in the throes of winter

here we are, mid-january and in a good old cold snap.
illness has run rampant in our house this winter. frances is involved with her second ear infection, ruby has had several mild colds, and i have had an ear infection, the flu and the vomit virus. amazingly, willie has stayed pretty healthy through all this.

whew.

everyone is relatively healthy for the moment.

the days are very cold and very sunny. quite beautiful. we have built the Shanty of Misfit Toys again this year. ruby is very excited about it. shantyofmisfittoys.blogspot.com/ and artshantyprojects.org

things the girls are doing:
ruby is asserting her fierce independence. she is working really hard on using the potty and even slept last night without a diaper! dry all night! her language skills are phenomenal.

frances is sitting up all alone now, playing with ruby in a way i did not expect at this young tender age of 7 months. she is tasting table food, but doesn't seem very interested and still not taking a bottle.