March Madness

 

 Somehow, January turned into February, and suddenly, here it is - March.  Linden is 4.5 months old, and I don't think any of us can even remember what life used to be like as a family of three. Unfortunately, I also can't remember what it was like when everyone was healthy. I don't know what combination of weather, sleep deprivation, having a toddler, bugs, and stress has led to this state of affairs, but it has been a nasty, nasty fall and winter.  Just as an example:  Linden had a weird cheek and gum thing going on, so I take him to the doctor (scared of infection).  While there, the doctor checks me out, and it turns out I have pneumonia.  As I'm on a course of antibiotics to get rid of that, Clark takes off for Massachusetts.  That very night Juniper starts throwing up.  Then I start throwing up. Then Linden gets it.  Then a few days later, Clark comes home, and he gets it.  Then, just as he's getting better, Juniper and Linden get colds.  IT DOESN'T STOP.

As a result, I've never looked so forward to Spring.  I know that there's no health guarantee when the weather turns warmer, but I'm holding onto that faint hope that the veil may lift with the solstice.  I'll keep you updated.

Anyway, here's a little glimpse at some of the fun stuff that's been going on in the last couple of months:

1. Winter fun.
You know, this hasn't been much of a winter in terms of snow, but we have managed to take advantage in those few precious hours before the rain or high temperatures takes it away.

Juniper on her brand new skis! She was, much to Clark's delight, a natural.

This is essentially our back yard. A little industrial-looking, perhaps, but fun for exploring in the snow.

As snowy as humanly possible

Shoveling with daddy

On a park adventure with Calla

2. Visits.
People have come to us, and we've ventured out on the occasional outing as well:

Eva and Sylvie, doting on little Linden

At Ida's 3rd birthday party

Grandma and Grandpa stopped by en route to Florida

Mary and Bob come for an extended weekend

Bob reads Juniper a story in her "living room"

Kelli, Jamie, Sawyer, Ethan and Ali stop by and meet Linden for the first time

3. Some new duds:
For Juniper, I did a lot of sewing in the early days (and Linden is now wearing the not-completely-girly hand-me-downs), but for Linden I've been more into knitting.  Here are a couple of the more recent pieces:

Rainbow pants!

Matching vest and pants

4. Hodgepodge:
a) Here is the my birthday cake, for which Juniper obviously had a large hand in decorating:

... and I also got a lot of help blowing out the candles.

Blue steel!

Story time.  Juniper actually "read" Linden the entire book.

5. And finally - a little video montage from the last couple of months.