Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was spent with Lucian's family. We were in charge of cranberry sauce, so we had it pretty easy. I used an orange apple cranberry recipe which makes the house smell delicious with cinnamon and clove. The berries are so pretty in the pan, I had to take a photo.

I really didn't take any photos at our gathering. We celebrated with 28 total relatives and friends. With so many kids around and Claire needing to be watched the majority of time it's really hard to manage a camera too. I will have to get better. Here are a couple shots I took with my phone of Claire and her partner in crime, cousin Lydia, spinning in a chair. Kate, a family friend had a good time spinning the girls.

Claire loves remote controls. Unfortunately she drops them and presses combinations of buttons that we cannot undo. Typical toddler, right? She has grasped what they are for however and points them at the appropriate device; the tv or alarm clock or stereo.

Saturday we lunched at The Original Pancake House, a restaurant I have always wanted to try. Claire enjoyed both pancakes and french toast. You'll notice her sippy cup in the photos. I packed up all her bottles this weekend. She is officially drinking whole milk in a cup straight from the fridge! She switched to whole milk from nursing a month or so ago, but didn't take to the cup until recently. It sure makes life a lot easier.

It's harder than you think to get a toddler to color and not eat the crayons.

Saturday we gathered again with Lucian's family for their annual holiday party. Lucian's grandparents host a pizza party for the entire family each year. It's great for all of the cousins to get to know each other and play. It's a bit of mad house sometimes with 50 plus people each year, but everyone looks out for each other and keeps the little ones from running down the hall or knocking down a tree. It's pretty fun.

Meeting new cousin Finley (1 week old!) with Lucian's Grandma Ginny.

Here is Claire in her jammies just before we left to head home surrounded by adoring cousins.

Holiday Photos

Last weekend we took family holiday photos at Lucian's office. He organized the whole thing and built the set with a couple other guys. Although I hardly saw Lucian all weekend because he worked 9-5 both days taking photos, we got some great family shots and so did a number of other families. Here's a sneak peek.








Claire frequently mimics talking on the phone. She uses anything for a phone or nothing at all. Here's a video of her using our Flip video camera as a phone. Hilarious (I think).

Another Weekend

I had the perfect lunch date last Friday. Lucian was able to take the day off, but had an interview over lunch. My solution? Bring Claire to me (his office is a block away) and pick her up when you're done! It worked wonderfully and I got a rare treat; a lunch date with my daughter. We played at my desk for a few minutes before heading out (photo above) and I let her answer the phones while we we waited for daddy to pick her up. She only lost a few calls.
I look forward to weekends with very few plans. This was one of them, however, while enjoying my lazy Saturday I started to get a little stir crazy. We decided to take a trip to mall. I needed a new pillow and I knew they had an indoor play area for kids. Claire had a good time running around and crawling through the play equipment (after Lucian showed her). We will probably be regulars there this winter. Does anyone else have suggestions for free indoor activities with a toddler? This could be a long winter.


Lucian spent the majority of Sunday in his robe and slippers. Claire joined him on the couch while watching football and checking out some bicycles on Ebay. Since one of her favorite words is wow, it was easy to get her to say it while looking at the computer screen. Here's a few funny photos and a video. She also says her new favorite word "no" once in the video. We're not big fans of that one.



We were invited to Sydney's house for dinner and some playtime on Sunday. It's always fun to get them together. Someday maybe they will actually play with each other, but for now they mostly run around and take the toy the other one just finished with.

Rockford Bound

Nana Barb is recovering from hip replacement surgery, so last weekend Claire, Auntie M and myself headed to Rockford for a visit. Claire wasn't walking the last time they saw her, so her new found mobility was fun for them to observe.

Claire rarely stops moving. She walks from room to room to room looking for something to play with a few seconds and then keeps going. This morning she was pushing a laundry basket all around the house.

Nana's walker isn't quite like Claire's. For one it doesn't play music.

While recovering, Nana Barb knit Claire this poncho and hat. They are so cute! I wish I had inherited the knitting gene, I can only make scarves.

Snuggling with Grandpa Joe before bed

A FaceTime video call with daddy

Claire loves to go through my purse and wallet. I created a wallet with cards that I don't use and are safer if they are lost but she still wants the real deal.

Claire and Auntie M sporting their Bear's attire. I thought Illinois was a safe place for Claire to wear hers.

Our daycare was getting rid of an extra kitchen set, so Claire has a new toy. She loves playing with pots and bowls and silverware. We think this will keep her busy for a while.

Claire is getting better at communicating what she wants and repeating words. I think more "ma" is her most used. She signs it too. She uses this most when she wants what we are eating, especially if it's dessert! She says wow and whoa and versions of up, dog, nose and banana (na na na). She will repeat things frequently too. So far baby, water, apple, grandpa and poopy are memorable ones.

Happy Halloween

Lucian's work held a costume contest last Thursday for which we created a pretty great costume. He decided to go as a Chilean miner, but we didn't think that was enough to win the contest. However, we thought having his own rescue capsule would put it over the top.

After lots of research and elbow grease, we bought coveralls, had a t-shirt made and constructed a one-of-a-kind capsule from lattice and foam. Turns out another co-worker (and friend) had the same idea. Here are some photos of the 2 costumes. Unfortunately neither of them won.



With everyone recuperating from colds and stomach bugs in our house, we took it easy this weekend. We cooked meals at home, played in the yard, ventured out to get Claire her first pair of real shoes and visited a pumpkin display briefly Saturday night.

Claire wore some black cat ears and helped me hand out candy for a bit. Trick or treating was exactly during her nap time, so she only helped for about 30 min. I was amazed she put candy in the kids' bags. Below she is checking out a box of dots that I ate. No candy for this baby, although she did get a taste of a Kit Kat after biting through the wrapper!

Bundled up to see the jack o'lanterns

Claire loves to play at the computer. She must observe us closely because she types and moves the mouse around as if she's actually doing something. It's funny to watch.

We picked up a new lens for our camera that Lucian tested out this weekend. Here are a few shots I thought were fun.