Thanksgiving

  This is Mia going for a run with Jerry. In the mornings before the sun warms things up it can be a little chilly, but I may have over done it. Anyone thinking A Christmas Story?
  All of you just be thankful that your kitchen isnt this small when you prepare your next holiday meal
  Mia LOVES her daddy. Its always playtime when he is around
  We had some single folks from church over for Thanksgiving dinner. This is Zarney and she could be the most sweet, uplifting, positive person on the planet! Every person needs a Zarney in their life. She is pretty amazing.
Hope everyone's holiday was well! Dinner was okay. The corn didnt actually make it from the stove to the table and the gravy was runny but other than that it went off pretty well.

Random pics

Mia is LOVING trying new foods. She is so funny in this pic, I couldnt resist posting it.
 
  We think this bib is hilarious. The friends that got it for her did too.
  This is why I love living here. Our autumn colors are just now in full bloom and this is about 2 minutes from my house!
  SOOO nice outside. So all of you that are already annoyed by the cold temps wherever you may be, come to Austin!

UT Football game

My time in Austin is complete. Thanks to some nice friends, we were able to go to UT's last home football game of the year.

 

 

That is my othe BF, Colt McCoy in his last game here at home. Sad.

 

 

Needless to say, we had a blast!

Addison and Mia

This is Addison, the little girl I took care of a few days a week for the last two months. Her nannies returned to the US, so I am not watching her any more. She loved to kiss Mia and do to her "baby" whatever I was doing to Mia. It was good practice for me to see what it is like juggling 2 kids that are little. I salute you moms with more than one little tyke at home!
 
 

In other news

We really do other stuff besides take pictures of baby girl, its just not as fun or interesting. For journaling sake, here is the latest with Mia's parents:

Jerry: If he were composing this it would be ho-hum bleh bleh so I will take the liberty of writing this for him so I can give you an actual update. He has really taken flight with his program here at UT Austin. He has lots of research projects in the works. Recently he was approved to conduct a research study regarding a statute that exists in some states called UPPL. If I knew how to insert a link here I would. Let me work on that:) This is awesome because it is his own work. He has some other papers that have been accepted for publication as well. He is done with course work after the summer and then its on to his comprehensive exam and dissertation. Lots of work lies ahead but he is so committed and disciplined that it all seems to work out for him. He isnt home much but we know that hard work now will pay off later, so we go along for the ride and support him 100%. The folks he works with seem to like him a lot and are always trying to get him to do more and more! The rest of his time is spent.. oh wait- that is all of his time!

Jen: The pace around here for me has picked up a bit. Now that Mia is a bit older I have been working some. I have ran some flu clinics for Valerie and also worked a few shifts. I had some good insight while I was away from Mia of why I dont miss working and why the most important place for me to be is home with her. Being home is harder, believe it or not, but I feel like the work I do at home is so valuable and will have an impact on Mia forever. I also have been taking care of a little girl a few days a week. Her name is Addison and her mom is good friends with Valerie. Having a 2 year old in the house and car and store (etc.) is sooo different and challenging. This girl defines the word mess! I made the decision to not buy or get attached to anything in my house because by the time Mia gets her hands all over it, it will be disgusting! She is a cutie though and I have enjoyed taking her to the park, library, etc. Her regular nannies had to go to Mexico for a family emergency but may be returning soon. Other than that, young women and college football consumes the rest of my time!

Jerry and I are excited for this holiday season. Thanksgiving will be low key as we are staying here. I am going out on a limb and will make a turkey. While my mom was here I had her make one so I would know what I was doing. I will admit, I was pretty grossed out. The whole sticking your hand up in the mix and getting stuff out, then rinsing it out, pretty sick. Then locking the legs back in wire- I have become such a lightweight I guess. I can do it though, it will be super!
For christmas we are headed to Utah. I am really hoping for some snow. I would love to get some snowboarding in. Jerry is able to go for 2 weeks and I am going to stay a bit longer than that. He has a conference in San Francisco in January, over his birthday, so we are going to make a trip out of it. I will fly from Utah and meet him there. Mia will get to have a party all weekend long with Grama and Papa Weller! We are all looking forward to it. She will be used to their house by then and to my mom so I dont think it will be too hard for her.

Mia- 6 months

 

My favorite things about my 6 month old:

Smiles! She is so smiley. She wakes up grinning ear to ear.
Personality- She is pretty funny. She makes noises to hear herself and to see what my reaction will be.
Curiosity- for the first time I am noticing her taking interest in things. What Im eating or doing, what is on the ground, noises, etc.
Movement- lucky for me she is still pretty immobile. She is learning how to gain ground while lying on the ground as she rolls back and forth. She doesnt go too far yet.
Jumper- She has this stationary jumper and she is a rockstar in it! She jumps and jumps and it makes her so happy.
Sleep- she still likes to sleep thank goodness. She sleeps long nights, however does more of a 30 minute power nap in the morning and evening. She is so happy its hard to make her sleep longer. Especially because each afternoon she takes a 2.5-3 hour nap. I count it as a blessing:)

My least favorite things about my 6 month old:

Messes! Having her try new foods for the first time is fun, but the spit up is colored, the diaper is messier, and her hands are in to everything. I think my non-messy baby days are over:(
Fits: She has this new high pitched, tear filled fit thing she tries out. She used to only do serious crying when she was in pain or something like that. Now it is a demand thing and I totally fall for it. She is teaching me though and I'm catching on.
Heavy car seat: I may have permanent back/arm/neck damage from hauling a heavy car seat plus a huge baby around. I rarely go into places without my snap n go for this reason.

I really have no complaints. She is the most amazing baby ever and I am learning so much from her. I hear 6-9 months is a whole new ball game, so here we go!

More time with the fam

 

 

Who even knew leggings could be so cute on a chunky legged baby!

 

 

I think this last picture is so funny. We have been taking her along when either of us go jogging and she likes it, after you get her in the stroller. She freaks out at first, then holds a grudge like you see in the picture, then she loves it. It was chilly for a few days so we had to bundle her up:)