70 degrees

For Thanksgiving this year, we hopped a flight to Phoenix to spend some time with the Elmer clan. Lucky for us, the forecast called for 70 degrees, which meant I could soak up some decent weather before the inevitable cold bucket of suckiness that is winter hit Utah.

At the airport on Thursday morning

We flew out on Thanksgiving morning, and it saved us about $200 by doing so. Charlie did really well; I forced him to take a nap as soon as we got on the plane, and he woke up about halfway through the flight. He flirted with everyone, bonked his head twice, and ate all of his cheerios. We landed and went off to baggage claim, only to discover that the airline had misplaced Charlie's bag. I did my best fend off the panic attack brewing beneath the surface, but I struggled. All the diapers, formula, and baby food that I had so carefully tucked into his bag were no where to be found.

Lucky for me, it really was a misplacement and not a lost bag, and the airline brought it to casa de Elmer a few hours later. We caught the tail end of Thanksgiving lunch, and were able to visit with a good handful of people.

After lunch at Nana's house

Charlie, Luke, and Gavin #BarlowCousins

Begging Auntie Alexa for pie

Visiting with Great-Grandma Sharon

One of our adventures involved going to a nature preserve with Bob and Lisa, Jake and Alexa, and Stephan. We packed up the strollers and some snacks and headed out. The nice weather definitely delivered. What a change from the first snow that hit Utah in our absence.

Family outing to the nature preserve

Mother and Daughters-in-law

Charlie's walking practice has resulted in several head bonks the last six weeks, so after he fell twice at the airport and then again at the Elmer's, I gave him some baby tylenol and made him nap for a bit. 

The moms went black friday shopping at Target, where we got baby clothes and then shopped for ourselves. This, of course, was after we got our nails done. It is fun to go out with the girls and leave the children with the menfolk. Nana and Grand-dude decided to buy a little slide for the boys at Black-Friday, so here is the only picture where Charlie wasn't screaming in fear.

For Charlie and Journey's birthdays, we went to the Phoenix Zoo as a big happy family. I didn't photograph any of the animals, but here are some pics of us.

Flying back home was very different from getting there. Charlie refused to nap, the flight was bumpy, and he chose to scream for the last 15min or so. We finally got home around 7pm, but as you can see below, he was not amused for the last leg of the journey.

We enjoyed our time with the Elmers, it is a challenge living so far away from half of the family. I loved watching Charlie and Stephen play together. The next time we go to Arizona will be for Max's wedding, so it will be fun to watch Charlie, Stephen, and Journey interact with one another.

Life with Baby: 11 months

Where did my baby go and where did this toddler come from?

My sweet CharlieB is such a busy boy. He started walking, so he is even more "on the go" than he was before. He loves going out to dinner so he can take in the world (and flirt with servers). He also loves to feed himself, but still isn't quite sure how to use the spoon to do so.

Charlie is very vocal, says Mom like there's no tomorrow, and loves to get into yelling contests in rooms that echo. He has two tones for mom; a soft Maaaaamaaaaa, and a short blunt Mum Mum. He is so funny when he lets how he says mom showcase his mood.

He adores cousin Lily, their back and forth grins make me melt! He also can't wait to visit with cousin PJ during Thanksgiving. He is fascinated with baby Pigo (Khal) and always wants to look at him lovingly. I'm so happy he has little cousins the same age to grow up with :)

He enjoys food like PB&J, Greek Yogurt, pumpkin oatmeal, rice and beans, applesauce and Cheerios, and so much more.

We're pretty sure he is right on the cusp of 18lbs, which is great because he will have tripled his birth weight by the time he turns one! We are excitedly crossing the days off until we can give him cow's milk, hopefully that will help him gain a bit more weight so he isn't such a string bean.

Mama and Daddy love their little warrior to pieces. I can't believe the next baby post will be on his first birthday!

high note

Lately I've been working on creating positive energy, mostly because tension and conflict run wild within the walls of my new school. Recently I finished reading The Energy Bus as part of professional development, and I really learned a few things about myself.

For example, I'm naturally a pretty positive person. But even I need to develop healthy coping skills because of my anxiety. Gratitude walks are now part of my daily routine, and I can tell the difference throughout the day. While I've been striving to add more of this positive energy into my life, my inspiration for writing has been flowing.

Now that November has started, I am jazzed about working on a novel I have been outlining for a few years now. This one deals with family dynamics, grief, and how a family comes together after losing a loved one.

I'm hoping that I can start by writing 500 words a day and have something decent to show for it by the time the month/year ends.

Cheers to ending my days on a high note!