Not your normal Thanksgiving....

The last 4 years or so, we have been on our own for Thanksgiving. We have lived away from family the last few years and haven't been able to fly home for the holiday. So, we have made our own traditions. The last 3 years, we did Thanksgiving with our friends Carrie and John and traded off at houses. We would also go to the beach since it's usually still kinda warm in Florida. This year we spent it in Chicago with my sister Sheri. She is a nanny to a family that just bought a condo in the Hancock building in downtown Chicago. They live in Mississippi, but spent the week in Chicago and brought her with them. It was so much fun!!

This is a pic from Thanksgiving past. I think this was 3 years ago, our first Thanksgiving in Florida. We had dinner at a beach condo with John and Carrie. 

Josie was so excited to meet Auntie Sheri!

This is where we had Thanksgiving dinner. I decided I didn't want to cook a big dinner for 3 people, so we went out! Someone recommended this great restaurant to us and we loved it. It's in the old Studabaker mansion in South Bend. They do a big Thanksgiving buffet feast every year. It feels like you were invited to someone's private residence for a fancy party with great food. It was so beautiful inside and out and the food was so yummy!  

She was such a good girl! She slept quietly the whole time.

Friday, we decided to spend the busiest shopping day of the year in one of the largest and busiest cities. It was crazy! I have never seen so many people out shopping! The streets were so packed, you could hardly move. We walked down "The Magnificent Mile" and looked at all the shops. Josie was again very good and either slept or looked around quietly the whole day. 

It was in the 30's so we wanted her to be plenty warm. I think she ended up getting hot. She didn't really like it because she couldn't move her arms. It was kinda like in "A Christmas Story" when Randy is wearing the big snow suit and crying because he "can't put is arms down." So cute, though!

She figured out how to get her hands free from the sleeves and kept sticking them out up by her face. It was so funny to see these big, purple sleeves and hands coming out of her neck. 

Overall, it was a great holiday! We are getting so excited for Christmas and continued the tradition of getting out the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. Josie is doing great! She finally figured out that daytime is for playing and nighttime is for sleeping. She is now sleeping about 3-5 hours at a time and going right back down after I feed and change her. She is such a mellow, happy baby! She doesn't really like to cry and does it sparingly. She loves to look around and be talked to. We have found that even if she is soiled, tired, and hungry, (not that we ever let her get that way) as long as someone is holding her and she has a binkie, she's ok. She makes funny noises trying to comfort herself. She is also very mesmerized by tv. When we were still in the hospital, we noticed that she always wanted to look at the tv. Even now, she will look you right in the eyes and stare at whoever is talking to her, unless tv is around. Then she will totally ignore you and watch tv. If we turn her away, she will crane her neck to try to find it. I really don't want her to become a couch potato, but it has kept her from being fussy a couple times. It's so funny to watch her eyes get big when she stares at it.

One month!

I woke up this morning to this outside:

I am bracing myself for a long, cold winter. At least it is getting me in the Christmas spirit! I am excited for a white Christmas. I'm not excited about hauling a baby around in the snow. I am feeling justified now in spending way too much on those cute snow boots!

Josie is one month (and a couple days) old! She had her one month appointment and everything looks good. She is now 8 pounds 11 ounces and almost 22 inches. We are so glad that she is healthy! Now if we can just make it through the winter without major illness, we'll be in really great shape!

On another note, so glad that everyone is safe from the fires. We ended up having several people we know that lost homes, but no one was hurt. I am thankful that my parents house was not in the way of the fire, although it jumped around alot and burned random houses. From what I heard, it was hard to predict which homes were in danger. I know everything will be built back up quickly and YL will be back to it's former glory. After all, it is the "land of gracious living!"

Just for fun....

So, I found this in my car the other day. It's a recording from my first orchestra rehearsal from "Don Giovanni." It's kind of a rotten recording and everything sounds a little flat, but it's all I got from the opera. It's just a rehearsal, but I am hoping for a recording of the actual performance someday.
Thought you might like to take a listen. I think I might upload some of my other recordings sometime since no one has heard them really. Enjoy!

Fire!

Our hearts and prayers are with everyone in my hometown of Yorba Linda which is on fire right now. In case you haven't seen the news, at least 169 homes in YL, Brea, Chino, and surrounding areas have burned down. Thankfully, my parents home is safe and not likely to be in the path of the fire. Many people we know have already been affected by this and many of our friends have had to evacuate. We are praying that their homes will survive. Our prayers are especially with our good friend Katie's family. Her parents home did not survive. Many buildings and areas that I grew up with have gone up in flames. It is definitely sobering to see all of this. We just hope that everyone is safe and that they get the help they need. 

The Blessing

Though it was rainy and cold, last Sunday was such a beautiful day. We decided to bless Josie while the family was here. I pretty much bawled through the whole blessing as it was the strongest and most amazingly eloquent blessing I have ever heard. So many people came up afterward to let me know that they felt the same way. I am so thankful for a husband who has the priesthood and can give our daughter a name and a blessing. Thankfully, she slept through the whole thing and was calm through the whole meeting. Right after Sacrament meeting, we heard that ominous squishy sound. Jos had a blowout clear through her diaper, tights, slip, and white dress. It was pretty gross. We promptly took  her home and took pics there. I think it's a rule that as soon as you get a baby nice and clean and into nice, clean clothing they must either pee, poop, or barf on it. At least with Jos it's a rule. Here are some pics from the day. Check out more pics from the week in the post below this one.

My aunt made this dress many years ago. It is a family tradition to bless babies in this dress. I was blessed in it, so now Jos has been blessed in it too. My mom made the beautiful, crochet blanket.  

A smile, maybe?

Grandma's and Grandpa's

We had both sides in last week for Josie's blessing. It was so much fun! She got WAY to much attention for one human being and probably enjoyed every minute of it. It was so fun to see everyone with her, especially my dad. He was in baby girl heaven! My mom took a bunch of cute pics so I stole some and posted below. We are all still doing really well and loving life! Josie is growing like a weed so I am trying to cherish every second with her. I am so afraid of forgetting her at this stage. They grow so fast! She seems to get cuter and smarter every day. She will stare very intently at things now and loves to be cuddled. She has the most heart-wrenching cry that she fortunately uses sparingly. She is so lucky to have such sweet grandparents who love to spoil her. Thanks grandma's and grandpa's! 

Jos loves to suck. She is pretty much obsessed with her binkies and is constantly searching for them. I am actually surprised she doesn't have one in her mouth in all these pics. It kinda drives me nuts sometimes, especially when it falls out and she freaks out. I let her use them though, cause they keep her very happy and content when she does keep them in her mouth. Here is proof of her love of sucking. Don't get too close, or she'll do it to you too!

Thanks grandma Money for the swing! I love to sleep in it!

Stop Growing!

I already want Josie to stop growing. I love how little and light she is. She is growing too quickly! She was 6 pounds 12 ounces at birth, then only 6 pounds 4 ounces at her first appointment 4 days later. So tiny! Then, this last week, she turned into a piggy and gained over a pound in one week! As of a few days ago, she weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds 7 ounces. That's not all. She grew 2 inches in one week!! She is now in the 75th percentile in height, but still only 25th percentile in weight. I don't expect the tall thing to continue though since neither Kev or I are especially tall. I just want her to stay little! I love snuggling her and have to try not to squeeze too hard. She is just so squeezable! 

Josie's first outdoor adventure.

Fall has happened. Our whole yard was covered........

........so naturally we all buried ourselves in it!!