Happy Thanksgiving!

Shayn and I are so lucky that we both have family in town and a great neighborhood to come home to. We go to both my parents and Shayn's parents' house for dinner every Thanksgiving, and while some people might view this as a lot of work, Shayn sees it as an opportunity...for two dinners! I don't really love Thanksgiving food, but I do appreciate that it is a great excuse to get everyone together and have a good time. When we pulled into our driveway after our double dinners this year, we couldn't help but notice that our neighbors were still in full-fledged celebration mode and we were happy to join them for some after dinner drinks! We are so thankful for our family and friends! Gobble Gobble!

Congratulations Dad!

I always knew that it was a possibility, but I think that I was secretly hoping that it wouldn't happen! It's official though, my Dad got a job transfer to Moscow, Idaho. Vandal country...eww! I have to admit that my first reaction was slight panic when I suddenly realized that slowly but surely my whole family has moved away and I'm the only one left in Boise! I got it together though when I remembered it's not all about me, (tragic!), and I have to admit that this is a really great opportunity for my parents. My Dad now has his own store and will no longer have to work nights or weekends. He is the hardest-working person that I know and Shayn and I are so happy for him, it has been a long time coming and he certainly deserves the promotion! So when Erin and Natalie were here visiting we had to celebrate of course with a little surprise party! Congratulations Mom and Dad, we are so excited for your new adventure!

Family Photo Fiasco

These days it's rare to get the whole family in the same state, let alone the same country! We decided that it was now or never for family pictures. It's even more rare to try and find something to wear that we all have, and more importantly that we can all agree on! White long sleeved shirts seem simple enough, right? Well, let's just say that it wasn't as easy as it sounds! Twenty minutes before pictures, we finally decided on the aforementioned dress code, and Natalie and I dug out my long sleeved white shirts from the bottom of my dirty clothes hamper. Off we raced to pictures, where we proceeded to run into not one, but two car accidents on the way. We finally arrived and hurried into the portrait studio. Let's just say our "photographer" was the new girl, possibly even her first day. We really felt like we were at the photo shoot for the cover of the "Stepbrothers" DVD! I really think that's where she came up with all of her poses. We were all laughing so hard that I can't believe our faces aren't visibly red along with tears streaming down our cheeks in the photos! Luckily, we got a few good pictures from the adventure, which I'll put at the beginning of the slideshow, and the rest are at least good for a laugh!

Kiefer George Carlson

Yep, I'm really going to blog about our cat right now, it's true. I have to share how hilarious it was to see how Kiefer reacted to a baby in our house. I was sitting on the couch holding Ander, and next thing you know, Kiefer jumps up onto my lap in a real hurry! This is a big deal because Kiefer isn't exactly a cuddly kitty. At first we thought that he was being jealous of a new little boy in the house, but it turns out that he was just curious (hence his middle name, George), and was actually being very protective of Ander. He wanted to be in the middle of all the commotion surrounding the baby and it was especially funny when I was wrapping a present for Ander, and Kiefer casually inserted himself into the box, right on top of the tissue paper and all! He refused to get out and proceeded to act like it was a normal, everyday occurrence. I think he was hoping I would wrap him up and ship him to Taiwan so he could keep hanging out with his new BFF, Ander!

Ander's Arrival!

Erin traveled alll the way home from Taiwan so that we could meet our new little nephew. Natalie flew in as well and before we knew it, the Wilcox girls were reunited! Ander is the cutest little guy and we had so much fun with him. I got quite the workout from holding him so much because he is a BIG baby! I swear he grew five pounds in the two weeks that he was here! It was so fun to see even his facial features change every day. We kept Erin and Ander VERY busy with shopping, lunches, and more shopping! I was happy to pick out all sorts of clothes for Erin and even more happy to hold Ander while she tried them on! Ander prefers to be held in a very specific way, kind of like a football, so it didn't take long for him and Shayn to become fast friends! Their visit went by way too fast, I can't imagine how big he is going to be when we see him again this summer!