The Joys of Turkey Day

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Nick and I had a conversation about how we both thought Thanksgiving might just be our favorite holiday. We love Christmas, but Thanksgiving didn't have all the stress of buying gifts and the madness of the holiday schedules. As I agreed whole-heartedly with Nick that Thanksgiving was wonderful, I had a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't figure out until the night before Turkey Day. I realized what it was as I was faced with the realization of everything I had to get together by the next morning. Stress. I forgot that Thanksgiving has stress too... it's just all packed into one 24 hour period, so it doesn't seem like much compared to the entire month of December. And I wasn't even the one hosting it! I suddenly had a lot of sympathy for my mom for all those years when she essentially prepared the whole feast on her own. Sure, we helped, but were a bunch of kids really all that helpful? That thought was enough to make me never want to shoulder the whole meal by myself in the future...EVER. Admittedly, Nick confessed that his family had spoiled him into thinking that the men didn't have to do anything on Turkey Day but play football, eat, watch football, and eat again. I'm sure he will always look forward to the years when we are in Omaha for Thanksgiving, when he can revert back to his old ways... In the meantime, I'm grateful for his help!

This year, Nick kicked things off with a Turkey Trot through Old Town Alexandria.

Then we headed off to Mike & Mary's house to enjoy the next two days with the Selden clan.

Our friend, Nate, joined us & agreed to hold Mia for the first time... We've got proof now, Nate! Before long we'll have you changing diapers.

Sue, Brian, my cousin Jessica, & her husband, Ryan chattin' it up before dinner.

Grandma Sue couldn't have been happier to have so much of the family together... unless, of course, we could have gotten the Jacksons to join us. We missed you guys!

Mia was feeling the love from her cousins.

Turns out, those Selden kids inherited some of the music genes. First a piano concert...

... then a jam session on the drums. Great Grandpa Butch would be proud, Tyler.

Mike led some of the family in a serious game of Puerto Rico... I generally opt out of the epic games, but Mia was whispering strategies to Grandpa Wally the whole time.

Since it isn't a Selden year for Christmas in 2009, we did our 2nd annual Yankee gift exchange at Thanksgiving. Surprisingly, there were only 3 iTunes gift cards in play this time.

We had a great time and were grateful to Mike & Mary for hosting us all. Their new house was perfect for the gathering and everything was beautiful!

Sitting Pretty

Another milestone...

Mia seems to be right on track at 6 months with her sitting ability.

She is getting pretty good at it, but it is still nice to practice somewhere where the landing is nice and soft.

Daddy's Girl

Mia has always loved hanging with Dad, but she seems to have entered a new phase of obsession where she must know where Dad is at all times. If she hears him, but doesn't see him, he must be found before she will continue with whatever it was that she was doing.

The question is, who is wrapped around whose finger in this picture?

Signing with Colgate University

As much as we would love to say that Mia is already being recruited, this college commitment wasn't hers. The goalie from the team I coach signed with Colgate this week to play Division I lacrosse. She has worked hard & definitely deserves the honor. We attended the signing ceremony where Hanna and three other McLean students signed with Division I schools to play various sports... Probably the biggest year for recruits the school has had in a very long time, if ever.

My assistant coach and I said a few words about Hanna while the school's principal watched Mia for me. No one was twisting her arm... Mia is always sought after.

Hanna needed a little Mia time after the signing as well. Can you tell the ceremony took the place of a nap that day? And to make matters worse, I took Mia for her 4th shot this week (H1N1 this time) right afterward. She was so desensitized, she didn't even make a peep when they gave her the shot. (A first for the nurse.) I just pretended like Mia was always that tough.

Bye Daddy

Sometimes in the mornings, I will prop Mia up on a pillow or two on the couch so she can see her Dad leaving for work. She is trying to figure out where he goes all day.

She loves looking out the window & will try to stick with it for as long as possible.

Slowly, her legs begin to give out, but she doesn't give up. She holds on till the bitter end...

She misses her dad.

Friday Night Lights

Although it was not Mia's first football game, it was her first high school football game. Nick and I decided to go to the big rivalry game at the high school where I coach lacrosse. Mia got a lot of attention in the stands & was layered and bundled, but there wasn't much we could do to keep her face warm. She was about done at halftime, so we missed the nail-biting, overtime finish with a 35-34 victory for the home team!

Swing Thing

Mia is on the verge of sitting up on her own, which will open up a whole new world for us all, I am sure... Yesterday we met some friends at the park & Mia tried out a swing for the first time. She loved it!

This picture was taken with the flash on, so what was really around 5 o'clock when the sun was beginning to set looks more like midnight. As nice as it was to "fall back" for that one hour on Halloween night, I really miss the longer days!

Civics Lesson

Mia got to experience the democratic system of government for the first time when she accompanied me to the polls on Election Day.

I love the "Future Voter" sticker.

She felt good about doing her civic duty.

The Lost Symbol

While Nick's mom was visiting, we thought it might be interesting to take a tour of the George Washington Masonic Temple in Alexandria, Virginia. Nick and I were getting ready to start Dan Brown's new book & we thought it would be a good idea to go learn something about the Masons before diving into it. It was an interesting place, but we didn't really learn much about the Masons themselves. Guess we will have to rely on Dan Brown's take on them. I'm sure it will be mainstream Masons and not the extremists he focuses on, right?

17 foot tall statue of George

While we were in this main hall, the only person who liked to hear themselves talk more than our tour guide was Mia. I think she enjoyed the echo. She was LOUD.

Yes, you Raiders of the Lost Ark fans, that IS what you think it is in the background.

The stained glass was really pretty throughout the building, but this one was my favorite. Notice the Knights Templar flag at the base of it. We did actually learn a little something about them to give us a teeny more insight into Dan Brown's first best seller.

The view of Old Town Alexandria from the top floor of the Masonic Temple.

Mia got a little bored & tired of competing with the tour guide for attention.

Even the view at the end didn't do it for her.

Now we can finally say we have done it since we only live a couple of miles away.

Grandma Love

We were lucky enough to have Nick's mom visit this last weekend. Mia was especially excited & had nothing but smiles for Grandma. We knew that Linda wasn't really coming to visit Nick and I, so we tried to give her as much Mia time as possible. She even babysat while we went out & celebrated our anniversary a little early. We wish the weather could have been a little better for her visit, but we still had a great time.

Grandma wanted to do all the mundane Mia chores whenever possible, so she fed Mia her oatmeal, her prunes (she's a little constipated these days), her sweet potatoes, changed diapers, read books, and just played with her all day long. It was great!

Mia absolutely loves books. She will stare at her library and lean toward it until you read to her. I think my favorite trick of hers is that she knows how to turn the pages of her baby board books. Hopefully she will keep up that love of reading! With a grandma who was an elementary school librarian and a mother who was a fourth grade teacher, she may not have a choice.

In the evenings we, of course, had to Skype with Grandpa. We are convinced that Skype is the reason she already knew and loved Grandma when she came. Mia gets really excited to see her buddies in the computer.

Grandparent love is the best.

Thanks for coming to visit!

Mia's First Halloween

This little polar bear almost missed her first Halloween completely because she was in hibernation. We finally decided to just wake her up so she didn't miss ALL of the festivities. The jury is still out on whether or not she was glad we woke her up from her nap to enjoy the holiday...

...but she made a really cute, sleepy polar bear.

Earlier in the day, Mia had on her Halloween outfit. Mia is starting a new band. Boo Thugs 'n Harmony is an Alrington, VA original. No wonder everyone thinks she's a boy...

The fam on Halloween, including Grandma Inzerello.

Some of our neighbors dropped by with their little boy who was the cutest frog I've ever seen. Mia wasn't sure what to do with him...

...so she ended up just holding his little frog hand.

In the end, the costume didn't last too long. She was getting a little toastie with the combined heat from her blubber & the fleecy costume. At least WE enjoyed it.