December 3 - Thanksgiving has passed and now it's all about Christmas. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration here in Colorado with John's family: parents George & Lucy, and John's brother Eric, his wife Elizabeth, and their enthusiastic kindergartner (and wonderful big cousin), Sarah. Eric & Elizabeth are Tommy's godparents, and we had him baptized on Thanksgiving Eve, 11/22. It was a beautiful time of year to do this, reminding us of all the good things in our lives.

The day after Thanksgiving, Elizabeth, Eric & Lisa rose at 5:30am to catch a few of the local sales. I think this will quickly become a tradition with this gang. Despite Lisa's anti-shopping gene, it was really quite fun. Almost like a little adventure...stealing out in the dark of night, picking up a nice hot coffee to keep us warm while we waited with many others for Target to open, lots of Christmas cheer, and not to mention bah-gains!

That afternoon, all the girls plus Tommy hopped in the car (poor Elizabeth had to ride in the hatch in order for everyone to fit in one car!) and headed for the mall, where the 3 kids got their picture taken with Santa (also the 2nd year in what may become a tradition). This year AP wasn't quite as enamored with Santa as the previous year...after lots of coaxing and crying she finally "kinda/sorta" posed with Santa, but at the cost of having Lisa's knees in the picture!

2006 Photo:

2005 Photo:

On 11/30, Tommy turned 2 months old. At his checkup, he weighed in at 12 lb 7 oz (70th %-ile) and measured 24 1/2 inches (93rd %-ile). He got a couple of vaccinations with which he was none too pleased, but fortunately it wasn't mutual because the doc was happy with his growth and health. We are thrilled because he is finally smiling consistently, especially if he hasn't set eyes on you for awhile (after a nap, etc).

Anne Peyton continues to be a good big sister. Her latest favorite activity is to undress her brother. If we turn away for a minute, we look back to see his bare chest showing (she loves undoing snaps). She's talking more and more, though no sentences yet. A few of her words are:

mama, dadda

Ba = pacifier (also her word for bottle; they both require sucking!)

a-pa = applesauce

neh = blankie (???)

noh = nose and NO!

joo = juice

moh = more

tee = teeth (she LOVES brushing her teeth, or rather, sucking on the toothbrush)

peas = please

For more pictures, go to http://www.kodakgallery.com/coloradohofmeisters and click on "November 2006" under the picture.