Thanksgiving in Chicago

Well, we just got back from our road trip to Chicago for Thanksgiving and we really had a wonderful time.  The drive up was a long day but all of the time spent in the car went surprisingly well for having a 3-year-old back seat driver.  Thank goodness for the iPad and movies on the go!

It was so nice to be able to spend time with family and friends this weekend and the highlight that Riley had been looking forward to was meeting his new baby cousin, Harvey.  He had been talking about it for weeks and was really excited to see him and I think the experience lived up to the hype.  He was excited to hold him and wanted to talk to him and even play football - maybe we will have to work on explaining the timing a little better for when he has a baby brother of his own.

It was exciting for Chris and I too, to meet our nephew, because even though we are parents, we have never been an aunt and uncle before - so that was something new to add to the resume.  Harvey was very sweet and loved to be held.  He was sleepy and quiet during a lot of the family time and was really a model 4-week old letting everyone snuggle when they wanted but also did his own thing in his swing for hours at a time.

Now we get to look forward to our next family visit - whenever that may be!

What's in a name?

Well, at 27 weeks, Mr. Matzo Ball is a 14.5 inch, 2 pound wiggling cauliflower!  I have officially gained more weight this time around in 6 month than I did in the whole pregnancy with Riley - which can either be attributed to the fact that my body knows what to do this time around, or the fact that Halloween candy makes up a large part of my daily calorie intake...

When Riley was cooking, we had a boys name ready and waiting and had to figure out a "what-if" girls name.  This time, things should be easier knowing that we just have to pick one name, but I am having much more trouble this round.  I have looked at thousands of names and we have an ongoing list that is a continual work in progress, but I can't seem to even come close to anything that I love.  Chris keeps throwing out names that I like, but I just don't like them for our baby.

I was reading a list the other day and Matzo Ball thought he was helping by kicking when he liked a name... too bad he picked Harley and Ishmael.  Sorry kid - veto x 2!

I am not asking for recommendations, so please don't be offended if we don't take suggestions, but I am glad at this point that we still have some time to think about it and make a decision that we will be happy with. 

Birmingham Bonanza

For weeks and weeks, we have been counting down to many things.  Chris was out of town for 1 1/2 weeks so the day Riley and I packed up and headed to the airport, the countdown was over to see Daddy, ride an airplane and celebrate Halloween!  Riley was an excellent flyer and was really a pleasure to have next to me on the short flight down to Atlanta.  He helped to flap, watched a movie and ate snacks, and before you knew it, we were there!

We hadn't been to Birmingham in over a year so our visit was much anticipated.  We didn't need many plans and just knew that time with the family would fill our hours well.  Riley was so excited to see Grammy and Grandy and he quickly made himself at home finding all the fun toys - the pool table, the chess set and Carol the singing bear to name a few.  Grandy was even willing to change the channel from CNN so that he and Riley could watch cartoons together.

We celebrated the all important Halloween as the dynamic trio - the baker, a bun in the oven and the race car driver.  Although we had to contend with some rain, we were all happy to walk up and down the street trick-or-treating and then spending time inside.  Maybe next year we can hope for some better weather as a fabulous foursome!

We even had the chance to spend the afternoon at the McWayne Science Center where the favorite section was the Itty Bitty Magic City where Riley got to be a firefighter, a mechanic, a chef and a vet, among other things.  I think we really could have spent 4 days there and he would have been happy.

We loved our visit so much and it was really all about the time that we got to spend with family.  And now, it sounds like we will get to visit again in May for a conference that Chris has, so we have another countdown to look forward to - bringing Matzo Ball baby down for his first visit to the South!