The Swedish Chef

Meet my boy, the Swedish Chef. Bork Bork Bork!

Every night Jake gets to help Dah make dinner. Dah is a very good cook, often making up his own delicious creations. Yes, I know, I'm very spoiled!

Last night Jake decided to follow in his father's footsteps. After watching Dah sauté onions, he crawled over to his toy nesting basket, dumped the contents, grabbed the green frog and flung it into his "sauté basket". He then took his favorite toy, the kitchen spatula, and proceed to beat the frog into submission. He would toss the frog with the spatula (which croaks when hit) and then lift out the frog, inspect it, (as if to see whether it was "done") and then back into the basket it went for another "tossing".

Eventually he tossed the frog out and moved on to find another toy. So when he finally appears on Iron Chef, we can know it all started with a green frog.

Gitmo closing? Just send in the toddlers!

My son is a comic...and a terror, depending upon which parent you ask.

Two nights ago, after bath time, Jake found his second wind. As he made a beeline to living room, he noticed dad sprawled out on the floor, eyes closed, trying to get a couple minutes of rest after a seriously trying day. Here's how the scene played out:

Jake makes a mad dash down the hall, stops abruptly and sees dad lying still. He lifts his hand to Brian's forehead.. WACK! "DA!" no response... and again WACK! "DA!" still no response. He climbs on Brian's chest, grabs his hair in both hands and jumps violently. (this did get Da's attention) "OW!" shots Da. To which Jake responds, "PHTTTTTT" spitting slobber in his face.

Seemingly satsified with the response of disgust, Jake crawls off to play with this toys.

I love my kid. Too bad for Da.

Jake is 1!

On January 14, 2009 Jake turned 1! I decided it was finally time to get some professional photos taken. So here they are!

More Flood Photos

Here's a photo of my back yard.

Ma takes a flood day!

Snoop is about to awake to find that Ma has taken a flood day...and that Da is not napping because he too was forced to return home after braving the weather. Here's a picture of what we can see from the back porch. In the center of this photo you'll see a lake that is now covering the E. Badger just north of Nooksack H.S. You might even be able to see little headlights of vehicles trying to brave their way through....for now anyway! Water is completely covering Hwy 9 just beyond the H.S. intersection.

We'll be venturing out this afternoon for more close-up photos of the extensive flooding. Stay tuned!

Mildred's Gift...because you asked.

This year we gave my mother in law, Mildred, something that just didn't fit under the tree. (either in size or in "decor") So instead we presented it with this little poem I jotted down just for the special occasion.


T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse! The stocking was hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

With a groan and a grimace down the chimney he came, "Oh, my bladder is full!" I heard him exclaim. He snuck through the house till he found the commode, then thought to himself, "Finally a place to unload!".

He quickly considered, "Do I flush? Do I not?" then fearing discovery of the present he brought, he sucked in his breath and plunged the little lever down...but the toilet bowl contents just went round and around!

He just stood there staring, knees quaking in fright, and called on his elves to remedy his poor plight. "On Melody, on Sheryl, on Brian and Sue!" (These elves, they were Langes, and they knew just what to do!) They rushed off to Lowes, Rudolph still in the lead, and bought just the toilet to fit the homeowners need!

With the help of an elf known only as Ed, the throne was installed while everyone was in bed.

From the top of the rim, to the depths of the ball, this toilet could flush away, flush away all!

And I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, Mildred, enjoy your new throne! And to all a good night!

Happy New Year!

The past 3 weeks have been very eventful, mostly as it relates to weather. On December 13 we braved what felt like the coldest day we've ever experienced, only because the TV went out and turned all the figures into either blue smurfs or green elves! Brian & I took turns running into stores while the other stayed in the car with Snoop. I can't even imagine what the wind chill factor was that day! The irony is that, although we did buy a new TV on that horrible day, we have yet to take it out of the box!

In the week that followed, we endured the snow, the 7 degree overnight temperatures, and even managed to get some great photos of the family (which I have high hopes of downloading for your enjoyment this weekend).

We even made it to the mall the day before Christmas to get some photos with Santa. ( We strongly believe that Santa had just finished enjoying his own "Holiday Cheer". The scent was reminiscent of BC bud.) Nice that Santa can cross those international lines without question.

And, it was truly a white Christmas! We estimate that by Christmas night we had close to 2 feet of snow. It was a beautiful sight, and one that still remains in my yard, and in my driveway, and will likely remain for at least the foreseeable future! I'm now experiencing my own 12 days of Christmas thanks to the UPS man and all the undelivered presents I've heard so much about! Thanks again mom! Maybe they will arrive by the time you do on the 14th!

Jake had a great time opening his gifts and is still captivated by the new lights and sounds of his Fisher Price train and Pooh toys. We celebrated a second Christmas with the Lange clan this past Saturday and Jake worked the crowd as only an energetic social child can. He is such a clown!

We're still running from the walker, constantly tracking down his single socks strewn around the house and doing our best to keep all his clothes still folded in his drawers. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and we wish you all a very wonderful New Year!