Gotta Be Thankful, Thankful

What a great few days its been! My family came down to Houston to celebrate thanksgiving. It started with Holly coming in last monday from Michigan, Mom Dad Anna Lydia Connor all came on wednesday and G'ma and Baba came in Thursday for a 2:00 lunch. Everything worked out perfectly! We had a great time with a lot of great laughs. And a lot of West Wing. Thank you all for coming down and thanks Greg and LT for joining us for thanksgiving lunch.
Now we are on to the packing! We are moving to Dallas in 6 days. And the packing is so under-way its not even funny. Lists and lists have been made... God-willing we'll roll out of here at 6 am Sat morning.
All the kitchen is packed so we will be dining on leftover Chinet and dixie products, also bottled drinks.

On another note....Ryan said today that he wonders where the baby went? A little boy now lives with us. So busy! Walking everywhere, exploring everything on a different level. I love that little face!

Ok more later.

Thinking about today.

Monday November 10th we celebrated our 2nd anniversary. It's crazy because 2 years seems so short and so long--in a good way, like we've known each other forever! I don't even know what to say. I love Ryan more and more every day. I know that love grows but how much bigger than this?! I believe love takes on body-form as it grows. Love can be a blanket to cover, but when it grows and is acted out and tried and used, it extends arms and grows legs and wraps around someone, love is life that is given. We met in 2001, started a courtship in 2004, and got engaged and married in 2006. Now 2 years later we've had a baby and will move twice and have lived a year at a time so far. We are good with that. Yes we have dreams, visions, desires, but we are given today. I love Ryan today and he loves me today. All of the today's we get, I will love him.

I found some engagement pictures...had to share...

...And Espen walks

It's a plan!

I watched Espen make 6 total steps today....that's walking isn't it?
I tried to have him do it again but I guess he forgot that he was actually walking.

So we're having thanksgiving at our house this year a whole 8 days before we move to Dallas, 5 days to move after our company leave. We are excited this year because we have the room and they're all coming in from Michigan, St Louis, and Dallas. I cannot wait! I'm planning even now what we're going to eat, how its going to look and what it might smell like....yummy. Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday! As you know from a couple blogs ago I loves leaves and the smells of this time. Why not celebrate in my house!
I can only imagine there will be laughing, story telling, coffee drinking, eating, movie watching, movie going...the fire lit, maybe an outing planned, and late late nights talking making ourselves go to bed at 4 in the morning.
I'm glad that all the sisters will be in one house together. If I had it my way everyone would stay at our house and fill every square inch of the place with air mattresses and people stepping over each other like a huge slumber party. But I understand that for it to be enjoyable for everyone we can't possibly sleep on top of each other.
One sad note....most of my kitchen is already packed and labeled so thanksgiving dinner will be served on chinet and plastic cups (unless we can get to ikea before then)

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today....happy planning!

With Espen in the family happy happy home...

We all had a family date tonight. We have several of those a week, but tonight just felt special. Maybe its because the ground was wet from all the rain, we had our sweaters on and hot drinks in hand.
Espen learned how to drink out of a straw tonight. He drank from my Sprite from Chick-fil-a but when the sprite hit his mouth he backed away from the straw kept his mouth open cause it burned his little mouth (his first carbonated drink)...he kept his head back and mouth open until the burn went away then wanted more. We only tried 2 or 3 times, since he didn't swallow any, his shirt and my sleeve were soaked. We'll try water next time. Ryan and I laughed so hard.
Espen waits for me to laugh now with him after he sneezes. It's been so fun to get tickled about sneezing. He does it once then I do 40 fake ones loving to hear him laugh so hard.
Espen rode the carousel tonight with me. It's his second time total to ever ride one, but we would watch for daddy every time we would come around. He waved at everyone! But he would go right back looking for Ryan to wave at him.

Oh our little Espen is so cute and funny! He truly enjoys the world, and I really think the world enjoys him. Tonight we stopped into Anthropologie and Ryan told me later that he observed a tired lady who just looked sad, she saw Espen and said hi to him; he responded with a big smile and his little laugh, she thanked him for that smile, and said "that really made my day". Ryan said her face changed and it was like she genuinely needed that smile.
Its so cool to see how such a little life can give life.
I'm so thankful for my joy named Espen.

Espen also loves to play in a certain cabinet and he loves to climb...


(Espen's still not walking on his own but he's confident enough to just hold one hand. Hopefully we'll get it on video when it happens)

And Practicing for Christmas Carols...

Our little E is 1!

So we just rolled into Houston a few hours ago from being gone for 6 days....this trip was made for Espen's first birthday to celebrate with our family.
His birthday is October 31, now one of my favorite days. Espen's first official word was dog (gog) so guess what he dressed up as?
We had orange and green balloons, baked mac n cheese, little hot dog wraps, orange punch, pettit fours, and caramel apples, toddler music by Go Fish, costumes and awesome presents.
Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate, he will remember this day through the pictures we took and the stories we tell. Here are a few pics for you to look at.

1. The petit fours (extra sugary)



2. Espen (the dog) and his good friend Charlotte (the spider)



3. Opening presents with Nana, and me (dressed as Demi Moore)



4. Candy Bags



5. Ryan melting the caramel for the apples