It has been quite a week here in the Johnson household. I was trying to figure out why Anali was crying this afternoon, as it's become a rare occurrence, and the checklist was shocking. Could it be her new tooth bothering her? Or maybe her runny nose? Maybe it's her frustration that she can't crawl faster. Or maybe it's the immunizations she received today. Could it be the rice cereal bothering her? Holy schmoly. It's all happening at once! This week Anali turned six months, popped out her first tooth, began eating rice cereal, and started crawling. At this rate, she'll be getting her driver's license by February! Despite this afternoon's misadventures, we've been having a ball together. All of these new accomplishments are exciting. Brandon and I love watching her explore her environment and express her pleasure and frustrations. She likes to get into her toy basket and take out each toy, one at a time, shake it till it's "dead," then reach in for a new toy. Sometimes she even pulls herself up to kneeling to peer in for a better view. It's so precious. We have a hard time not waking her from her naps sometimes so we can play with her sooner. "Fetch" is our new favorite game now that she's crawling. Sometimes those naps are treasured time to catch up...on sleep. But we're surprised to find how quickly we miss her when she's sleeping during the day. Our lives are so carefully knit with hers, yet we don't feel a loss of ourselves, as individuals. At least, I don't. I'm speaking for Bran while he's in the shower, but I'll be sure to ask him when he gets out. Brandon stills gets out to play basketball with his friends and help others out with projects. And I am fiddling with sewing and reading more than I did before I had her. I even joined a writer's group this fall, and I'm trying to discipline myself to write more often. If I made New Year's resolutions, which I generally don't because I know myself well enough to know they won't last past January 5th, I'd resolve to write more. I'm working on an essay on the humor of our New Year's celebrations and resolution-making rituals. Do you have any observations or tidbits I can work in?
Anali made all the difference in our celebrations this Christmas. She was the centerpiece at every table. Since she's eating in a high chair now, she was delighted to join us for Christmas dinner. She even had butternut squash...very festive. Watching her open her little gifts and squeal with delight once she realized there was more than a bow was alone worth the pains of labor. I've really enjoyed my two weeks' holiday at home with her.
Brandon enjoys taking Anali out around our home in a little backpack. She loves it! 
It feels like we've been on a short camping trip. Along with much of Puget Sound, we've been without power for two days. We've cooked on the barbeque and stayed put by the fire. Fortunately, the lights came back on this afternoon. So Anali wouldn't feel left out in the dark last night, we gave her Brandon's small headlamp to use to find her toys. It was pretty stinkin' cute!
This is what happens when we leave Dad in charge!
...And when Mom's in charge. 
