Thanksgiving Road Trip

We were back in Texas for Thanksgiving--this time via a road trip. We spent lots of good time with family and friends.

We spent some time at the River. Squeaks enjoyed reading outdoors on Uncle Tom's tailgate.


We stopped in Dallas and spent the night with our good friends, the Swifts. Bean had her first sleepover with Maisie, and all the girls enjoyed playing together.


We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Pritchards. Bean enjoyed hanging out with Cousin Jennifer and Cholula, the Chihuahua. Actually Bean's *SMITTEN* with Cholula, and Cholula tolerates Bean (especially since Bean walked/dragged the poor pup around on her leash for two days).


The road trip wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought it would be even though there was less sleeping than I anticipated. We rented a minivan for comfort, but the girls ended up sitting about an inch apart. Here's a rare moment of simultaneous napping.


Aunt Tracy and Uncle Tom hosted a 70th birthday party for Cousin Mark. It was a great opportunity to see all of the Ohlendorfs.

Hiatus Justified

Stating the obvious: it's been a long time since I posted a blog. My excuse: I'm pregnant and really couldn't imagine writing about anything else, and until I was OUT and in public I couldn't write about being pregnant. Whew.

But you'll see a post I wrote the night we found out. Lots has happened since then:

1. We're thrilled to be expanding our family.
   
2. Our due date is May 15.
3. Baby seems healthy at this point.
4. It looks like a girl. Apparently, at 12 weeks the baby's "nub" points upwards if it's a boy and downwards if it's a girl. Our baby's was definitely pointing down.
5. My stomach is so expanded already that someone who I have met 5 times asked me if I was pregnant.
6. We told Bean that there's a baby in Mommy's belly. She heard my stomach gurgle earlier this week and with very wide eyes said "Mommy! The baby's in there makin' noise!!"

I'll spend some more time this week catching up on the last 2 month's highlights. Stay tuned.

Holiday Traditions Begin

It's starting to become obvious to me why traditions are fun with kids. I'm usually a no fuss celebrator which means I do as little decorating and cooking as possible. This year, we were in Austin for Halloween with my family. I had blown off the idea of carving pumpkins with the justification that the kids wouldn't know any differently. Husband insisted on jack-o-lantern making, and I'm glad he did. Kate was enthralled.



Trick or treating was a blast even if we only made it to four houses. Cousin O was a reluctant bear. Bean was a "rojo bee" (otherwise known to us as a lady bug), and Squeaker was a "regular bee." At one point, the girls sat down right outside someone's front door to evaluate their loot.