Merry Christmas Y'all!

Just Munchie here...to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Krazy Kwanzaa...you catch my drift!

My 'rents have been pretty busy recently. Looks like we may have some new walls to look at within a few weeks. I'm looking forward to having a new room as well (blue). Hopefully we'll get the yard set so that I can play outside soon. There are lots of trees at the new house. I'll bet I'll be climbing them sometime soon :) Luckily my dad knows all about how to take care of boo-boos.

The house is a bit old ('59), so my mom and dad will be doing some work on it. It's close to the city, though, and close to Town Lake - where my dad LOVES to go running.

We actually did go to San Antonio on Sunday with hopes of spending Christmas Eve & Day there... But unfortunately my dad got some G.I. troubles...so we...uh...rushed back home to take care of things. We spent a relaxing Christmas Eve opening a few presents (Thanks Grandma Jane, Aunt Jennifer, Cousin Ashley, Grandma Olga, and Grandpa Amadeus!), eating Christmas dinner, and watching a silly movie. We opened the rest of the gifts this morning after a breakfast....

(site of the ill-fated meal at Fuddruckers....)

Tonight we're going to Aunt Carol's house for Christmas dinner. She and her mom are super nice....I can't wait to see them again. I've gotten pretty chunky since I saw Aunt Grace last!

Tomorrow the 'rents are going to a basketball game (Spurs/Bulls) - I get to hang out with my favorite babysitter Brenda. She makes me giggle...a whole lot!

As a matter of fact, Grandma Olga did visit recently. I showed off my new trick of sitting and then standing up....

All in all, I'm looking forward to the New Year! Lot's of things to look forward to! (walking!!).

Have a rockin New Year's Day! xoxoxo Munchie

A Drinking Problem?

Jason just couldn't resist the following bib...(it's so true though...who knew breastmilk was so coma-inducing!)


Aunt Dirty (a.k.a. Diana) came to visit last weekend en route to her ophthalmology (spelling??) interview in Sacramento. Apparently things went well (go Dirty!)...so we'll keep posted for the results.

In any case, Diana helped us out tremendously - helped me clean out my closet postpartum, took me shopping, made chicken pot pie dinner on Saturday...and then made a Target run, created Christmas ornaments, and then went house shopping with us before hitting dinner and the airport on Sunday.

Though Diana was consistently in her pajamas whenever I had the camera ready, she still managed to take some great shots with Munchie...(wish I had that ability!!)

Just me and Munchie...

Otherwise things are well... We are currently perusing the idea (very quickly) of putting an offer on a house. It's a bit older (1959) that we were initially thinking - but it has great bones, an awesome location, a city view, and the price has fallen over $150,000 since the house has been on the market (5 months). There might be some significant renovations upcoming... We'll keep you posted!

A little Frankenstein...?

So the funny thing the other day was that Munchie fell asleep in his mini-Papasan (really a Poop-a-san after an unfortunate day care incident...)....with his arms straight out in front of him. I thought for sure the arms would slowly fall to the sides as he fell into a deeper sleep. Nope, he kept this pose for 45 minutes (until he woke up again).




We received some adorable/cute clothes from my godmother in Alabama...(did you guys know I was officially born there??)

Last weekend, Carol, Sharon, Munchie and I went the Christmas Affair - a mega-bazaar at which to buy Christmas gifts which was put on by the Junior League. Unfortunately Munch had a meltdown soon after we got there...this improved a few hours later :)

As I officially had to work Thursday (Thanksgiving) morning, we kept it easy/simple that day. Jason(!) made dinner - turkey, stuffing, fresh cranberry sauce...I supplied the mashed potatoes and gravy...and we gave thanks for all the amazing things that have happened in the last 5 months (baby, move, 2 new jobs, new car, sale of old house, etc.)

Our trusty scavenger Newton was nearby to catch any scraps :)

As we ate, Munchie slept...

We've been having some unseasonably cold weather for Austin (30s/40s w/ rain). Reminds us of our old stomping ground (Vermont). We actually had to turn on the heat!!

(There's precious little more fun than cuddling with a baby in a fuzzy warm blanket...)

We got a wonderful set of gifts from our friends (Matt/June & Mike/Sharon). Munchie was diggin the Rainforest Jumper.

Even though his feet didn't quite touch the ground...

Jason tried to help him out by using my Pilates mat...but Munch didn't appreciate it...

So we let him continue to play and dangle in midair :)

Just some more pictures for Grandparents Fought & Burger - enjoy :)

A Little Peanut....

....is what we have. Anderson had his 2 month appointment last week. All looks good (though he didn't appreciate the battery of shots!). He is officially 50%ile weight....and 25%ile height(!) Well, looking at his parents, I hope no one was expecting a future basketball or football player... (Maybe a jockey?)

Dad has been teaching Munchie the finer aspects of the remote...and ESPN. There have been quite a few games watched by both. Dad can't wait until he can teach Munchie the Buckeye song (then he won't be so disappointed by Mommy's lack of knowledge!)

We made an official road trip down to Houston to stay with some friends overnight - Matt, June, and Munchie's future girl - Rivers. (That is, if he can reign in some of the...uh...flatulence he has been exhibiting....) Many thanks for the dinner - Mommy really enjoyed the pomegranate martinis :)

Otherwise, life has been very busy in the last 2 weeks as I have started work - and Jason has continued his night/weekend shifts with his nephrology board exam coming up on Tuesday (wish him luck!).

Luckily Munchie is still enjoying daycare - his teacher is continually impressed by all the faces he makes (and probably all the gas too!). We're happy that Munchie is now in a smiley phase (though that's not quite the phase he's in as I compose this - sounds like it's bedtime!).

Take care :)

Munchie Does Daycare...

I did celebrate my 34th birthday in the past 2 weeks...hard to believe I'm nearly 1/2-way to 40!! Of course, the best birthday gift is having the happy/healthy family that I do.

Many thanks to Carol/her mom for bringing over a yummy butterscotch pie that I devoured in 2 days. Also, Carol made an amazing scrapbook from a weekend spent with her and Jennifer during my pregnancy. Oh, the memories of being 30 weeks pregnant in a bikini :) Thanks also to Jane (Jason's mom) for her lovely gift as well as babysitting so Jason & I could catch an adult meal!

Then onto Munchie's first day at daycare. We came prepared with many goods (and Dad astutely brought the camera).

Though Munchie took it all in stride...Mommy did not. Though I thought I would escape intact, indeed I fell apart and teared up. But the subsequent days were much better - and we really like the 2 daycare teachers in Munchie's room - Miss Maci and her helper.

And today came Halloween...a perfect opportunity for Dad/Munchie to dress in their coordinating outfits. Munchie did OK with the outfit...but the mask was another story...

Mommy of Baby Flash...(wearing a Vermont Marathon t-shirt - as if!)

And Flash/Baby Flash after the offending mask was removed....

Grandparents Galore...

Munchie in ultra-relaxed mode...note the slippers!





So it's been a busy 2 weeks & 1 day since the last post! Last weekend, Munchie's Dad participated in the 1/2-Ironman - The Longhorn Triathlon. Dad did a very respectful 5 hr 28 minutes for his race (1.2 mile swim / 56 mile bike / 13.1 mile run)...and finished 84th overall!

Munchie's Mom got a new car...an Acura TSX in creamy white (and said goodbye to her trusty '97 Honda Civic, which sold on the same day!)

The day after the triathlon, the 3 of us jumped onto a series of flights...which first got us to Grandpa Fought in Bradenton, Florida. As you can tell, the weather was lovely - beautiful blue skies/ocean breeze. Grandpa Fought bravely took on the Munch during his fussier times, and all ended well.

We even got a going-away breakfast at 5:00 (!!) in the morning (Grandpa is an early riser...)

We next made it to Atlanta to visit the Burger family...(here's Munchie displaying his 'singing' skills...)

And Grandpa Burger...

Educating our young Munchie...

And Grandma Burger showering love and kisses on the little one :)

After a 3-hour (!!) ordeal at Babies R Us to get some pictures done, we had a dinner with the extended family - Uncle Pate (in black; honorary uncle), Uncle John (in grey; honorary great-grandfather).

As well as Uncle Larry (blue shirt; honorary great-grandfather) and Aunt Maria (seated; honorary great-grandmother). Many thanks for the wonderful gifts!

Now we are being visited by Grandma Fought (who is doing a fabulous job!). Her friends Paul & Nancy came by as well bearing gifts (thank you very much!)... Munchie also received some ultra-cute clothes from Jane's friends Sandy & Lise in Wasnington state. We'll have a very well-dressed dude!

And a last parting shot...hope everyone is well!