Meet McSheep.

This is McSheep. He's a plush sheep hailing from the cold hills of Scotland. McSheep came to the States in a bag belonging to Nono and Grandmother Louise before coming to live with us. (Specifically, in Wilson's crib.) Where Harrod is the VP of House Animals, McSheep is the President. If one animal comes out of or goes into bed with Wilson, it's McSheep, numero uno.

McSheep was not always President. He and Harrod had a good stand-off going for a month or so there. But in the end, tough highland wool beat out soft city fur.

Like Harrod, McSheep would be difficult to replace. On our last check, the closest we could get a new McSheep delivered would be to Wales. Which is, you know, convenient.

McSheep is currently doing his best to console a very sad and not-interested-in-bedtime Wilson. Let us hope the tough highland wool is up to that delicate challenge!

Meet Harrod.

This is Harrod. He's a blue stuffed bear with a jingle in his belly. Harrod was a gift to Wilson from Aunt Beth, who found him during a trip to London. Wilson loved him right away.

Harrod plays an important role in our house. He's the current Vice President of Wilson's animal collection, second only to McSheep, who we will introduce shortly. When it's time for bed, Wilson tucks Harrod under one arm and McSheep under the other. It's terribly cute. (And comforting to know that pecking orders extend even to the stuffed animal kingdom.)

We lost Harrod once. He was waylaid en route back home from Grama and Grampa Packer's house, and we feared we'd never see him again. A mad internet scramble produced many ready-for-purchase Harrods, except when UK shipping costs were applied, they were found to cost like $80. apiece. (Sorry, Wilson; we love you, but not that much.) We decided there were other blue bears in the world, and we'd be more careful about where we put him once he made it back home safely.

Harrod was successfully recovered, and all made well. The little blue guy is currently nestled under Wilson's chin, who is snoring and drooling happily. Good baby, good bear!

Blueberries.

For many weeks I've been trying to get Wilson to enjoy blueberries. I mean, Costco carries them fresh and in bulk! (And I can only eat so many...) Well. At one point I got him to eat them if he could peel the skins off and munch on the insides. THEN. FINALLY. Yesterday he ate a few handfuls. And today, over the course of his 3 meals and 2 snacks, he ate, like, a pint! It's awesome. He can't get enough!

Bring on the blue poo...

Chairs.

Wilson can now climb up on chairs all by himself. He finds particular pleasure in climbing up to the table and engaging us in conversation. It's like it makes him feel big!

Week 23.

Violet is so big! (And so is Mommy!) She's about 1 pound this week, and about 8 inches long from head to rump. That's about the size of a small doll...can you believe it? She's very active, and gets the hiccups frequently. Her hearing is well developed, and she'll kick and squirm if I listen to loud music, or if something loud trolls by. (Like sirens!)

Her little pancreas is doing some developing this week, which helps her regulate hormones and digestion. She's slowly but surely getting fatter, although she still has a long way to go before she's the plump little raisin she's supposed to be.

As for Mommy, I've been SO HUNGRY the past three weeks. I have a doc appt. on Wednesday, and I expect him to tell me I've made up for any pounds lost and then some. I eat constantly. Aside from that, pregnancy continues to be fun and uneventful, so we're encouraged!

Photo Updates.

We know we're behind on putting albums up, and we apologize for that. I'm going to continue to rely upon my default excuse of "Physics is kicking my ass". Because it is. And I am. Sorry, that is.

Anywho, here are some pictures from the last month or so. Check out the dramatic difference between his pre-Christmas mop and the new 'do! I confess I came very close to sobbing when the stylist hacked all his curls off...it needed to be shorter, but THAT short?

Anyway, we mostly like it now.

On to pics:

Christmas 2007
Wilson and Friends (1/31/08)

A Man's Man's Ladies' Man.

My baby is cool because he loves football!

He watches games with the big kids, and exclaims "yay!" a lot. He loves throwing the pigskin with Daddy, who tackles him every time he picks it up. But even more fun than tackling Daddy is throwing the small pleather projectile at Mommy's unsuspecting face. Mommy is very patient.

But my baby is also cool because he hangs out with Mommy and does girl stuff. Like go shopping. Rock out to the Spice Girls' Greatest Hits. Drink Diet Coke.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: GOOD BABY!