Tattoos by Jonas:

When Jonas went in for his surgery earlier this month, they marked on his body where they were going to cut with one of those body-marking pens.  They are single use, so the Drs should only be using one pen for one patient, then throwing it away.  Well, I guess Jonas stole some of them after his surgery because he thought they were cool...we'll blame it on the pain meds, and also consider them paid for by our vastly overpriced insurance.  ;)

He took them out yesterday and drew tattoos on each of the kids--Ninja cat and Ninja puppy, for Layla and Finn.  They LOVE them.

Last night Finn told me "But Mama!  Ninjas don't got to BED!"  Bummer, he went to bed.  :)

Ninja puppy for Finn's arm.

Ninja cat for Layla's arm.  

Thanksgiving 2014:

Layla frosting an acorn...she clearly doesn't have much practice, and as always, keeping her finger clean is KEY.  ;)

I made carrot cake...

...and Brussels sprouts with bacon.  

7 months--and boy are we THANKFUL for her! :)

Taking a break to puke up some milk...

And...the photo shoot is OVER.  ;)

After shoveling / snow blowing today:

Another post of Cora eating:

Okay, she isn't so much eating this apple...just teething on it while getting a little bit of apple juice and flavor.  ;)

Isn't SHE just delicious???  Yummy!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Ugh. You guyyyyyyyyyyyyyys.  I'm so sad.  I think Finn has developed a NEW allergy to eggs (which Layla is already allergic to).

Finn's allergies always manifest on his skin, while Layla is more gastro-intestinal issues.  So, for the past 2 weeks Finn's skin has been going crazy.  Big red marks all over his butt, huge red itchy patches behind his knees, little red bumps all up and down his legs that he was scratching constantly, etc.  

When it first started I just thought it was the change over to the dry, winter weather...and he might need a little lotion and a humidifier in his room at night.  But nope, it continued, and it got worse.

I thought maybe it could be the laundry detergent we are using, but no, that is already super hypo-allergenic, and I've been using it for over a year without any skin issues from him.  And it still got worse.

So I finally had to stop and just think.  WHAT had changed for Finn in the last 2 weeks??  He had no dairy at all, hadn't been around any cats or dogs, etc.  Then it hit me.

He has always eaten eggs, but more like a normal person eats eggs:  an egg once or twice a week, maybe less.  For the past two weeks he has all of a sudden started LOVING eggs. He has eaten them daily, if not every other day.  And he has eaten a lot of them, not just one.  For example, on the day the above picture was taken he ate two boiled eggs for breakfast and two for a snack/lunch later on.  

Uuuuuuuuuuuugh!  I was just telling Renee how thankful I was that he 1) likes eggs, and 2) can eat them, because they are so cheap, easy, and a great protein/fat.  Sigh.  

Now, obviously, this is not confirmed at all--it's just my Mommy hunch right now (but since noticing the skin and making the connection to eggs in my mind, I haven't let him have any eggs at all, and his skin is almost back to totally normal...the big red welts on his butt are the last to fade away).  But, I'm about 100% accurate so far at having my Mommy hunches confirmed at the allergist, so we shall see if my streak of accurate diagnoses continue. 

Layla has to go in sometime in the near future to have her 5-year check with the allergist (to see if she has outgrown anything), and now I think I need to bring Finn with too, just to check and see if he has ADDED eggs to his list.  

I'm just bummed.  Allergies stink.  Booooo.  :(

Like Dads do:

Jonas and Cora enjoyed a nice Saturday beer together.  He enjoyed the drinking part, and she enjoyed the teething on the cold bottle part.  :)

Flashback...Monday? :) Before MN became the land of snow and ice for the season:

In early November, Jonas went to WI to get our season haul of firewood.  When he came back he did a little splitting for kindling, and Finn was ALL OVER THAT with his toy axe from Aunt Laura and Uncle Scooter for his last birthday.  :)

The final haul, ready for our almost-daily fires this winter...

Saturday fun with Mr. Piyush and Mrs. Ruchira!

Saturday afternoon we went over the river into Minneapolis with have lunch with Piyush and Ruchira.  (It was funny to hear Finn saying his version of "Minneapolis" over and over again, in his super high-pitched voice...) As always, Piyush and Ruchira were the best host and hostess...showering us with delicious foods, drinks, and presents for the kids--generous doesn't even begin to describe them!  They even sent us home with great leftovers for another meal, and even an Indian spice rub for Jonas to use on our next fun cut of meat.  We had a delightful time.  :)

Finn before we left, looking all preppy and cute.  ;)

Finn and Piyush, hanging out on the couch, watching the BIG TV, like 2 regular guys...

...Finn decided the bowl of pita chips was his alone.  ;)

We could not ask for more delightful hosts.  :)