Halloween seems like forever ago, especially with the winter storm that came in this weekend. I’m sure for some it’s caused a few added headaches between road travel and school closings, but with Natalie’s pure excitement over the snow I’m gently reminded how pretty winter really is. So this morning I put on my warm boots, got out my heavy coat and fully committed to having hat-hair in the office today. The heated steering wheel and remote starter helped too.
But before we dive into full on holiday talk, I would be remiss if I didn’t post a few pics from Halloween on Rosewood. This year the weather could not have been better which brought out a record 375 trick-or-treaters (give or take). My parents came up from Schoolcraft to help hand out candy that was gone before 8pm. We made chili and listened to festive music on the porch. Our new neighbors to the north totally ‘won’ with their matching shark costumes. They even dressed their dog up. Well played.
Natalie has been loving school and I was giddy to volunteer for the themed Halloween party last month. We often ask her what she ‘learned at school today’ and she goes between two responses: “I don’t remember” and “I’d rather not talk right now.” Needless to say, being there in person as well as attending our very first parent-teacher conferences were much better indicators as to how much she likes it. Her report card said ‘Natalie has a kind heart and is a good friend to all her classmates,’ which we all know is basically describing Jeff. We are super proud of her. In other news, Natalie is really excited for Christmas and has told us that she’s going to ask for a Cinderella Dress from Santa this year.
Thomas is growing!!! We weighed him last weekend and he’s a whopping 32 pounds and filling out 2T clothes which is not super surprising; he never stops eating. He also never stops making noise. He’s a chatter box and his volume is on the extreme side. He’s got more and more words everyday including: mama, dada, door, more, dis (this), ut-oh, ball, dog, grandma, grandpa, and book. On that note… he LOVES books. He’s way more into turning the pages for the pictures than having us read to him but it’s about the longest we can get him to sit still in one place so we’ll take it. In addition to books, Thomas is also super into brushing his teeth and is getting good at building block towers. He continues to be a great sleeper and like most kids his age he’s constantly pushing his boundaries which provides us with lots to laugh about.
Earlier this month Jeff and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary over dinner, a bottle of red wine and letters we’d written to one another - an ode to our wedding vows. It has been the best 5 years of my life. Period.
A few weeks ago I met some friends downtown for The Fun Show with Cat & Nat at 20 Monroe Live. I expected it to be a lot like the #MomSoHard show I saw a year ago at DeVos Performance Hall which was a straight up comedy show. However, the Fun Show was that and more including moments ranging from feel good sisterly love stories all the way to male strippers. Not even joking. Cat & Nat kicked off their second half with cowboy strippers which took the entire audience by surprise. The crowd went wild and I could not stop laughing at how nuts the moment was.
As some of you know, November is hunting season and for the first time ever Jeff joined my Dad and brother in the U.P. while I stayed home with the kids. On that Friday I went out with the gals to the annual Hunters Widows Antique Sale and found the most incredible fur coat! Allegedly, it was worn in two Bette Davis movies and I snagged it for a hilarious $35. Later that same weekend I took Natalie on our first Mommy-Daughter date to the Civic Theatre to see the musical The Little Mermaid. She LOVED it and I had so much fun being one on one with her. She was literally on the edge of her seat the entire time. It was great for kids and if you still have the chance to go I recommend it.
And last weekend officially kicked off the holiday season with a marathon of Thanksgiving festivities. This year we were grateful for simply having many things to smile about and a purposeful life. We were blessed to spend the entire weekend celebrating with friends and family with full bellies, free of stress - thank you to those who planned, cooked and hosted our two family dinners, two friends brunches/Bloody Mary bars, one neighborhood pre funk (aka happy hour), book club and (my favorite) the annual tree cutting field trip. Post brunch, a group of friends headed out to Bosch’s Tree Farm in Allendale. The weather was perfect requiring sunglasses and amazingly, no snow pants!
POSTSCRIPT
Right now my book club is reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It is about two sisters and their two very different reactions to WWII. I’m nearly done and totally captivated by the story.
The Spain Travel Series is complete! It comes in 4 parts, one post per city. Check it out!
