The last stomach photo, I promise!

Well, the picture turned out blurry, but it was the best I had where I actually looked somewhat cute and not like a red-faced whale. 

This one is probably one of my favorite pictures I've taken in a long time.  David was doing something funny that made both of us smile, or at least Josh was close to something resembling a smile.  We'll work on that one.

Josh loves the Christmas tree.  So much in fact, that it's a good thing we have a fake one with unbreakable branches that can be re-fluffed when he tries to lay on it.  Or climb behind it.  Or re-arrange (or snitch) the decorations.  Below he is playing with one of his favorite ornaments.  My great grandmother made crocheted ornaments for all her decendants each year.  Most are made with those plastic grid things into shapes.  Please forgive my lack of good descriptions because I am not crafty at all.  So the one he loves is this little box that opens to reveal a pom-pom bear she made.

The little bear pretty much had to be taken away and put in a safe place because I don't want it to get lost.  But about every other day I put it back into the box to let him play with it for a while.  I never appreciated these little ornaments as a child, but now they are very special to me, not only as something hand-crafted by my children's great-great grandmother, but also because they're almost indestructible and can withstand the curious and not-so-gentle touch of a toddler.

We've had some cold weather and even a bit of snow.  I've also been out walking in a failed attempt to convince baby Ben that it is time to come out.  The only thing a 4 mile walk accomplished was to lull him to sleep.  But in order to keep Josh warm on his long stroller rides, he gets all bundled up.

 Luckily he tolerates it well, with the exception of boots.  The child refuses to wear the galoshes I bought him.  So he is still wearing his summer shoes that have vent holes in them, but with thick socks.  At least he hasn't discovered puddle jumping yet.

 These two are kind of random.  The left one is when he got two new toys from Grandma: A tall stuffed singing Mickey mouse and a nutcracker.  They were from super-clearance sales last Christmas saved until now.  So Josh (who I think we've established as a child with an iron-fisted touch) can play with them all he wants without fear of breaking something nice.  The Mickey is almost as tall as him and Josh loves hauling him around by his ears.  Josh has also discovered the joy of playing behind the couch and knowing that there is no way in heck that Mommy can get back there to get him.

 And finally, my two boys snoozing on the couch.  Josh has been sick (again) so naps have been rather difficult.  The other night he finally fell asleep on the couch watching a movie with Daddy.