What a November!

Hello everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving! I can’t believe that it has been almost one whole month since I have given you and update on my life! I am not sure what percentage of my life this is but it seems like a lot! I am almost 17 months old now. I not just walk but am really good at transporting things from one place to another. I know well and good when I am “transporting” something I should not be and give a sneaky grin to whoever is telling me to stop. And yes, I keep on going. I do like to help put things away, though too. Especially my basket of felt pictures and numbers for my felt board. I carry my basket 111111111111114444444442EE (My contribution to the blog typing as I did a “driveby” while mommy was typing). Back to the story. I carry my basket around the house and dump the felt pieces on the floor. Then I pick them up. Actually, then I leave to go move something else from one place to another, then to get another item and move it from one place to another. After a long time of this moving things from one place to another, Mommy asks me to walk around with her and we pick up things and move them back to where they started from. We do this every day and sometimes multiple times a day, it’s so much fun! At some point we get to the basket with the felt in it. For those of you who know Mommy and her tidy tendencies would be proud of her tolerance of so many items not in their correct place.

Let’s step back in time a little bit. When I got back from vacation and after Patrick’s birthday party on November 1, I transitioned to my new school room! My teachers are called Miss Carolyn and Miss Tiffany. I still see my teachers from infant B (Miss Nancy, Miss Tiesha and Miss Sandy) because there is just a short wall between our two rooms that I can see over. And because they “flow to the work” as Mommy and Daddy would say, I often go to my old room in the morning as Miss Nancy is the “opener.” Jack is in my new room and so is Jenna. We do many big kid things, like coloring on paper and sitting in a circle for storytime. We still go on bye-bye-buggy rides too and I get to sit next to Jack again. I have been sleeping a little better in this room too, sometimes I even sleep for 2 hours at one time. Don’t get your hopes up too high though, this is not an everyday occurrence.

Tuesday, November 4 was a very busy day. Daddy got up really early and left the house to go “vote.” This is a special privilege that we have in this country and both Daddy and Mommy are very proud of it. Daddy waited in a long line and talked to our neighbors (and yes, it was funny that Daddy saw them at the voting location but not in the neighborhood). Daddy then came back and took me to school so Mommy could go vote. No matter what you think about the results, it was an amazing day. The fact that there were lines with people waiting to vote and so much anticipation was something Mommy has not seen in such a long time. It made her think that people really took this right to heart this year. Anna Greenlee and lots of other kids got to go vote with their parents but Mommy and Daddy thought I might cause more chaos during the busy day so I will have to wait for another time.

Mommy and Daddy have been married for 6 years now! They got married on November 9, 2002. I was not there of course but I heard it was a really fun time. This year’s anniversary started very well, Daddy sent Mommy 2 dozen roses in all different colors. They were so pretty and she got to show them off to her friends at work (he sent them to her on Friday so she could enjoy them all weekend). Although we did have a good weekend, Daddy got a cold on Saturday and Mommy got sick on Sunday night. Mommy did not feel good until Wednesday and Daddy will probably have his cold for the rest of the winter. But, they made a nice dinner on Sunday (they can’t remember what it was but do recall that it was good). They also enjoyed a bottle of wine from Daddy’s wine cellar.

Our friends, Doug and Tara Hood came to visit us the following weekend. I love Tara! I ran to her when she came in the door and pretty much would not leave her alone the rest of the time she was there. I even dumped milk on her new sweater. While Mommy did not want me to bother Tara, it did give her some time to actually eat her own dinner without me.

The next weekend Aunt Shell came to visit! Oh what fun we had. Mommy, Daddy and I drove to Dayton to see her and to have our first of two Thanksgivings with Mommy’s family. We met Aunt Shell, Nana, Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jeannie and Michael at a place called “Sam’s Club” and milled around the aisles (to Daddy’s chagrin) for awhile. They have taster day just like Costco but it is not as good so we did not taste that much. We did look at the toys and tried out a tricycle that Daddy said I do not need. After we checked out, Robbie got food and everyone but Daddy got drinks, Daddy, Mommy and I went to run a few errands and everyone else went back to Nana’s to prepare the feast. I fell asleep in the car, but only for a little while, and when I got back to Nana’s, I just did not want to sleep anymore. Do you know how hard it is to be the entertainment for so many people? It’s an important job that I take seriously and sleep cannot get in the way. So, no more napping for me that day. Uncle David, Papaw and Great-Grandma Betty arrived and we had a nice meal. Did I mention that I am not a huge fan of sitting in my chair for very long? I also enjoy pulling whatever is in reach to me and then throwing it on the floor. Or putting the food I have been given in bowls then taking a spoon and pounding them together. It’s fun to watch the acrobatics that Mommy, Daddy and often Nana do while we are all eating. This seems to be just part of the entertainment. I love ready-whip. I was off entertaining someone else after dinner and heard the tell-tale noise of it coming out of the container and headed directly to the source. Mommy was having dessert without me! Not anymore, I said with my grunts and motions towards the ready-whip container. There were more acrobatics by Mommy as I sat in my chair to enjoy my ready-whip dessert. We left that night as it got very close to my bedtime and boy was I tired. But don’t worry, more fun was yet to come.

After church the next day, Daddy stayed at home to do yard work and Mommy and I headed back to Dayton to hang out with Nana and Aunt Shell. Aunt Shell was having lunch with Papaw and Great-Grandmother Betty so Nana, Mommy and I went shopping. We had such a good time like we always do. After Aunt Shell was finished with lunch, we played for a little while, then headed over to Uncle David’s house for dinner. Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jeannie and Michael also came too! Mommy picked up a few Papa Murphy’s pizzas (the ones that we love that we bring home and put in the oven to cook ourselves). Uncle David is clearly not serving lots of people at his house very often. He did not have any plates so Mommy and Aunt Shell had to go out to get a few necessities. Although the pizzas burned, we all had a good time hanging out together. And everyone loves me a whole bunch. I run around and laugh and dive into their arms. Uncle Robbie, Aunt Shell and Aunt Jeannie get on the floor and play with my toys with me too. I was really tired after two fun-filled days with my family.

Daddy thought our Thanksgiving dinner was over since we had a big meal on Saturday, but no way Jose! More fun was yet to come.

I like this Thanksgiving thing. To me it meant a short week at school (just Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday). Mommy took Wednesday off so she could run some errands in the morning then picked me up so I could take a nice nap after lunch. Then we went to Kristy’s to play with Colin and Patrick. They have a great basement with all sorts of toys and games. Although the boys don’t really like me to pick up their breakable things, they are nice and let me do much of what I want. It felt like old times with us all playing during the day!

On Thursday morning, I got up really early! No one told me that I should sleep in so I was up and ready to go by 6:30 am. We usually decorate for Christmas the Sunday after Thanksgiving but since I was up so early, Mommy decided that we should do it that morning. I had a great time helping her get things out of the closet and helped her move things from one place to another (remember, I am very good at this). Mr. Fancy Pants helped by coming into the closet with Mommy and me. I am not sure if Mommy thought this was very helpful but she was also talking on the phone with Nana the whole time so she might not have cared. Daddy even helped bring things downstairs and sat with us on the floor while Mommy decorated the tree. Bella loves the Christmas tree. Bella loves to climb the Christmas tree and play with the ornaments on the tree. We hoped when we left that the Christmas tree would still be standing when we got home.

After my nap, we went back to Dayton for another big meal. This time, though, it was just Nana, Uncle David, Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jeannie, Michael and us. Uncle Robbie deep fried another turkey and the rest of us brought the sides (Uncle David brought his normal thing, just himself. After dinner this time I went for a walk with Mommy, Nana and Aunt Jeannie while Daddy and Uncle David took a nap in front of the football game. It was really chilly so I put on Nana’s gloves along with my big, winter coat. I did not want them to fall off so I kept my hands up in the air. I walked for a bit, then was carried for a bit. Halfway through the walk Nana suggested that we get the wagon she bought for me. So there we went, trekking through backyards to get my wagon so we could take a proper walk. Well, I am kinda scared of the wagon. Mommy is not sure why, but the wagon did not last very long. So, I was carried while Jeannie pulled the wagon and to the park we went. Mommy loves Nana’s neighborhood, it is nice and flat and there were people out on every street. They were all friendly and said hello and “Happy Thanksgiving” to us as we walked (and as I was carried). We walked to the park in the neighborhood (another bonus) and we swung on the swings and ran in the mulch and watched the doggies and children playing in the park with us. On the way back, we tried the wagon again. I am not sure why we tried the wagon again, I thought I had already told them that I did not like the wagon. This time, Mommy pulled the wagon and Jeannie carried me back to Nana’s house. By this point I was a very tired girl after so much entertaining. I said my goodbye’s to everyone and off we went to home. We needed to get packed for our trip to see Grandma and Papa Connor in Toledo the next day!

I forgot to tell you that I have not been feeling very good lately. I had a low-grade fever for several days and got a bunch of red dots on my skin while I was in Toledo. Mommy and Grandma looked this up and think I have Roseola, a virus that must just “run its course.” I would like it to be done with its “course” so I can feel better. I am still a trooper though and have done my best to entertain and laugh and play with all of the family events.

On Friday in Toledo, we went to an amazing place. It was called “Children’s Wonderland” and inside it truly was a wonderland of Christmas spirit. I was so mesmerized, I did not want to leave the first exhibit. There were little people dancing and singing and moving. There were lights and colors and stars and even a real train with children in it. Around every corner was something new. I think I like this Christmas business. There was one display that had a baby and a mommy and daddy and even animals all together. Mommy said that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ birthday (the baby). What a lucky baby to have such a great celebration. He must be really special.

On Saturday, Daddy, Mommy and I met Terra, her dad (Ron) and step-mom (Beate) for lunch. I was a very good girl and loved spending time with them. Going out to lunch is still not the same for Mommy and Daddy, but they understand that once I am finished, I am a busy girl and need to move around. It helps when there are new people for me to entertain! Even though I was really, really tired, I could not get to sleep and only slept for 45 minutes that afternoon. I did not realize that I needed my rest for my visitors that night! Uncle Michael, Uncle John, Aunt Patty, Morgan and Keghan all came over to play with me that night. I had such a good time with them and did not go to sleep until 9 pm. Do you know that this means? Usually it means that Mommy and Daddy do not get a full night’s sleep. I woke up screaming at midnight. Luckily Mommy and Daddy have learned not to go out on nights like these because they make the getting up even harder. Mommy and I slept in the chair in the open room for awhile then finally I went back to sleep by 1 am. At 6:30 am I was ready to go again. Who can sleep during such exciting times? Due to this, we left after breakfast to get home so I could sleep again. It’s funny how so much of my life is planned around sleep.