Thanksgiving in D/FW

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Hope you all have enjoyed some extended time with your families and friends. Darice and I took Heidi to DFW for some time with both of our families. I wish we could say that we were the main attraction this time around, but, alas, Heidi is the main event - and we're just her roadies. But I'm okay with that. :)

Here are some fun pictures of the Main Event from our week in town:

Tis the Season(s)

Or I suppose you would put "th'are" instead of "tis", but...

Darcie has had lots of fun keeping busy during the daytimes and when Matt is on trips by taking fun pics of Heidi around town and at home.  What good is it having a baby if you can't put them in silly poses and take pictures so you can embarrass them when they're older?

Heidi had her first visit to see Santa last week with her good friends Nathan (the Halloween giraffe) and Mackenna.  We actually got Santa pics at the same grocery store where the pumpkin 

pictures were taken.  What's next?  The Easter bunny?  All three kids did very well - a lot less crying than the older kids that were in line in front of us.  Heidi had on her normal "serious" face most of the time. She also got a good hold of his beard at one point and she has a good grip. We figure next year she'll be old enough to be scared of him.  

She is also learning to talk a lot more, and has gained some control of her once flailing hands, so she can grasp at things and loves bright colors.  It's a lot of fun to watch her learn.

Are you smarter than these guys?

So, I was updating my fantasty football team tonight and just happened to notice these ads at the bottom of the screen. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Can you spot the goof....and the irony? :)

Weekend Getaway

October has been a busy month for me. I was gone for 2 weeks and left Darcie and Heidi here all by themselves. So, at my first opportunity, I wanted to treat Darcie to a special weekend just to say thanks for taking care of Heidi all by herself those weeks and for making it possible for me to do the things I love to do. So, here's a fun little recap of our adventures in Dallas this weekend!

First priority: ditch Heidi. We love our daughter, but she wouldn't make for a very nice evening for the two of us. Fortunately for us, my parents live in Plano and were more than excited to watch her for the evening.

After dropping her off, we headed straight for our favorite restaurant: Del Frisco's. We used to go there once a year for our anniversary, but since Tyler is fairly slim on classy places to take your wife to tell her you love her - we have to make do with our occasional visits now. Nevertheless, it is the BEST steakhouse anywhere. Really. I'm not just exaggerating. It really is that good. I mean, just check out the onion rings - if the onion rings look this good - can you imagine how amazing my steak was? Anyway, I could go on...


After stuffing ourselves we headed Uptown for the David Wilcox concert. Now, the weird thing is that the concert was held at Bend Studio - a yoga studio by day and a concert venue by night. I was a little skeptical when I saw that's where he was playing, but it was our only chance to catch him, so I had to give it a shot. It actually made for a very nice atmosphere for the concert. There were only about 80 people there, it felt like we were sitting in his living room and it provided us with the opportunity to meet and speak with him at the end of the show! Very cool place. Would definitely see a concert there again.


The concert itself was fantastic. Dave played all of the favorites along with a few new songs that he's been working on. It was a treat for me to be able to see him again, but it was Darcie's first time, so she was excited to be able to put a name with the face - even if he was wearing an Obama/Biden t-shirt. Perhaps one of the best moments of the evening was when he decided to play one of his most popular songs, "Waffle House", as an encore. First he had to teach himself the chords again and then couldn't remember all the words! So, he brings up an audience member who gets to sing along with him the words to a perfect song to sing on Halloween. It was a great time. If you aren't familiar with David or his music, here's a youtube video of "Perfect Storm" - a good song for these tough times.

Upon arriving back at the hotel (Homewood Suites by Hilton - a very nice and affordable place to stay), we caught Heidi watching a show she shouldn't have been watching. See for yourself:



The next morning we had breakfast with Nana, Pops & Jodie before heading back to Tyler. And to top-off the weekend I saw something I thought I would never see again in my lifetime: gas below $2 a gallon. Unbelievable.















So, all in all, a great little getaway for our family!

Heidi-O-Lantern

So, Darcie took Heidi to a pumpkin patch and the results were just way too good not to put up on here. I know, we're shameless and post about nothing other than our daughter, but, hey, when she's this cute - can you blame us? Seriosuly, if these pictures don't make you say, "Awww", you should seek professional help as soon as you possibly can.

"Hey, mom...this costume fits pretty good...'cept how big does a girl's head gotta be for this hood thing to fit?"

Nate:  "Yo, girl.  What's up?"

Heidi:  "MaaaaaauuuuM!  Quit with the pictures!"

Heidi:  "Did someone say food?!"

Nate:  "Naw, they're just trying to get you to be cute.  Don't buy it.  Besides, girl, you need to lay off the milk - know what I'm sayin?  Those cheeks are out of control, girlfriend."

Busted!

We caught Heidi trying to set up her own Facebook account yesterday.  We had to have a long talk about the dangers of 11-week old girls setting up profiles on Facebook.  Who knows what other infants could be out there, right?

Fortunately, Heidi was very understanding.  :)

Keepin' busy

Let me first say, if you haven't read the Ode to Cinco below, start there first. Matt has written a lovely epic poem in celebration of Cinco's first birthday.

This week, Matt is with the Forge students on a trip, so Heidi and I are trying all kinds of new things to keep us busy. She didn't used to like the baby 'backpack' because she had to face in and look at my shirt, but now that she can hold her head up better, she can face out and she seems to like it. Back where she started, hanging around on (luckily not in) mommy's tummy!

We have also learned that Heidi really looks up to her daddy! :-) At her 2-month appointment, she weighed 10 1/2 pounds, up from 6lbs, 10oz at 2 weeks, and as you can tell, most of it has gone to her cheeks and her chin, causing her lack of neck.

I've been taking short videos to send to daddy this week, so here's one of the latest. She's a pretty smiley one, and has discovered her hands and how to suck on them. Keeps her busy when the pacifier falls out. We're lovin' life. She's a cutie... and she only woke up once last night!