in a plastic tube last year for a chest x-ray can not get withing sneezing distance of a dose? Yeah, I really want to bring her to the doctors office as often as possible, with all those kids who are moaning and crying because they have the flu.

How's the stockmarket doing these days?

Kiddos

We tried a perscription for Grace's face, but it made it worse. Grace thinks we should try more natural methods of keeping her face moisturized....like whipped cream!

In non-rash news, the boys are loving scouts! They both get to go on the outings for Bayley's den (hiking last month, a museum this weekend) and Bayley really enjoyed that making cookies and ice cream sundaes was part of his 'Bear Trail'. Hey, we all loved the cookies!

She likes it!

Grace really likes the new table It's just her size and the ottomans are the perfect height. She and Pop Pop even created a new game...roll the ball. so cute!

The Game Room Begins

We're still not quite sure what to do with a couple of the extra rooms in the house, but when I saw this coffee table at Costco, I knew it was just us! It's a wood inlay coffee table by day - a foosball table when you want to get your game on! The two leather ottoman's tuck away when it's pretending to be it's respectable self.

Needless to say, the kids love it.

Here's hoping more great furniture finds come our way!