Merry Christmas!

It seems like this time of year always passes in fast forward. It's already Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas. How did that happen?
Christmas is my favorite. I love absolutely everything about it. I love the music, the lights, the tree, the treats, the chilly weather (which we've actually had a little more of down here this year), finding the perfect presents for the people I love, and most importantly celebrating the birth of our Savior. I'm grateful for this season. I'm grateful it provides an occasion for all of my very favorite things. For a whole season full of magic and giving, remembering years past with my family and dear friends and creating new memories too. Inside I'm still a little girl. I still get excited on Christmas Eve. I know what's coming and I still find it hard to sleep. I sort of hope that I always feel that way. My mom made Christmas so magical while we were growing up. I'm so excited to be able to create that magic for my little boy! Merry Christmas everyone!
Love,
Kim, Glenn, and Tate

Sleeping

I didn't want to jinx it earlier by actually recording it, but Tate has been sleeping ALL NIGHT LONG for the past few weeks! Yep, that's right folks, at nine and a half months old Tate started sleeping from 8pm to at least 7am. Before that he was still waking up at 4, 5, or 6 and screaming for a while. It's wonderful! We've been all over the place for the last six months of his life so it's been hard to get him on a schedule and to feel like we can let him just cry and figure out when it's okay to be awake when we're at other people's houses or in an apartment with thin walls! We got home after Thanksgiving and felt like we could let him get himself back to sleep. So we did. It only took 3 nights for him to figure it out and he's been sleeping through the night since. Oh I love being in my own house.

It's funny how I have everything figured out for just a short period of time before things change again. Tate has a set schedule. He gets tired at about the same times for naps. He eats around the same times, and he goes to bed at the same time. And for just a week or two I think I have it down. All figured out. Then it changes again. These past two weeks he has been so much more mobile and has decided that he'd rather play than take a nap. He gets grumpy, rubs his eyes, and fusses around "nap time" so I put him in his crib. Then he plays, chats, scoots around the edge of his crib, and fusses for an hour or more before he decides that he's ready to actually fall asleep. What's with that? He eventually does give up and he takes good long naps, but I feel really bad just listening to him and waiting for him to give it up and get his rest. So I am, again, trying to figure him out.

Here's how I often find Tate when I go to settle him back down during "nap time". He has discovered that he can take off his socks and his pants too if they are big on him. So he does. Pretty much all the time. Then sometimes he throws his clothes and his pacifier out of the crib and then cries because he sees them out there and he can't reach them. Silly boy.

Tate at 44 weeks old.

Fun Run

Last Saturday Glenn, Tate, and I "ran" another little race. We signed up for the Zilker Holiday Fun Run. The race was around Zilker Park, this great park in downtown Austin. It started after dark they had the park decked out for Christmas. One part of the path we jogged along had tons of different light displays that were set up by different groups or churches. It was really beautiful.

Tate had a good time snuggled in his stroller.

We found some people with costumes again. Here are some presents. And Dreidel boy.
There were also a few very brave souls who felt like the rest of us needed to see them jogging in teensy holiday themed speedos. I, personally, didn't need to see that. One man even had a teensy speedo strung somehow with twinkly lights. Then there was a very special lady who ran in a bra and underpants. Let's just say my thought as she ran past was not "Goodness, that lady is in tip top shape!", but it was something like, "Ohhh, you shouldn't have." Anywho, that was interesting.
Here is Zilker Park's Christmas tree. It's a huge pole with lights hanging down. So there ya go.
And here's the fam. No, that is not snow. That is ash from the bonfire nearby.After the race they had hot chocolate and cookies! We had a great time!

Impressive or just plain gross?

This past Sunday during Sunday School Glenn took Tate into the next room to change his diaper. A minute later he stuck his head around the corner and said, "You have to see this." I went in the other room and there was Tate, soaked from head to toe in his own pee. Glenn was changing him, he started to go while Glenn was reaching for another wipe and the diaper block was just a little too late. Glenn described it as fire hose strength flow. Tate had pee on his face and neck, his sweater vest was soaked as was his dress shirt underneath, and he somehow shot his dad's arm too. Glenn had a streak of pee on his shirt from shoulder to wrist. (Of course the title of this post is relating to the amount of pee, not how we dealt with the situation.) We laughed really hard and then thought, "Hmmm, what do we do now?" I didn't have another outfit or even a onesie to change him into. (Yeah, I'll be doing that again now. For some reason I thought that stage was past.) I thought about just stripping him and taking him to class wearing a diaper and a blanket. So hard to decide which was worse. We couldn't go home because Glenn was teaching Elder's Quorum, in his urine soaked shirt. So we just put his wet shirt back on and I took him to class. I thought to myself as I walked into RS, "What would Grandma Nina say if someone came into RS and sat next to her holding a urine soaked infant?" Oh the horror.

Good Morning Mom!

Tate at 43 weeks old.This is how Tate greets me in the morning. Great big smile. Messy hair. Standing up and occasionally bouncing on his mattress and chattering away.

Good morning little man.

Family Photos!

A friend in our ward took pictures of our little family a bit ago and we just got them back. I love love love them. It's so great to have nice pictures taken once in a while by someone with a professional camera who knows how to use it. Mmmm. We were a little worried because little man missed his nap and was not in the mood but she caught a lot of great moments. Her name is Courtney Paul and she is just fabulous. If you live in the Houston area that's where she'll be...when she and her family get back from their study abroad in Switzerland this winter semester. I know, how lucky are they? Here's her photography blog if you wanna look her up. http://www.courtpaul.blogspot.com/

So here are our favorites. Prepare for cuteness overload.

Just Stay Little

Tate at 42 weeks old

Tate is having one of those spurts of rapid discovery and growth. He thinks he's really big. I keep telling him to just stay little and he won't. He started pulling himself up to stand in the past week and today he was standing by the couch ottoman and saw the remote control on the rocking chair ottoman. He thought about it for a minute, reached for it, realized he couldn't reach it, then took a couple of quick and wobbly steps(which was really more like falling onto the other ottoman) and he got his remote control. Tate also thinks he should climb up things. We have a little drawer unit in our office and Glenn looked down yesterday to see him hanging on the top with both feet on the bottom shelf climbing up it like a ladder. It's so strange being excited and yet feeling a little bit of loss every time he does something new. It's like he figures out a new fun trick and then some of the things he's been doing for a long time just stop. Every once in a while though, there is a fall, or a bump, or just a nap time that didn't last long enough and Tate needs me to just snuggle him to make it better. I love those moments even thought it is kind of sad that I love when he's upset and wants to snuggle me. Those moments he's still my little baby.

Whirlwind

We have been literally running all over the country the past few weeks. We spent a week and a half in New Hampshire to spend time with Glenn's family over Thanksgiving. This year we stayed at Gregor and Amy's house for the first time and they were so wonderful. They fed us delicious food, let us take over an entire corner of their house, leave things all over their kitchen, borrow their car, and talk to them for hours on end late into the night. We had a great time! Thanks guys.

We took a drive up the white mountains one day. I had never been to that part of the state on previous trips and it was wonderful. The kind of scenery that makes you take a deep breath and think to yourself, "What can I do to slow my life down a bit and feel like this all the time?" We stopped to take pictures at Rocky Gorge. Tate needed a break from the car seat. Beautiful.

We also took a few pictures of road signs you will likely see only in New Hampshire.
Love it.

Tate spent a lot of time with his cousins. They were very sweet with him and it was fun to watch. He spent time snuggling with cousins on the mattresses at Sam's Club,
Getting his first taste of ice cream from Paige who was so sweet to share with him,Shopping with Brynne. It was adoreable. Brynne walked beside the stroller the entire time and just held his hand. And listening while Cope and Nelson performed for us.
I am so glad that I was able to spend more time with their family and get to know these kids a little better. At least for now. Next year they'll all grow up entirely too much and be entirely different people again! Little Miss Paige loves dresses right now. She comes down stairs with a different dress on a few times a day. She is a girl through and through. She also loves Ariel and walks around singing "Ahhhh" all day long. Here is my favorite ensemble. Striped tights plus blue fluffy coat plus blue sequinned clogging dress equals FABULOUS!

We had another big family event this year. Si Nguyen came from Vietnam and lived with the Makechnie family as a teenager. This year he was officially adopted and became "Steven Arthur Makechnie".
On Thanksgiving morning a select few of us ran the Lake Sunapee Turkey Trot 5K. It should definitely be a tradition from now on. I'd never run a 5K before and I had so much fun. Well...to say I "ran" would be a bit of a stretch...but I did keep up a slow jog the whole time which for me, is great! The scenery was so beautiful. Jogging next to a lake with tons of trees, huge houses, and a lighthouse in the distance, and passing the occasional pilgrim, turkey, chicken, or indian. Yep, they encouraged the runners to dress up. It was a blast. Tate had a great time all bundled up in Amy's jogging stroller. Amy is a real runner. She is so inspiring to someone like me, who is just figuring out that my body feels better after I exercise. Baby steps Kim.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, as usual. Gregor, Amy, and Arthur cooked. Wow. So much awesome food. Gregor is seriously a genius in the kitchen. I leave their house wanting to find new recipes and try new things.

Thanks for another great Thanksgiving Makechnies!
We flew home on Friday after Thanksgiving. Then we flew to New Orleans on Monday and came home again on Tuesday. One of Glenn's job offers was from Shell in New Orleans and I was pretty hesitant about living in New Orleans so they flew us out to check it out. The city was about as I imagined. It's pretty worn out still. The French Quarter was really neat and we took a trolley ride down town and saw some of the wealthier neighborhoods that had enormous homes with columns and balconies...just like I imagined the wealthy deep south looked 100 years ago. Just stunning. I mean, who would want to live in a house like this!
A lot of them reminded me of the Haunted mansion in Disneyland...but maybe that's because I really love Disneyland.
By this time Tate was done with all of the travelling. Here's a melt down in the airport. This is what happens when the food is gone. So sad.I'm glad we went to New Orleans and found out that I could live there. I'm also glad that we've made a decision. Next summer Glenn's going to start working with a company called Newfield. It's a Houston based company with offices in other places too. He's being hired to work in a division that is working on a new area in Pennsylvania. So their plan for him is to have him start in Houston for 2 years and then move us to Pennsylvania when the office opens out there. So that's our plan right now. I'm grateful that we had such good options to choose from and I'm even more grateful that we both feel so good about this job. Hooray for having a plan!

Picture Tuesday

So I've gotten myself a bit behind on picture Tuesdays so here's what Tate's been up to the last few weeks: We had his 9 month appointment. He is 28 inches long and in the 50th percentile, and 19 pounds 3 ounces which puts him in the 25th percentile. He weighs ten pounds more now than he did when he was born. That blows my mind.

Tate at 39 weeks old

In the Proctor Academy gym watching Uncle Gregor practice with his basketball team.

Tate at 40 weeks old

After church in New Hampshire with Glenn.

Tate at 41 weeks oldOn the trolley in New Orleans.

Tate is a great little boy. It seems like he's in another spurt of figuring out how to do new things. He's making new noises. He likes to say "T", "P", and "B", and "F", sounds over and over. He also says "mamamama" and "dadadada" over and over but we don't think he knows what those particular sounds mean yet. He started pulling himself up and standing by the couch a few days ago. He thinks he's a big shot. Sometimes he'll start leaning away to grab something and try to take a step and then promptly fall on his bum. He's started to get the hang of picking up food and getting it to his mouth. Anything more solid than baby food still makes him scrunch up his face but he's figuring out how to get more food down now. We sure love our little man.

Thankful 11/25

My little man is 40 weeks old. That blows my mind. He's officially been "out" as long as he was "in". This end seems MUCH faster then the first 40 weeks of his existence. I sure love my little man. He has handled all of the people and schedule rearranging like a champ. Plus he's stinkin' cute. Happy 40 weeks little baby. Picture Tuesdays to come when I get home!

Today I am thankful for:

1. New Hampshire. It's a beautiful place. It is the home of some beautiful people who I love. It provides a window into my honey's background. I learn something about Glenn every time I visit. Sometimes it's "Oh, that's where that comes from", and sometimes it's "Hmmm, I didn't know that about you." Either way, it's fun to continue to figure him out.

2. Clothes. I love clothes. I love to look at clothes, try on clothes, buy clothes, and dress my baby up in tiny man clothes.

3. Jogging with Glenn this week. Amy has watched Tate a few times this week so Glenn and I could go jogging together. (We didn't bring our beloved Bob on this trip so Tate couldn't come with us.) It's been fun to go together. It's nice to have someone who knows just how much to push me and when to stop pushing.

4. Children's Tylenol. We think Tate is teething again. It's nice to have something to help him feel better. It's no fun to watch my little baby when I can tell he's hurting.

5. Tiny squishy hands. Tate's getting better at picking things up with his two little pinchy fingers. I love watching his little squishy hands with his knuckle dimples trying to pick up something teensy. It will be a sad day when I look at my little boy's hands and they don't look squishy anymore.

11/21

Today I am thankful for:
1. My honey. That we agree on the major points of raising our little boy and most of the minor ones too.
2. Time to observe my amazing sister-in-law Amy. She is raising four beautiful and beautifully behaved little kids who are kind, responsible, talented, and sweetly innocent as kids should be and so often aren't these days. She is very patient, a great cook, a dedicated distance runner, and a talented musician. I'm trying to just soak up their darling family for the few days that we get to be with them.
3. Sweet moments with Tate and his cousins. Pushing the stroller while Brynne walks beside it holding Tate's hand. Cope talking and singing to him from the back seat. Nelson squeezing his little boy cousin buddy. Paige sharing her toys and reenacting what he was doing in the other room when I missed something she thought was funny. They are so very sweet to my little guy and it warms my heart to watch.
4. Options. My amazing husband has received two more job offers during our trip. I'm grateful for options. Good ones, that will require lots of thought, research, and prayer to decide between. I'm grateful as well for my sweetheart. I know he is truly amazing. It's nice for him to hear it from other people though.
5. Cozy pajamas. I love my pajamas. Perhaps it's because they are pink and green plaid and they are oh so cute. Perhaps it's because being in them means sleep is coming soon and I really love to sleep. Perhaps it's both.

Thankful 11/20

Today I am thankful:
1. That Tate is an overall good baby. We went for a several hour drive yesterday to see the white mountains. It was beautiful and Tate was very content to chat with himself and look at all of the trees woosh past outside the window.
2. For Tate's dimples. He smiles with his whole face and it just brightens my day.
3. For sweet noises when Tate is eating. He lets you know when he thinks something is just delicious. "Mmmmmmm."
4. For Tate's squishy parts. He's not a very squishy baby. He's sort of solid, but he has the best squishy kissable cheeks and his little legs are perfectly squishable. I could squeeze and squish him all day.
5. For Tate's curiosity. I love to watch him learn something new and to see what things he is starting to recognize and remember. It's wonderful to have my own little person and to see everything through his eyes as he is figuring the world out.

Thankful 11/17

I'm in New Hampshire.  I will be here for a week and a half.  I will try my best to keep up on my grateful days goal but it might not be every day.  So here you go...

Today I am grateful:

1. For in-laws.  Heather and Arthur, brothers and sisters-in-law, tons of amazing cousins for Tatie that are wonderful examples for him to look up to.  I lucked out in the in-law dept.

2. Naps on airplanes.  Tate had small naps on each leg of our flights today.  It sure made the time pass faster.  Poor kid doesn't do really well in confined spaces.

3. A warm coat.  It's chilly here.

4. My sweetheart.  I sure love him.  He's wonderful.

5. The dining hall.  Arthur, my father-in-law, runs the dining hall at the private school here in Andover where Glenn grew up and attended high school.  We ate dinner at the dining hall tonight with all of the high school students.  I was very hungry.  It was absolutely delicious.  

Thankful 11/15

I am thankful for:
1. Stake conference day. It didn't start until 10 (usually our church is at 8:30) and it's only two hours...which during naptime was still a bit rough, but it seemed more manageable anyway.
2. Things to look forward to.
3. Lists. I love my check lists. I know I get a little overboard sometimes, but I love being able to look at my list and see what I have done and what else needs to get done. I just don't trust my brain to keep track of it all.
4. Snuggling.
5. People with great cameras who know how to use them. We just got our family pictures done and she's shown us just a few so far. I love them. I will post some when I get them from her. Prepare yourselves for an astounding amount of cuteness.

Thankful 11/14

Yesterday I was thankful for:

1. This cute girl. She is in my ward and makes the most adoreable hair bows for little girls. She let me share her booth and our things looked so cute together! 2. The support of these two boys. I think Glenn has a good time being a salesman. He's so sweet. Tate was a very handsome product model and a great sport as well. Even when it was way past nap time.3. An awesome sister-in-law who loves to make things as much as I do.

4. The opportunity to share something I love. It really feels great to see people enjoy something that I do.

5. Laughter. At some of the things people spend money on (rocks with crosses carved in them, crazy garden ornaments, etc.), at the people who have other baby product booths eyeing our things and glaring at us from across the way, at the funny Mary Kay lady in the booth next to us. It was just plain fun. We had a great time.

Grateful 11/13

Today I am grateful for:

1. A sweetheart who watched Tate for a few hours so I could have a solid block of time to make these. I'm selling our things at a boutique tomorrow and wanted to have a few more things to sell. I'm pretty excited. If you're in Austin feel free to drop by!

http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/home/index.asp?page=1645

2. That brief moment when the laundry basket is empty. You know that really short moment in time just after you put away the folded clean clothes and before anyone gets undressed at the end of the day. Mmmm, I love that.

3. Beautiful weather. Not too hot. Not too cool. It was a perfect day.

4. Footie PJs. I love the way my little boy looks in his footie jammies.

5. Finally finding hot wings that are hot enough for this guy. He really likes spicy food, especially wings. It seems like he's constantly on the look out for food that is "too hot" for him. We've never found it. I think it's part of his competitive nature. He takes it as a personal challenge when he sees something advertised as "hot". I swear he has no taste buds. Tonight, however, for his "I have an awesome job offer" celebration dinner, he wanted to go to a wings place. Right inside the door there was a challenge wall with pictures of people who ate 25 "Fire in the hole" hot wings. He took one look at that and said, "Not a problem."

Turns out it really wasn't a problem. And we found some hot wings he really likes. It was a good time.

Grateful 11/12

Today I am grateful for:
1. This idea to write down 5 things I'm grateful for every day from my cousin Amberly. It's been nice to go through my day thinking of five things I can write down and express gratitude for.
2. Worn out snuggles. Tatie had a hard day today. He didn't want to do anything; eat, nap, play with toys. There were brief happy spurts followed by melt downs. So there were a few melt down moments where he was so worn out that he just let me snuggle him while he whimpered. It was a long day, but those snuggles made it almost worth it. Cutting new teeth perhaps? I have no idea.
3. Cell phones. I love that I can live far away from family but be able to pick up the phone and talk to my mom like she's next door any time I need her.
4. My testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is SO comforting to have an absolute knowledge of a great big picture when things seem uncertain in the immediate future.
5. The ability to stay home with my little boy. He needs me and I love him. It's so nice that I don't have to do anything but be here for my little boy.

Grateful 11/11

Today I am grateful for:
1. Water purifier pitchers. The water here tastes kinda funny.
2. My dad. He works really hard and does so much for my family. I've been thinking about him a lot today because he has a business deal in the works this weekend. Good luck dad.
3. When Glenn holds Tate and my little baby's body still looks little in my honey's arms.
4. Dollar movie theaters. I love going to movies and it's so awesome to only pay a dollar, especially when my desire to see the movie is only about $2 worth, not $18 worth.
5. My honey's cleaning moods. He went out to take out the trash today and ended up sweeping out the garage and trimming all the hedges. My house looks amazing today.

Grateful 11/10, Picture Tuesday

Tate at 38 weeks old He's got a funny squinty eye in this picture but he's just having so much fun! It's interesting how Little Man seems to know which things are meant for him and which things are not. The things not meant for him are infinitely more interesting than any colorful toy. He's had a blast the past few days discovering what is most fun to get into in any given room. In the family room it's the DVDs and in the computer room it's the cords under the computer and the serge protector with the amazing little red light. In the bedroom it's Glenn's phone charger cord. It's amazing how fast he can scootch across the room and get what he wants.

Today I'm grateful for:

1. When Tate takes long naps. They aren't really consistent with my little man but when they happen it is SO nice to have a long block of time to get things done.

2. The goofy gasping noise Tate makes after he giggles.

3. Cupcakes. The perfect little portion of cake goodness.

4. My sewing machines. I love to sew right now. I don't get to do it much around here now that little man is all over the place, but I sure like it.

5. A husband who really knows how to clean. He doesn't love to do it (who does?) but when he gets in the mood or when he's asked he does a really great job!

Grateful 11/9

Today I am grateful for:

1. Little puff treats for little babes. They bought me a little extra time so I could complete a task today. Sometimes I feel like I have 20 unfinished projects around the house and just before I can finish them little man is into something he shouldn't be or needs some mommy love.

2. The intense concentration that consumes Tate while he tries to get those little puffs from the table to his hands to his mouth. Then he has the issue of getting them far enough into his mouth that he doesn't accidentally push them out with his tongue. He just gets so serious. His brow is furrowed and his hands move really slowly. It's a very serious job.

3. Wipes and washcloths to clean up the puffy slimy mess that results from the above activity.

4. Cousins. I'm glad my little man has cousins. Cousins are the best. We're excited for him to meet all of the Makechnie cousins next week. We tried to take little Hansen cousin pictures in their adoreable matching cousin outfits that my mom bought for them while we were in Utah. We tried to take them on two different occasions. It was like they took turns smiling and being stone faced. They're not perfect but I sure love them. These two are going to be trouble together for sure.

At the end of our picture taking session Tate decided it would be a good idea to stand up from his chair and fall directly onto his face. It was pretty funny looking. He didn't try to put his hands up to catch his fall or anything. He just planted his face directly into the grass. Thump. This is the resulting fit. Am I a mean mother because I find his angry and pouty faces so completely irresistible? Sometimes I wait just a second before I swoop in to snuggle, just to cherish the little mad faces.

5. My boys. Man I love my handsome boys.

6. I'm going to add a sixth grateful item today. My honey got a great job offer today from a great company. He is SO relieved that we have something for next year. I'm not going to give any details because I'm just not sure it's the end of the story yet. I just feel like there are a couple of other companies we're waiting to hear from that would be better for us in some ways but we'll see. It's an amazing job and we're very lucky to have it. Anyway, I'm really glad that my honey has that enormous stress off his shoulders. Who knew that Glenn knew how to be stressed? Not me!

Grateful 11/8

Today I am grateful for:
1. My ward here in Austin. Today I was really struck with all of the differences between ward life here in Austin and ward life in American Fork where I spent the last two months. Our sacrament meeting was focused on being better member missionaries. They gave out Books of Mormon afterwards for us to give out to investigators and even wrote down our names and how many we took so they could follow up on our progress. Later, someone came into our Sunday School class to ask if any of us spoke French because an investigator just showed up who only spoke French. I wished my brother or sister-in-law were there with me. It's a very different environment.
2. Healthy bodies. Mine, my honey's, my son's. There are just so many problems we are lucky enough not to have.
3. Dinner with friends.
4. Rain. We drove to church in the most beautiful foggy mist. I like mist. I think it's sort of romantic. Then it started raining on the way home and has been raining all day. I love the sound of rain.
5. Among many other benefits of having my mother, I'm grateful today that my mom raised me in a home where we were taught to love music. It has blessed my life in so many ways.

Getting to Know You

Rosie came home this morning. A great friend of ours watched Rosie for the past 2 months while were were all over the place. It was so nice to know that she was well cared for. Our friend has a dog too so Rosie had a friend to play with.

I was a little apprehensive about how the reunion would go considering that Tate is moving around now and can really get in her face. I had a hard time with Rosie in Houston. We were both a little stressed out with the small living quarters and Rosie communicated it by acting out. She knew she wasn't supposed to do things like eat out of the bathroom garbage or lick Tate's face...so when she got grumpy she did those things, just when I was looking. We had issues.

Much to my surprise Rosie was very sweet today. She just loves Tate and he loves her too. He just giggles when she comes close. We help him walk by holding his hands and Rosie comes right up to him and doesn't jump up at his face at all. It's been fun watching these two get to know each other again today.

Grateful 11/7

Today I am grateful for:
1. Grocery stores where I know the layout.
2. The internet. I love being able to shoot an email to my mom, my sister on her mission in Rome, keep in touch with people through the blogosphere. It's so wonderful.
3. Lazy mornings at home with my little family.
4. Living close to awesome outlet malls. I love to window shop, actually shop, and I love that things are a little less expensive than at regular stores.
5. Hot showers. Sometimes there's nothing better at the beginning or end of a day than a long, hot shower.

Grateful 11/6

Today I am grateful:
1. That my Tatie slept until 7 this morning. Oh that was so nice.
2. I live in a neighborhood with jogging paths. It's especially nice because everything is still so green. Jogging through parks with lush lawns and tons of big trees is kind of soothing in a way. I still don't like to jog. I still get up every morning and think, maybe I'll just take a break today, but once I get my butt out the door it's not as bad as it used to be.
3. Glenn is home tonight. Yea!
4. That sometimes Tate wakes up happy and I hear his sweet chatter in his crib in the other room. It just makes me smile.
5. Our car. I have missed our car. I love that it has some zip. When I tell it to go it really goes. And it's the prefect size for my little family.

Grateful 11/5

Today I am grateful for:
1. My dad who got up super early to take us to the airport.
2. Our friend Janelle who hauled her little family all the way across town to pick Tate and I (and our ENORMOUS amount of luggage) up and take us home while Glenn went on to Houston for yet another interview. Thanks Janelle.
3. My house. Oh I love my house. I love my bed, my kitchen, my piano, and especially my little Tatie's room. Tonight I am so happy to have my little boy in his very own nursery. I love his little boy room and it's been a long time since he's made use of it.
4. Antibacterial wipes. My kitchen feels so much better now. I love to wipe down the counters and stove with a few of these because then I just throw away the mess.
5. Tate's curiosity. He can be happy discovering the simplest things. Today it was Glenn's straw. Endlessly entertaining.

Grateful 11/4

1. Bajio's chicken green chile salad. I have missed you.
2. Pacifiers. I'm going to have quite the time breaking Tate of that habit in a few months...but right now it sure calms the poor kid down when he's having a full on melt down, so I use them!
3. Glenn's hugs. He's very talented. Somehow he can give me a big bear hug and make everything feel a little better.
4. Christmas packages. We sent some to my sister Mallory in Rome today. Just getting her little Christmas surprises ready made me all happy and giddy inside. Oh Christmas!
5. "Yuh-ooo" that's how my little niece Mya says "Love you". Brought tears to my eyes tonight. That, and everything else. I'm going to miss these guys. In a lot of ways it will be nice to be in my own wonderful home on my own schedule and trying to find my own niche in Austin again. I've just been away from my home in Austin for so long with the internship in Houston and then Glenn's research out here that I sort of feel like I'm going to have to start all over when we get back. I'm going to miss my mom's advice, company, and friendship, the way my dad snuggles my son and puts him right to sleep, my little sister's tenderness with Tate and the way he loves to be around her, my sister-in-law's conversation and the way we seem to just get each other. Basically I will miss having my family at my fingertips any time I want them. I'm a baby tonight.

Halloween / Grateful days

Tate at 37 weeks old

Halloween was great. All that was missing was Glenn, of course. We threw a party for Kenzie and her friends the night before. 8 teenage girls, party games, tons of sugar, late night, what else could a 13 year old ask for? I think she had a good time. We (the adults) were all exhausted.
Tate ended up being an adoreable little skeleton boy. Just a set of cute jammies we found but it was an easy and cute little boy costume for this year. He's growing so fast. We bought it a month ago but it's almost too small already.

My little niece Mya came over in her tiny precious fairy costume. I mean, seriously, how cute is she? And her mom (my wonderful sister-in-law) told us that she is pregnant with another adoreable niece or nephew! I can hardly wait!My cousin Amberly challenged us to record 5 things we are grateful for every day. On my blog, in my planner, I'm just going to try to get them out of my head an recorded somewhere. It's just a great idea for Thanksgiving time so I'm in. Everyone reading this is welcome to join us too!

Today I am grateful for:

1. My Honey. He's been working so hard all over the place to try to find a job he feels good about for our family next year, and to finish all of his research for his thesis. He's amazing and he's finally done! Hooray!

2. My family. They're just plain awesome. Enough said.

3. Digital pictures. I love being able to record my little boy's childhood every tiny step of the way and not worry about wasting money if I get 10 awful pictures for ever 1 great one.

4. Modern transportation. We have been on so many flights in the last year. Living away from both our families would be much harder without quick flights.

5. Good books. Man, it's nice to end my day with a quick escape to somewhere else. I love getting lost in books and learning new things and feeding off of other smart people's experiences. Mmmm, books.