Initiation.

Thanksgiving with the Breyers is a little like Christmas with the Griswolds. There aren't any RVs parked in the driveway or wild animals loose in the house (unless you count the dog), but this year we had 30 people, four turkeys, five pies, eight dozen oysters, 14 cans of green beans in the casserole, and a first-class bloody mary bar.

That, my friends, has crazy written all over it.

Thanksgiving is THE holiday in Nate's family, and those of us accustomed to the madness love and look forward to it. But this year was Audra's first Thanksgiving, and she was a tad overwhelmed. Our sweet girl is shy and sensitive on a normal day, so plop her in a house full of chaos and sister is on high alert. She spent the entire day tucked safely in our arms, only venturing out of them long enough to briefly examine the toys and scarf down some turkey and green bean casserole.

Thanksgiving was extra special this year as we got to meet Eloise, our first niece and Calvin and Audra's only cousin.* Calvin, we've discovered, LOVES babies. He's always treated Audra with incredible sweetness, but he was totally enamored of Eloise and kept asking to hold her. I can hardly believe my big boy was once the baby of the family!

Uncle Nate got some snuggle time in, too. 

Eloise with her sweet mama, Shannon.

One of the greatest things to come out of my marriage into the Breyer family is the Hall family. The Hall kids grew up with Nate and his brothers, and they have become some of my dearest friends. I love them like family, and their kids are no exception. It makes my heart happy to know that our children will grow up together just like they did. (You may be surprised to learn the one in the middle isn't mine. Look at that hair!)

And another round of Calvin holding Eloise. This time with the addition of Audra. Oh boy. Sorry, baby E.

This looks suspiciously like a first date. Complete with candlelight. I'm not sure Madelyn's dad realized this at the time...

He's shoveling whipped cream in his mouth. With his hand. We've got some work to do when it comes to dating etiquette.

Uncle Eric is a bad influence. Apparently I gave Calvin a terrifying mom look this weekend and my brother-in-law Kris was in the line of fire. He was a little freaked out before he realized the look wasn't meant for him. I'm pretty sure Eric got around ten of those looks (that were absolutely meant for him) right after this picture was taken. No nap + whipped cream for dinner + being flipped around by your uncle for a solid 10 minutes + already being past your bedtime = your mother's head exploding at the thought of what's to come.

What came was a speedy exit as children and parents alike melted down post-dinner and pre-pie. Which is par for the course at any large family gathering, wouldn't you say?

Luckily, we all survived. Eric (and Kris) survived my maternal death stare, Eloise survived Calvin's embrace, I survived the first of three days where my children had too much sugar and not enough sleep and Audra survived her initiation into Breyer family Thanksgiving.

Can't wait for next year. :)

*To date, that is. Our next niece or nephew is due any day now!

Baby, you're a firework.

No, wait. I think a more fitting title for this post would be "You're a baby, and your dad let you hold a firework."

!!!!

Three days later and I'm still a little freaked out. Good thing Nate got it on video so I can relive my horror.



I was taking a nap. See, this is why moms never rest. We can't, for fear our children might burn their faces off while under the supervision of their fathers. Their ADULT fathers who are NURSES and spent 10 YEARS working in the emergency room.

Luckily, he survived. This time. And I'm talking about Nate, not Calvin. Although he survived, too. Which is a good thing, because I wouldn't have wanted him to miss out on the weekend's main event:

CARS 2!

Yes, we took a barely two-year-old to a movie. And stuffed him with popcorn and gummy bears. At 10:45am. He loved it and sat still for the entire film. Thumbs up!




I'd like to publicly apologize to Nate for posting that last photo, because he's making a really goofy face. But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for our kids, and that picture of Calvin is necessary to the thumbs up series. And also, HE GAVE OUR SMALL CHILD A FIREWORK.

I've always been a big proponent of reading the book before the movie. Luckily, Aunt Jill and Uncle Kyle were up to the task, because I was too tired and probably lying down somewhere.



The rest of the weekend was spent running around my mom and dad's backyard — and the backyards of their neighbors, who have swing sets and playhouses and spinny flowers.






Sunday night we watched fireworks from the park by my parents' house where Nate and I got engaged. Calvin loved them, and really loved staying up so late. He kept yelling "IT'S SO PRETTY" way too loudly.







Those sad little fireworks pictures and the cute but blurry shots of Calvin were included solely to make the case to my husband that my point-and-shoot camera with the broken zoom is no longer cutting it. Our camera situation has become dire, and we are now officially in the market for a DSLR. Recommendations? Donations?

Oh, and finally, my latest and greatest wreath. Remember those stars? I think this one turned out pretty cute, and it's by far the least amount of effort I've put into one of these. My yarn wreath has found a new home in my living room.


Happy Fourth!

Lions and penguins and antelope, oh my!

I've been antsy to get out of the house now that we have a stroller again (We left Calvin's stroller in IL two weeks ago. Thankfully friends of ours have the same stroller and let us borrow theirs. Yay, I am no longer housebound!), so today we took Calvin to the Como Zoo and Conservatory.

The Como Zoo is smack dab in the middle of a park in St. Paul (you'd never know it was there if you didn't know it was there). It's small and cute and free (well, a suggested donation of $2 per adult and $1 per child, but no one is turned away), and a really great way to spend an afternoon.

We saw a hugely pregnant lioness, a giraffe who kept licking a wall, a zebra shooing an antelope away from its food stash, and some very cute penguins. Calvin was enthralled.

(Okay, Calvin was sleeping. But we were enthralled on his behalf.)

Attached to the Zoo is the Conservatory, which is home to some really incredible tropical plants. We toured the bonsai room, visited the flower show going on inside the greenhouse, and then took a stroll through the outdoor Japanese garden. We finished off the afternoon with a ride on the carousel (weird light in the picture, but couldn't skip posting a picture of Cal's first carousel ride!).

It was such a fun day. While Calvin slept through most of it, Nate and I were so thrilled to be there with him. Before leaving for work tonight, Nate said "this has been my favorite day of being a dad so far."

It was definitely up there for me, too.

Eating my words.

There were quite a few things I said I'd never do when I had kids, but there's one thing I have always been adamant and very outspoken about: taking a baby to a wedding.

That's a BIG no-no in my book.

There is nothing worse than someone's kid screaming during wedding vows, or crying while the bride and groom have their first dance. Weddings are not kid-friendly events (well, except for one I went to a few years ago where the DJ was also a clown who made balloon animals). By the time you make it to the reception it's bedtime, so the kids are tired and cranky and overstimulated. And it's no fun for the parents, who can't drink and dance and do what everyone else is doing, because they're too busy trying to console their tired, cranky, overstimulated children.

I know some people want kids at their wedding, because they consider it a big family affair. And I can appreciate that, but I was not one of those brides. We did not invite any children to our wedding (though a few attended anyway, much to my chagrin). My sister took it a step further and added "adults only, please" to her invitations.

I really never understood why parents wouldn't just get a babysitter and enjoy a kid-free night out. It's not like you don't have enough time to find one, invitations typically go out months in advance. And then you don't have to worry about your baby spitting up on your dress, or your kid running around the reception like a maniac. You can get dressed up and go out with your spouse for a civilized, worry-free night of fun.

But then we had a baby and found ourselves invited to three weddings within two months of his birth. Two of which were weddings Nate's entire family attended, automatically eliminating our babysitting options.

So, we've taken Calvin to two weddings (he was invited to all three). The first was an outdoor wedding, and he slept the entire time. He was only two weeks old at that point, so we skipped the reception. The second was for friends of ours and Nate's parents kindly took him for the night. The third was last weekend and we took him to the ceremony and reception.

It went fine. I wasn't excited about toting a diaper bag around instead of a cute purse, and he nearly had a blowout during the reception so I ended up changing him on the sink in the bathroom next to one of the bridesmaids. And we didn't get to stay long enough to dance because the music was so loud we were worried about his ears. But he was quiet and well-behaved and there were a million other kids there, so it wasn't a big deal.

Would I do it again? Not unless I had to. And I certainly wouldn't once he gets older, louder and more mobile. But I humbly eat my words about how people who bring their kids to weddings are inconsiderate and inappropriate...because sometimes you don't have a babysitter and therefore you don't have a choice. (Though I stand by my statement that bringing a child to a wedding they were not invited to attend is inexcusable.)

I fear this is the first of many word-eating episodes for me.

(The cake was minty. I love mint. Nate hates it. Evidently Jon does, too.)