Happy Turkey Day!

I'm still blown away by the fact that it is late November, but here we are... and while I know that not everything has to do with having a darling new little family member, he keeps us amazed at how quickly time is flying by, and (appropriate for the day) how blessed and how thankful we really are.

Matt didn't make it home for Thanksgiving after all, so I am really sorry that I don't have any fun Matt-stories or a new family shot to share. But here are a few new milestone pics and videos of the littlest turkey in the house.

Holding his bottle on his own for the first time. (His other 'bottle' was slaving over the stove all day so Grammy got to feed him instead.)

Here are a couple of videos of Kyan, climbing and wiggling around - and dragging himself across the table. (Ignore that I just said he was on the table. And don't tell authorities, please.) :-)

teeny teeth

Well, it's hard to get a photo of teeny bottom teeth when the little man thinks it's a game and quickly covers them up with his tongue! On November 9, Kyan's first tooth popped through on the bottom right, and then a few days later, on November 12, the bottom left joined its brother-tooth. It took two of us (thanks Chrissy!) holding him down and prying his mouth open to get this cruddy shot. Sorry - it's all you're getting!


OH -- and TODAY, Kyan's Social Security card arrived in the mail!! It only took 5 months! (phew) Now the kid can get a job and start earning his keep around here.

New Toy

Time is working against me this morning, so narratives will be super brief... but certain beloved family members are eager for pics and video, so enjoy!

Santa came early this year - Kyan is a Jeep-man, apparently!

Visit with Matt

The first weekend in November, John, Kyan, and I packed up yet again and hit the road to Utah. Matt earned his first 48 hour off-site visit, so we spent uninterrupted time together in St. George from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Not a huge bunch to report, because it was just really nice, and really drama-free. We spent time eating, renting and watching movies, playing basketball at the local rec center, the boys played guitar, and we just hung out. Matt got to experience Kyan's middle-of-the-night wake-ups, but handled it like a champ and we had a wonderful time.

The week after we had that visit, Matt earned Director Level. He has also become a Mentor on campus, which he really enjoys and you can tell it makes him feel good to be there to help other kids who need some extra support. He is flying through the program and we are so proud of him. He comes home on the 25th of this month for a 10 day visit. We never thought we would have him home for Thanksgiving but this is all his doing - he has been working so hard. The rest of his visit will be spent catching up on late appointments (doctor, dentist and three trips to the orthodontist - time to get his braces off!) and just enjoying quality time together, planning for his permanent return home -- which may be as soon as February.

We didn't pull out the camera much, but here are a few shots during basketball... (oh, he made DRA's basketball team, too.) :-)

Happy Halloween!

Hard to believe that it's already November! Halloween has already come and gone?! Ours was very mild and mellow. Our own neighborhood isn't very festive, so we headed down to San Diego to spend the evening with Grammy. Her doorbell didn't stop ringing and we gave out more candy than I could believe.

As for Kyan, he spend the earlier part of the day as a zebra and then moved into his fluffier, warmer Glow Worm get-up. Kyan did his first official trick-or-treating across the street from Grammy's at Adeline's house, and scored big-time -- with a big bottle of bubbles!

Auntie Cheyenne, this one is for you.

(Yes, he has a wee tail.)

Thanks to certain bodily functions, here is a modified version of his glow worm outfit. The 'real' deal didn't include orange/black striped arms - he was more coordinated in solid orange... lesson for next time: take the pics as soon as he is dressed, not after he has blasted through his clothes and requires improvising!!

All in all, Kyan enjoyed his first Halloween!