Looks Like Ben Found Photo Booth on the new iMac...

New Gadgets

I am blogging from our early "family Hanukkah present" -- a new iMac. The long story short is that Joel's Hanukkah gift from me (also early) was an iPad, but his Macbook was so old he couldn't get the iPad synced up to it. And my work laptop is so old (getting a new one soon I think) that I couldn't even manage to get the requisite version of iTunes installed on that either to help him out.

So instead of upgrading the operating system, he decided to buy a new computer. That's logical, right? But really, it is, since we had been talking for a while about needing a family computer that Ben can do homework on and that I can use instead of using my work laptop for personal stuff, which is what I'd been doing for a while. So we got the iMac, and it's awesome. And Joel got his iPad working, and that's awesome too. The only thing we need to figure out how to do now is to transfer his iTunes library from the old Macbook to the new iMac. And we need a printer. And a desk. But all in good time... Happy early Hanukkah!!!

The real Hanukkah starts Wednesday night, by the way. So expect some posts on that topic as the kids start getting their gifts.

And by the way, Happy Thanksgiving

Apologies for the slew of blog posts just now (and one more coming I think). It has been a great Thanksgiving weekend with my sister and her family visiting from MA. We will be sad to see them go tomorrow! Thanksgiving day itself was great, with great food (of which I can really only take credit for the turkey) and great friends and family! Hope everyone had as good of a Thanksgiving as we did!

Big Fish

Today my kids had school, but Abby and Mike and I took Charlie and Amelia to the Concord Mills mall for a day of shopping. While there we checked out the Bass Pro shop, home to what must be the world's largest catfish. I tried to get Charlie in the picture for comparison. The fish is definitely bigger than he is.

A Continuing Tradition...

...Of trying to photograph uncooperative subjects.

Discovery Place Kids

On Saturday we took the kids and their cousins to the new Discovery Place Kids which just opened in Huntersville. It was FANTASTIC! The kids all had a blast. It was fun to watch them become so absorbed in imaginative play in every exhibit. Ben especially, who I worried might be outgrowing such things, threw himself into each exhibit whole-heartedly. In fact I often had to prod him along from one area to the next, because he wouldn't leave on his own. We spent a whole afternoon there, and could have stayed longer. Except, well, it closed for the night. We will definitely be making a return visit.

Toddler Bed

On Thanksgiving Day, Rebecca and her best friend Amelia (not to be confused with cousin Amelia) decided they wanted to get in and out of Rebecca's crib, and in and out again, and again, and again. The trouble was they couldn't do this by themselves, and Amelia's mom and I got tired of lifting them in and out over and over. After a glass of wine on an empty stomach, the logical conclusion seemed to be to dismantle the crib and turn it into a toddler bed, without any discussion or "prepping" Rebecca for this transition at all. So that's what we did. And then Rebecca and Amelia occupied themselves with jumping off the bed repeatedly, without assistance.

Fortunately for me (because otherwise Joel would never have let me hear the end of it) Rebecca has done great every night so far. She has not gotten out of bed at all, except for 5 minutes after the first time we put her in the bed on Thanksgiving night. We put a gate in her doorway before we go to bed, and take it down in the morning, since our bedroom is on the first floor and we don't want her wandering downstairs in the middle of the night.

Becca is very proud of her big girl bed!