Our Journey: November in a Nutshell

We started out my birthday month with quite a bang. By November 9th, we had the tree up, Christmas lights hung outside (thank goodness we did, since it is now -4 degrees outside), and stockings hung by the chimney with care...lol.

My mom was able to make it out to visit the new Miss Charlotte, and celebrate my birthday too! She was here about ten days which made for a really nice time. It was hard to see her go, but we are getting excited for our trip back to the mitten for Christmas and New Years.

Joey began walking this month, and is now off to the races. He is getting quite confident with his newly found skill, and it scares momma to death. lol. Silly boy. Along with walking, he has begun to climb onto EVERYTHING. We had quite a scare this month, when the little man decided to climb up onto a box of pampers diapers. Gary and I watched in amazement as the little guy so effortlessly made his way to the top of the box on all fours. We admired his skill and bravery. No sooner where the words "look how cute he is" out of our mouths, he rolled off the box and fell onto the floor. We both laughed, as it did not look like it hurt. Well, he began to cry, and I rushed to him to kiss away the ouchie...but as soon as I picked him up, I saw the blood gushing from his mouth. Lots of it. Too much. I freaked. Thank goodness Gary was there to help keep things calm. Gary got him an ice teether and the blood eventually stopped. When he was calm again, we looked in his mouth with a flashlight and saw that the little piece of skin that connects the upper lip to the gums was completely separated. I freaked again. A trip to Children's Hospital was our next step. Dinner still in the oven, could wait. By the time we got there, Joey was fast asleep in his carseat. The doctor confirmed that no teeth were harmed and the flap of skin would just heal itself, there was nothing they could do. Mommy and daddy felt better and we went home. This is when I wish I could drink! Lol, a glass or three of red wine would have done the trick...yet I opted for back rub, warm milk and lavender to calm the nerves.

While we were busy with Joey, Christmas decorating, and birthday celebrating, Thanksgiving snuck up on us! Jenna and Justin hosted, and we were able to gather with our Colorado family and friends at their house. We had a wonderful turkey, actually two wonderful turkeys (Secretly, I think we did this for Mara, since she has such an obsession with the number two). It was truly a day to be thankful for. We had a lot of friends come for dinner who are from other states/countries who don't have family here. We were so blessed with love, family and friends, a warm house, and amazing food. Life is good.

November would not be complete without a trip to go see Santa. We bundled up the kiddo's and headed to the mountains for a Christmas tree farm experience. I think we loved it just as much as those little ones did. (well except Joey, he did not take to Santa one bit). It was one of those parenting moments that you question yourself...you knowingly and willingly hand your scared and crying child over to a fat, bearded man in a red suit and laugh while he screams...then you keep him there til you get that perfect shot. Not proud of it. (but gosh it was adorable). Maybe next year he will be a little more comfortable.

That evening we met up with our great friends Kristen and Trev for a walk through the Denver German Christmas Market, stopped at the Octoberfest beer tent, and had dinner downtown. This month blew by in a heartbeat, we got some fun pics to prove it. Enjoy!