Rah rah rah!

I've never been particularly interested in sports.  I think I attended a total of 3 sporting events during college.  I happened to be in graduate school the one year that Wake Forest had a good (or at least better than the other teams in the ACC) football team and did attend most of the home games.  That, however, was largely social.  Though I was excited when the Deacons won, I didn't really care about the outcome of the games.

And then I found myself in West Virginia where, it seems, everyone is a Mountaineer fan.  I've never experienced anything like it, this constant explosion of blue and gold, this almost feverish allegiance and excitement.  After five football seasons here, I still don't understand and I certainly don't get excited about the games.

Much to my chagrin (and Nate's pleasure), the first item in Henry's wardrobe was a WVU ensemble.  He now has no less than four WVU onesies.  Yesterday, he finally wore his first one.  I'm sure today was only the first of many blue and gold days for this boy.

Hmm...how do I feel about this?

Great!  Let's go Mountaineers!

First Day of School

I went back to work on Monday and Henry had his first day of "school." 

Henry seems to be unphased by his new routine, thank goodness, and I am adjusting, too.  I commented to a colleague that it is kind of nice not to be thinking about a child's needs at every.single.moment.  And then I stopped.  And thought.  And realized that it's not one child's, but 65 teenagers' needs I'm thinking about now.  Even still, it's fun to be back at work, to have social interaction and to settle into a routine.    

Big AND Tall

2 Months

12 lbs 12 oz (75th percentile)

23 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

Chili!

Fall weather means that it is time for warm, comforting recipes.  A baby in the house means that it is time for quick and easy recipes.  I've never been a fan of the crockpot, but I'm trying to learn to love it.  This weekend, Nate and I made White Bean and Chicken Chili. 

It was delicious, but not as quick and easy as I had hoped.  I would definitely make it again, but I would simplify things and make a few modifications.  Why use bone-in chicken when you can use boneless?  Why brown the chicken (and dirty another pan!) when it's going to be cooking for 6 hours?  The chili was a little on the soupy side, so I would reduce the amount of chicken broth and definitely not add water.  Even though it is a white BEAN chili, I would remove one can of beans and use a can of hominy instead.  We added corn this time, but I prefer hominy.  Finally, I would add a little more spice.  Basically, I would rewrite the recipe!

Cinderelly, Cinderelly

There are five fireplaces in our house.  Five fireplaces that attract dust like picnics attract ants.  Five dusty fireplaces that taunt me each time I walk past them  Perhaps it's the fact that we live in a 100+ year old house, but I feel like no matter how much or how often I dust, more dust magically appears.  Fortunately, I like tidying up our house--vacuuming, dusting, cleaning baseboards, organizing--be still, my heart!  Having Henry in the house has seriously reduced the amount of time and energy that I can devote to such tasks.  Sometimes, it is a bit difficult to see the dust and look the other way, accepting that a few extra dust bunnies, a pile of ironing, and shoes lined up by the door are not nearly as important, and certainly not as entertaining, as a chubby little baby.   

That chubby little baby is two months old today!  Henry is ever alert, curious and, in my completely unbiased opinion, just as cute as ever.