No News November

Ah, what a great month! After all the excitement\busyness\hectic\crazy events in October, my goal for our family was to have a laid back month. We pretty much achieved that! Oh sure, we did a few things during the month, but our pace seemed to be a lot more leisurely. It was great!

The biggest highlight of the month was, of course, Thanksgiving. We spent it at Mike's parents' house with both of his sister's families, Aunt Kathy, cousin Gretchen and Gretchen's son, Derek. It was great to see everyone, get to spend a nice day together and eat all the great food that was contributed by all. Dylan, of course, had a great time playing with all of his cousins. Somehow we managed to not take one picture that day. Odd for us and disappointing. Oh well, at least we still have the memories.

Let's see, what else happened in November? I had the 2nd part of my vein procedure which was not fun and not pretty. I'll spare all the gruesome details but I will say that I found out it takes about 20 shots of Novocaine in my leg to not feel the full brunt of the shot anymore and that ripping a vein out causes some pretty ugly and long lasting bruising. But now it's all done, I'm a lot closer to fully healed and will hopefully be happy with the end result.

I also was wild and crazy one night and went to see a live band on a weeknight. I know, complete madness, huh? When I was in college, I babysat (all 4 years) the son of one of the band members. I always try to go see the show when they're touring in the area. Unfortunately, they are currently doing their farewell tour so I definitely had to make this show. We were unable to get a sitter and I was unable to find a buddy to go with me last minute so I went solo. It was actually great that way. I was able to talk to my friend before the show, during their intermission as well as after the show and then just enjoyed the music in between. Great fun. (Kind of sad that I'm writing about going out on 1 weeknight during the month but, hey, day to day life with a kid is pretty routine so out of the ordinary doesn't happen all that often).

Also exciting for us in November was the arrival of a baby gorilla at our Franklin Park Zoo. After 2 visits to the zoo to see the new baby, we got a great look at it (sex is still unknown) on Sunday.

Kiki and Her Baby

After our Thanksgiving fun, we spent some time taking the fall house decorations down and replacing them with Christmas decor. Dylan is a great helper and really enjoyed seeing all the new things in our house. We managed to get the lights up on the house and are now just awaiting our tree which we're going to get this weekend. Should be interesting to see what challenges we'll face with a toddler having a tree in his play space.

Speaking of Dylan's play space, we need some book storage. Given how our playroom is set up, it would be a great use of space to make a radiator cover with some flanking bookshelves. I got a custom piece priced and then decided to try and make it myself. As a "warm up" to that project, I've been working on making a cover for our living room radiator. Currently, there's a tall, narrow, wobbly table on top of it that holds our tortoise's cage. Dylan's been showing interest in wobbling it around which is obviously not too safe. So, I'm making that cover to protect Dylan from the heat of the radiator and the danger of falling cages. I'm really happy with how the project is progressing. Tonight I hope to start staining the piece and will likely have it installed by the weekend. Once I do that, I'll post some pictures of the final product and will then start on the playroom piece. It's been so long since I've had the occasion and time to play with my power tools so I've really been enjoying this process. Fun stuff!

Our November has been great. A good mix of mellow, fun, productive and family fun. It's great that we got this down month because with all the events involved in the holiday season, December will no doubt be a hectic month.

Counting the Points

So, I've been stewing this posting around in my little noggin' for a while and trying to figure out just what exactly I wanted to say about it. Sure enough, an article was posted today that prompted me to finally post it.

Here's the deal. I don't get Weight Watchers. Look, I know the system works for lots of people (some of my readership included) and I'm not knocking it. I completely understand how the support group can be appealing and helpful in the incredibly difficult journey to losing weight. The part of the program I've never gotten, and it's a pretty major part of the program, is the point system.

Here's what I don't get. The FDA requires certain information to be labeled on prepared foods sold in stores. At the very top of these labels is an important bit of information called calories (just after the serving size info). Next to the calories is a number. The number of calories in 1 serving. And while there are many diets and nutritional recommendations out there, I think most can agree that caloric intake is a very important part of any eating plan. Okay...with me so far? Here's where it gets weird to me. Here comes Weight Watchers, takes the calories already listed on a food and creates a new system with different numbers, which you have to look up and\or memorize, and banks millions upon millions of dollars from the American public a year for this system.

Again, I'm not knocking the system. In fact, I wish I had been the genius mastermind thinking up this new arbitrary system and charging people for information that's already, by law, available. If I had, I would not be going to work everyday, but rotating between one of my many, world wide vacation homes.

Perhaps some of you can explain the appeal to me and why counting points is easier than counting calories. Smaller numbers? In any case, I thought it was interesting that Weight Watchers is now (as described in this article) changing their number system to something more in line with current theories on food intake. Points will now be more of a nutrition\caloric combo than straight calories.

While this point adjustment is in line with my personal beliefs on creating a balanced, healthy diet (so I applaud it), it's also interesting to note other articles that have come out recently that are somewhat in opposition. The one that I am most intrigued by is the story of the professor who lost weight by the "Twinkies diet." In this article that describes his diet, he limits his caloric intake but subsists, primarily, on junk food. What's most fascinating about it all is not that he lost weight, but that even though he did not follow what our general knowledge of what a healthy diet is, other health indicators (cholesterol and triglyceride counts) improved.

What's the lesson in all of this? Well, I didn't really post these things as any kind of lesson. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to health and nutrition. However, I do know what I've learned from my life experiences. And in the weight loss and diet change life experiences, I do have more than a few under my belt (pun intended). I've learned that when you have too much weight, losing it is a good thing. I honestly feel the difference even in just a couple of pounds. And, even though I still want to eat foods that aren't the most nutritional dense (aka junk) from time to time, if I stick to eating better foods for me, I feel good because of those choices.

A Drive Down the Kanc

A big ol' rewind back to mid October when my parents were here visiting.

A part of what my parents love about coming to Boston in the fall (other than the obvious reason of getting to see my family) is seeing the awesome foliage we have here. In Texas, where the seasons aren't so distinct, you just don't have the mass color change we experience in New England. One of the best leaf peeping drives is only a couple of exits north on the highway from our condo in NH. So, we took a quick trip up to the granite state to drive on the popular Kancamangus Highway.

Unfortunately, the peak time to see foliage differs every year and it's tricky to time it right. Even though Boston is only seperated from the white mountains by about 100 miles, the times the two different regions see the peak of fall colors is several weeks apart. We were driving the Kanc on the 3rd week of October and during the first half of the drive (up to the highest point on the highway), most of the trees were already bare and ready for winter. Kind of a bummer. Fortunately, the consolation prize on the route was fantastic scenic views of the white mountains.

During the 2nd half of that stretch of highway, we started to see some more leaves still attached to the trees so my parents did get to do some leaf peeping after all. We also stopped to see some great natural sights just off the road. Dylan fell asleep during our ride so Mike stayed in the car with him while my parents and I got out to stretch our legs.

Our first stop was Sabbaday Falls. The easy path is just a half mile loop to a gorgeous flume and water fall.

Base of the Falls

Sabbaday Falls

Self Portrait - Dad, Mom and Me at Sabbaday Falls

Fall Foliage!

My Parents on the Wooded Path

After our stop at the falls, the three of us hopped back in the car for just a few minutes for the drive down to the Rocky Gorge on the Swift River.

Rocky Gorge

My Dad and Me at Rocky Gorge

Then it was back in the car again to go up to the road to yet another stop, Lower Falls. Just as we stopped the car and started to get out, little Sleeping Cuteness woke up. So, we were all able to enjoy the falls. Mike, Dylan and I hopped the rocks out into the river a little ways. Mike gave me a heart attack when he slipped on a rock with Dylan and stumbled a bit. Luckily, they got nothing more than a little water on their shoes, but it still freaked me out a bit. We were VERY careful getting back to the shore.

This was by far the busiest area we visited. There were lots of folks there enjoying the trees and the river. Dylan had a fun time walking on the bank (a good, safe distance away from the water) with a stick he found. Ah, to be so easily amused!

At Lower Falls

We Scaled the Big Rock at Lower Falls!

Another 10 minutes down the road is North Conway at the end of the Kancamangus. That town is known for its outlet malls and we spent a little time shopping around them. After a quick lunch, we headed back to our home in Boston. It was a quick trip to NH but a nice one.

Back at the house, we couldn't let Mimaw and Pipaw leave without Dylan modeling his Halloween costume for them.

The Happy Giraffe

The next day, my parents left for Dallas. A week always seems like so much time for a visit and it always goes by so quickly. Dylan had a great time with his Mimaw and Pipaw and can't wait to see them again and celebrate Christmas together.

October Blur

Here it is, 9 days into November and I'm still scratching my head and wondering where October went. I sat down and started listing the things that happened during October (some that I'll quickly document now and some for posts yet to come) and I'm dumb founded how we got so much done in a matter of 4 weeks (and a couple of days).

From start to finish, here's how our month went:

Refinanced the House (well, technically I think that was the last week of September)

Bermuda Trip (seen here, here and here)

EVLT (procedure on my unsightly and uncomfortable vericose vein) - This happened the day after we returned from our trip. Part II, the AP, was done last Wednesay.

Our Anniversary - We celebrated with a date night out to a movie and dinner.

Topsfield Fair

My Parents' Visit (Zoos, NH, etc)

Birthday Party for Mike's nephews

My Birthday

A cold that none of us escaped (we all took our turns being under the weather)

Meeting with our architect (put deposit on our next house project...more on that in time)

Tom and Betsy's Anniversary Party

Birthday Party for Dylan's friends Luke and Ryan

Halloween

Well, I guess that's it. Was the hectic month enough an excuse to constantly be behind on the blog? My goal for November - catch up October events and not be busy enough to add to the pile of postings that need to go up.

16 Months

Over the weekend, Dylan officially turned 16 months old. Each time I go to do a monthly update, I re-read the previous month's b'day post so I can report on developmental progress on things I had mentioned. I'm always amazed at how much changes in one month with my little guy!

His vocabulary continues to expand and he enjoys using his words. My favorite word he's starting using in the last month is "Mama!" It's so great to finally hear him say it and actually be referring to me. If we point at a picture of our family and say "who's that?" Dylan correctly identifies Mama and Dada. Other new words he has that make a mama proud are "help" (which sounds a lot like up) and "please."

In addition to all the new words he's learning, he has really taken off with animal noises. If you ask him what an animals says\does, he will let you know....and he's learning a new one almost every day! So far (and I'm sure I've missed some), he can do:
Lion, Cat, Dog, Sheep, Monkey, Snake, Bear, Chipmunk, Kangaroo\Rabbit\Frog, Bee, Seal, Elephant, Bird, Donkey, Cow.

Dylan also enjoys pointing to body parts and we're working on expanding his knowledge of that. He's known nose and eye for a while (says them too) but can also point out ears, mouth, teeth, hair, feet, toes, and belly button. Between animal noises and pointing out facial features, we can keep him entertained for the minutes we need to finish our meals after he's done eating.

Walking is still a favorite past time of his but it's gotten so speedy he looks like he's always running. Dylan has also been trying really hard to hop. He'll bend his knees, crouch down and then stand up really fast! He hasn't quite figured out how to get his feet to leave the ground but he still thinks his hopping is pretty humorous.....we get a kick out of watching it too.

After we lost so much sleep during and after Bermuda because of cutting teeth, we haven't had issues with it recently but he did get a third molar in and the 4th will be happening any day now.

Fans and balloons have been obsessions for a while but over the last couple of weeks he's added another - airplanes. That boy's sharp hearing can detect any time one's in the sky and then he tries to spot it. He never misses one (unless the clouds deter him)!

Mike and Dylan have spent a lot of time raking over the last month and Dylan absolutely loves it. We have a small garden rake that he has claimed (gets very upset when we try and use it) and is very excited every time we go outside and he sees it in the yard. Of course, we had to get the traditional kid in the pile of leaves pictures so here they are!

The Toss In

Anyone Seen Dylan??

He wasn't really sure about it all but was a good sport none the less. Happy 16 months kiddo!

Happy Anersary

October 24th was a big day - it was my in-laws' 40th wedding anniversary! Mucho kudos to them! So, like any good children, we got my father-in-law in on the plan, louring them over to our house with the guise of Mike and I taking them to dinner to celebrate and scaring the crap out of my mother-in-law with the rest of the family waiting to yell "SURPRISE" to them. Mike, his siblings and myself are apparently great schemers (something to add to the resume) because my lovely mother-in-law, Betsy, was truly surprised.

It was a great night celebrating the monumental event with the family. There was a ridiculous amount of food (you'd think we thought our family was about 4 times the size it was with the buffet we laid out), drinks galore, old pictures to look over, good company and general merriment. Also, even though it was dark, it was the first time at our place that we let the kids go out back (ALL the kids, including Dylan who was in the care of his cousin, Emily) and play while the adults all stayed inside and chatted. Fun was had by all!

Oh, and I suppose the blog title deserves some explanation. No it's not a typo it's intentional. Hours into the event, my observant brother-in-law, Jim, noticed that the banner Mike and I hastefully hung in event preparation was missing a few letters. It read....

HAPPY ANERSARY! (Sorry, hard to see in the pic with the glare.)

That banner is now safely stored and will be used at every family event in the future. Good laughs like that don't happen every day! Other fun things that happened that night:

Fun Game of Soccer (Patrick, Corwin, Jacob and Mike)

Smokey Came Out for Some Snuggles (seen here with Emily)

AND Cake went up Dylan's Nose!

In spite of Betsy still recovering from a nasty cold, I think she and Tom had a great time and we had a great time surprising them and having a fun bash.

The Whole Gang (except for Mike who took the picture)

Adults -Betsy, Maureen, Joe, Me, Tom, Jim, Kristina

Kids - Emily, Dylan, Patrick, Jacob and Corwin

Lions, Tigers and Grandparents, OH MY!

Rewind: Columbus Day Holiday Week

The Columbus Day holiday was beautiful weather so we called up Mike's parents and invited them to the zoo. We had a great day walking around the Stone Zoo and then went for dinner afterwards. I love it when a plan comes together!

Nana and Dylan Checking Out the Monkeys

Bumpa and Dylan

Dylan had a great time walking with and stamping his feet with Nana

Me, Nana, Bumpa, Dylan (and his new snow leopard from Nana)

The day after that, my parents arrived for a week long visit. While I was at work, Mike took them to the Franklin Park Zoo. (We don't mess around with getting our full value out of our yearly zoo pass!)

Pipaw and Dylan

I was able to take a couple of days off while my parents were here. In August, Mike took Dylan to the Southwick Zoo (about an hours drive away) on a week day. This one's not on our zoo pass but Mike and Dylan had such a good time, that they wanted to take Mimaw, Pipaw and me back with them.

The zoo was really interactive and fun! Not only did they have a petting zoo where we got to feed goats, pet calves, and get up close and personal with turkeys, they also had a deer enclosure where the deer came right up to you for feed. Also, the animals themselves were really into connecting with the zoo visitors...especially the monkeys! One type of monkey made faces at Mike. Mike made faces back to the monkey who then made the same, more exaggerated face, back to Mike. And then, when changing Dylan's diaper on a bench by a different monkey enclosure, one curious primate came over to check out the process.

The two tigers were very antsy and were pacing back and forth right at the fence and would look at us and "speak" to us. The black swans were very talkative and sounded like they were saying "Dy-Lan, Dy-Lan!" We also got to see the youngest of the porcupine climb all over the chain link fence, giving us a great view of the bottom of his paws and his soft looking belly. He was close enough for us to touch but his quills did their job and scared us from doing so.

That day Mike apparently possessed super powers as an animal whisperer. He treated all the animals as if they were in a petting zoo and got to pet many of them. It was really wild! He reached over the fence and pet the capybara whose nose was lifted up towards him. The giraffe used his long neck to lean over the fence and give a nuzzle to Mike's outstretched hand, the camels nuzzled him through the fence, and fed an ostrich by hand.

Pony Ride (I missed his very first pony ride when he took it on his first visit to this zoo)

Riding the Rides - His deer in the headlights look makes it look like he wasn't having a good time but his insistence on going right on the next ride proved otherwise - he loved it!

In hog heaven with TWO steering wheels!!

Mom Feeding the Goats

Dylan Feeding the Goats

(He clenched the food tightly in his hands and taunted the goats for a while...

I finally had to stop him and pry open his hands so the goats could get at the feed)

Feeding the Parakeets

Postcard Picture Perfect Lions

Mimaw, Dylan, Pipaw and Me