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!

Happy Halloween!

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks. We have been to Omaha, but Westin decided it's more fun being a monkey than seeing one in a zoo (okay, technically he saw an ape, but you know what I am saying). We have been enjoying Saturday Game Days. I don't know how you get ready for the Big Game, but Westin and Dalen gear up for the game playing the bongos. Whatever works; those Auburn Tigers are on fire! War Eagle!

Tonight Westin and I sat out on the front porch eagerly awaiting trick r' treaters. We did more waiting than handing out treats and eventually got chilly. Halloween's in Hamilton were truly magical, and this Halloween in Vermillion was underwhelming. Maybe it was off because it is a Sunday night. Who knows. But by 7:30 pm, Westin decided that he was done with Halloween. So we came back inside to play, and low and behold, he pulled himself up for the very first time! I know pretty spooky. Hope that you had an excellent Halloween too!

Westin v Hardwood Floor

I guess you know who won that battle. A hardwood floor really lacks any give for a young tot trying his feet for the first time. What happened? Dada was pulling some clothes out of the dresser, and Westin thought, 'Hey why don't I stand up?!". So, he did. And everything was great, until the little Bean let go and did a full face plant on the floor. When I walked in for lunch, Westin was crying hysterically and Dada looked white as a sheet. My Baby had a swollen nose that was a little bloody and a bump over his left eye. I admit that I had a moment when I cried with my Baby. Did we want to take him to the Emergency Room? Um, YEAH! We are first time parents and so far, this is the most traumatic injury that WestinBean has suffered. After reading the baby book on what to look for for 'traumatic brain injury' (cue the snickering from more seasoned parents), we decided that we were probably overreacting. In the end, Westin, of course, is fine...and for the record, two days later, so are Mama and Dada. :)

Bean's and the Orchard

Happy Native American Day! I know that most of you spent the day as Columbus Day, but not here in South Dakota. They legally changed the day to Native American Day!

Yesterday, we ventured up to Harrisburg, SD to visit the 'Country Apple Orchard'. They have Apple Orchards AND pumpkin patches AND a super fun Pumpkin Festival. The festivities included giant inflatables that you can crawl through, a riding lawn mower-pulled train, a veritable petting zoo, hay rides, ponies that you could ride, ducks and geese to feed, and plenty of pumpkins. It was worth the drive and are plotting next year's adventure. We are anticipating that Westin will be all over Halloween next year. His Halloween outfit is purchased and delivered. Stay tuned for the reveal!

This week's fav reads (in order): That's Not My Teddy, One fish two fish three fish, The very hungry caterpillar.

D-days and On-the-Move

It was a big weekend! It marked our first Dakota Days, aka, D-Days inVermillion. We have been hearing about D-Days since we moved in. Basically it is a week long celebration for USD's Homecoming. I don't know how the game turned out yesterday, but the Parade was a lot of fun (even though it was chilly, bright and during Westin's naptime). We bundled up yesterday morning and went for the first hour. Yes, first hour. We honestly thought the parade was done, then we saw the second wave coming down the street. There are floats and politicians and strange community organizations (ie The Oriental Band..I don't have a picture because they had large swords and lots of musical equipment, so you will have to take my word), and a lot of fun. Hamilton would have parades, but this was the happiest that we had ever been too. You couldn't tell which party the Politicians belonged to, so you could actually meet the people and figure out if you like them. That was refreshing.

Westin is motoring around. No longer can we set him down with toys and expect him to be in the same place, not even for a second. This is in sharp contrast from a week ago. He was getting around, but in the past week, he has mastered speed, and the ability to hone into where he shouldn't be (ie wall outlets). He has two modes of transit: the tripod crawl,and the belly slide. The belly slide is fastest, but the tripod allows the most versatility. CopperDog does not know what to think about Westin's new skills. Copper used to be able to sit just out of reach..well those days are over! Over the past couple of weeks he has also discovered his shadow. This morning, he was particularly interested in it and was singing it a song. Westin's top reads for the week (in order): That's not my teddy..., The very hungry catepillar, and That's not my plane.

Happy 10 Month Old Baby Boy!

Yesterday, Westin Moore turned 10 months old (these pictures were taken during dinner last night in our three season room). He is such a happy baby and charms almost everyone that he meets (especially the elderly folks in Vermillion). His mohawk gets crazier by the day, and I promise that we are not those parents that style his hair on purpose. In fact, his hair is still too thin to style. Westin is still not crawling, but his butt scoot is something to be reckoned with. He can get across a room on hardwoods in a minute or less. He can pull up, but only on something that is dangerous. For example, in our tv room we have this lovely coffee table-not baby proof or safe really. Next to the coffee table is the very sturdy sofa. In the time it took me to help Dalen drain some pasta, he had butt scooted over to the table and pulled up and it fell down--thankfully the table fell off to the side, but it was enough to scare the bejesus out of the parents of one wily Westin Moore. He is now willingly sleeping on his belly (rolling himself over to get there), and sometimes when we go to rescue him from his crib, he is sitting up shaking the rails of the crib. He LOVES food..except he is starting to grow beyond the baby food-and if given a choice, he almost always wants what we have. A surprising like is lentils and rice..LOVES this stuff! Anyway, that's a snapshot of my baby at 10 months. He never ceases to amaze me and he simply gets cuter every single day. I never thought it was possible to love a person as much as I love my baby boy!

Elizabeth R. Moore, PhD, Assistant Professor

Today was my first day at work. Now I went in over the weekend to unpack my office...why? because when you work HARD for ten years to get to a certain place, well, you tend to get verklempt...and I did. Today was still emotional, but there is no crying when you are in charge and running your own lab. Today in a nutshell went as follows: got some things done, some stuff will wait til tomorrow, some stuff will take longer than I thought, I missed the heck out of my baby and my wonderful husband (who mopped the kitchen floor..did all floors downstairs, put up dishes, and did laundry, while keeping a wily Westin in check), but I was really really happy!
I spent tonight with my two most favorite people. At first I felt a little decadent going to Red's..then I totally got over it. Today was a great day.