Better Late Than Never

Having the missionaries over

for "dinner in a pumpkin" has become

a tradition here in the Deines home.

In the past, we've done it around

Halloween (see 2010 and 2011).

However, this year the missionaries

were booked on the days we were available,

so we decided to do it a few weeks late.

This may have been the biggest

pumpkin yet. We invited the ward

mission leader and his wife to join us.

We've gotten to know some awesome 

missionaries this way. And rumor has it 

that our mission will be receiving quite a few 

sister missionaries in the months to come,

so who knows? Maybe we will have 

sisters at our dinner next year.

6 Month Mark

The little guy is 6 months old!

November has been filled with

milestones for Corbett, 

including cutting his first two teeth

and sitting up all by himself.

We also started him on solids,

which he seemed really ready for.

Here is how that went:

He tried it.

He thought about it.

He liked it.

Then he DEMANDED more.

And proceeded to make a mess.

So far, he has been introduced to

rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato, and 

winter squash (which he went to town on). 

He loves holding his own spoon and 

decorating himself with his food.

His favorite time of day is when his 

daddy walks in the door. He loves getting 

hugged and tickled and tossed in the air. 

These two are thick as thieves.

His least favorite part of the day

is putting on his pajamas. He 

protests pretty much every time.

For the most part, he is sleeping

better at naptime and in the night,

and he loves snuggling with his monkey

and/or his blankie before he falls asleep.

His mobility and newfound skills 

have contributed to a much happier 

baby these days, which is nice. It is 

fun to watch his developing personality.

We love our sweet baby Corbett!

Thanksgiving Memories

Since Jake is at work today

and the little one and I have no plans,

I've had time to think about 

Thanksgiving from years past.

I'll never forget my Thanksgiving 

in China, and how I made pumpkin

pie in a toaster oven using layered

tinfoil as a makeshift pie tin.

I always chuckle about the

Thanksgiving when my younger

brother fell down some stairs and split
his head, and my dad refused to take

him for stitches until after dessert.

I spent TWO Thanksgivings in

Belize, where I relaxed by the pool

and ate the most American food

I could find: a hamburger. 

But my most memorable Thanksgiving

was the one in 2009: the one that

changed my life.

It was the year I moved to DC.

I wasn't planning on going home for

Thanksgiving, but my mom surprised me

and offered to buy me a plane ticket.

My flight was the last one 

out of DCA to SLC on the night 

before Thanksgiving. As I was waiting to 

board the plane, a curly haired fellow walked

up and said hi. He told me he remembered

me from a singles ward Thanksgiving party

the week before. I can't say I recognized him,

but he was nice and we chatted until it 

was time to board the plane. 

His name was Jake.

I spent the whole flight studying for 

the GRE. Upon landing, I made my way 

downstairs and camped out near baggage claim 

to wait for my ride. Jake saw me there,

and once again he stopped to chat.

I was flattered that he sought me 

out twice, and I couldn't help but notice his 

great smile, dimples, and of course that
curly hair. Finding out that he was older than me
didn't hurt either! Jake had left his impression,
and was on my mind the rest of that
Thanksgiving weekend.

I didn't see him again for three weeks,

this time at an Institute fireside back in DC.

I turned up the charm, and after 45 minutes

of chatting he finally asked for my number. 

One thing led to another, including our

first date in Park City and a cross-country road 

trip that I'll have to write about another day. 

And the rest, as they say, is history!

So this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all of 

the events that brought Jake and I together, 

and for the wonderful life we now share.

And here's hoping that we'll spend
Thanksgiving together one of these years!

Slade-capades

We sure had fun when the

Slade family came to town.

Andrew and Corbett picked

up right where they left off.

And Corbett made a new

friend in Andrew's big sister Livy.

On Jake's day off,

we journeyed to the coast together

to check out the Kennedy Space Center.

I especially enjoyed seeing the 

space shuttle Atlantis up close, after watching 

its final launch into space last year.

It will soon be turned into a museum piece.

We loved showing the Slade's

around Orlando, and only wish they

could have stayed longer!

A Harley Halloween

We did not do a great job of 

documenting Corbett's first Halloween.

Luckily, a friend took these

pictures at our church Halloween party.

As you can see, we were a biker family,

per Jake's request (after seeing this

picture of a Harley baby online).

A few weeks before Halloween, I called 

my mom to ask if she would make a 

baby biker vest. She reminded me of the 

many times that she tried to teach me how 

to sew, and how she'd tell me not to come 

crawling back to her someday to make

my kids Halloween costumes.

Oops.

Well, she was a good sport 

and made the vest anyway.

I did sew on the patches myself,

sent to us by Grandpa Don.

Corbett got a lot of attention

in his costume, including a Target

pharmacist saying it was the best

costume he'd seen all day and the

customer service lady at Publix (pictured
above), who asked to hold him.

In addition to our church party,

I took Corbett to a party at a 

mommy and baby class that I attend

each week. We got such a kick

out of propping these cute Halloween 

babies up next to each other

for some pictures.

I've always enjoyed Halloween,

but it turns out having a kid to dress up 

adds a whole new level of fun!

We've already got ideas for next year.

Stay tuned...