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Monday, October 25, 2010

Pumpkin Patch & Goat Whisperer

Last weekend we went to Deana Rose to the pumpkin patch. We were so impressed with everything there - especially the petting zoo animals and exhibits. I can't wait until Hudson is older and can enjoy everything Deana Rose has to offer - from fishing to horseback rides. His favorite things were the antique tractors, the cows, and the baby goats.  Some very small kids were bottle feeding the baby goats and several goats got out of their cage. The kids' mom couldn't leave the kids alone in the goat pen to chase after the loose goats, so Rollie intervened and herded three goats back into their pen. Some observers called him the "Goat Whisperer"!

Luau at the Fors'

At one point during a neighborhood get-together, everyone decided to bury a whole pig in the backyard and have a luau. Of course the hubs volunteered our yard for this event (and probably because I wasn’t at the driveway get-together, since it was the night before my Tri). Well, several weeks later, he brings up said Luau/pig adventure, completely forgetting that I wasn’t at the event and hadn’t sanctioned burying anything in the backyard, let alone a small barnyard animal. Luckily our neighbors Roger (as in “Roger the Plumber”) and Diane decide to order a whole smoked pig from a local smokehouse.

We hosted the event at our house since it was definitely our turn to host the next “Swillers” event. Side note – all the fun people in the neighborhood are nicknamed the Southside Swillers because we (almost) all live on the south side of 80th Street.

I found a ton of Hawaiian décor in a storage tote in the basement marked appropriately “party time”, so we had coconut candles, leis, sea shells, and small tabletop tiki torches. The real ambiance was created by tall lit tiki torches in the front and back yard. My dad found them the day before the event and they definitely made the party.


I think the pictures speak for themselves. And yes, that is a banana.

Diane & Roger Peugeot, dressed for the Luau, posing with the pig.

Even Hudson had a little Hawaiian shirt on!

Dinner.

Everyone brought a side dish, so we had quite the buffet!

Everyone was dressed for the party and no one was shy about digging in.

Some of the Swillers

Diane & Rollie

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

While Parents are Away, Grandparents will Play.

While we were away in Vegas, my parents decided to buy Hudson a Jumperoo. He is the happiest baby on the planet when he’s being held upright, so it definitely made sense to try one. He seems to enjoy it...


Vegas, Baby (without the Baby).

Rollie won a trip for two to Vegas (complete with airfare, hotel for 2 nights at the Mirage, Cirque du Soleil tickets, food, drinks, spending money for gambling, etc.). It was the first time we left Hudson and actually took a flight somewhere (side note: I hadn't flown anywhere since last December because of being pregnant). Considering I used to travel every other week, it felt like it had been forever! 

We left on Friday morning and got to Vegas at 8:00 a.m. We kicked off the vacation right with a mimosa at Encore, the new hotel at Wynn. We did a little shopping and walking around, then changed and headed to the pool for the afternoon. The temperature was a perfect 85 degrees both days we were there. Friday night we went to Hard Rock hotel for champagne and happy hour, then had dinner at Nobu, then on see “O”, the Cirque du Soleil show at the Bellagio. It far exceeded my expectations.

Saturday we ate lunch at Joe’s Stone Crab, then lounged by the pool for a while. We did the tasting menu at Joel Robuchon's restaurant (plus the cheese course) and then decided to spend Saturday night shopping around Caesars Palace. I love that the Forum shops stay open until midnight! After shopping we had a drink at Rumbar at our hotel before calling it a night.

Sunday we had champagne brunch and checked out Palazzo and Barney’s before heading to the airport. It definitely was a very relaxing trip (not always what you’d expect from Vegas!) and just what we needed in a long weekend get-a-way. 

First champagne of the vacation. A mimosa at Encore
Excuse me, but I ordered a "Large" Pina Colada...
Champagne Room Service
On the way to see O at Bellagio
Joe's Stone Crab for lunch.
The Lobby of the Mirage hotel
Dinner at Joel Robuchon
Shopping at Caesar's Palace Forum Shops
Last champagne of the trip - Champagne Bar at Palazzo.

Harvest Moon

 This was the first year that Rollie played in a Member-Guest tournament at Indian Hills Country Club. He asked Evan, a buddy from work who he hasn’t golfed with in years, to play in the Stampede tournament. Neither would actually consider himself a great golfer, but together they made an amazing team. So good, in fact, that at the end of the first 18 holes, they were not only leading their flight, but were the top team in the entire tournament! The second day proved more challenging to stay on top, but nonetheless, the guys made it in the horse race! They didn’t win the entire tournament, but they did win their flight and placed fourth overall. The boys took home a nice chunk of change as won several hundred dollars in credit to the pro shop. Considering these two guys never play together, they were both pleasantly surprised at the tournament’s outcome, and they had a blast reliving their success at “Harvest Moon”, the party after the tournament.

Evan and his wife Laurie also joined us for Harvest Moon following Stampede. It was full blown western themed – from décor and food to attire. The party was incredible; complete with a bonfire, mechanical bull, tarot card reading, and a band called Bali Root (surprisingly amazing!). The décor was so fun – bright orange bandanas were the napkins and sheriff badges were in the floral arrangements!

Almost everyone took a turn on the mechanical bull and we ended up dancing for hours. We had heard this was the most fun party of the whole year at Indian, and I definitely agree with that!


Hooked on an 8 second ride!
Brandi, Kim, Emily, and Laurie
Evan & Rollie - Great Golf Duo
Scott & Rollie wear those cowboy boots well!


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Spoon Feeding

For the past month or so, we’ve been experimenting with feeding Hudson with a spoon. The first few attempts at rice cereal feedings resulted in most of the cereal on his bib, Bumbo, tray, face and hair.  I just can’t believe this little guy is already sitting up and eating real food with a spoon, instead of just taking a bottle. He gets cereal twice a day now and really seems to love it.

We usually strip him down to just a bib and diaper for feeding time.
At first, he just dribbled rice cereal out of his mouth. And although he liked feeding time, he wasn't swallowing so much as just learning to take a spoon. He would focus so hard on getting that spoon to his mouth that he goes cross-eyed looking at it!


We then introduced oatmeal with bananas to supplement rice cereal, and it's been a big hit. And now Hudson is a spoon-feeding pro. He ate two bowls of oatmeal without getting even a drop on his bib. He can’t get enough of the stuff! The other night he decided it would just be more efficient if he did it himself. The play-by-play: 

If I could just have this spoon...
and get this oatmeal in my mouth...
but it's so much harder than it looks...
so maybe if I just take the bowl...
because there has to be a way to get this out of here...
like licking it straight out of the bowl. Jackpot!
 
Then we added in vegetables and fruit combos - and surprisingly enough his favorite foods are Peas and Broccoli!