Never Waste A Perfectly Good Day

Today was a wonderfully warm Monday, so Chip and I decided to postpone homework for a while so we could enjoy the fresh air.  We headed over to our local park, where G wanted to visit the little playground for a while.  He quickly found a friend who wanted to play ball with him.  After a while, we wanted to see what was happening on the big playground, so we went over and found a school friend there.

Around 5:00, it started getting dark and cold, so we came home.  G is now diligently completing his homework, and we're about to sit down for the beef stew I made this morning in the crock pot.

Special Delivery, Extra Special Boy

Now, here's what you want to see when you open a package!

It's actually the Tiffany china we ordered for the baby.  Matt's grandpa sent us a "congratulations" gift a while back, and we wanted to use it on something that would be a keepsake for the baby.  We are so happy with our decision and can't wait to see the little guy eating Cheerios out of that bowl.

In other news, the Chipster has been working very hard on his behavior lately.  On Sunday, we both left the kitchen after breakfast, and I heard the sound of dishes.  I went into the kitchen to find that G had cleared the breakfast table.  He put all of the dishes in the sink, put the family plate of pastries away, had washed the table, and was drying the table and washing the light over the table.  Sometimes, he is really, really wonderful.

A Very Pink Tradition

This is the third year that we've attended ridden the Pink Pig.  It has become a tradition with the Soergel-Harris clan, and this year we were lucky to have Wowo with us, as well.  There was no line for the ride, so we had time to shop a little (Hello, Godiva Candy Cane truffle!) before we headed out to dinner.  We even had time to stop by Tiffany at Phipps Plaza to order a very special gift for our son-in-tummy:

This year, dinner was at Maggiano's in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.  The food was so delicious, and we all had a great time.  We had a large round table in front of the piano player, who was very talented and even played the Charlie Brown theme song when the kids gave him tips.  Since I am trying to minimize my contact with alcohol during pregnancy and nursing, the waiter was kind enough to bring me a taste of chianti as a treat, which I really appreciated.  All of the others around us smiled a lot at our table's three kidlets, so they must have behaved themselves well.

As we have misplaced our digital camera, we decided to give the Nikon P7000 a try.  Thanks to our Amazon Prime trial membership, we ordered the camera on Wednesday and it arrived today.  Although it looks and feels like it's cheaply made, we are really impressed so far with its performance and capabilities.  Actually, we should say that its performance will be really great when we figure out how to use it!  Here are some pics from today:

First pic with the new camera.  These flowers were actually in shade, and I didn't use a flash. 

The pinkest tent in the world.

I hadn't yet figured out how to use the flash, but I think this one turned out pretty great.

Matty and Wowo.

Dani and Lindsay, with the Chipster in the background.

Making faces at themselves in the mirror tunnel.

Happy riders!

Three little piglets.

I believe he had just said, "Quincy, this is a serious picture!"  G with his ice cream.

What a crew.

We are looking forward to next year already!  We hope that you are also getting into the Christmas spirit already, and that you are finding ways to make this season extra special.

Cool

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Thanksgiving "Breakfast"

Matthew has a theory that we will get the most out of our Thanksgiving dinner if we stretch our stomachs at breakfast. Ever the obedient wife, I am doing my best to allow him to test his theory [by the way, I used that word the other day and G blurted out, "hypothesis.". That kid, I tell ya.]. I made the blueberry one yesterday and cranberry orange and chocolate muffins and cinnamon rolls today.

The turkey is brining, and the old-fashioned apple tart is in progress. The chocolate marvel pie is next. We are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV and having a great morning. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!