Turkey Turkey Dee, Turkey Turkey Dap, I eat the turkey and I take a nap..

Is that or is that not a beautiful bird? Chris's first foray into turkey frying was a success!!! It was a labor intensive process, but well worth it!

First, he seasoned the bird here at our house:




Next, we packed up and headed over to Mom and Dad's, where Chris set up all his gear and heated the oil. He had lots of support.



Sometime shortly before or after the picture below was taken, Bailey pre-taste-tested the turkey. She said it was ok, but would reserve final judgement until after it was fried.



Finally the oil was heated to the correct temperature, which was oh, say, magma-hot-degrees; and it was time for Chris to GENTLY and SLOWLY lower the turkey into the vat of hot lava, I mean oil.



slowly...(patience is a turkey-frying virtue, apparently)



SLOWLY...(ok, I'll spare you - there were many more pictures of the bird being incrementally lowered into the vat)...fast forward...bird is safely in the oil without any oil overflow or fire ---- Victory!



45 minutes later, and after much speculating about what the bird would look like and taste like ("wouldn't it be funny if the turkey has shriveled up to the size of a walnut?"), it was time to pull the bird out. Again, very slowly...but I'll skip the montage and go straight to the end result: a perfectly browned fried turkey.



Guest photographer Olympia had to step in to take some shots of the ceremonial carving, because as luck would have it, Max demanded to have his his meal right when the rest of us were ready to eat.



Since I was busy in another room while everyone filled up their plates, I didn't get any pictures of the huge spread, but suffice it to say that we could have invited the whole neighborhood with the food we had.

A most delicious meal was enjoyed by all...and afterwards, as per American Thanksgiving tradition, naps.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's Thanksgiving Day! We are off in just a little bit to Mom and Dad's where Chris will fry his first ever turkey. But no matter how delicious Chris's turkey turns out to be, this is the little turkey for which I am most thankful this year:




Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm Thankful.

I can't believe it, but tomorrow is Thanksgiving. This little birdie is ready to go...



Chris is going to try his hand at frying that guy. I hope it turns out great, and we don't have to call this guy:



I'm thankful for many things this Thanksgiving. Of course, I'm thankful for this guy:



I'm thankful that he slept through the night last night, but mostly I'm just thankful that God blessed us with a healthy son. I'm thankful for a loving husband. I'm thankful for family, and for friends, and for a roof over our heads and food on our table (lots of food on the table tomorrow). We are very lucky indeed.

Pre-Thanksgiving Warm-Up.

It's the week of Thanksgiving! Nothing says Thanksgiving quite like...Layered Fiesta Casserole!?




Or maybe not. But, regardless, it's what we had for dinner tonight. At first I think Chris and I both felt that it wasn't that great, but then I added some Tabasco, and Chris added some cheese, and I think the final verdict was "not bad", which is a good thing, considering how much we have left over!

In other news...Clemson won this weekend against Wake Forest!



I tried again for the ever-allusive Christmas card photos...





Max modeled for some belated baby photos...



and then he rounded out the weekend with a date with his girlfriend Leah Stone at Lieu's Chinese Bistro.



Looking forward to some FRIED turkey on Thursday. Chris is going to try his hand at turkey-frying...stay tuned...

The Christmas Season is Almost Upon Us.

Actually, according to some of my neighbors who have already decorated for Christmas, the season is already here. I find it hard to believe that Christmas is only a little over a month away, considering that I was just walking around in shorts a couple of days ago, but such is the joy of living in South Carolina!

Anyway, in preparation of the Christmas season ... this is one of the absolute cutest things I've seen in a long time (besides Max, of course...but I have to have SOME posts that aren't Max-centric).

Enjoy! (and if you don't wish you had a pet penguin after watching this, there is something wrong with you)

3 Months Old!

Max is 3 months old today!! He's currently celebrating the big day by crying his head off and refusing to sleep. Guess he's scared he's going to miss his party. (Wow, as I typed that he conked out in Chris's arms).

Here is his 13 week shot from Wendesday.



And his 12 week shot that I forgot to post last week.


So, in honor of Max's big day today...I went to Costco. Julie wanted pizza...but, more importantly, a very special demonstration was taking place this week. That's right, friends....



VITA-MIX!!! Julie and I have been stalking the demo guy at Costco since last year, when we fell in love with his delicious smoothies and heavenly ice creams. Today he pleased our palates with a berry smoothie, a health drink (with spinach!) that Nathanael could NOT GET ENOUGH OF, and a (just so-so) green ice cream. I think the fact that the demo guy recognizes us speaks for itself. If there was a "frequent sampler" card, we would have punched all our holes by now...and gotten another free sample!

Anyway, I'm not holding my breath that I'll be getting a Vita-Mix anytime soon, but I sure do wish that Julie would! :)

In my attempts at becoming a true "wife", I cooked dinner again tonight. (What's that you say? Twice in one week? -- counting the bagged meal, of course. Unbelieveable, I know.) So, tonight's attempt was Swiss 'n Chicken Casserole



I'm not sure if it's my favorite, but it was easy and Chris said he would eat it again, so that's always a positive.
DRATS! I just realized that I forgot to watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!!!! Phew, luckily just discovered it comes on next week (imagine that, on Thanksgiving!) and the DVR has been set. Tragedy averted.

I guess that's it for today from the Ludwigs'. Oh, Chris measured Max's length today (25 inches) and I weighed him earlier (14 lbs 8 oz)...and we entered these into this handy dandy calculator and found that he's between the 75th and 90th percentile for both height and weight...(although, to be fair, he's only between 25th and 50th for weight to length percentile)...so, our guy is still longer than average, which makes me really happy.

Fingers crossed for some sleep tonight!!!!

Sleep Sack: 0, Max: 1

Didn't Max look like an angelic little gingerbread man in his sleep sack?



He seemed to take to it rather well. He even took a quick nap in it, although we had to open the side because he was getting overheated since I had dressed him in some Winter-in-Siberia pajamas.



Chris put him to bed, in his crib, donned in his sleep sack, around 10:15, and we heard not a peep out of him for quite a while. I started getting cocky..."oh, we're going to get a good night's sleep tonight, the Sleep Sack is awesome!!!" And so, I very confidently went to bed at 11 pm, with visions of uninterrupted, glorious sleep dancing in my head.

And LO, how the sleep train derailed. The first waking was at 1:00 AM...and they continued in quick succession for the rest of the night. I believe the longest stretch of sleep was 1.5 hours....and that was one time. Good times were not had by all. In the famous words of Bejamin Eddy, Sr. "This is not sustainable." We'll try again tonight. Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

Dear Swaddle

Dear Swaddle,

We would first like to tell you how much you have meant to us. You have kept Max feeling secure, cozy, and warm for many nights (13 weeks of nights, as a matter of fact) and we appreciate your loyalty and cozy cottony nature. You will forever be firmly implanted in our memories when we think of the first days of Max's life; the way Chris first perfected the swaddle technique before I was able to get out of the bed after my C-section and the way that, later on, I became the master of the fold. The way that Max settled when folded up within you was always comforting. The feel of your cottony softness when fresh out of the dryer always made us happy.

But we can no longer pretend that this relationship is working. It has run its course. For several nights now, Max has tossed you aside like a used Kleenex. Instead of providing comfort you are now just causing frustration. Last night I yelled at you, and it wasn't even your fault. We've got to let you go....it's not you, it's us...we'll miss you.

Love, Robin, Chris, and Max.

Memories of our time with "Dear Swaddle"


Max and Swaddle meet for the first time - the beginning of a beautiful relationship


Supporting Max as he tries to get over his jaundice


Helping Max to get a good night's sleep



Dear Sleep Sack,

Looking forward to getting to know you!!

Love, Robin, Chris and Max.



On an unrelated note, Mom keeps saying that Max looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid (when she's not saying that he looks exactly like Chris). I wasn't sure she was right, until I saw this picture:




Mom, I'm going to have to give you points for that one. Astute observation.

A Little Bit of Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Try not to focus on the obnoxious babbling, and just pay attention to the cute and giggly baby, mkay?

I'm Not Getting Dressed Today!

What do these times have in common: 12:35 AM, 2:15 AM, 4:25 AM, 6:25 AM?

Hint, they have something to do with this little face:


"Yes, I look sweet, cuddly, and sleepy, but I'm not going to sleep tonight."

That's right, Max was up at all of those times last night, or I guess I should say this morning (days and nights are currently one and the same to Max apparently). Chris suggested this morning that I spend the day napping when Max naps and that "when I get home, you should be wearing the same thing you're wearing now" (which is pajamas). He even agreed to pick up the dog food on the way home from work so that I have no need to leave the house. Yay!!

Far be it for me to disappoint my husband. When he gets home I WILL still be wearing my pajamas. So will Max. In other words, we'll still look like this:



Max and I have already successfully completed one nap, and I am feeling marginally more human. The weather has even agreed to help us out with our napping today:



There are some things that are essential for a day of napping:



Cozy couch, pillow, fluffy blanket, trashy novel. Oh, and burp cloths. And the iPhone. (of course)

So as not to be entirely lazy today, we also tried to catch some cute pictures for the Christmas card. Yes, for the first time ever, the Ludwigs will have a PHOTO Christmas card. I have waited anxiously for this for years...I tried to convince Chris last year that we should take a picture of the two of us in ugly Christmas sweaters but he wouldn't go for it. But now that Max has arrived, I think we are even OBLIGATED to do the photo card. Which is awesome for so many reasons, the most important of which being that I no longer have to write personal greetings in every card!! But so far, I think we're missing that perfect shot:



I also made brownies,



which will be dessert after we eat the dinner I'm going to fix tonight. That's right, folks, I'm cooking (and yes, I consider heating up the contents of a freezer bag cooking - be generous).


(Review of dinner: Not great. My not-from-a-bag fajitas are much better and I will not be purchasing this kit again.)


My sous-chef

I also might put away the laundry. Then I'm gonna call it a day and pray that the little man decides to actually sleep tonight for longer than a 2 hour stretch at a time, thereby eliminating the necessity for a second "pajama day" - although I'll be happy to revisit the idea on the next cold rainy day we have around here :)

(Bailey also enjoys a nap day from time to time...but she does not enjoy pajamas).




Chris just got home - with the dog food and a treat for Bailey. He took a picture of Max and me...end of the day, and, as promised, still in our jammies. (well, Max had 2 outfit changes, but who's counting?)

Go Elf Yourself.

Having a Ball This Fall.

We have been blessed this week with some absolutely beautiful, albeit unseasonably warm, weather. Today when Max, Bailey and I went for our walk, it was 72 degrees. In November! I can handle that. Max really enjoys being outside on these nice days too. He actually stays awake now for most of our walks, talking to me most of the time. So, midway through our walk today, we couldn't resist stopping to take some pictures in the leaves when we found a shady spot.





Bailey, however, is not a willing photo subject. She doesn't see the benefit of "sitting still."




After his lunch, Max was a good sport for another photo shoot in Mom's flowers.



Hopefully we're going to have some more nice days like this. It makes it easier to deal with the early darkness at this time of year.

Speaking of early darkness, I think we're all still working on getting used to the time change here at the Ludwigs'. Max has taken a couple of steps back in his sleeping patterns, waking up around 2 am each night this week. I didn't make the connection to the time change until this morning. Maybe it's related, maybe not. It could also be that he's coming down with his first cold...we heard him snorting and wheezing a little bit last night, poor guy.

Another first this week for Max - his first trip to the library. I hope that he will love books and reading as much as I do. I checked out this baby:



I figure it can't hurt, can only help to read about healthy sleep patterns for babies. We'll see if I learn anything of value.
Speaking of sleeping babies, mine just woke up from his nap. More later! (yes, Julie, I know I can save posts when I'm not done, but I think I'm done here --- and I just remembered that I have a draft saved that I haven't published, so there will be another post tonight or tomorrow about last week...stay tuned!)