The Western Spotted Aluminumpecker

A while ago, Jessica told me that she had heard a woodpecker knocking on the house a few times. Ironically, it would come every morning at 8am and knock near our bedroom. I told her not to be silly. Our house is covered in aluminum siding and there is no way that a woodpecker would have any reason to bang on it. I told her that it was probably just some construction worker hammering or a woodpecker knocking on a tree near the house. Well, recently, she noticed the knocking again and set out to prove me wrong. I came home to the following evidence. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Apparently, the Northern Flicker, distinguished by it's red markings under the eye, is known for banging on metal to mark its territory. Included in the photos were a picture of a male and a female. In order to protect our house, Jessica has agreed to go outside every morning at 7:45 am to bang on the side of our home and let these guys know that this is our territory. Hopefully, this will work. If not, we have a few other ideas that we will try. As you can see in the picture, they are actually denting the house!

Northern Flicker

He has a pretty good beat. Kind of has a Jack Johnson groove to it. If he owns a drum set, maybe we could start up a garage band together.

Our Favorite Girls

Ever notice that most of our posts are created late at night or during the wee hours of the morning? Well, these two shots were taken the last time I stayed up to update the blog. It is hard to sleep when someone in the room is working with the light on.


Here is a closer look where you can clearly see that it is all just an act and that Pumpkin is really just pretending to sleep. She does it because she wants me to feel too guilty to wake her up and make her move to her bed in the garage. (On rare occasions, this guilt trip actually works and I "forget" to put her out.)

Some cute pictures of Emily taken today.

One more week and this girl will be 18 months old - old enough to start going to nursery on Sunday. It really is a shame. We will miss her insightful thoughts in Elders' Quorum. Im sure that those attending Sunday School will get much more out of it now that there isnt a cute little distraction who likes to walk around and visit during class. Last Sunday, after the World Wide Leadership Training, the bishop asked for some recommendations on ways to consolidate classes and activities in order to require less callings in the ward. I suggested combining Elders quorum and the nursery. Both classes are attended exclusively by both Elders and toddlers, are taught by an Elder and teach extremely simplified versions of the gospel.

Emily Reads a Story

Emily pulled one of her favorite books off the shelf, sat at the table and began reading it to her doll.

New Table and Chairs

Our last trip to IKEA resulted in a new table and chairs for Emily's room. They were worth every penny! Emily knew just what to do with them as soon as Jessica put the set together. Little Emily has been trying out chairs at our house for months. She was very excited to finally have some that are just the right size. In this picture, Emily is all ready for a meal with her baby. (She put the baby in the chair all by herself.)

Funny thing is, this baby sits still while her mommy feeds her.

Tea Time with Nana

Jude's First Sip From a Glass

Here is a proven way to make your kids appear to be smiling in your next family photo.

Clobbered!

See....the snow banks are as tall as the people in the pictures - just like at our house in the pictures below!

Emily Plays in the Snow!

We have been getting clobbered with snow this year (as you can see by the pictures above). During Jude's nap, Jessica and Emily went outside to play in the fresh snow!

Emily's first snowman! (shown almost at actual size!) He stands by the front door to scare away the solicitors.

Hey Jude

Emily sings her favorite song.

New Talents

Jude gets around pretty quick now using the steamroller method.

Emily lays down a sweet solo in the Key of D.

The #1 hit at our house right now is "Hey Jude." Watch the video for a live performance!

Emily has been getting very good at climbing. One day, Jessica turned around and was startled to see someone just sitting at the table staring at her. How many of you can climb up on a stool which is as tall as you are?