Friday, November 23, 2012

Turkey Day the Tulsa Way

Apparently I'm on a roll with the rhyming titles (see last post).

This was our first Thanksgiving in Tulsa in a couple of years.  Last year we were grounded in Chicago, waiting for little Henry to arrive. Oh, how things have changed since then! We hosted at our house this year and were so thankful to have both my family and John's join together for dinner.  Not only was it awesome to have everyone together, but it was great to not have to eat two Thanksgiving dinners in one day.  We were a smaller group than usual, since David stayed in KC and Lisa, Niel and Theo were not able to make the trip up from Austin. But it was great to be together nonetheless.

After stuffing our faces, we headed out to Lights On at Utica Square. When I've been in past years, it's been really festive, with hot cocoa, warm coats, and caroling.  But it was hard to get in the spirit with temps in the upper 70s all day (note the sleeveless shirt). It was a far cry from the freezing cold Thanksgivings we've spent in Chicago in past years.

I think our first Thanksgiving in our new house was a success. I'm looking forward to starting more new holiday traditions in years to come!

Steph and Pancho relaxing before dinner

Henry having his pre-dinner "cocktail"

The table

He is definitely John's son - obsessed with electronics!

Little turkey!

Here's to new family traditions!

With Auntie Steph at Lights On

Henry and Grandmomma

Monday, November 19, 2012

Stomach Flu and a Trip to the Zoo

Our weekend was the pits! Or at least mine was. I had the stomach flu for the second time since August.  Before August, I last had the stomach flu in July 2004. It was so awful/memorable that I will never forget about it! I blame all of this recent sickness entirely on Henry. He's very cute, but he's also a lovable ball of germs.  Thankfully I am better, but now John has it, and we all know about men and their illness tolerances.  I am now the proud mother of an 11 month old and a 33 year old.

We did take a brief break from the stomach flu symptoms to hit up the Tulsa Zoo.  It had been a while since John and I had been, so it was definitely very nostalgic to visit all our favorite exhibits, plus see the new ones since the zoo has gone under a lot of renovation in recent years.  Henry, however, was not so impressed and seemed pretty indifferent about the whole thing. We will give it another try in a couple of months.

We are getting pretty excited about Thanksgiving in our new house. We are hosting this year and are so excited to finally get to use the wedding gifts we got eight years ago but have essentially been in storage due to lack of kitchen space at our various living spaces in Chicago. Here's to hoping that John is feeling better in time to partake in the pigging out on Turkey Day!

Henry being unimpressed by the goats at the petting zoo.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

November Rain

I'm probably in the minority, but to me there's nothing better than a gloomy, cold, and rainy November Sunday, which is exactly what we had today. And it was perfect napping weather, which was evident by Henry's two and a half hour morning nap (and the two hour nap that his nap allowed me to take).  I spent yesterday at a work retreat in Arkansas, and although I had the option of spending the night, my ride and I agreed that we would rather sleep in our own beds. So, at 11:30 p.m. we began the 2-plus hour drive back to Tulsa, which got me home around 2 am -- way later than I've been awake in years!

I cannot recall ever visiting Arkansas, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Our retreat was in Fayetteville, the home of University of Arkansas, and it was just plain gorgeous! The leaves were all turning on campus, and there was lots of hustle and bustle along the cute downtown area where all the college kids go to drink themselves silly on the weekends. (I never did that. Never.)

My being gone to the retreat meant that John was on solo Henry duty.  So naturally he spent the day at his mom's house.  Henry enjoyed the time spent at Mimi's, and John got some great shots of Henry in the fall leaves before they turned into a soggy mess in today's rain.

We are both heading into a super busy week. John has a big deadline this week, and I have to speak at a CLE (freaking out). So it was nice to spend the day in a low-key way -- hanging around the house and staying out of the rain.

Family time! David came in town for a short visit, so we of course had to take advantage of the photo op. Baby Theo's face continues to be shrouded in secrecy. Kind of like Michael Jackson's kids and those veils.

Henry was not sure of the leaves.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

11 Month Letter

Dear Henry,

Where to begin this month's letter! The past month has been a whirlwind of milestones with you. You say "mama" (although I'm not sure it has anything to do with me), you "sing" along to music (more like humming), and you pull yourself up to just about anything you can brace yourself on.

You are obsessed with day care (or as I call it, school). The second we walk in the door, you are kicking your legs to get down and crawl among your friends and play with all the toys.  Your teachers are so sweet, and they are always doing fun little art projects with you. I have a special bulletin board in the mudroom where I proudly hang all of your works of art.

You continue to amaze us every day with your sweet disposition.  You are so excited to see us when we walk in the room, and you give the best, most heart-warming hugs. This past weekend you were really sick with a high fever and an ear infection in both ears.  But despite being in who-knows-how-much-pain, you were still super sweet, trying so hard to be chipper and play in spite of not feeling well.

I've been really sentimental the past few weeks, as we begin the countdown to your first birthday.  I was looking back at pictures of what I was doing a year ago - very pregnant, and really anxious to meet you.  While I knew you would be an amazing little person, you have exceeded any expectation we could have had for you.  We've loved every single second we've had with you these past 11 months and are so excited for what's in store.

Love,
Mommy


Your new favorite toy! Having an awesome time despite the 102 degree fever!



The fam, in front of our "autumnal display"

This is how we roll with our first morning bottle.