What we're thankful for

Looking back on an extended Thanksgiving weekend and Elise's first real road trip to Chicago (Sorry, Duluth, you're soooo last month), we're thankful that:
-- Elise fell asleep as we pulled out of the driveway Wednesday night. In just over 6 hours of highway time, she was awake long enough to down a bottle and chat for a bit.
-- There was plenty of tasty turkey and sides on Thanksgiving. Oh, and that there were cranberries. I think you might as well cancel the holiday if you don't serve cranberries.
-- The child, who is eating with her fingers, sampled turkey, potatoes and cranberries -- and continued her streak of displaying no apparent food allergies.
-- We got to spend some time with George, who shared a few more classic stories that I'm still chuckling about.
-- She slept soundly that first night at my Aunt Renee and Uncle Fritz's place because, quite frankly, we were beat when we pulled into town about 12:45 a.m. (We've learned that as new parents we have trouble staying awake past midnight. Make that 11 p.m.)
-- Elise only was awake and irritable for about three hours of each of the subsequent three nights because of the pain of a growth spurt. Why are we thankful for that? Well, it could have been four hours a night. In reality, it was a rough few nights only when you compare them to recent months, when she has slept through the night.
-- We woke up at 6 a.m. Black Friday because of a baby and not because we were in pursuit of a Zhu Zhu.
-- We had a great day with some relatives we see just once a year. For me, the post-Thanksgiving soiree marks the beginning of the holiday season.
-- The annual jaunt across Chicago to visit our friends Mike and Anne and their kids continued this year. Good pals, good times. (And yes, you two, we promise to crash at your place next year.)
-- The Wentes traveled in caravan to Chicago -- we in one vehicle, my parents in another -- because as much as we enjoy time with my folks, we do not need to spend six hours down and six hours back pretending we're in a Shanghai subway at rush hour.
-- We drove instead of hopped a flight. Why, you ask? Well, you can't lob poo-filled diapers at the "Pay Toll Ahead" sign from an airplane.
-- We were able to share (show off?) a very happy baby with family and friends.
-- Aunt Renee pulled it off once again, making it an enjoyable stay.
-- Elise sometimes is all about the simple experience, like sitting in a rest area lobby for 10 minutes with Dad while Mom waited in the car. That gave the parents a much-needed break from each other during the drive home.
-- We only needed a short break from each other on the way home, because Wisconsin rest areas are only interesting for 10 minutes -- kind of like Wisconsinites.
-- We pulled into the driveway Sunday afternoon thinking, "Hey, that wasn't so bad. Actually, it was a good trip."

The family on Thanksgiving.

The ladies.

All eyes on the newest member of the family.

Huh. I wonder where Elise gets it.

The Royal Family may have the throne, but we learned recently that the Winters have the "formal bib," a familial relic worn by Anni and her two sisters at holidays when they were young. It was given to Elise this year and, judging by how snug it was around her neck, only this year.
I kept thinking the frilly collar was mashed potato that missed the target.

She got a kick out of riding in a swing at a park near Mike and Anne's house.
We got a kick out of her hair whispies.

Top Chef

Ahh, cheese, she's getting old

We reached another milestone this morning: Elise is starting to dabble with real food.
"The cottage cheese in the fridge is for Elise, not you," Anni said.
That's fine. Just don't ask me to share ice cream yet.

Mobile baby -- almost

Elise hit the 8-month mark late last week and to celebrate she crawled to the front door, opened it and made a break for the hinterland. She only came back because she forgot to bring extra diapers.
OK, so not quite. However, we predict she will crawl within a month. Which means we have a month to start baby-proofing the house. We will not turn this place into a rubber room, but those steep stairs -- yeah, they're getting a gate. Or two.

More Pollack than Monet

That's our daughter: jaw-droppingly fascinated by a plastic paintbrush.

The great pumpkin

Credit goes to my dad's cousin, Leslie, for the pumpkin costume. Good thing Halloween comes in October, because this little one would have burst through the feet of the pumpkin outfit if the holiday was a month from now.

Hey, look, it's the 21st century Village People. OK, so it's the costumed cousins. Elise is with Jacob, wearing a homemade Kyle Busch costume (Jacob is a fan of NASCAR -- and M&Ms.) and Randy, outfitted as a Transformer. (I should know the name, but was too busy with He-Man and Legos as a kid to watch Transformers.) You know who's bringing the Halloween fright? Rainie, Jenee and Greg's dog, dressed as a banana.

Now that's a Nuk.

Time -- It's not on our side

In a house where sleep is coveted more than ever before, the end of daylight savings time sounded like a welcome event.
Set the clocks back an hour. Swell idea. An extra hour of sleep for the parents, more rest for the baby. Everyone's happy come Sunday morning, right?
Well...
Turns out that even if you set all of the wall clocks in the house back an hour, the baby's biological clock doesn't spin backward as easily.
We woke up this morning thinking it was 6:30 because that's what the clock said and I had made sure to set the alarm clock back an hour last night. Elise woke up and did fine for the first half hour or so. Then we realized that, no, it in fact was 5:30 a.m. when we got up because somehow the bedroom alarm clock got screwed up, while Elise actually woke up at her normal time, 6:30 a.m., or what would be her normal time if not for the end of daylight savings time, but that meant it was an hour earlier for us.
I still get confused trying to figure this out.
The end result after only a one-hour time change: A baby who spent most of Sunday tired and ticked off, and two exhausted parents who cannot figure out why a one-hour tweak got us all out of whack. (You can scratch the seven-time-zone-spanning family trip to Europe off the list for a few years.)
You know, some states do not recognize daylight savings time. That seemed ridiculous, but after today I'm thinking Minnesota ought to follow suit. And please, let's make that happen before spring, when we otherwise will have to figure out how to set alarm clocks and biological clocks to spring ahead.
I need a nap just thinking about that.