Life at the Stable: Updates, Halloween, and Fall Fun

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Updates, Halloween, and Fall Fun

Well life has been hectic around here, but God has really blessed us in many ways too. Every weekend for the entirety of the Fall it seems have been filled with things to do, but we've been intentional about taking time for our family as well. And lately both Drake and I were pretty sick, but thankfully it didn't hit both of us at the same time...and Thomas managed to stay very healthy through it all!

We all just got the H1N1 vaccine too...we did a great deal of research, talked to lots of parents and doctors, etc., and we made an informed decision. It's a tricky parenting thing with these vaccines...there's no guarantee that our decision to have our family vaccinated was the "right" one. But in the end, it's the decision we made based on recommendations from health care professionals, our own research, and discussions between Drake and I about the pros and cons. So, what's done is done. And we hope and pray that we'll stay swine flu free!

Thomas had his first Halloween, and here are a few photos. Of course we didn't go out trick-or-treating (that will be more appealing next year when he can walk), but we did dress him up primarily to take pictures. We also went to a community event at the library. Neither Drake nor I are huge fans of Halloween, but we figured we should do our parental duty and dress up our son for the occasion.

The little calf...this was actually an outfit that someone gave us. It's not necessarily meant to be a costume, but I didn't really want to take Thomas out in cow print for anything other than Halloween! Next year we'll get a little more creative :)

Full body shot...

The ears on the hood were probably the best part of the get-up...so cute!

That same day, we also had our second annual Steed family Thanksgiving! Last year Drake and I wanted to start some of our family traditions...and since we often travel for the holidays, we both wanted to make sure to set aside time for our family to celebrate together. We realized that our November weekends are all scheduled out already, so Thanksgiving on Halloween was our only option! Great fun (and food) was had by all...including our dear friend Steph Thomas! It was a tremendous blessing to have her with us for all the festivities of the weekend, though I must admit that in some ways it makes me miss her even more! She introduced us to a great new wine, brought over a movie that was surprisingly quite excellent, provided snacks, showed off her intense pumpkin carving skills, spent quality time with Thomas, and indulged my obsession with a Bubble Wrap game.

The next day we went out for some fun in the fall - a park about a 2 minute drive from our house is full of trees, and this time of year that means one thing...leaves! With the camera in tow, we spent time crunching in the leaves and enjoying the cool fall weather. I'm always happy about opportunities for Thomas to wear his cute winter hat, so that was a nice perk too! Enjoy a few pictures below...