Playing Catch-Up: November in a Nutshell

I have to give a quick shout out to my friend, Jennifer Hill, who got me started on this whole idea of blogging because of her own blog.  I am constantly amazed by her dedication to her blog and vow to be better at my own in the new year.  I am just a mere month behind already and still haven't even finished out 2010!!!  Oy....what have I gotten myself into?????

So, November.....in a nutshell!

Big Events:
1) We had one of our friends, Rayna, take some pictures of the kids for our parents and Grandmother's Christmas presents.  If it wasn't for the wind it would have been a beautiful day.  I might have over done it for Hunter though because I made him go through THREE wardrobe changes.  By the third one he had had enough and promptly fell asleep when it was time for the pictures of just our family, including all three dogs.

 2) We hosted Thanksgiving at our home for the first time in the eleven years we have been married.  My Grandmother came down from Oklahoma City to finally meet Hunter which made all the work to prepare for her visit worth it.  A few years ago she gave me her entire North Pole collection and since I knew she wasn't going to make it for Christmas, I was determined to have it all out for Thanksgiving.  It was a two week process to get all my Christmas out this year and it took help from my mom, best friend Liz, Joe and his mom to finally get it all out the Sunday before she arrived.  It was wonderful to see her with Hunter and the obvious bond that they seemed to share instantly.  She is such a special woman in all of our lives and I am so glad that my son is getting to experience her love.  One of my favorite parts of her visit was having her read stories to Hunter using those recordable books that are sold at local Hallmark stores.  I bought two, one for the Christmas season and one for everyday use, so that Hunter will have the ability to hear her voice year round.  Of course, I think it is fair to say that you might find me listening to the books by myself sometimes.

The Small Stuff:
1) Hunter is developing more of a personality each day.  He has started to smile and turn to our voices when we enter a room.

2) My mom is still watching him for me on the days I work out of the home along with some help from my sister, Kara, and friend, Jennifer. 


The Tough Stuff:
1) Lack of sleep.  That advice to just sleep when the baby sleeps might seem like great advice but it is completely impossible to do if you want to accomplish anything.  I have definitely learned that I am very task oriented and I can't just let things go even if it means operating on less than 4 hours of sleep each day. 

2) Daddy traveling all week long. It seems like Hunter can feel the absence of his Daddy each week.  He seems to sleep well on the nights that Joe is home but the nights that he is out, Hunter is up most of the night.  It makes for a very tired Mama. 

The Best Stuff:
1) This sweet, little guy that greets me every morning with this perfect, little face!