Creeping has begun.

Deuce moves rather like the minute hand on a clock - watching him carefully reveals no appreciable motion, but take your eyes away for a minute and when you look again, he's covered ground. He's most motivated by pursuit of the small and filthy, which is in plentiful supply on my floors these days; if I get down on the ground to coax him along he gets excited and throws his limbs uselessly into the air, rocking and bouncing on the pink cushion of his belly like a little beached whale.

He is extremely interested in solid food but not in any traditional "baby foods" - makes hideous faces at cereal and gags on strained prunes but will suck down chunks of avocado, sweet potato, or banana from his mesh teether with great gusto. Yesterday he nibbled eagerly at a Ritz cracker I was eating, dribbling the sodden crumbs into my lap and lifting up his voice in angry protest when it was gone. I appear to have a Lover of Food on my hands.

We spent Thanksgiving with MRB's family, I enjoying having willing relatives take over the care and entertainment of Peanut, except for Black Friday when they went shopping. As I would rather eat my own eyeballs than shop on Black Friday, the kids and I had a nice quiet day at the house.

We returned with a new (to us) van - a gift from my in-laws, one which I am really sort of ashamed of accepting, but if MRB will not gainsay them I certainly cannot. At any rate it should last us many years - along with the orange tree purchased as a birthday present for me, that I hope to get into the ground in the back yard tonight.

My autumn decor is packed away, and Christmas fills the house.

Life is good.