Bathtime and Pine Cones

Recently a friend of mine started bathing her baby on a daily basis as part of his bedtime routine, and when she mentioned how much he loved it, I thought, "HEY!  My baby loves baths too...why am I not bathing him on a daily basis?"  I mean, he's usually covered in dried food bits by the end of the day despite my best efforts, so it's not like a little soap and water would hurt anyway.
Turns out Hyrum thinks this is a GREAT idea.  Here is an example photo:

This is Hyrum, waiting for his bath, which he does every night.  Really.  It never gets old!  All I have to do is walk into the bathroom with him and say, "Hyrum!  Bathtime!" and he begins staring at the shower curtain.  Once I actually start running the water he crawls to the edge of the tub, stands up, and jumps up and down panting excitedly, sometimes actually trying to crawl up the edge to jump into the water.

Please take note of the adorable little right-side "beauty mark" on his bum. I love it!

"Tasting" the ring, which really means "licking the bathwater off it"...yikes

And here's my enthusiastic little helper, ready to "assist" me with the laundry.

Finally (and I know this does not involve Hyrum, so it's not NEARLY as cute) I have been taking advantage of the plethora of pine cones available here in the evergreen state by making them into fall-time/holiday craft projects.  Here's my wreath:

I know, it looks pretty simple, but it actually took about five hours of painstaking labor and cursing under my breath and lots of pricked fingers.  It was really cheap to make though, about five dollars for the materials (not including pine cones, since those were completely free).  I got the basic instructions from Martha Stewart, who is a very talented but definitely unlikeable person.  Anyone who makes it look like making something like this is easy is just...not someone I could be close intimate bosom friends with.  I wish Martha would say things like, "Man!  This sure was tough!  I had all kinds of blood flowing from my hands as I wrestled with these nasty little buggers, but this great wreath was pretty much worth it!"  No, instead she offers something with that pleasant smile like, "There's no end to how you can use pine cones to enhance your holiday!" And I am not making that up.
Fortunately, there are more honest crafters out there, like the Little Birdies (of the popular Little Birdie Secrets blog--see link below).  I love them.  I steal all of their ideas.  Well, technically not steal, since I do give them credit, but let's just say that without their genius cute ideas I would be completely lost.  Here's my most recent project from them:

This awesome up-cycled book page table runner only took about fifteen minutes, including digging my sewing machine out of Hyrum's closet, and was so easy a ten-year-old could do it.  But I was very pleased with the results, and Brian even completed its shabby-artsy-chic look.  All you need is an old book (I had a free copy of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates with a totally ripped-off cover), some thread, and Elmer's glue.  The best part is how you can dress it up on top with holiday-appropriate decorations (like found pine cones, our candlestick, and some awesome berry-covered branches that I dug out of our dumpster!).  Plus, it's so eco-friendly to do stuff with things that people would throw away if you didn't take them (like free books from your local library).  Yes kids!  Rip up your books!  Make 'em into crafts!  (What am I encouraging here??)
Maybe someday Hyrum will make crafts with me.  I'm excited already.

The Marvelous Adventures of Hyrum Quinn

To start things out, here's a little video of Hyrum with his band (The Pots and Pans Band).

They are thinking about touring next year when Hyrum can eat solid food. (And when I say "they," of course I mean Hyrum and his pots and pans.)
Hyrum is very fond of standing; unfortunately I have no pictures here at this time to prove this, but let me assure you it's a near-constant activity.  He's even started to cruise tentatively along the edge of the couch, cautious but very excited that he's one step closer (no pun intended!) to walking.
In case you haven't noticed, Hyrum and his father bear a rather striking resemblance, as noted in the photo below.

They're a handsome pair, aren't they! (And yes, of course Hyrum spit up on his vest moments after this picture was taken.  It's not as if he'd actually look this nice at church!  It's a miracle if he's wearing CLOTHES at church.  Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating slightly, but not that much.)
Brian's favorite shot of Hyrum: said baby, curled up for good night's sleep.

I swear we didn't pose him.  He does this on his own.

Oh yeah...and all those people who think the Ferber method of sleep training is cruel and unhealthy?  Then explain why it works so well and my little guy is now SO much happier and more energetic during the day.  I like the line they use: "The only reason your baby will finally go to sleep by himself in his own bed is because he's GIVEN UP ALL HOPE that you'll come to get him."  OH NO!  Give up all hope?  Not my precious baby!  Except that, wait...I do want my baby to give up all hope that I'm going to play with him at 3:00 in the morning.  Just that.  He can have hope for everything else, my complete attention during the daytime hours, but when everyone is sleeping better at night...yes, I think I am willing to hear a few little tears shed at first, sad as they may be to a mother's heart!

Hyrum practicing the piano (a possible addition to the Pots and Pans Band? perhaps...)

There's no cuter face than my baby's face...or as I tell him, "Hyrum!  You are the cutest baby that ever LIVED!  Well, maybe baby Jesus was cuter, but I wasn't there."

More drool per capita than any other baby since 1912!