Family Picture Day, part 2

Do you remember this post from last year chronicling the craziness of family picture day? Well, this year was equally as interesting with a now-2-year-old plus the addition of an infant (which, joyful as it may be, simply means there is one less parent able to corral the toddler). Needless to say, we didn't use any pictures that required Noah to sit still on his own, and ended up using one where I was carrying/restraining him. As you can see, Noah decided he'd rather be part of our picture from a distance...





Happy Holiday-card-picture-taking to all, and to all a good night!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was quite the non-traditional holiday. In fact there was no big meal, no turkey to speak of, zero pumpkin pie, and yet it managed to be one of the best Thanksgivings we've had! You see, due to general scheduling dilemmas, we will be celebrating the traditional trimmings of this food-centered holiday tomorrow with Greg's family. While we are definitely looking forward to it, it means that today was OUR day. Our day to take morning naps while the kids were napping. Our day to choose whether or not to shower (we chose not to). My day to take a long hot bath. And our day to have a fun-filled day with our new family of four.

Here is Lauren's Happy Thanksgiving pumpkin outfit. I just love having a girl to dress up! You can't tell, but her socks have pumpkins on them too.



So after our morning naps, I fixed a couple of sandwiches, we all got bundled up, made a thermos of hot chocolate, and headed to the park. It was a very cold 44 degrees today! Finally some cold weather in November in Texas!

Observe Lauren the snow bunny. She's only a month old, so I wanted to make sure she wouldn't so much as feel a slight breeze on our cold weather adventure!

Daddy and Noah. Otherwise known as the two men in my life.

Mommy and Noah.


When we got back from the park, Noah took a second nap while Greg and I got to sit down in peace and watch the Cowboys beat the Jets whilst sitting in front of the fireplace and eating one of the best cold-day meals around: Chili and beer. Added bonus that I served it in sourdough breadbowls I had picked up from Panera Bread Co.!


Hope your day was this good and that you found much to thank the Lord for. I'm personally thankful that we still get to look forward to all that food tomorrow...

Aunt of the Year

The award goes to Aunt Rachel who, despite being in a very uncomfortable 3rd trimester of pregnancy, being in the middle of an enormous home renovation, and getting a flat tire on the way, trudged onward and made it down to Dallas over the weekend to visit her niece. Her reward? She got to do this for 3 days in a row:

Halloween, Birthdays, and Other Happenings

Do you remember this post from last year's Halloween? It was Noah's first trick-or-treating experience, he'd just turned 1, he had his costume on for about 20 minutes when he puked all over it. We removed the costume and it made it's way to the back of his closet until this year because I'll be darned if it doesn't get some use as long as it fits!! This year was significantly better; Noah trick-or-treated at 5 neighbors' houses (except that when he got a piece of candy, he'd say "Thanks" and then throw it back in their bowl, so he ended up with no candy whatsoever). Then he decided it was time to rip his lion suit off and play soccer in the front yard with daddy, giving candy to various trick-or-treaters who passed by.
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The Lion approaching:

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This is my favorite picture...

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So that was the 31st. Well, today is November 2nd and it is Noah's "king" birthday as he turns 2! I can't believe how time has flown; I hold Lauren now and I swear it could be Noah in my arms, just coming home from the hospital! Since we celebrated Noah's big day with a Little Einsteins party a couple of weeks ago, today has been fairly low-key, but he of course got to help make his favorite breakfast -- pancakes. He's opened a few presents, gotten his 2-year shots, and we're all going for some dessert later on. Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

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And an update on Lauren? She's staying very busy keeping up with the Big Three responsibilities of babies: eating, pooping, and sleeping!