Epicurious Babe and Candyland

Christmas is so close now we can taste it...literally. On Thursday, it was a really cold, overcast day, so I proclaimed it Pajama Day in the Hill household (for some reason I was the only one who actually remained in my pjs for the entire day...and slept in them again that night) and embarked on making comfort foods. I threw together a batch of yummy lentil soup, dragged our bread machine out of storage, dusted it off, and made a big loaf of wheat bread, and baked two dozen Snickerdoodles. Fewer things say Christmas to me more than Snickerdoodles, my favorite holiday cookie. Logan helped with the cookies, which we made while Auden was napping. He dumped the ingredients into the mixing bowl for me and then retreated to his bedroom, frightened by the mixer. That kid really has to get over his fear of noisy things. He came back in time to help dip the dough into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, but decided on the first one that it was much better to dip his finger into the mix, rather than the soon-to-be cookie. In fact, before long, he was dipping his whole face into the bowl, sticking his tongue into the cinnamon and sugar. So the idea of bringing the cookies to Aunt Jackie's went right out the window. I guess deep down I really didn't want to share them anyway.

Auden has been trying new tastes as well. At his four-month appointment, the doc said Auden can now have solids, and that it's best to give him a variety of stuff, rather than introducing foods slowly. So, we decided to try carrots for his first food endeavor. We put him in his Bumbo and spooned the lukewarm stuff into his mouth. Surprisingly, he seemed to like it. Of course, he's still getting the hang of swallowing stuff that isn't liquid, so he pushed a lot of it out of his mouth, but he ended up eating about a tablespoon of the stuff. Next we tried pears mixed with cereal. Not quite as fond of the consistency of that, but still he ate a bit and wasn't displeased.

We just returned from a very nice couple of days with Eric's family--we traveled to Wisconsin to be with Grammy and Papa Hill, Aunt Jackie, Uncle John, and Isabel. We drove there last night, put the kids to bed after a short visit, and woke up ready to celebrate--especially Logan, who was harping on us to open gifts as soon as he regained consciousness. He got some very nice toys, and Isabel had fun with the toy cuttable fruit we got her. So fun seeing little ones at Christmas time. The boys, except for Auden, decided to brave the cold and trek outside for a while. Logan suited up, and the guys took turns dragging him in a sled, Eric on cross-country skis and John and Papa in snowshoes. At one point, the dog dragged Logan, but I think he needed a small dog team to pull him through the drifts. Still, it was a pretty adorable sight.