Whit's First Christmas

Greeting us from under the tree this Christmas morn was the wonderful surprise that Santa had left behind his little helper! He didn't have instructions, but from what we can gather so far, his "helpful" function refers to his hunting and gathering of items from around a room and placing them in a specified container - a human Roomba if you will.

As for meal preparation, it started with bathing the turkey in the tub. (Our kitchen is being remodelled, and therefore the only place to cleanse the bird was in the bathroom. This act was then swiftly followed by one of my OCD bleach festivals.)

Then I proceeded to cut an onion while wearing my new onion goggles. Have we ruined holiday feasts for Whit? Will he now always expect a bubble bath for our butcher selection and Ali G eye-wear for vegetable preparation?

Either way, he loved Christmas, especially round two of NOODLES! Here he is driving his new train to, well, probably somewhere warm far away from Minnesota!

Meeting the Big Guy

Together with Grams and Grandpa Thomas and Becca and Evelyn, we toured Macy's Santaland today. After journeying through the elves' village, our expedition culminated in Whit's introduction to Mr. Claus in the flesh! As you can see, Whit studied him very intently, entranced by the glorious pile of fur on his face.

Then we enjoyed a yummy lunch at the Oak Room, complete with monstrous popovers. Whit was in awe of the poofy goodness and quickly polished it off.

It was wonderful to start a new tradition with dear friends and family. We are so very blessed this Christmas season.

Music to My Ears

Happiness is coming around the corner to see your son dancing to Nirvana's acoustic version of "Come As You Are." I don't think even Kurt Cobain could have kept a straight face at that sight. Hearing the voice of some stuffy mothers saying "I can't believe she let her son listen to that solemn tune," I used it as a teaching moment, pointing out that Whit should be accepting of others' differences (even if they are odd like mommy)...and then we rocked out together.

'The son, the son! Tradition!'

Ok, so we didn't sing the entire score to 'Fiddler on the Roof' for Thanksgiving, but we did introduce Whit to a very big Pieper tradition - making NOODLES! And if you think he looks happy making them, you should have seen him inhale them. This is by far his favorite food yet!

Then after the Vikings won on Sunday (thanks to Whit wearing his lucky fleece), he was all giggles...until we had to tell him that now the only way he and mommy were going to make it to Australia was in daddy's suitcase. Being the literal boy that he is, he hopped in and found a corner in which to stow away. We nestled a Camel Back of formula and some noodles nearby, and he was set for the 24-hour voyage.