Waiting on Santa

Car and I heard that Santa was going to be in Richmond last weekend, so we packed up MR and hit the road. Of course, the man from the North Pole wasn't the only reason we made the trip. We were also craving some of the finest food from the Far East -- P.F. Chang's. After our standard meal of Lettuce Wraps, Mongolian Beef, and Pork Fried Rice, we were on a mission to find Santa.

The first challenge was finding a parking spot. After circling for 10 minutes, it was clear I was going to have to make the sacrifice. I dropped Car and MR off at the mall entrance and told them I'd catch up. I found a spot on the other side of the mall and hustled to find my girls.

We finally found Santa around 3:45pm. Unfortunately, he was minutes away from his afternoon break. One of his elves assured us that he would be back in action by 4:15. Just after 4:00, we heard a rumor that he would be gone until at least 4:45. Car confirmed this with the elves. We were in a fix. As most of you know, timing is everything with a baby. Especially a breast-fed baby.

We had a decision to make. Mary Reese was due to eat at 4:30. This meant that Car had to either whip it out in the Food Court or go to the car to pump. She chose the latter. Now remember that I dropped her off and she didn't know where I ended up parking. It's common knowledge that my dear wife is directionally challenged. However, her mission was clear and there was no way we were abandoning our position at the front of the line. She had 30 minutes to find the car, do the deed, and get back in time to introduce MR to Santa.

With some excellent directions from me, Car found the Honda in 5 minutes flat. While she was doing her thing, MR and I watched the line grow longer by the minute. I knew we had made the right decision when I saw the line was over 150 feet long. The holiday spirit was clearly in the air as kids became rambunctious and parents began to lose their patience. Mary Reese, who was starving at this point, was a ticking time bomb. I knew she could unleash her fury at any minute. Fortunately for her and everyone else in the Food Court, Car showed up just in time. We still had 10 minutes to spare.

I fed Mary Reese and listened to Car's adventures running through the mall with a bottle of breast milk. You know Car, and you know she was kickin' some heels. As if running in heels isn't hard enough, she was also wearing a pair of stretch jeans that by this point, were quite stretched. Needless to say, when they came down, they almost brought her down with them. Huffing and puffing, she managed to jerk them up with her free hand and barely broke stride.

All in all, MR's first encounter with Santa was a success! He was quite patient while we did our best to direct MR's attention to the camera. Despite the "deer in the headlights" expression, she was comfortable in his lap, and perhaps even a little fond of the man in red.

c & g



The infamous stretch jeans

In case you wanted to know what your
first grade teacher looked like as a kid.

Getting ready for a bath

Thanksgiving by the numbers

We had a good trip home for Thanksgiving. Mary Reese made it down to Eastman and Waycross for the first time and had a chance to meet a lot of you. Looking back on the pictures, it's obvious that we need to take more pictures during gatherings, especially family shots. Below is a summary of our Thanksgiving by the numbers, along with a few pictures.

1467.....Miles driven
132.......Hours away from home
33.........Nearest I-85 exit in Charlotte when we passed Lauren and her family headed to D.C.
28.........Hours in the car
27.........Family members Mary Reese met (almost one per hour driven)
6...........Days on the road
4...........States traveled

Three weary travelers

One cute little pilgrim

Three generations...MR meets Mema

Two bushels of oysters roasted

One doting cousin

Two oyster shuckers

One proud grandfather

One tired, but still cute, little girl

MR hits the town...

Mary Reese got to meet yet another set of grandparents this past weekend. Joe and Carol loaded up the truck and hit the road last Wednesday. One day and 675 miles later, they were hanging out with the newest addition to the family, her recovering mother, and a nearly out of work dad.

What a weekend...We spent Thursday and Friday just visiting and taking it easy. Which was a good call because Saturday was action-packed. We were blessed with a beautiful fall day in Virginia made even better with burgers and fries from Five Guys. After we filled up, Mary Reese reminded us she needed to eat as well. She had her meal in the back seat of the car while Joe and Carol did a little shopping.

With full stomachs, Mary Reese and I dropped Car off at Old Navy to do a little non-maternity shopping while she and I listened to some football in the parking lot. Joe and Carol walked up just in time to assist with Mary Reese's first outdoor changing...in the trunk. I now understand why so many moms are driving SUVs...

Next we headed for the mountains to drink in the sun, scenery, and a little wine. Our trip to Veritas Vineyards marked the first trip to a vineyard for Joe, Carol, and Mary Reese. We're hoping her head start isn't indicative of things to come... For the record, she slept while we enjoyed a sampling of Veritas wines in the beautiful tasting room. She continued to sleep as we sat outside on the deck and took in the Blue Ridge mountains.

She's not one to miss a meal though, and soon demanded her second meal on the run that afternoon. Car tried to be discrete and feed her in an out of the way spot on the steps, but the wedding party in waiting had other ideas. They parked it on the deck right above us and gave Car a new appreciation for the hooter hider. In addition to crowding us, the wedding party proceeded to cut our time short and ran us off. But not before we snapped a few good pictures and imbibed a wonderful bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc.

gThe gang at Veritas Vinyards

Mary Reese napping on the porch

C, G, MR, C

Car and her hooter hider

Papa Joe and a happy Mary Reese