Nothing Like the Holidays

Well, the Mitchell family had a great Thanksgiving break. We enjoyed the traditional Wednesday night dinner with Joe’s family and Thanksgiving lunch with my mom and then dad on Thanksgiving day. It was really nice to get a few days off from work and enjoy some quality family time. Joe even did a little Black Friday shopping, but not the 5:00 am shopping. We just went later in the day and got a few surprises for Jude.

Yesterday, we got the tree up and even a wreath on the door. Jude is hilarious…he keeps redecorating my tree. He seems to think that the ornaments are balls and has been tossing them down the hallway. So, the bottom half of the tree has no ornaments because I can’t trust the little one. He is totally fascinated by the lights and I can’t wait to see how he enjoys Christmas this year. I am really looking forward to enjoying the next few weeks and getting into the sprit of the holidays.

 

Halloween 2009

Jude had no interest in carving the pumpkin. Liam, however, was mildly interested.

I made Jude an owl costume.

Spread your wings and fly little owl.

Jude with Jason and Joshua getting ready to go trick-or-treating.

Daddy takes Jude to the door.

Jason and Jude

Halloween sure was fun this year!

 

Happy Father’s Day

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads we know, and especially to the daddy of our house, Joe. This is Joe’s first Father’s Day and we hope that he knows what an amazing dad he is. He’s patient, loving, and helpful. He does a great job of making Jude laugh and always gives Liam some extra special attention. Jude and I took Joe to Lockhart to enjoy some bbq at Black’s Barbecue. It was super tasty and a nice little country drive.

I love to watch the way Joe looks into Jude’s eyes with such love. I remember how proud Joe looked when Jude was born. He held Jude with such tenderness and strength that only a dad can have. Joe couldn’t stop looking at Jude…the nurse told him, “Dad, eventually you are going to have to stop looking at him and go to sleep.” Growing up, I always had a special relationship with my dad, and I know that Jude will have his own special bond with Joe.

But the best present I could possibly give Joe (other than carrying his child for 9 months and then subsequently birthing that child) was letting him sleep in this morning, undisturbed. Which was quite a task, considering that both Jude and Liam pooped on the floor first thing this morning. Jude has diaper rash that we are trying to let heal, so after I changed his diaper, I was allowing him some naked time to air dry. Well, I turn around to see him squatting on the floor. Then I run to grab paper towels, because the wipes can irritate the diaper rash, and Liam has pooped on the floor, as well. Were it not Father’s Day, I would have woke Joe up to come help me.

 

Mother’s Day

Sunday was my very first Mother’s Day. After I called my mom and sister to wish them Happy Mother’s Day, we got ready for the day and set out for my surprise lunch. Joe ended up taking me to Malaga downtown, which is one of the restaurants on my list of places that I want to try in Austin. I even got a Mother’s Day card from Jude and Liam.

It was fun to eat downtown, and it’s in that area around 2nd and Guadalupe that reminds me of Europe, with all the little shops clustered together. Malaga is a tapas & wine bar that usually caters to the drinking-age crowd, but their brunch is open to all ages. However, that does not mean that they have high chairs! The hostess actually offered us a chair for Jude (we were carrying  him) and I thought, “How old do you think he is?” So, we had to go back to the car and get the stroller for him to sit in. But, lunch was good and filling.

Then we headed across the street to the new Teuscher Chocolates that opened recently. Teuscher is “hoity toity” chocolates…they sell Oprah’s favorite chocolate, the champagne truffle. Joe and I both got a sweet treat for the walk back to the car.

It was a great first Mother’s Day. You only get one, and it was a good one!

Jude entertaining himself in the stroller.

Family photo

Mother and son

Daddy's boy

 

Easter Came Hopping By

So I haven’t had a chance to blog about Jude’s first Easter. The weather was so lovely and he seemed to really enjoy the day, despite sleeping terribly two nights in a row at my mom’s house. We celebrated my mom’s birthday on Saturday night by doing a shrimp boil. Sunday, we had Easter lunch with my mom and headed over to Joe’s sister, Michelle’s house, to meet up with other members of Joe’s family to have an egg hunt. Jude didn’t get the concept of an egg hunt, we helped him to find some eggs and he was able to put them in the basket. Even Liam seemed to enjoy being outside on such a nice day. I can’t believe at this point, Jude has experienced so many of his first holidays.

Jude and Liam discover the Easter baskets.

Daddy helps Jude find some eggs.

Hunting eggs

What am I supposed to do with these eggs?

Liam is getting in on the fun.

Enjoying the weather

Jude and his cousins

 

Jude Met the Easter Bunny

…and he even smiled.

 

Happy Holidays to All

Jude wishes everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

 

Christmas Gifts

I like to pick out gifts for our friends and family members who read the blog pretty regularly. Well, in light of the economy, I’ve decided to skip the extravagant gifts from last year, and get everyone some realistic gifts. These gifts are all, $10 or less. So, were we not so broke, you might have actually received one of these.

Courtney: pickle band-aids…although the girls will probably steal them from you

Steve: your own adhesive mustaches

Sarah: mini fondue because you make the best dessert fondue…EVER!

Aron: What is the next best thing to a unicorn tattoo? Unicorn band-aids of course!

Jim: F-bomb chapstick  in tribute to the ol’ dodgeball days.

Leah: a piggy bank…because we’re from the same family, so I understand!

Rachel: some cute little plants for your new house.

The Savilles: you get some cool keychains. Sorry, dudes. Money is tight…you get a family gift.

Tia Sara: Napoleon Dynamite sleeping mask, because beauty rest is important to looking good.

 

Belinda and Thomas: some shrinky dinks for when you guys have to stay up all night and you are tired of going to Wal-Mart.

Brian: for a cool drink. “Never let go.” — Jack Dawson.

The Cohens: Some freeze dried ice cream…but you have to share.

The Ordonez Family: a grow your own Christmas tree. It’s decoration. It’s science. It’s cheap!

Tia Nana: a candy cane shot glass…why the heck not?

I’m sorry if I have excluded anyone, but shopping is tough business. Especially considering that we only have two shopping days left!

 

Under the Christmas Tree

So, Jude has been quite the little scooter. He’s been inching himself all over the floor. The other day, we had Jude on the floor on his quilt. He was playing with his toys and talking to himself. I was in the kitchen washing dishes, and I could hear him talking. Well, when I looked over to the quilt, he was missing. I walked into the living room, and still no baby on the quilt. I followed the sound of his voice, and this is what I saw. I called Joe over and we took a picture. This is exactly how we found him…no posing for the camera. What a mover!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

We wish all our family and friends a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful to have you all in our lives. We hope your meals are tasty, your bellies full, your hearts warm, and your post-turkey naps are satisfying. Oh, here is hoping the Longhorns and Cowboys give us something to be thankful for at the end of the day!