Boppa and Finley come over to play

Cha Cha went all out for Valentines Day!

Peak a Boo

Life at the Gladdings has been on cruise control for the past few weeks. The big news is that Isla is now mobile and funny as can be. She picked up peak a boo somewhere and it is one of her after dinner favorites. She will play with the toys and eat her puffs happily and then, just as you look away and look back, her pasty white belly is staring at you and she's got her shirt pulled up over her head. Too cute!

Carter has been loving his scooter. It is a necessary piece of equiptment for any trip to the park.

Grandma and Grandp Butterworth Come To Visit

Just after Christmas Ed and Aleene (or Allene depending on who you believe) came to visit us in not so sunny CA. Over 2 weeks of vacation they had a sum total of 2 days of sunshine and 5 days of rain. A very unhospitible way for Calfornia to treat our guests from Pennsylvania.

Carter was delighted to have his 4th christmas present opening and he got right to zooming around on his new scooter both indoors and out.

Grandma and Grandpa were a huge help with feeding, playing, making puzzles, changing diapers, watching the kids so Susan could be on yet another conference call, cooking dinner, reading books, putting the kids down to bed, and many many other ways.

Taking advantage of the heavily ladened lemon tree in the backyard the family risked eventual scratches from the thorns and picked a plethora of lemons. Ages of grueling effort finally yeilded a few cups of pure lemon juice which Susan mixed with copious amounts of sugar to produce a very tasty tart lemonade. Carter couldn't wait for the final product and sunk his teeth into several juicy lemon slices.

2 weeks came and went all too quickly. Isla tried to pass the milestone of crawling while grandma and grandpa were here and, although improving by leaps and bounds, could only pull herself forward using the shaggy carpet. Carter was thrilled to wave to the grandparents on the airplane at the airport but was very saddened to return to his house the way it had been before all of the fun and excitement swept in from PA.

Christmas Day

Thankfully Carter hasn't quite gotten the whole essence of the waking up xmas morning and opening gifts. At 7:15 this morning he crawled into bed with us just like any other normal day. As soon as he realized that it was presents day he was a present opening force to be reckoned with. Present after Present torn open, given a swift once over, and thrown aside to make room for the next present. When he finally ran out of presents it took some convincing that he couldn't open every present under the tree.



Boppa and Cha Cha came over for an Xmas morning feast. Susan cooked up a breakfast casserole that couldn't be beat along with bagels, muffins, and mimosas! All served up on the first inaugural outing of our China (after 6 years in their protective casings).


Susan spent the majority of her "down time" (I say that with a chuckle that only parents of multiple children can understand) baking scrumptious herb bread and a pear/pomegranite salad that were terrific.


After the feast the adults had a movie white elephant gift exchange. Of course we found time in there somewhere for dessert. And Finley... being Finley.... took the opportunity to take an early taste of the Red Velvet Cake.



Isla has been the best little girl these past few days. She has been happy (well.... except for Santa's lap), obliging to being held by all sorts of people, and really talkative, and of course absolutely adorable!



The day was so full-up-o-fun that Susan and I didn't exchange gifts until 9:00 tonight.

Nighttime now!

PS Hi Grandma and Grandpa... we are leaving up the xmas decorations and we're looking forward to you coming out on Tuesday! See you soon ;)

Xmas Eve!

Party on Xmas Eve! The whole family plus five friends gathered over at Cha-Cha's for an xmas eve feast. Calamari, Flank Steak, Cheese Grits, Asparagus, cookies, candies, chocolate cake, cream puffs, peppermint chocolate treats... I'm stuffed! Santa dropped by to give out some early gifts...

The kids waiting in anticipation!

Everybody got their turn on Santa's lap...

Carter Loved It!! But Isla.... not so much.

Even Garrett's friends Shep, Jake, and Bryson got in on the action.

Boppa and Cha Cha loved having the "bunny people" over.

Just before bed Carter put out some milk and cookies for Santa along with some carrots for santa's reindeer. He just couldn't help himself and nibbled on one of the carrots.

Happy Holidays Everybody!