Enough of that! The past few weeks have been very fun, with Christmas and (yes) celebrating my birthday, and having my sweet husband home : ) Teachers may not make much money, but it sure is nice to have "Daddy" home for three weeks! He did do a lot of work planning for the coming semester, but he usually did his work during Jon's naptime and after bedtime, so we had a lot of fun during the day. We slept late most mornings, either stayed at home doing random stuff or went outside for walks and errands. Today was our first day of reality, with Jonathan back a work, Jon back at preschool, and me back on a normal routine. I feel rested, relaxed, and optimistic about the coming semester, which is a very good way to feel : )
Here are a few pictures (we are not picture taking people...thankfully our parents are documenting Jon's growth!!)
Below: Enjoying "Tuba Christmas" on the South steps of the Capitol building in Austin. A grand Pollock tradition to attend this amateur concert every year, and I'm glad Jonathan has embraced it. Note that he is in short-sleeves. I think it was around 65 that day! We even convinced some friends (in the background of the pic w/ Jon & Jonathan) to join us.
We had a post-Tuba Christmas lunch at Stubbs, like we did last year. I wish I had a picture of Jon at the table from last year! I must start taking pictures of these things! We enjoyed our barbecue, but it is nothing like a good, Memphis-style pulled pork sandwich from Central BBQ.
No pictures from Christmas : ( Again...I think my father documented. We enjoyed a lovely worship service at church, came home to a Christmas brunch with a couple of friends, then had naps (all of us!), and opened presents in the evening when my parents came in town. I think I actually prefer that set up over getting up and immediately opening presents. I received a much-needed new pair of Chacos, which I am slowly breaking in, a fun new cookbook (Make the Bread, Buy the Butter), and several other fun gifts. Jon is up to his eyeballs in new toys (only a kitchen and a block set from his parents I might add), and I am seriously going to have to put some away in closets because his toybox, toy basket, and shelves are literally full. There are trucks and stuffed animals lined up on the floor in my living room, and I need to remedy that soon.Below: For my birthday, my sweet mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law came into town to watch Jon while Jonathan and I had a little mini-vacation in San Antonio for a few days. It was so nice to go out to adult restaurants, see a movie, and enjoy the company of my husband without having to worry about taking care of a 2-year-old. We really appreciate our family coming in town to help us out! Below is a picture from a restaurant on the Riverwalk. It was still decorated for Christmas, and all of the trees with lights were absolutely beautiful!
On Saturday, I had an afternoon at the salon where I enjoyed a mani/pedi and a non-soccer mom haircut. (The last time I had my haircut, I was appalled at how dated it was...this time, I went to a salon where a very sweet, very tattoo-ed girl with blue hair helped me pick out a new style. I think it worked). Below are my ruby-slipper toes to celebrate my birthday : )
So now we jump into 2012 and all it has to offer - hopefully continuing to build friendships in Texas while hanging on to our friendships in Tennessee, enjoying our toddler and laughing to ourselves even as we put him in his 5th time out of the hour, and tackling yet another higher education job search. Although 2011 had its stresses and heartaches, I do believe I grew over the year and I am so thankful for my family that I am with every day.
