I just had to blog this… We spent Thanksgiving with our friends Steve & Corrie and Steve’s family. I spent this morning baking an apple pie from scratch. I love homemade apple pie, classic Betty Crocker recipe. First tasted it in Nicaragua for Thanksgiving 2001, when Lori Thompson made it. MMMMMmmmmm… No other apple pie compares.

Anyway, I brought homemade apple pie, and of course Analise came with us. Steve’s family loved having a baby to snuggle with and love on, and Analise was in prime smiley form:) Later in the day as we were leaving, someone told me I make great apple pie and cute babies. I love that…

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. If you’re a friend of mine checking in… I miss you. I’m so thankful for the amazing blessings God’s showered upon me – us – this year. And you, my friends, are among them. May God richly bless you, as well.

Read on only if you want a glimpse of “real life” as a working/pumping mom:)

Before I dive into the adventure, here’s a glimpse of Analise “Puppy” Toone on her belly. She’s now rolling over and she’s pretty pleased with her new talent! The hat is one we just got on sale at Baby Gap:)

Last Thursday, (after a rough start to the day, which you’ll hear about soon) I realized that I’d forgotten to bring empty bottles to bring the milk I pump at work home. Grr… Anyone that’s breastfed will realize that milk is like “gold”… and you hate to dump it and you can’t just NOT pump. I thought I would have to dump the milk since I had no way to carry it home, but then I found a solution;) So here’s a conversation I had with Brian on Instant Messenger just before going to pump.

(To break up the reading, here’s another glimpse of my smiley girl in her bouncy seat. She prefers to use her hands on the toys instead of kicking at them, so she’s learned to slouch way down until she can reach them. She’ll sit here as Brian’s working at his computer on his almost-complete dissertation.

Then a funny conversation with my sister, Kat, just as I’m leaving to pump:

So there you have it! Real life with the Toone family! No boredom here – we wouldn’t want it any other way!

Yes, every baby should be dressed up as a pumpkin at least once:) And here’s my little one! I have this picture as the background on my computer at work, and I just grin every time I see it. Jenni was babysitting so she got Analise all dressed in her halloween/fall outfit and arranged the pumpkins. Corrie – who’s taken the BEST pictures of all the BEST moments of our life:) – took the picture. She looks so little next to the pumpkin!! I’m not sure anyone checks in here, but I’ll keep posting just the same:)

Analise has become quite vocal. Here’s another Instant Messenger conversation between Brian (at home with Analise) and I (at work).

Brian : my goodness
Brian: there’s a cat in our bedroom
Kristine: lol
Kristine: a cat, huh?

Note:If you’d like to hear the “cat” in the bedroom, check out this video… Analise is a VERY vocal baby, and she loves to gurgle, squeal and lately, she particularly enjoys making a howling-squaling cat-like noise when she’s entertaining herself in her crib. It’s VERY comical.
(conversation continues)
Kristine: did you just put the baby to bed?
Brian: yep, she was yawning
Brian: i said “young lady, one more yawn and it’s straight to bed for you”
Brian: she said “ok daddy, i won’t yawn, i’m not tired” followed of course by a big yawn

I have to say, yet again, Brian’s such a great stay-at-home daddy. He’s working hard on his dissertation, making definite progress, and getting to spend quality time with his sweet little girl. I’m jealous! My time will come soon enough…

Well, in case you can’t make it out from this photo, Analise voted yesterday! She and Brian did their civic duty together before the babysitter arrived. When they came home, she started chewing on the 164 page California Voter’s Guide. Here’s what Brian told me on Instant Messenger while I was at work:

Brian (typing with Analise on his lap): heyn were goping to vote
Kristine: lol
Kristine: have fun sweeties!
Brian: k, be back in a little bit
(time lapse)

Brian: we voted!
Brian: analise has an “i voted” sticker on her outfit
Brian: she looks so proud of it
Brian: she also was so overcome with excitement, she tried to eat the voter’s guide when we got back
Brian: guess she didn’t know how else to express her love of democracy and freedom!

That’s my girl! We’re raising her to be proud to be an American! If you’d like to see a cute live video of Analise voting, you can click here…
Lastly, here’s one more picture of my little American girl – if you click on the photo, you’ll see the bigger image of her proudly wearing her “I voted!” sticker:)