Chris, the Christmas Tree

There is this song on this old record entitled "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" it is about this Christmas tree named, 'Chris'. My sister and I used to listen to this record incessantly when we were kids. Recently my Dad found someone who had it and then burned it to a CD (Thanks, G-pops!)...so now Westin can listen to it incessantly....there are worse things :).

G-pops and D departed early this morning, so to get our minds off of missing them, we went hunting for a Christmas tree. Dalen found this great Christmas tree farm, the 'Mannings Garryowens Christmas Tree farm'...only minutes from our house. So why did it take us 45 minutes to find it?? Well, apparently, there are two Burbank, SD's or it is an incredibly long small town. We went SE to find the farm, when in actuality, it is NE of Vermillion...go figure and thank you Google Maps!! Anyway, it was kind of funny and added to the adventure of the day. You can get there via dirt road. Dalen and I appreciate this. In Montana, we would pay $5 for a permit and head off into the Bitterroot National Forest to chop down our Christmas tree. Granted, these trees resembled Charlie Brown Christmas trees, but they had their charm and it was uniquely Montana. We bundled up Westin and headed out on the grounds. It didn't take us long to find our very own Chris the Christmas Tree. ...It was a lovely morning, and we all came home, rehydrated,
and took a nice long nap. All in all, a very Happy Saturday!

Black Friday: Exterior Lumination Day

Black Friday. Some people got up with the sun, or even before the sun, and went shopping. In the Moore household, we got going on exterior lumination. Now I don't have any pictures of the putting up part...it is hard to hold a ladder and take pictures at the same time. It should be noted that no G-pops were hurt in exterior-luminating activities. While G-pops and I were outside, Dalen was lowering Westin's crib mattress...AGAIN. Dalen caught him trying to hike a leg over the rails, so clearly, we needed to nip that in the bud. All the while, D heroiclly chased after a very mobile Westin. Lucky for Westin, D was very indulgent of playing with legos in the living room, crawling over to the frig in the kitchen to play with leap frog farm animal magnets...and back again, and again, and again.

Here are the results of Exterior Lumination Day......I should note that when Dalen and I originally discussed outdoor holiday decorations, it did not involve a 9ft inflatable Santa. He thought we would put a tasteful fake tree with white lights on the front porch, to which I said BORING!!! What are we, 90? Turns out that a 9ft inflatable Santa is not as garish as originally thought. What can I say, placement is everything! Oh, and Thanks, Dad. You have taught me everything I know about exterior lumination.:)

We really appreciated G-pops and D's visit! We miss them already!!!

Oh, and I have a song that sums up the day....maestro, please........

Hey Alabama! Hey Alabama! Hey Alabama! We just beat the HELL out of you! Rammer Jammer, Yellowhammer, Go to HELL Alabama!!!
War Eagle and Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

There are so many things to be thankful for today! I am thankful for a happy healthy Baby Toddler! I am so IN LOVE with my husband! We have a lovely home. Happy enough to have our First Thanksgiving here in South Dakota...and G-pops and D were here to enjoy it....even in the bitter cold...wind chill today, 0 degrees Fahrenheit....BALMY!:) Some people I know don't believe in luck, maybe they believe in kharma-or the like, but I believe whole-heartedly in both. We, as a family, do the best that we can every day; be the best people that we can be everyday, treat everyone that we meet with respect, and sometimes to keep our sanity (one very wise lady) told me that "you have to let the rough end drag". All the rest, my friends, is gravy!

So it was quite the calm day...I know, despite the bitter cold, I have no family drama to report. Dalen and I started cooking last night, so that today would not be so hectic (so, I totally had a freak out moment, when we almost didn't have enough space to put ALL of the stuff coming out of the oven...butcher block in the kitchen on the checklist of renovations!). And it helped. We started cooking at 10 am and we ate around 2 pm. Perfect. Perfect. What did we have? The real question is what didn't we have? Keep in mind when you see the following people, there were four adults and wonderful Westin (and CopperDog by way of Westin) partaking in this meal......

For this meal, Dalen had to take apart a Duck...a feet never before attempted. Despite not having the correct butchering knives, Dalen totally ROCKED IT! Whole beautiful duck:butchering: raw breasts + oysters plus pieces of the leg:Beautiful Thanksgiving table...a lovely centerpiece would clearly not have fit. Now, we had a brined turkey as a back-up plan. But I have to say, those of you out there who have never had duck and have only thought of it as this greasy waterfowl, well, stand to be corrected! Just in case you are wondering, duck is SO YUMMY-GOOD! I mean, Hello-Heaven-in-my-happy-little-mouth good. And if you don't believe me, just have Dalen over to cook it for you, and you will be a true believer!
Needless to say, we had a lovely meal and plenty of leftovers. To round off the day, we had an Old Rucks/New Moore family tradition: a viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Family Vacation. Hope that your cups runneth over as well....Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! To all of the family and friends that couldn't be with us today: SALUDE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WESTIN!!!!

One years old! We have a One Year Old!! Kind of hard to believe that this time last year we were in a hospital marveling at our new little guy, tired from the labor, and completely happy and simultaneously freaking out about what to do next. One year later, and we still have our freak outs, BUT our baby is becoming this amazing little toddler AND we are happy happy happy pants! Today, I had grand intentions of going into work for at least half a day. I was home by 10:00 am. It was just too exciting. Today is my Baby's Birthday!!! G-pops and D are in town. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the Iron Bowl is on Friday...how could I possibly concentrate on chlamydia and peptidoglycan (I have an interesting project idea based on some data that I have been getting...but all of that is just science wonkyness and not 1st birthday material)?? Dalen and I have been flipping back through the blog posts and marveling at how much Westin has changed. For example, tonight at dinner, he was playing peek-a-boo with CopperDog...just him and Copper. Westin covering his eyes and giggling, then peeking to see if Copper was still there. Copper was sitting obediently and hoping to get a scrap of food, but when it comes to Wagon Wheels, well, Westin doesn't leave very many of those behind.So back to the Birthday........the morning nap was never meant to be; lunch was replaced with a puppy cupcake. Westin's official first word is 'doggie', which sounds like 'dawggga'. (He says this whenever he sees CopperDog and more regularly than Dada or Mama, just to put things into perspective.) Then we hosed him off, and went straight for the presents. Dalen got some great practice in assembly...just in time for the Holidays!!! Westin enjoyed playing with all of his presents......The giant rocking giraffe is from Dalen and I; it was a hit! Dalen also got him the dump truck-wagon full of large legos...also a hit! There was a cool parking garage (G-pops and D), an awesome talking dinosaur (Uncle Dayn and Aunt Diane), great clothes and a fun birthday book (and many other wonderful things!!)(Grandpa and Grandma Moore)....so many many things to be thankful for!!! Our baby is so loved!! The only hard part about the 1 year mark is the realization that Westin is growing up--already, way too fast--and that sooner than I want, like right now, I won't be able to call him my Baby Boy anymore. He will be/is a toddler; creating his own sort of mischief and exploring the world his own way. So for one last time....good night, Baby Boy; Mama loves you!!!

Dear Aunt Shannon,

Happy Birthday!!!

Hope you got to steal the remote.Borrow a friend's bed to play.Got to relax with a good book (aka TIvoed royal wedding).Played with old friends.Got all jazzed up....And had a fun Birthday!!!Love,
Baby Westin

November: Westin's Birthday Month!

Can you believe that Westin is almost a year old?!! It is pretty amazing to his Mama and Dada. We decided to kick off Westin's Birthday month with Noni and Aunt Shannon's visit.

On Sunday, we had a smaller dinner and Westin got his very own cupcake. We sang to him and blew out a candle, and thought, there is NO WAY that our baby boy is going to eat the whole cupcake, so why not just let him have it.....Oh, there have been so many instances, where the 'Parents of the Year' distinction would have been very apt, perhaps this was not one of them. Because, as you can see, he DID eat the whole cupcake. Shockingly and surprisingly , a cupcake at 7:00pm is most certainly NOT conducive to a good night's sleep...for anyone. Westin, however, was not complaining. Westin was happy happy pants, And needed to be completely hosed off.

The good thing about a November birthday is that it gives the newly one year old solid practice in opening presents for Christmas. Aunt Shannon was kind enough to give Westin some new Auburn gear, and a fun bag. The little Monkey had tons of fun pushing on pooh's nose. Noni helped Westin open a couple of really cool presents. Westin got a little sailboat that he can pull around. This came with plush figures Wink, Blink and Nod...these find their way around the room and often on Copper's dog bed. Westin uses the sailboat to tote blocks and his Elmo phone. It is official; Westin can empty as well as he can fill and put away! He also tried to stack today...but that will be another post at some point. Westin has found that the sailboat can launch nicely across the room...why pull, when you can throw? Westin also got a 'Follow Me Fred', which moves on its own and can follow you. This was both fascinating and terrifying. Luckily, Noni was there to make it all better. Also happy to report that Westin and Fred have made peace and are happy little play friends.

A little bit of Moore trivia, the first Moore to visit the Vermillion ER was.......Mama. Thankfully, not Baby Westin, despite what the permanent bruise on his forehead might suggest. We enjoyed so much time outside that some South Dakota bug bit/stung me and my left eye became enormously swollen. Too bad, it didn't happen for Halloween. I would have had a wicked cool costume with very little effort. Aunt Shannon and Noni watched Westin, while Dalen whisked me away to the ER. I had to spend a couple of days on some heavy duty drugs, but I am happy to report that I can see out of my left eye again :). And, no, there are most certainly no pictures documenting this blessed event.

Noni's B'day Celebration

First, my apologies to Aunt Shannon and Noni for taking a week to get up pictures from their first South Dakotan adventure! To make up for it, there will be 2 posts!! Too many cute pictures to cram into one post.

Election week was a tough week. It was the first time since I was 18, that I could not vote--because we were not registered in time. Turns out that the DMV office in Vermillion is only open on Thursday's and Friday's...hope, you like waiting in line! We also closed on our Hamilton house. This was emotional for many reasons. I will spare everyone the elaboration.......It was a crazy busy week at work (cloning has commenced in the Moore Lab!), and flu shot week (poor Baby Bean!)

Needless to say, seeing Aunt Shannon and Noni at the tiny Sioux City airport was MORE than AMAZING..it was like Dalen's Italian Wedding Soup on a cold, rainy day and like Auburn beating Georgia and going to the SEC Championship (War Eagle!)--all wrapped up into one! It was cool bringing them to our new home for the first time--Dalen has been working hard to help if feel more like our home. That night we ate dinner at the nicest restaurant in town, Red's. Aunt Shannon quote of the day: "Wow, it's almost like being in a restaurant in Atlanta". Hey, we just recently got indoor plumbing too--just in time :). Anyway, the beautiful thing was that the stresses of the previous week were just melting away......Westin amazed them with his standing skills and how well he is sharing/playing with Copper (Copper is also appreciative of this particular new skill:)).

We could not have asked for better weather. It was sunny and in the 70's during the day and the 50's at night. So we took them on walking tours of our little town and neighborhood. Say what you will about Vermillion (and, yes, sometimes it does smell like cows), but it has a lot of character and cool old homes.
We also celebrated Noni's 60th B'day. Dalen cooked an amazing meal and we had some wonderful cake from Monica's. Westin enjoyed some cake...just a little sliver, but enough to pitch a royal fit, when Dalen took it away, so Noni and Aunt Shannon had to calm him down. Tough night all around, right?? We really appreciate Noni and Aunt Shannon making the trip--it's true: it is easier to get to South Dakota than Montana. That's good news for everyone!