Family Portrait

After much debate, planning, calculating, and three re-scheduled appointments, we took our family photo for 2009. Here is the unofficial version (copyright Mike who pressed the button on our camera before hurrying to get in the frame during the 10 second delay):

I'm sorry it came through grainy - it looks great in the original file. You can still see Zeke's cute belly button and just how tired he really is. He was all smiles at 6:30 a.m. today when he woke up, but that energy wore off long before we got to the studio. We'll get the official version in two weeks.

Teeth x2

Zeke has two little teeth. On the bottom, in the front, just like the baby development books told me would happen. The first tooth broke the surface on November 3, and the second one became visible just recently.

Check out those devastatingly blue eyes:
Zeke's favorite teething toy would be paper. Or mommy's finger. Or one of the plastic containers for store-bought baby food. He can be right vicious to one of those plastic containers. We added teeth and gum brushing to his bedtime routine using a special toothbrush for babies that slips over a parent's finger. Mike tells me Zeke really just bites down on the thing while Mike tries to move it around to brush. Zeke is very happy the whole time, but he doesn't quite grasp the concept.

Picturesque

Tina brought Zeke out to Chuck E Cheese the other day, and met a collection of folk including Grandma, Nightingale, Thumbelina, Ginger Nut, and The Treat, a real motley crew. The day went well enough, with Zeke enjoying several firsts: first taste of pepperoni pizza, first taste of Sprite, first attempt at Whack-A-Mole.

At some point close to nap time, Grandma and Zeke piled into the little photo-generating ride, slipped in some tokens, and took a great little picture. Sorry, we don't have a copy of that picture to post.

Then, it was Tina's turn to take a picture with Zeke. Here's how it turned out:



He was more than a little sad, probably because the ride makes you sit for 30 seconds while they do whatever warm-up procedures they have to do.

But the picture is just hilarious.

Everybody survived the trip and had a good time, even Zeke. Tina drove home and he took his well-deserved nap eventually. And now we have a memorialized copy of this most wonderful picture.

All Hallows Eve

The Great Pumpkin did not visit our house this year. Zeke is too young to understand in the first place, and we didn't take him trick-or-treating in the second. Next year we will have the inaugural visit, I think, and Mike is already excited about the possibilities.

We did go to our ward's trunk-or-treat party and had a good time giving away some candy. We went dressed in a group costume - we were the Pythagorean Theorem.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem)

I was waiting for someone to say, "That's not a scary costume!" so I could retort, "Math is very scary to some people," but it never happened.

This picture was taken by one of the boys in my Sr. Primary who, when I asked if he would do me a favor, immediately replied, "Do I have to sing?"

Credit to Dimples for the costume idea. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.