Thanksgiving

The Luminatis spent thanksgiving at home for the first time, well ... ever. It was lots of fun for everyone. Jon started a new tradition of making Thai spring rolls w/ peanut butter Satay sauce for an appetizer during the older tradition of watching the Detroit Lions lose their Thanksgiving Day game. Jen whipped up a full size dinner for the fam, serving a tasty collection of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, cranberry sauce, and (of course) a few pies ... and yes there were just two adults at the table. From the picture above, however, you can already tell that Kate is eyeing Mom's turkey.
Here's a picture of Jen's gorgeous (and very tasty) cherry pie, a tradition since that first fateful Thanksgiving dinner in Colorado before Jen and Jon were even dating. Jen was determined to show Jon what he was missing (he was dating someone else at the time), and just happened to bring Jon's favorite dessert. Here's Kate happily showing off her Thanksgiving bib. She's such a careful eater she didn't even get any stains on it. That's more than we can say for her pants. They're all turning subtle shaded of brown due to the growing ferocity of Kate's digestive tract.

Kate Tries to Talk

Kate is getting quite a bit more interactive these days, and she felt particularly chatty after her feeding tonight, so we thought everyone might get a kick out of seeing her talk to her Dad. Enjoy ...

I've nursed everywhere

Kate decided to write her adaptation of the late, great Johnny Cash's song. Here's to the man!

I've nursed everywhere, man,

I've nursed everywhere, man,

Crossed the country full, man,

I've breathed the mountain air, man,

Of eatin' I've had my share, man,

I've nursed everywhere.

I've nursed in:

my bedroom

Denver airport

Virginia

Ford Focus

Yoho's house

Skyline Drive picnic grounds

Brownie and Belle's home
Tapahannock gas station

Minnery's house

Wegman's parking lot

Lobby of Washington Hilton

Colorado

lactation consultant's office

Wal-Mart parking lot

airplane
Waiders' house

room at Washington Hilton

Boston Market
the mall

Luminati's house

Maryland

the doctor's office

Brown's vacation house

lobby of Hampton Inn

movie theater

while sitting on the floor

while standing up

leaning against the wall

I've nursed everywhere.

(The exception is the boat, where Mom used a bottle, so it doesn't qualify for this list.)

Weekend on the Northern Neck

We all spent the weekend down on Virginia's Northern Neck, a peninsula just off the Chesapeake Bay. We were invited down by Gene & Nancy, some friends from church, who own a vacation home on a small inlet. It was lots a fun and gave Kate her first chance at a boat ride.

This is Gene & Nancy. We were all mentors together in our church's pre-marriage mentoring class. We've been trying to coodinate our schedules for many months now and finally found a weekend that worked for both of us.
Here's Kate and Dad preparing to head out on the boat. It took quite a while to get her bundled up into her lifejacket, but she didn't seem to mind too much. In case you were wondering, she did get fed as well, adding one more place to the list of odd places Jen has fed her.
We got to watch the sunset from the middle of the Chesapeake. It was beautiful, but quite chilly. On the way back, Gene had to plow the boat through a sandbar that became problematic due to the falling tide. Thankfully he kept us free. Getting stranded in the bay would not have been the greatest way to spend the evening.
We also got to try out a water bike back at the dock. Yes Jen is wearing jeans, a wool jacket, and a scarf. It is mid-November!

Kate's First Trip Part 2

We have just returned from a two week trip to visit our families in Colorado. Kate did a great job--she slept on the plane, slept at night, and actually napped. Wow--amazing. Here we are in the Dulles airport, waiting to catch our flight. I wish I could stretch out in the airport seats like that.

Of course, Kate was the apple of everyone's eye. Honestly, the minute we arrived at the airport and the families met us, I could hardly get that girl out of the Baby Bjorn fast enough. Soon there was a little group of people around the person holding Kate and Jon and I were standing there, thinking, (as my mom would say) what are we, chopped liver? Ahh, well, such is life.

Kate got to meet her great-grandparents, her aunt, her uncle, her cousin, several of my friends, Grandpa's co-workers, Pop's co-workers and a furniture salesman. It was great--I know she dreams about how wonderful it was and how much love she received. (Ok, not really, but it sounded nice to say.) Here she is with great-grandparents:

She took a suprise trip to Pop's office. Maybe she wanted to try and get a free check-up.
Here she is napping with Cousin Riley

And checking out Aunt Beth

Three generations of the family girls. Grandpa giving Kate a bath in the kitchen sink.When the trip was over, everyone was sorry to go, but we'll be back soon enough for Christmas. Hopefully Kate didn't get too spoiled having her adoring fans around her every minute.

Kate's First Trip to Colorado Part 1

Kate has just returned from her first trip. This is all of us crammed into our airline seats. Kate did very well and slept through most of the flight. More info and pics coming soon!