Thanksgiving 2010

Like all good Texans should do at least once, we spent Thanksgiving this year in a rented RV at Galveston Island State Park. What's not to like about November at the beach?  Grammy and Gramps brought their 5th-wheel, and Tom and Jeanne Camp rented a trailer of their own, and we called campsites 6,7, and 9 home for five days. We set up camp (pun!) on Wednesday night, and the weather on Thursday was just glorious. We spent a wonderful long lunch with Lyzz's grandmother at her place, and the the whole Hoffman clan was able to join us. What a neat experience to be able to spend a holiday about giving thanks with 4 generations of Hoffmans. Sorry, I didn't grab any pictures of lunch, but there were several taken so someone has a good one.

It was also the first time that Uncle John got to meet JP. Due to his job, John's been all over the world (literally). Lyzz and I made a decision a while ago that we really wanted John to be JP's godfather. We wanted to ask him in person - this is not the kind of request you make via email - so we took the opportunity at lunch to ask. He said yes, and I won't lie that there were tears shed. Between Uncle John and Aunt Ali, it's tremendously comforting to know that our son will be cared for in any circumstance. From the bottom of our hearts, guys, thank you.

It's not beach time if you don't get in the ocean, and JP is no exception. Here's proof.


And of course, no blog entry would be complete without a big 'ol JP smile. Enjoy.

Great Grandmother Runte

We had the pleasure of visiting Josh's maternal Grandmother in her new digs on Nov 6th. It was a beautiful, cool Saturday afternoon so we spent our visit outside in the fresh air. JP was in fine spirits as were Phylis, Robin, Judy, Karen and Joyce. Here are a few videos we took to remember the meeting.

This is JP in his green bouncy chair...and me coaxing a grin, and a little extra, from him.






And this video was shot on the upstairs couch where Josh and I spend our evenings. JP had been exploring all over my shoulder and making some seriously cute noises.

JP's First Halloween

We took JP trick-or-treating with Le, Mary Mae, Ella (MM's best friend) and Michele and Oliver (Ella's parents). We only hit a few houses but we figured that was enough to make sure we could say he "hasn't missed a Halloween."
I'm a dairy cow and JP was a calf. It was an extremely literal costume choice given JP's current diet. Josh also had an inflatable Bull costume to round out the Donelson Dairy Farm theme though he opted not to wear it this evening.

We returned home just in time to face the waves of trick-or-treaters that are bussed in from nearby neighborhoods. No joke, the street at the end of our block was lined with cars, all full of kids ready to descend upon our neighborhood, costumes on their backs and empty loot bags in their hands. I only turned away one group of teenagers as they had not bothered to wear costumes. I told them that if I had spent this much money on candy and was myself wearing a costume, they had to at least take the extra effort and dress up. No candy for you. Move along now. They were nonplussed, to say the least. I made sure, at the end of the night, to bring in any of my Halloween decorations with any value in case these "kids" decided to return and express their ennui. Last year one of my witches was beheaded in a violent walk-by, no doubt an older trick-or-treater expressing his angst.

It was a great Halloween followed by a wonderful 33rd birthday for me. Josh watched Little Bit in the afternoon and let me go to CrossFit (a gym I belong to where they torture us with grueling workouts. I love it :) ) and when I returned we ate a delicious meal and enjoyed a very nice bottle of wine. Don't ask me what it was, all I know is that it was red and it was good. And Josh said it was expensive. :)

Enjoy the videos. I can't seem to stop watching the one with Ella and Mary Mae. Those little girls are so cute!!