Ten for November

10.  I love that this month it has really felt like Autumn.  I've definitely been dragging my feet a little on the seasons changing and the holidays approaching, but it really has been beautiful.  The leaves have been changing and the weather has been pretty amazing.

9.  We've been on a grits kick this month.  Devin has made them several times in many different ways, and they aren't getting old.  We generally eat them with seafood or Cajun food.  I'd never had them before moving to Georgia, and after four and a half years here, I've fallen in love with them!

8.  We had more opportunities to be outdoors this month.  We went back to the canal, took a few walks, and have spent time on our porch.  I appreciate the few months of the year that it's perfect to do those things without having to add extra layers or worry about getting too hot.

7.  I tackled a few projects that needed done this month.  The laundry room was organized, the coffee table drawers were cleaned, the dining room/study was de-cluttered, and all of Calvin's outgrown clothes were sorted and stored away.  I'd been somewhat dreading seeing all of his tiny clothes again and had just been sticking them into big gifts bags, but his closet was being overrun.  I'm grateful that all of these tasks are taken care of...at least for now!

6.  For the first time in over a year and a half, Devin's whole family was together.  This included parents, four kids, three spouses, three grandchildren, and two grandchildren on the way.  It's the first full family picture Calvin was a part of, too!

5.  We've started training to run another half marathon.  I've only run a couple times since having Calvin and only ran a handful of times during my pregnancy.  The first run of my training felt fantastic.  I thought it would take my a while to get back to appreciating my runs, but even with how much progress I need to make I still enjoying just being back at it.

4.  Calvin has hit some big milestones this month.  He reaches to be picked up, he get up on his hands and knees, and he's been trying to pull up.  His very favorite place is his Johnny Jump Up.  He'll jump and squeal and laugh until he wears himself out.

3.  We really, really, really enjoyed having Jess with us for a week.  The two of us did some shopping, tried out several ideas from Pinterest, and stayed up late talking every night.  Devin joined us for board games and scary movies and cooked dinner for us every evening.  We also cooked breakfast every day and ate out for lunch a couple times.  And some of those Pinterest ideas were desserts...

2.  Calvin's first Thanksgiving was this month!  While he had no idea what was going on, he did get a chance to look adorable in the turkey onesie Jess and I made.  And, he enjoyed the excitement of being around so many people.

1.  This month Devin kicked off his seven week vacation!!  Of course, it's interview season, but that will be less demanding of his time than if he were in a rotation.  Already we've been enjoying it, but I'm pretty excited about what's up ahead!

A Little Neglected

The blog has sadly been a little forgotten lately.  I promise it's not because life isn't interesting, though!  More realistically, life has been amazing but busy, so this blog has been neglected.  To catch up a little, I decided to pull some phone photos to share!

 

On November 6, Calvin had his first voting experience.  He went into the polling place with us and into the booth with me.

 

 

With Calvin trying to crawl, we decided a steam mop might more effectively keep our floors clean...and apparently we were right!  They hadn't been left dirty before, but when the reviews promise that more will be picked up this way than by any other floor cleaning tried, they weren't exaggerating!

 

 

Shrimp and grits for dinner a few nights ago...mmm!!!  Devin really is a pretty amazing cook!

 

Last night I made dark chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies.  They were the perfect consistency and literally some of the best cookies I've ever made!

 

We've finished off the leftover Halloween candy.  Without my early pregnancy nausea it went a whole lot faster this year...

 

Calvin is 5 months old!  He's not eating solids yet, but he has grown pretty fond of playing in his high chair while we're in the kitchen.

 

And, I know I shared before that he is sitting up, but here's a little photographic evidence!