The MeddersNation has hit the new year feet first people and I have not had time to get these photos online, it’s the downside to having a basic Internet Service Provider and the new camera makes some large files that take longer to upload. Sure, I know I could resize the files, but that takes more time!

Aimee is back in school and has her hands full with classes 5 days a week. Caleb started a new school called Montessori and is learning lots, like we live on Earth or erf as he calls it.

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been uploaded tonight.

Christmas fun:

We had several get-togethers and for the first time, had the Barzee Crazy Christmas at our house. It wasn’t quite a standing room only situation, but the house was packed to say the least. Packed house with Barzee’s = fun times!

Bourbon Distilleries:

Tim’s father in-law was in town around the 1st week of January and he’s a fan of Rye whiskey so we set out to taste some bourbon. First stop was Four Roses, then Wild Turkey, and Woodford Reserve with a little snow to top it off. Wild Turkey had a very nice special blend that caught my taste buds and their new facility which opened in 2011 was pretty fancy too. Our guide was a little spontaneous and took us inside the barreling warehouse despite the fact that it was supposed to be locked up that day.

Water Beads:

That’s right, the beads typically used to keep plants hydrated are also fitting as a sensory project for kids. What better place for Caleb to play with these tiny balls of water than in the table daddy built for him just for special projects like this one. All of us spent time with this project and Caleb clearly enjoyed sifting his hands through the moist container of colorful beads.

New Haircut:

Caleb got a haircut this week. His curls are still present though very short, you can tell they aren’t ready to give up yet. I’ve been told his curls grow out the more you cut them. He’s been doing very well lately. He started a new school with a solid learning environment and his teachers told me today that he is far more advanced than his peers. He speaks so clearly and very often! We’re going to try to get some audio clips online soon so you can hear how much he’s progressed since you last saw him.

We thought of some words he has a hard time saying that we tend to favor, because they sound so cute! Here’s a few that I can think of now.

• Ketchup = sounds like; cats-a-cup
• Elevator = sounds like; alligator
• Vitamin = sounds like; money – he’s way off on this one and if prompted slowly can say it, but otherwise it’s money!

Storage:

Last, but not least is the storage area Tim helped me add to the storm shelter under our front porch. The space is accessed from the basement, but does not actually count as square footage for listing purposes though it is quite large. The shelves are 16 feet long and 2 feet deep and were made to hold a few plastic totes we have and holiday decorations. Thanks Tim! I did a little before and after shots and tried my best to get the camera in the same spot for each shot since I couldn’t leave it in there while we were working.