The past week has proven challenging as both Scott and I have been sick. Keeping up with an energetic 4-month old is not easy when BOTH parents are suffering from cold/flu symptoms and lacking any energy. Scott began feeling better a couple days ago and I think I bottomed out yesterday so I should be on an uphill climb now. Of course, Caleb chose yesterday, when I was at my worst, to decide that he didn't need to nap. While Scott was at work, Caleb took only two naps of about 30 minutes each. The sad thing was that I couldn't justify forcing the issue any more because when he woke up he was totally happy and energetic, not fussy and acting like he needed more sleep! He made it up to me by sleeping a solid 11 hours last night, however, which was definitely welcome.

Being sick the past several days also means that: our Christmas tree was not taken down this past weekend as planned; the Christmas gifts for other people that finally arrived just before Christmas have still not been mailed (sorry guys but it's been hard to ship stuff since there's been somebody constantly sick since the post offices reopened after Christmas!); no grocery shopping has occurred in several days (hooray for toast!); New Years Eve was spent lying on the couch at home and watching everybody else in London on tv as they took in the fireworks over the Thames; and Caleb has not gotten out of the house much recently (we normally go out every day, which he prefers).

Caleb has been a trooper with his recent "blah" days, however. He has given me lots of kisses to make me feel better (baby kisses are the best!) and has enjoyed playing in his new "activity center" quite a bit as I lay on the couch praying that it will entertain him for a while. He is also finally learning to turn in on his own and work every station - except the record scratcher, though Scott loves playing with that part of it!
So that's been our life since my parents left a week ago. I hope to get out of the house in the next couple days, if nothing else to go to the post office to mail very overdue Christmas gifts and apply for Caleb's visa (which is going to cost £335!!! - don't even get me started on the unjustness of this cost for a Bristish born child.) After the visa comes in the mail, I will be actively planning our next out of country trip - Spain? Greece? Prague? Southeast Asia? There are simply too many choices!