It has been a while, and for that we apologize. It has been a busy month, but not all that exciting. Megan and I are still trying to find a balance with school, work, and a certain Miss Hazel. But, for her adoring fans, we have managed to capture a few pictures...

A big grin with her hat

Showing off one of her many fancy hairdos

Her artistic pose

Rockin' the sproutie outies

Hazel still loves bath time...

But, sometimes, she has other plans...

And she is faster than she looks...

But the lure of the bath keeps her coming back.

Snow Day

A quick word about the lack of posts lately. Glenn finished his Masters in August and took a semester off before starting to work on his second Masters (an MBA this time). Between my classes, his classes, diving season, work, and Hazel's schedule, there are literally several days a week when Glenn gets up in the morning and comes home at night without ever seeing Hazel awake. We have both agreed that we've overextended ourselves this semester, but we intend to take it easier after the semester is over.

That being said, last evening a blessed event occurred. It SNOWED! It snowed so much that virtually everything was closed, canceled or shut down and we were given the opportunity to spend all day as a family playing in the snow. It was exactly what we needed and we all feel that we've been given a chance to recharge our batteries. We also took some great pictures, so allow me to present: Hazel's First Snow Day: A photographic series.

Hazel ventures out into a winter wonderland.

Our neighbors loaned us snow pants and boots, since we were woefully unprepared for a day full of snowy goodness.

The boots were a little big; combined with her first attempts at walking in snow, it resulted in a few face-plants.

She quickly got the hang of it though.

She even tried tasting the snow. Well, come on, who hasn't really?

We got 11.5 inches. Hazel wasn't real keen on walking where the snow hadn't been cleared.

But Glenn borrowed a saucer from our neighbors and Hazel loved riding around the neighborhood on that. (Again, we were woefully unprepared for this snow.)

This was, by far, Hazel's favorite part of the day.

I think this speaks for itself.

And everyone heads inside with rosy cheeks for some macaroni and cheese and a nap.

Santa came!!!

In case anyone was worried, Santa did come to visit Hazel this part week. As we did last year, we spent the morning and Grammy and Papaw Burton's, and came back to Indianapolis for the afternoon. Hazel had a great day, and came away with quite a haul...

A SIT AND SPIN ZEBRA!!! HOORAY!!!

SANTA CAME!!! HOORAY!!!

A BALL PIT!!! HOORAY!!!

EMPTY OUT THE BALL PIT!!! HOORAY!!!

A SINGING CHAIR!!! HOORAY!!!

A CRAZY FROG!!! HOORAY!!!

MY OWN CELL PHONE!!! HOORAY!!!

Yes, Christmas was a distinct success.

And Megan questioned Glenn's judgement when wrapping things...

Oh, ok. One quick ball pit video...

Over the river and through the woods...

...to Grandmother's house we go!

On Tuesday, the family packed up, and headed towards Grammy and Papaw's. This is usually an uneventful 2.5 hour drive. However, if it was an uneventful drive this time, I probably wouldn't be mentioning it now, would I? On this particular trip, we decided to take a slightly different route than usual, but one that still should have taken us no more than 3 hours. So, we hit the road, and Hazel started to snooze. About the time we hit Greencastle (home of DePauw University), the temperature dropped and the light rain started to get a bit icy. We decided that we would stop for lunch when we hit I-70, about 5 miles down the road. Unfortunately, about a mile into this decision, traffic stopped dead. We then proceeded to sit motionless for 45 minutes. During this time, the two ladies in the car started turning into gremlins, demanding to be fed. So, we turned around to head back for lunch in Greencastle, but only made it about half a mile before traffic came to a standstill again. After another 15 minute wait, we finally heard word that someone had slid off the road and into a gas main, effectively closing 5 miles of the road. We were able to weave through some back roads and the hospital parking lot to make it back into Greencastle for lunch and to regroup. Long story short (well, short-ish), our 2.5 hour trip took us over 6 hours. Yuck.

What we all wish we were doing instead of driving in the ice.

Oops. I stand corrected. Some of us love to drive on ice.

But everyone was happy when we made it to Grammy and Papaw's!

As is tradition, the Burtons hosted their annual Christmas Eve party. This year there were approximately 15 guests, including children, grandchildren, family, and friends. As Hazel was the only one in her age group (the next closest was about 24 years old), she was the star of the party. So, to appease her adoring fans, she strutted her stuff in a fancy new Christmas outfit, performed her new getting-in-the-chair trick, and even did a reindeer impression.

Hazel makes her entrance, sporting fancy red shoes and Shiver, her polar bear.

Ta da! In the chair, all by myself! No hidden strings or wires!

Prancer, eat your heart out.

Daddy as a reindeer: not quite as cute, but at least he tries.

A whole McCain family of reindeer! Hooray!

Coming soon: We LOVE Christmas!!!

Hazel Lynn Who

There's nothing to bring out the Christmas spirit like living in the same house with a Who.

There's the Who music... (not music by The Who.)

The Who shows off her Christmas tree...

Some Christmas blocks...

And fills the air with Christmas song.

Whos like presents.

If only we knew what was inside.

Whos have an ever-growing vocabulary.