So Daddy's been working on his school project all day and is ready to take a break with the boy. Noah went with Mommy to her monthly Bunco game.. he was their first male participant ever! Looks like she finally found a contour pad to cradle his little bum while we get changed.

He's holding his head up for long periods lately. At the midwife appointment Friday, he weighed in at over 10 pounds.. really gaining weight quick! He's popular with all the girls and is a real cutie when he's not upset. Noah has outgrown his "newborn" diaper covers and is just about - almost - too big for one of his (our) favorite sleepers. He's smiling at us a lot now, too - we're not sure what he's responding to, but it's great to be interacting with the little man. A bit more fussy and crying then he used to be; it might be due to his recent growth making him hungry a lot. Noah continues to make wonderful small sounds; our favorite is after a long yawn... there will be a small vocalization. We can hold his attention by talking and looking, with a couple of musical wind-up dolls and a set of shiny, rattling bee dolls. He really seems to like resting on Dad's shoulder and looking out the window at the bright outside light.

We took a cute photo of him outside against the snowy boughs of our blue spruce, wearing a wintry holiday outfit. Oh that's right- yesterday it got pretty warm (after a week of teens during the day and below zero at night), and so last night we finally got our first big snow of the season, about 10 inches or so. The kind of light fluffy flakes that stick to everything and make it look like a winter wonderland outside.

New neighbors just moved in today at the house which has sat empty behind us since July. We're glad to see it! Sheida is interested too; they've got a puppy. Tigger and Millie just this week have become much more comfortable around the boy. Tigger snuggles right up now; she never did this. Millie finally approaches, cautiously, sniffs and rubs; she's made a very quick turnaround in her attitude. So our small family is doing well, holiday plans and arrangements for Donna to return to work for a few months this spring are finally coming together, and Daddy's major presentation is rapidly coming together with a draft expected by Sunday night.

As usual, Pop is being a bit too anal in making sure that he understands every nuance of the methods he used, and that his statistical models are legitimate. But hey, that's his job. Just can't forget that the point of this talk is to explain how his sea lions behaved...