Fun Times: November 2011

Turkey Times

Given all of our activity of late we decided not to travel this year, so instead we stayed home, and Thanksgiving came to us in some delightful ways. The Prewitts came to town last weekend and we spent a terrific Saturday night watching UVA beat Florida State, and had everyone over for a brunch the next day that lasted until 4 p.m.! On Tuesday Donald and I attended a feast at Abra and Patrick and I baked two pies together. On Thursday I ran in the Turkey Trot and we hosted an impromptu breakfast party here. I was seriously lacking in the photography department, but did manage to take a picture of our baked brie with mushrooms, which tasted even better than it looks. Patrick was thankful to not have school for 4 days, Madeline was thankful for Elmo (as always) and Donald and I are thankful the move is over, even if the "moving in" is not. It feels great to be in our new house.

Hello Nelson Ave!

All of our stuff is here, but it feels like it will take months to actually unpack all of the boxes! Patrick and Madeline are doing great; they loved finding special toys in their rooms when they came home the first night, and they have quickly taken up old tricks. Madeline is enjoying hiding and gamely pretending to be Patrick's "dog", Patrick is enjoying playing ball in the yard, and everyone enjoyed a visit from Grammy and Grandaddy (plus a cameo from Cousin Soph) on our first weekend here.

Goodbye to Maple Street

Is it really true? After more than seven years on Maple Street we had a last cuddle on the couch, a last snack, a last peek-a-boo, a last mad squealing race around the kitchen island, and a few last snuffles as we said goodbye to our sweet home. This was our first real house, and Donald and I worked on every inch of it, from scraping iridescent metallic wallpaper to laying tile (remember that toilet that sat in the downstairs hall for months?) to adding a window, painting every surface, and completely renovating the kitchen. We had so many happy memories here, hatched so many plans, brought our babies home, and had the pleasure to share it with wonderful friends, neighbors, and family. Moving on is bittersweet—we love our new yard, our new space, and staying in our same neighborhood—but Maple Street will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Here we were in 2004:

Elmo Cake!

Madeline had a single, oft-repeated request for her birthday this year: ELMO CAKE. About 6 weeks before the big day she started talking about it, and found ways to drop it into casual conversation "I have Elmo cake, my birthday" she'd tell us over breakfast, in the car, in the bath. I even saw her pick up the phone and demand of the dial tone "I HAVE ELMO CAKE MY BIRTHDAY." So I went to three stores and thankfully Giant had a beautiful cake featuring not only Elmo but Big Bird too, riding a birthday train. On the 5th Sophie, Colton, Ella, and the Volz girls were in attendance to share a lunch of Madeline's beloved "hot dog fries" and bounce in the moonbounce. We had planned to be moved in, but alas we had a crew of electricians and a cleaning crew buzzing around as we celebrated. In spite of the craziness and the dust we really couldn't have asked for a nicer day for our sweet Maddle Maddle.