Early Present

Last week, we came home to find a package on our front step. What fun! An early Christmas present from Aunt Ellen. My mom told me later that I was supposed to hide it and open it on Christmas, but we had so much fun that I am glad we didn't wait!








Ellen sent Luke an awesome travel cot with an attachable sleeping bag. He loved it immediately, laying on the blanket as soon as I had it unrolled, and then thrilled at the actual CLIMBABLE cot..how about that smile! He was climbing and rolling around so much, he needed some hydration after a bit!

The really exciting thing is that we are going to get to open a new one (that we ordered the next day) soon. Steve, active and involved and wonderful father that he is, decided to sit on the cot with Luke which caused irrepairable damage to the piece of furniture meant for toddlers. He had good intentions, and he certainly doesn't do silly things very often so I guess I won't tease him too much about it. I think he heard enough about it the day that it happened (less than 24 hours after receiving the gift!)

SO...THANK YOU ELLEN. Luke will get lots of use out of his travel cot (maybe even here at home!) and we love you very much!

Self-Portrait

The other morning my (getting taller every day)Luke was able to reach the camera off of our desk and came into the bedroom to show me his toy. He is very clever, in case I haven't ever mentioned it, and before I could say "cheese" he had the power on and was snapping away. I did help him get the flash up and on, but otherwise it was all Luke.


FYI, I will never teach my child to "say cheese" I can't really stomach fake smiles by children, and feel sad when a person learns to fake it for the camera. I really really love babies and toddlers in photos b/c they don't know enough or care enough to pose, etc...and that is a moment of their true person captured to enjoy forever. Just my two cents.

A Ginormous Post

We have travelled a bit in the last few weeks, spent wonderful times with family and had some fun at home, too! Here goes my attempt at a photo filled recap.

Hunting season started Nov. 18th and my uncle Mike (dad's brother) and cousins Michael and Nicholas came down to (not) kill a deer and hang out by the campfire. Luke had a little cold and we were hanging out around the house when they came, but he perked up for Uncle Mike's truck!

The next day, we headed to St. Louis for a fun overnight visit with Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Greg and their wonderdog, Puccini. Luke and Puccini became the best of friends really fast and we enjoyed a really fun visit before heading to Kansas City the next day to see Uncle Glenn!In this seat again?



We had a good time in Kansas City. Gma Susan and Gpa Paul were there, too, so Steve & I were able to go to dinner at our favorite, Houston's, and we all went to see the area, Zona Rosa, lit up for the holidays. Glenn also got us tickets for the Chiefs v. Steelers game which was fun (except for the OT loss) The last picture shows the topic of conversation on our way home to Glenn's after the game...the noise at the game. That humongous speaker had Gpa Paul and Uncle Glenn all worked up...





Monday morning we headed back home for a couple of days. In those couple of days, we tried to get Luke (and ourselves!) rested up for our Thanksgiving trip to Memphis, and we also were fortunate to have the dogs get skunked in the backyard at 10:00 pm...Their couch had to go in the trash. Literally, I watched it get crunched in the trash truck, and I managed to get them a new cozy corner put together with new beds, etc...before we left. Star had 2 baths in my de-skunk recipe and she still smells once in a while. Here they are figuring out their new spots... Memphis was a good time. We took my parents and Luke on their first trip to a Houston's on Wednesday night. Yum!

We watched the duck parade at the Peabody and relaxed in their lobby for a bit on Thanksgiving morning. There were a ton of people to see the ducks and it is a pretty funny sight. Luke liked the whipped cream from my coffee, and I liked getting some fun family photos. The Peabody was decorated really beautifully for the holidays. Most of the day we just relaxed, watched football, snacked and enjoyed being together. It was really nice to have my folks along. Luke loved going next door to their room, riding in the elevator and on the escalator (I taught him to point up and down from the many rides) and using the room key card. He will get my credit card out of my wallet now and take it to the front door like it is going to open it...too smart and too cute! He also LOVED the mini fridge. It was easy for him to open and he would rearrange items over and over. We wondered why things weren't very cold - ha - he had the door open all of the time!





We had a great view of the Mississippi from our room and really lovely sunsets each night that we were there. Friday we took a wonderful walk to Beale Street took in some downtown sights, visited the fire museum, ate at The Rendezvous, rested, rode the trolley in the evening and looked over the city from the syview at the Peabody, then took a carriage ride...whew, Friday was a great day!





















The carraige drivers all have dogs which is a Memphis tradition. Our dog was named Hazel, and she obviously knew that we were dog people. I loved our purple lights and being so cozy on the ride.

We are happy to be home. It is cold and we have just been taking it easy. Luke has been taking extra long naps this week to catch up from all of the excitement and maybe to store some energy for the coming excitement of Christmas. He is wonderful, getting bigger, smarter and funnier each day!

As for today, Luke and Steve are napping, so are Luna and Star and I am going to make some hot chocolate and read until they get up. I have homemade chicken noodle soup ready for dinner, and I am very thankful that I was able to have a LONG breakfast with my dear friend Angie today and have a LONG conversation with my 'angel on eath' aunt Ellen today. I feel fortunate to have such lovely and loving people in my life.