Happy Thanksgiving

We decided to spend Thanksgiving in California with my Grandma Hunter & Aunt Jerri. So, we drove out Wednesday night after Paul got off work (4.30) and arrived around 9.45 pm. We were happy that Alec slept most of the journey, as he hates car rides and screamed most of the time he was awake. Paul and I listened to 'Nicholas Nickelby' on CD, which made the drive go more quickly. When we arrived, Alec was happy to play with Grandma's new kitten, Ralphie. He's used to Maggie and Milo who let him grab their fur and tug, so he tried the same trick on Ralphie... luckily Ralphie was de-clawed. Ralphie retaliated by licking Alec's head.

Thanksgiving morning we watched part of the parade, looked through the Black Friday ads and snitched pieces of turkey from the kitchen while Grandma cooked. After the parade we watched part of the dog show, getting excited when they had a keeshond! Looked just like our Milo, just better behaved. Then, we got to sit down and eat. Paul was excited for his first Thanksgiving in America and Alec's first ever. We put stuffing and turkey in Alec's little 'food net' so he couldn't choke on bits and he loved it!! Kept him busy the whole time we ate.

Friday morning we decided to try out the mall and look for some clothes for Paul while the Black Friday sales were on. It was really crowded, so we lasted only about an hour. Alec loved the Disney store, he kept staring up at all the moving figures with his mouth open. Afterwards we went home so he could nap and just relaxed the rest of the day. The side of Great-Grandma's kitchen sink was the perfect-sized bath tub for Alec and he laughed while getting 'pony rides' on her leg.

Saturday morning we left around 10am and were happy to see little traffic on the freeways. It was a very relaxing and nice Thanksgiving, which was just what we'd wanted!

Catch Up!

Just wanted to do a quick bit of catching up on our 2007 thus far. Paul got his visa in January and flew straight to Vegas, where I was visiting my parents for the holidays. He got a job here and so we're stuck for the moment, but planning to move back to Colorado within the next year. He's currently the MIS Specialist for a luxury sunglass chain, working in their accounting department. We were able to find a home to rent 10 minutes walking from his work, so Paul is able to come home for lunch which we love. He plans to take the first actuary exam next year, in either April or November, then look for jobs in Colorado, where we want to end up. He works hard and helps out around the house loads-he's a great daddy and Alec smiles everytime Paul comes in the room.

We had Alec on April 5th and I've included a link to his photo website at the top of the page. He's nearly 7 months old, and mainly loves babbling and blowing raspberries. He has reflux, which has been hard, he has to take a heartburn medication and the poor little guy is always hungry and can get fussy about it. He hasn't gained a pound in over 3 months! But, he's happy enough and looks chubby, so we're not too worried (it's quite common in babies until they reach 9 months old).

We also got two puppies this year: Maggie and Milo. Our friend had a keeshond that got pregnant (unclear who the daddy was), and they offered us a puppy-Maggie. We knew we wanted to find a friend for her and when we saw a picture of Milo on a rescue website and he looked just like Maggie as a puppy, it felt right. He's actually a purebred keeshond (only silver & black fur), but a family with 4 little kids found him to be too much work and gave him up. He is a pill, always chewing on things (especially Maggie), but we love him. Maggie has bonded with Alec, which is what we wanted and she licks him to cheer him up when he fusses.

Kelsey (my youngest sister) decided to move in with us and it's been such a blessing! It's great to have someone else around to chat with, she's a lot of fun and the best part...we have a free baby-sitter at home!

Paul's grandparents were just out visiting from Scotland. Alec is actually named after Paul's grandad, so it was great to get some pictures of them together (I think Alec got his ears from his great-grandad). It was lovely having them stay with us. It's hard having Paul's family so far away, but they are great about visiting us (Paul's parents came out in May).

My Grandma Hunter and Aunt Jerri came out as well to see Gran, so we had Alec with two of his great-grandmothers!

Right now I am able to stay at home with Alec. It was a difficult decision, but we both feel good about it now. Alec and I love walking the dogs in the morning and playing together all day.

Paul and I have begun playing volleyball on Tuesday nights at the chapel with some other members from our ward and we play tennis at least once a month on Saturday night date nights (usually against Kelsey and her boyfriend). Nothing very exciting, but we're happy and busy!