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.

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.

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.

Happy Halloween from Henry the Hedgehog!

That's a lot of Hs! I am normally a huge Haloween bah-humbug.  I used to get so annoyed with all the costumes (especially on adults) and all the extra candy laying around right before the big holiday weight gain season begins.  But, now that we have Henry, my feelings toward Halloween have changed (or at least a little).  It's been all Halloween, all the time since last Friday and it will continue through the actual holiday on Wednesday, ending with having trick or treaters at our house for the first time ever. 

Henry is dressing as the most adorable hedgehog ever! The first Halloween celebration was on Friday at his school Halloween carnival.  Today we hit up Boo Ha Ha (also known as the worst parade ever) on Brookside, and he will dress up again at school on Halloween for a parade and another party.

We've also gotten a big burst of fall weather, complete with temps in the 30s the past couple of mornings.  In addition to being freezing the past couple of days, Henry is teething with a vengeance - I can see every one of his little top teeth, just ready to pop through.  He's suffering something awful, and we are getting very little sleep as a result.  Poor little precious just sits around and whimpers.  Let's hope those little teeth come in soon so that we can all get some relief!

Pestering his favorite friend, Simon.

Adorable in his manly eggplant!

Getting geared up for the parade!

Clearly Henry was enthralled with the parade.

At his school carnival.

Pumpkin Mania

Second weekend in a row of partaking in fun fall activities! This afternoon we took Henry to a local pumpkin patch to pick out a Henry-sized pumpkin and watch his older cousins run around and play.  We are right in the middle of John's super-crazy catalog time, but he was able to tear himself away from the office for a little fall family fun.

Being back in Tulsa has really enabled us to take advantage of all of the fun goings-on during my favorite season. Not only are there more activities available due to the over-abundance of space, but it's just so convenient to squeeze an activity in between Henry's naps. Can't wait for next weekend's fun fall-themed plans!

Family Pic!

Henry was a little unsure of the grass

Mom, Henry, and me

Mom, Mia, Gabe, and a clapping Henry

Pumpkins everywhere!

A Stereotypical Oklahoma Weekend

For all my Chicago friends who think that Oklahoma is all cowboys, indians, and hillbillies - this weekend we fulfilled that stereotype.  On Saturday night we went to Woola-Rockin' the Night Away at Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve. It was full-on cowboys and indians from the second we drove through the gate. We were even met by cowboys, complete with chaps and spurs, and of course on horseback.  Anyone who knows me well knows how much I dislike horses (they want to eat me, seriously), so I was terrified that one of those horses would try to stick its face in my open car window.  It was super cold since it turned winter in Oklahoma overnight, and the event was outside.  So next year am I not only going to dress more western-ish, but also warmer.  No amount of cobbler or irish coffee could warm me up!

On Sunday we headed to the Tulsa State Fair (aka hillbilly central).  The fairgrounds aren't far from our house, so we strapped Henry in the stroller and walked to the fair. Henry had his first carousel ride (he hated it), and that was the only ride we did because let's face it, carnies are creepy and I don't trust their assembling-of-major-rides skills.  We also ate a lot. Like total fat kids.  On the menu: chicken fried bacon with gravy (John), corn dog (me), corn dog made of polish sausage (John), chocolate dipped cookie dough (both of us), and red velvet funnel cake (me).  To say we left with stomachaches is a huge understatement. 

Every kind of animal ever existed is dead and mounted on the wall at Woolaroc.

John's Uncle Steve and his amazing technicolor dreamcoat

Note the giraffe

Henry "enjoying" the carousel

10 Month Letter

Dear Henry,
Writing these letters is beginning to be a bit of a chore.  Not because I don't love gushing about you on the internet for all the world to see, but because I feel like I just repeat the same things over and over: I can't believe you are X months old...  This is my favorite stage...  You are doing so many cool things... and on and on and on.  The truth is, I really can't believe that you are 10 months old, every day with you is my favorite, and I love to see every new thing you learn about yourself and your world. 

Gone is the army crawl - you are now officially crawling on all fours. Everywhere. Really fast.  You say "dada" a lot, and it's pretty interchangeable between Dad and me, so I don't think that you have distinguished between us in that respect (sorry to burst your bubble, John).  I love the early mornings when you wake up chattering to yourself - I lay in bed listening to your babbles and willing you back to sleep (it never works). 

As we make our way into your 10th month (or is it that you are starting your 11th, because you've made it through 10? Counting has never been my strongest suit), we can't wait for more of the same. More of the same growing, changing, and lots of fun as a family.

Love,
Mommy

Someone refused to sit still. So I had to bribe him with a toy.

Pulling up on everything!

Uncle Dave came for a quick visit! Henry was a little unsure of this guy who looks a lot like Dad but yet wasn't Dad.

Give me my breakfast now, please!

Pants-free jumping on a Sunday morning