Thanksgiving Part III

We hosted the 3rd Thanksgiing dinner of the weekend at our home yesterday. We were joined by my family and friends and had quite the feast. The turkey my sister and brother-in-law made was delicious and was bigger than Keira. Ha ha. I am quite impressed with their culinary skills, but have to give myself props for making a pretty good batch of mashed potatoes - almost 10 lbs worth of spuds. Thanks to Mark and Vinh for peeling all of them and to Vinh for doing a good job of carving the turkey too.

Rachel, Rob, and Katelyn came to visit us today before flying back. It was fun visiting with them again and the girls were adorable together. Katelyn is going to make such a great big sister.

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend, but we're so happy we were able to visit with our family and friends. It's one of the best parts about the holidays.

Thanksgiving Part I & II

We awoke to a light snowfall Thanksgiving morning. I held Keira up to the window so she could watch the flurries, but I don't think she knew what to make of it. We'll have to take her outside once the snow really starts to fly!

We spent Thanksgiving day in Rochester with Mark's family. It was quite the event. Dan and Paula braved a 22-hour road trip from NY with their two girls, Mallory and Miranda, and brother, Andrew. Rob, Rachel, and Katelyn flew in from MO yesterday morning. It isn't often we're all in the same place at the same time so it really was a special day. We had a wonderful feast and my waistline is paying for it. But, 'tis the holiday season and feasting is one of my favorite parts about this time of year.

Keira really had a great time playing with her cousins. This was the first time they were all together. If I had been on top of my game I would've remembered to get the four of them together for a photo. It would be fun to see how they change over the years. Oh, well. I'll have to remember next time.

Today we visited our friends, Meredith and Dave and their son, Sam. They're in town visiting their family. The babies were so cute and had a great time exploring each other's faces. We celebrated their half-birthdays and were happy they were in such great moods - so cute. It's also Mere's birthday today...Happy Birthday Meredith! I'll post pictures from that visit as soon as I get them from Mere (hint, hint!)

Afterwards we visited our friends, Pam and Ed and their son, Jalen. We had a mini-Thanksgiving dinner with them, courtesy of our local Boston Market. Ha ha. The food was yummy and once again, I overate. I think Mark did too. Jalen was super sweet and shared his choo choo trains with Keira. Ed was pretty devastated b/c his beloved LSU team lost in overtime. So very sad.

Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving Part III and that will conclude the trilogy once we get my family together. We're hosting my family at my home, but Linh and I have split the cooking responsibilities. Linh and Steve have the tougher responsibility - the turkey. After last year's fiasco I don't think I'll ever be allowed to cook the turkey again! Anyway, it should be fun.

Since this is a special time to reflect on our blessings, here are a few things I'm thankful for...I truly am blessed.

*Keira...She is full of life and makes life worth living.

*Mark...He knows me better than I know myself sometimes and is my strength.

*My family and extended family who are always there to support and love me.

*The memories I have of my Mom so that she will always be with me.

*My friends who stand beside me through everything.

*My network of "babysitters"...They let us have a life that doesn't involve diapers.

*Food...I love food! I'm so thankful that we never have to go without.

*Winter...Without it I wouldn't appreciate the spring, summer and fall.

*Having a roof over my head and food in my belly.

From Babbling to Sleeping

Keira had her 6-month appt yesterday. She's still small for her age weighing in at 12 lbs, 10.5 oz, but her pediatrician pointed out that not all babies are going to fit the Norwegian, 90th percentile profile. I had to laugh at that...She's definitely not Norwegian. Interestingly, it seems all her growth has come in height as she shot from the 10th percentile into the 25th. I still have hopes that she'll fatten up some more. Her thighs are slowly plumping up and I have such a great time squeezing them! With her appt came the shots. She's fared well through them the last couple of rounds, but these ones were pretty rough on her. She hasn't been herself and has been slightly feverish, lethargic and cranky. She was a champ though and only cried when the shots were administered. She recovered almost instantly as soon as we picked her up.

She's still not quite herself today. She seemed especially tired this evening so we put her to bed earlier than we thought she'd go down. I turned on the monitor after Mark tucked her. After a minute or so we heard her squealing, babbling and having a jolly good time. What a nutty girl! She went on like this for several minutes. Finally Mark peeked in to check on her and snuck back downstairs. He told me she was wide awake. Since she wasn't unhappy or crying we just left her in her crib and continued to listen to her giggle and squeal through the monitor. Then in an instant, literally in an INSTANT, she went completely quiet. When I went to check on her she was asleep. It was like a switch. She went from being alert and babbling to completely asleep in 0 to 60. Funny stuff!

Keira's 6 Months Old

We can't believe it, but Keira is 6 months old tomorrow! It has been quite the adventure for all of us. It truly is amazing how quickly she has grown and changed. Keira's gone from being a completely dependent newborn to a 6-month old with her own fun personality, determination, and some days, quite the attitude. I wonder who she gets that from?! Ha ha. Mark and I have a great time with her every day and are continually amused and amazed with how she changes. Keira truly is incredible and a blessing to have in our lives.

Losing My Hair

I knew I'd lose a lot of hair after Keira's birth, but I wasn't prepared for HOW MUCH hair I would lose. After showering, brushing and blow drying my hair I'm surprised I have any hair left...It's all on my bathroom floor. Now I have to add sweeping up my hair every morning to my list of things to do before heading off to work. When does the hair loss stop?!?!

No Hands

Keira started sitting up on her own this past weekend. She's been sitting for a couple of weeks now, but she's had to use her hands for support. All of sudden she decided to sit up without using her hands. She's doing pretty well too! It still makes me laugh when she loses her balance or gets overly excited because she topples over. When we catch her after she's fallen over she likes to flash us a big grin and is ready to try again.

Halloween Photos

We paraded down the hallway in our costumes. Aren't we cute?

Zach and I sat together in the back of the buggy. It wasn't so scary since we were in this together. Boy were the parents crazy with their cameras. It was like going in front of the papparazzi.

Auntie Linh came down to see me in my costume. We handed out treats to the trick-or-treaters. I can't wait until I can go out and get lots and lots of candy!

My Uncle Vinh went to a party as Batman. I almost didn't recognize him. I don't think he was too happy wearing this costume, but it was his friend's idea to have everyone go as super heroes. My parents and Auntie Linh had a good laugh. They're so silly!

I can't believe it's time for bed already. I don't want to get into my PJs. I'm ready to party. Look at me...I'm sitting up all by myself.

I'm the cutest Tigger there ever was!