o give thanks for 8 months

what a big month month 8 has been! we celebrated cupcate's first thanksgiving. and we have so much to be thankful for. as usual, i didn't take enough pictures, but it was a lovely day. cate had both sets of grandparents in one spot, along with great grands, uncles and aunts. in short, she had an inexhaustible supply of holders and playmates. i think her expression in this picture from that day pretty much sums it up...

she has one tooth (bottom center right) that has broken through to the other side and one next door neighbor hanging out just below the surface. she's done really well, but i am told the molars are the real deal holyfield pain. something to look forward to, i guess.

her hair has filled out enough to do bathtub fauxhawks, which is fun for everyone.

j and i took our first weekend trip to marathon. cate stayed with classy and pop the first night. she stayed in sundown with aunt stacey and uncle cam on night two. cate was spoiled rotten, but she may have taken a toll on uncle cam. we could hear him yell, "FREEDOM!" when he stepped inside the house after helping us load the car. hee hee!

and on the day after her 8 month birthday, she met SANTA at where else but SANTALAND!
it was a balmy 70 degrees at sunset.

not very conducive for the christmas spirit, but the weather was great for standing in a very long line with a very small child. jared felt like he'd been sucked into "a christmas story." good thing cate didn't want to ask for anything with which she can shoot her eye out.good thing we had classy and pop to help keep our spirits up!

so we were fully expecting for a "santa is so very scary and i will scream as loudly as i can" reaction, but cate l-o-v-e-d santa and the mrs.

and no, i haven't been dressing cate in the same outfit every day since thanksgiving. but i was tempted. boy, are these candy stripes cute! thanks, aunt stacey!

we're counting sleeps (six more) until we leave on a jet plane for rochester, ny to christmas with the minemiers and mccauleys. and praying for a good flying baby or really patient neighbors. or maybe we should pray for a neighbor with a huge, white beard. that could keep us occupied for hours.merry christmas to all, and to all a good flight!