February

 Pancake faces are the best.

 Covered in goo. But learning to use utensils.

 He LOVED that little yellow truck.

Finding some deals in the Sunday Star Trib.

51 Weeks

50 Weeks

Birkie

 

The start of a great tradition: the Birkebeiner ski race near Hayward, WI.

 The starting line for the Korteloppet.

 Micah is getting ready to ski!

 And he finished!

 With a broken ski and all.

 Soren & Kate with Nate on the bus to the car lot.

 
The cabin. Thanks for sharing, friends!

  The United Family Medicine crew.

 Soren is checking out some real estate options.

And looking rocking his lumberjack look.

49 Weeks

48 Weeks

11 months! This boy has developed his own opinions on life and on how he spends his time. When you pick him up he will point his arm, grunt, and direct you around.  He will keep at it until he gets to everything he likes to touch, like: the cords on the lights and fans, anything with buttons, anything that looks like it might be tasty, and anything sharp, noisy, or otherwise dangerous.  Baby toys? Forget 'em. 

Soren went skijoring for the first time this week.  Well, I guess it was a first for all of us.  Papi was rigged up with a harness and pulling lines (not their actual name, but the best I can come up with right now). Micah was rigged up behind Papi with a waist belt connected to said pulling lines.  Soren was hooked up in his skiing sleigh behind Micah. Me? Where was I you might ask? I was skiing out front as the "bait" that Papi was trying to catch.  I had treats in my pocket and they were very motivating.  If we hadn't rescued Papi from the steamy streets of the DR we would swear up and down he had sled dog in his blood.  This dog was made for skijoring!  Our first outing was a major success (in that no one was pulled off the path, no one fell, Soren slept most of the way, and Papi had a super amazing time).  Kind of a weird hobby for a dog that was first destined to be living out his days in the inferno (aka the DR), no?

Soren's new tricks come 11 months old include using the baby sign language for "all done" (turning hands over) and saying what sounds to us like those very words (may we be reading into his grunts a bit?).  He also started using the sign for "bath" (rubbing fists on chest).  We thought some new teeth might come through after a rough spell last week, but no sign of any new chompers.

Favorite foods at 11 months are: Annie's mac & cheese (sharp cheddar shells to be exact), fruit (pears, bananas, grapes, and oranges), pancakes or crepes, and most recently, cream cheese on crackers.

I know we've said it nearly at every age (and meant it, too!) but 11 months is so much fun.  It's overwhelmingly awesome to be able to share experiences with Soren and have him kind of get it. And his screams of joy...they're like nothing else.