8 months and Thanksgiving

 I am beyond thankful for everything I have been blessed with in this life.  I love how this time of year always reminds me of all we have to be thankful for.  I could make an enormous list, but I will just say that the majority of it centers around these two:

We hosted our first Thanksgiving this year!  The Strubys came in from Nebraska for the week and Mark joined us from the ranch.  We had a great time - Addison stayed home with Grandma all week, I (somewhat) successfully attempted my Aunt Gwen's dressing, and just enjoyed each other's company!  Kathy did most of the cooking...since she gives Martha Stewart a run for her money and my cooking skills are, well, "still developing", it was the obvious choice.  It was fun to learn about some of the traditional Struby recipes, mix in my family recipes and try new things too!

I LOVE the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, especially the Rockettes, and football on Thanksgiving.  I think Addison enjoyed her first parade too.  

 Scott carved his first turkey.

 The rolls below are a recipe of Grandma Jones (Kathy's mother) and they are like a little bite of heaven.  My new favorite.  Also my attempt at Aunt Gwen's dressing.  Of course it wasn't as good as when she makes it, but I feel like I decently represented our family. :)

She knew something was going on....she boycotted naptime in favor of joining us at the table for her first Thanksgiving!

We decided that, since we aren't going to see the Strubys at Christmas, that we should just make the most of their trip here.  So we enjoyed Thanksgiving, then Friday we decorated for Christmas, participated in a bit of the crazy shopping, and generally pretended that it was Christmas Eve.  Then, we woke up on Saturday and had "Christmas morning" complete with presents and french toast!

Saturday night, Addison popped up on all fours and took off "officially" crawling!  She is fascinated by the tree and loves our new sectional since she can pull up and "walk" around the perimeter (which she also started doing during their visit).  So big and SO independent these days!  

Oh, and Baylor beat Tech.  Sic 'em.

7 months!

(Actually written 11/2, then forgotten about for a few weeks.)

So, I think it's safe to say, we no longer have a newborn!  This girl is getting big, both in size and personality!  We went to the doctor this week and she weighed in at 20lbs, 7oz.

We've had a busy week around here!  Scott went on a big hunting trip in Illinois and has been gone a full week.  I must say, hats off to all you moms who hold down the fort for extended periods of time alone.  This is HARD WORK!  My parents will be here in the morning, and Scott will be home Sunday morning, so we've just about made it through.  

We've dealt with the stomach bug that is going around, doctor's appointment, flu shot, some possible teeth coming through (?), two nights not sleeping through the night (which she NEVER does!), not to mention Halloween, changing daycares, work for me as usual, and the worst of all...a scorpion!  BUT, just in the past week, she has started holding her bottle alone, waving, crawling/scooting efficiently and pulling up.  I feel like Scott is coming home to a whole new baby!  

It was so hard to leave our original daycare.  They all grew to love Addison so much, and (especially without Scott here to keep us level-headed) we all got pretty emotional the last few drop-offs and pick-ups.  The new daycare is great though, and in the long run, I think it is much better for Addison.  There are several other babies right at her age/mobility level in her class, and they already look like buddies, just sitting in the floor playing together, listening to story time, etc.  They send me pics all day long, which is a nice bright spot in the day.  

On Halloween, we sat outside on a blanket to watch the trick-or-treaters and hand out candy.  Addison was a ballerina and SO wanted to be a big kid.  She would start squealing (very loudly!) at the kids as they came down the street, and even waved a few times, which was the first I had seen her do that.  She wanted to hold my hands and stand up, and as kids came and went, she wouldn't take her eyes off of them and would continue to squeal as they walked away.  It was so cute, and she seemed sad she couldn't go along with them.  Next year, sweet girl, next year!

There are so many ways since Addison was born that our lives have changed for the better, and so many ways our relationship has changed as we have become parents.  I knew before this week what a great dad Scott was, how much we worked as a team to get things done, etc.  But this week of trying to handle our life alone has really made me feel like I'm missing my other half.  Yes, we made it.  No, it wasn't the end of the world.  But I know that my stress levels were higher and I just didn't feel like I was "on my game" at home or at work or anywhere in between. It's only been a week and we are so ready to have him back, and again, I so admire my friends who handle parenting alone with so much strength and grace.