GRIFFIN @ 10 MONTHS - WALKING WITH TOOTH!

Everyone is agreed it is official. Griffin was a real walker by 10 months. We won't tell him Cal did it at 9.5. Who's counting. Griff also got his first tooth at about the same time (9 months 3 weeks) which seems a little late but we're not complaining. With a baby this sweet, who would complain? He is still the best natured baby we have ever seen and smiles from ear to ear every time we walk in the room. He is starting to push back when his big brother tries to box him out which is funny. We predict he will be a tough but funny kid. Kind of a class clown/class bully combo if there is such a thing. Can't wait to find out.

MERONEY CLAN FAMILY PHOTOS

Nana had the wonderful idea to schedule a professional family photo session while we had everybody gathered in Austin. So we got everyone up and dressed and showered with clean hair (we Meroneys are BIG on clean hair!) the day after Thanksgiving. The weather was another story. It was about 85 degrees and 99 percent humidity- no joke. When you see my hair, you will understand why this concerned me. It literally expanded by the moment like a Chia Pet - you could actually watch it grow. Anyway, a rain storm was coming so we had no choice but to brave the elements so we did and the results were great. Our friend Molly Quirk took the photos and did an unbelievable job, especially given the obstacles of my frizz fest and a very uncooperative 2 year old. Here are some good ones. Go to http://www.mollyquirk.com/ for more.

MORE TURKEY DAY PICS

Because you can never have enough turkey. After the meal, the two Shannons, their hubbies and Cole went to the A&M game. While UT won, it was a hollow feeling knowing we were about to get leapfrogged in the BCS race. What a rip off.

TURKEY DAY, GOBBLE GOBBLE!

We had a full house for turkey day - Mike's parents, brother & sister-in-law, my high school friend, Shannon (yes, odd coincidence, huh?), her hubby and 10 year old son, Cole. I was petrified that Cole would be bored to tears and hate his time at Chez Meroney. Little did I know that 10 year old boys are as good as it gets - like having a little manservant of your own. He was amazing and we had a great visit. We cooked a huge meal (and by "we" I mean that I rudely assigned all our visitors a cooking task in addition to my own) and everything was fabulous. It was a special occasion in that Mike's sister-in-law Christine had her first traditional American Thanksgiving meal. She is first generation chinese so her family doesn't celebrate it. Please don't tell her that the pilgrims didn't have my recipe for jalapeno blue cheese cornbread stuffing. Yum.

BYE BYE, ALEX!

Griffin was sad this week as he said goodbye to his friend, Alex. Alex is nanny Rebeca's boyfriend who moved to Georgia this week to go to Captain's training in the Army - a very exciting promotion for him! Alex has spent a lot of time with Griffin and Griff is a big fan of his. He loved it when people at the mall would tell Rebeca & Alex how handsome "their" baby was. As you can tell, Alex & Griff look a lot alike - NOT. Anyway, Griff will miss his Alex a lot. Good luck and thank you for your service for our country, Alex!

10 MONTHS & WALKING
Sort of. Almost. Griffin turned 10 months old this week and is making great progress on his walking. See for yourself in this video clip. He is also doing great with his napping - sometimes up to 3 hours at a stretch but not as well as night. We are lucky to get 9-10 hours out of him while our friends all brag about their babies sleeping 12-13 hours a night effortlessly. He got his first tooth last week so we are hoping his sleep will improve after we get through this round of teething and the most recent ear infection (#5). The snot flow seems to have slowed for now so we hope to enjoy a healthy Thanksgiving week.

CRUISING FOR CHICKS
Griff's best effort to pick up the ladies on his cool new ride. He's not so good at steering but who cares when you have a smile that big and a friendly wave?

GO HAWGS

Well....they are not having the best of seasons but that doesn't get Cal down. He is a true fan. Especially of this Razorback coat given to him by his first nanny, Jessie. Thanks, Jess. No, really. :)

BIG BOY CLOTHES

We hosted a table at our church's annual Thanksgiving dinner this year. Griff and Cal got to take some of their big boy clothes on a test run. Griff felt so big he took about 5 steps in a row with his own....He was so quick I only got one photo of him standing there in between but will get some steps on camera soon. A few days later he walked for about 20 seconds with no problems. I did get a video clip of Griff pushing Cal behind one of the ride-on toys. That didn't take long....