Thanksgiving with Attitude

So, I knew it would start to happen more often as Dylan grew older, but I didn't realize how soon. Now that the world has opened up to Dylan from a mobility standpoint (she sprint crawls and pulls up on most everything), she seems to think that she can do whatever she wants now. A few times this holiday weekend she had decided she does not want help with certain things. And when she is doing something she enjoys and I go to pick her up, she throws herself backwards and straightens her body in defiance. Yes - the attitude is coming out. A firm "no" and sometimes a smack to the thigh have been necessary to let her know that it's not going to go down like that!

Don't get me wrong, Dylan is a very sweet, fun little girl. But, I guess I just wasn't looking forward to the not so fun, but oh so necessary, part of parenting - discipline.

Charlie is almost done with this semester. Only one more to go. Work is going well for me - not very much overtime at all, which is really a blessing. I'm looking forward to taking the entire week of Christmas off. I will get to hang with Dylan 24/7 and see lots of family. I have to be gone from her for about 4 days at the end of January for work. I'm not looking forward to that - but we have been very blessed that I have not had to travel overnight at all since I went back to work.

Well - here are some fairly recent pics. Her eczema was much better this last week - which was such a relief. Not sure what changed - maybe the rain has helped. Here's hoping that she is just outgrowing it!

Cruisin'

So, lately Dylan is starting to give up the army crawl. Every once in awhile she reverts back to it, but lately she is a pro at using her knees. I just can't believe how old she is now. Almost a year old. This Christmas should be tons of fun. Dylan will celebrate her first birthday and it sounds like we will have quite a crew for the holidays...20 people maybe.

Charlie's school is going well. I know that he is ready to be done, but by the way he talks, I think that he is enjoying what he is learning. He is in a course today - but it is not engineering. For those of you that don't know yet, Charlie has a motorcycle. Yes, I know what you are thinking - did Charlie finally master Jedi mind tricks and has employed them on his wife. No - I know that he has always wanted one (as most men do) and we are planning on only having one car once he is done with school. So, he is taking a safety training course this weekend. I know he is really glad he is taking it.

Autumn is in full swing. Well, actually I think it is on the verge of winding down here. But, it is still very beautiful today. One of those great November days where the sky is dark grey, but the trees are amazing hues of red, orange and yellow. The colors have been quite incredible this year. Dylan loves picking leaves off of trees and bushes. She studies them for a moment, attempts to eat them, having been thwarted by mommy from ingesting the leaf, she then proceeds to tear it to pieces and toss it to the ground. It's so fun to see her learn to do new things. She truly is a joy.

Well, here are some fairly recent pics. We are still dealing with eczema and it is now getting worse as the weather gets progressively colder and dryer. But, hey, there are worse things to have.