Back in the Saddle

I was looking over the posts for the whole month of November, and there are only five. That's pretty lousy! I have been meaning to post updates for the last two weeks, but I was trying to catch up from being gone to CA for ten days, and then Grandpa passed away Sunday night and it's been a little hectic with Thanksgiving coming up. So, I've decided to break down the info into sections:

1. Birthday ~ I turned...Old...
Here is a picture from my Birthday dinner at Benihana. Me and the hubby and four of our very dear friends dined on some great Japanese style food and enjoyed a Japanese serenade afterward. For my big day, AB got me a toy. Literally... It's a Nintendo DS Lite, which is all the rage if you're under 15, but we're gamers and so it's the rage for us too. That and the Nintendo Wii, which we can't seem to get our hands on because they were sold out the day they came out! Hmph! Well, here's a picture of my new little beauty...and the color! Can you stand it? (You probably can) The cool thing is , it's so little and compact that it fits in my purse and I can play it in the car, on a plane (hello, 15 hours to China!) or just about anywhere. It has a car charger, ear phones, and you can see it's in a nifty little PINK carrying case that fits in my hand. Too cute! Outside of that, I got some amazing Northern Nights flannel sheets from my Mom, and they are so thick and warm and cozy! The big surprise came from my friend and co-worker, Laura - who got me a Digital Canon ELPH camera. She knew I had been going without a camera for a couple months since mine bought the farm, and so she got me this amazing camera. I LOVE IT. All the pictures in this post as a result are courtesy of her wonderful gift!

In addition to all these wonderful things, my secret pal did NOT disappoint - in fact she got me all weepy with the most amazing surprise - and the fact that these are my favorite colors, pink and green, and Keira's nursery colors, and not to mention the little ladybug and most of all the personalization - I just can't tell you how much I love these little braclets. They are precious! Thank you, thank you, thank you! She also sent a wonderful card and small Chinese jewelry box, and a set of note cards. (pictured above)
2. Baby does a Mud Run...and I do the muddy laundry:
Anton made a commitment several months ago to do a mud run for Toys for Tots - so, there's not much to tell, except he did it and here are the great pics from the event... that's my baby...never back down from a great challenge! I'm so proud of him! That's his idea of a good holiday event.

Go Honey!

3. My dear friend Desiree had her baby
Finally - poor thing! She was miserable and ready to be done with being pregnant - and this pregnancy was a little harder on her than her last, so she was just baked. But, her son is just beautiful and has the most beautiful olive skin and blue eyes. He was a whopping 9 pounds and some change...I don't know how my skinny little friend got him out so easy, but two pushes and there he was! Congrats to her family for such a precious little addition...

4. Keira's room gets a mini-makeover
We finally got around to hanging stuff on the walls in Keira's room. This and more will all be added to the Keira's Nursery blog page, but I wanted to update here as well. Actually, I've changed the look of her Nursery blog, and I'll be adding even more pictures of clothes, etc. in the next couple days. The letters were plain white, but I painted pink and green polka dots on them for "flavor" (hehe) and the other picture shows her new little shelves. Those initials are courtesy Pottery Barn Kids - but don't rush out to get them - they were just discontinued! Darn it~ This is also only two of the four walls, and we hung something on each wall - but picture overkill is not far off on this post...so in the interest of keeping you interested...

5. Our Thanksgiving plans got squashed.
Badly. We had plans to go with two other couples to New Mexico and this was planned for months. But just last week, we heard from one couple that the house we thought we had rented for the week was also rented to another family for the same week and we lost the toss up because that family had already taken up residence. So we're doing a big fat nothing this Thursday. Well, except that AB got all the stuff to make a great dinner, and we're the only two eating it...anyone home alone this Thursday wanna come over? Otherwise, we'll just eat and lounge around. Not that there's anything wrong with that! (Geesh, sounds pretty good to me right now)

6. Break out the black suit.
I'll be leaving for Atlanta on Saturday to attend my Grandfather's funeral. Not looking forward to that trip at all. Be praying for me, friends.

7. Keira's Wardrobe Continues Expanding...
I just recently learned from some friends with the experience to tell it, that I had some great clothes, but mostly in sizes way too big for our darling. I was always asking for12 months and up, and they gently reminded me how typically tiny these little munchkins are when they're adopted. So, we downsized a little. (God no, not the actual closet, just the clothing size!) I've started getting a few things in 6-9 months just in case. Here's a couple pictures for those interested, in the latest additions to the nursery. The first is a potential Halloween Costume for next year...now who could resist that little flower? Next is the rocking chair her Grandfather, Anton Sr. found at a garage sale and lovingly restored and painted to match her nursery furniture. It is so beautiful. Then we have the next three which are pictures of the latest gifts we've received for her and a couple things I got for her as well. Thanks to Grandma Nila for the darling outfits, and the shoes! Not to mention all the little things you got her like the sunglasses and sippy cups. You're the best!

Would that it were a baby picture I was showing you here as the latest "addition" to the nursery...but alas, still just more clothes and play-purties. As always, you can click on the picture to view a larger version to see detail.

There's nothing much else to tell you all - except that I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, and for all the waiting families - enjoy it to fullest - and pray that our babies will be home soon! Oh, and also, we tried Ritzy's for all you North D. families - it was fun and good food...give it a go!

Happy Turkey Day!