J~A~C: November You Have Treated Us Well

This has been an amazing month!!! It has been a busy one. We took another trip to John Day to see John's mom. Fortunately she still remembers who John is, and for me she just looks at me. Now that we have Carl she looks at him the whole time. This visit Carl was very interested in her and he kept trying to take her blanket. That got her to laugh a little bit. In addition to seeing Grandma Lois, Carl got to hang out with two other amazing people, Uncle Nick and Aunt Linda! We all love getting together with them. They got Carl his first toy tractor! We spent the afternoon hanging out and talking. Aunt Linda held Carl while John made him laugh, and Uncle Nick and I talked sports! I sure do love seeing them.

Then two weeks later we took a trip to Seattle. I love visiting Seattle because the trip usually means I am seeing my family. That weekend I got to see my step-momma!!! It has been a few years and I was so happy to see her. And I know she was excited to see me and her mom and brother and sister, but I am sure she was most excited about meeting her grandson. :) He sure did love her. At lunch they just talked and laughed. That weekend was definitely a cold one for Seattle. That wind was very arcticky (I know not a word.) So Carl was all bundled up the first time this year!

That following week was definitely a cold one here for us in Portland. I was hoping for snow, but we only got a dusting and then it was freezing temps for a few days. Carl hung out inside while I braved public transportation for the commute. It was packed!! Nobody wanted to drive themselves into work.

Then of course we are wrapping up the rest of the month with one of best holidays ever; THANKSGIVING!!! A holiday where we get to be gluttons for just a day, or in my case two days. LOL! Seriously though, I loved Thanksgiving this year! I think having a child puts a new spin on the holidays. You are definitely filled with more excitement and joy. I have a lot to be thankful for this holiday. I have a little boy that brings so much joy into our lives. And I am so thankful for the doctors and medical technology that exists today that have saved my son. And I continually pray they find a cure for hydrocephalus. I am also thankful for John. He is such an amazing husband. At times in our marriage it has been hard, but he is my best friend and I look forward to each new day with him and the years to come. We have been together for six years now. The Monday after Thanksgiving marks when we first started dating.

This year we went to Kayleen's for the feast. We enjoyed food and games. My nephews sure did crack me up with their antics over Catchphrase! Then as a big group we played Apples to Apples Bible Edition. Miguel and Kayleen were trying to own that game. The last time I let them sit next to each other! LOL!

This face just cracked me up!

We had another Thanksgiving hosted at our house. I call it Friendsgiving. Since my house is small we only had a few friends over and it was last minute. So I am hoping next year it is bigger. This was my first turkey that I made and Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network provided the amazing recipe for it!! It was so moist and yummy!!! Definitely making it for the years to come. Carl did not have any turkey but he enjoyed some yummy rolls and potatoes and then proceeded to fall asleep in mid meal. It was pretty cute!

The Friday after Thanksgiving I bought Carl a couple of Christmas presents. Thank you Black Friday specials, and Friday also marked Carl's 8 month mark. I can't believe he is getting so big!!! I can't even begin to guess what he weighs now. I do know he is about 26 inches or longer. He sits up now all by himself. He is almost crawling. Right now he practically gets up in a push up position. It is quite humorous. He is also an eating machine! When we eat he wants to eat. When we're not eating he wants to eat. He is nursing, and eating food. He is feeding himself for the most part. And of course he is moving all over the place and talking up a storm! The sad part of this month has been teething. He has been teething the last few months, but now it has kicked up a notch. The night before Friendsgiving Carl was up all night! He was so miserable and nothing seemed to soothe him. The teeth started showing themselves but the gum is covering them up again!!! Poor guy. But he is still as cute as ever even in the midst of teething pain!

The day of Friendsgiving. He was miserable, up all night and crying most of the day.

Daddy was exhausted too!

The best way to wrap up the busy month was seeing Santa Claus!! Carl didn't fuss or cry. He didn't really smile either. He looked more intrigued. He was more excited about the Christmas Tree and the lights. So there will be a lot of Christmas festivities for us to do this year! I CAN'T WAIT!!!